was a Japanese daimyo, swordsman, and martial arts writer, founder of the Edo branch of

Yagyū Shinkage-ryū is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship (''kenjutsu''). Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who a ...

, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishūsai" Muneyoshi. This was one of two official sword styles patronized by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

(the other one being ''

Ittō-ryū , meaning "one-sword school", is the ancestor school of several Japanese Koryū kenjutsu styles, including Ono-ha, Mizoguchi-ha, Nakanishi-ha, Kogen, Hokushin, and Itto Shoden. The style was developed by Itō Ittōsai Kagehisa. Ono-ha Ittō-ryū ...

''). Munenori began his career in the Tokugawa administration as a

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' However ...

, a direct retainer of the Tokugawa house, and later had his income raised to 10,000 ''koku'', making him a minor ''fudai

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' (vassal lord serving the Tokugawa), with landholdings around his ancestral village of Yagyū-zato. He also received the title of ().

Career

Munenori entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu at a young age, and later was an instructor of swordsmanship to Ieyasu's son

Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

. Still later, he became one of the primary advisors of the third shōgun

Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...

. Shortly before his death in 1606, Sekishusai passed the leadership of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū to his grandson Toshiyoshi.Wilson, William Scott, "Introduction", ''The Life-Giving Sword'' by Yagyu Munenori, trans.

William Scott Wilson William Scott Wilson (born 1944, Nashville, Tennessee) is known for translating several works of Japanese literature, mostly those relating to the martial tradition of that country. Wilson has brought historical Chinese and Japanese thought, ph ...

, Kodansha International, 2003. Following a period of

musha shugyō is a samurai warrior's quest or pilgrimage. The concept is similar to the Chinese Youxia, or Knight Errantry in feudal Europe. A warrior, called a ''shugyōsha'', would wander the land practicing and honing his skills without the protection ...

, Toshiyoshi entered the service of a cadet branch of the Tokugawa clan that controlled the Owari province. Toshiyoshi's school was based in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

and came to be called (), while Munenori's, in Edo, the Tokugawa capital, came to be known as (). Takenaga Hayato, the founder of the ''Yagyū Shingan-ryū'', was a disciple of Yagyū Munenori and received ''gokui'' (secret teachings) of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū from him. In about 1632, Munenori completed the

Heihō kadensho ''A Hereditary Book on the Art of War'' or ''Heihō kadensho'' (兵法家伝書), is a Japanese text on the theory and practice of swordsmanship and strategy, written by the samurai Yagyū Munenori in 1632. Alongside Miyamoto Musashi's ''The Book o ...

, a treatise on practical Shinkage-ryū swordsmanship and how it could be applied on a macro level to life and politics. The text remains in print in Japan today, and has been translated a number of times into English. Munenori's sons,

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi was one of the most famous and romanticized of the samurai in Japan's feudal era. Life Very little is known about the actual life of Yagyū Mitsuyoshi as the official records of his life are very sparse. Yagyū Jūbē Mitsuyoshi (born "Shichirō ...

and

Yagyū Munefuyu was a ''daimyō'' and a teacher of kenjutsu and military strategy in Japan during the Edo period. His highest-ranking pupil was Tokugawa Ietsuna, fourth Tokugawa ''shōgun''. Munefuyu, who also went by the name Matajūrō, was the third son of ...

, were also famous swordsmen. The essay "The Mysterious Record of Immovable Wisdom" by

Takuan Sōhō was a Japanese Buddhist prelate during the Sengoku and early Edo Periods of Japanese history. He was a major figure in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. Noted for his calligraphy, poetry, tea ceremony, he is also popularly credited with the ...

was a letter written from Sōhō to Munenori.

Depictions in film

* (''The Red Shadow''), 1962 – played by

Denjirō Ōkōchi was a Japanese people, Japanese film actor best known for starring roles in jidaigeki directed by leading Japanese filmmakers. Early life and family Ōkōchi was born Masuo Ōbe on February 5, 1898, in Ōkōchi, Iwaya (present-day Ōkōchi, Buz ...

* (''Adventures of Nemuri Kyōshirō''), 1964 (released on DVD as "Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure") * (''The Yagyu Conspiracy''), 1978 – played by

Yorozuya Kinnosuke (November 20, 1932 – March 10, 1997) was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born , son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name (''y ...

(released on DVD as "The Shogun's Samurai") *' (''Samurai Reincarnation''), 1981 – played by

Tomisaburo Wakayama , born Masaru Okumura (奥村勝),Leous, G. (''c.'' 2003)Tomisaburo WakayamaRetrieved on May 23, 2010. was a Japanese actor best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 19th-century '' ronin'' warrior in the six ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' samura ...

*, 2003 – played by

Nakamura Katsuo is a Japanese actor. Nakamura is a former Kabuki actor as well as his older brother Kinnosuke Nakamura. His first film appearance was in the 1955 film ''Furisode Kenpo''. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 5th Japan Academy Prize ...

Bibliography

*''

A Hereditary Book on the Art of War ''A Hereditary Book on the Art of War'' or ''Heihō kadensho'' (兵法家伝書), is a Japanese text on the theory and practice of swordsmanship and strategy, written by the samurai Yagyū Munenori in 1632. Alongside Miyamoto Musashi's ''The Book o ...

References

External links

Summary of the book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yagyu, Munenori 1571 births 1646 deaths Daimyo Hatamoto Japanese swordfighters Martial arts writers People of Azuchi–Momoyama-period Japan People of Edo-period Japan People of Muromachi-period Japan Yagyū clan

Career

Depictions in film

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links