Shimada Toranosuke (1810–1864) was a Japanese samurai from Nakatsu, Ōita. His father was Shimada Chikafusa. He studied Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū ''

kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms of ...

'' under

Otani Nobutomo Otani Nobutomo (a.k.a. Otani Shimosa no Kami Seiichiro, Otani Shintaro) (1798 - 1864) was a Japanese martial artist. He was adopted into the Otani family by Otani Hikoshiro in 1817. A master of the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū of kenjutsu, he ...

and zazen meditation under

Sengai was a Japanese monk of the Rinzai school (one of three main schools of Zen Buddhism in Japan, the others being the Sōtō school and the much smaller Ōbaku school). He was known for his controversial teachings and writings, as well as for h ...

; he was also a student of

Kitō-ryū is a traditional school ('' koryū'') of the Japanese martial art of jujutsu. Its syllabus comprises ''atemi-waza'' (striking techniques), ''nage-waza'' (throwing techniques), ''kansetsu-waza'' (joint locking techniques) and ''shime-waza'' ...

jujutsu. He taught ''kenjutsu'' and acted as a spiritual mentor to Katsu Kaishū. Shimada was a skilled swordsman in his youth, and in 1837 he travelled to

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

to partake in challenge matches. His ferocity and ability with the sword brought him considerable success, and he finally issued a challenge to Otani Nobutomo, who was at the time the most highly regarded swordsman in the city. During the duel, Otani allowed Shimada to win, in order to gauge the young man's response to an easy victory. Toranosuke subsequently requested instruction from

Inoue Gensai Inoue (kanji: , historical kana orthography: ''Winouhe'') is the 16th most common Japanese surname. Historically, it was also romanized as Inouye, and many Japanese-descended people outside of Japan still retain this spelling. A less common varia ...

, but Inoue recommended that he visit Otani again and become his student. Sceptical of studying under a man he had previously defeated, Shimada challenged Otani to a rematch. This time, Otani defeated him utterly. After this, Otani accepted Shimada as his student.

References

Japanese swordfighters 1810 births 1864 deaths People from Nakatsu, Ōita {{Samurai-stub