is the Japanese term referring to a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

in any discipline. The

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

itself is commonly used as a suffix. In English, the word is frequently used to refer to schools of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

, although it can also be found used in other disciplines (for example Nihon- koryū and

Sōgetsu-ryū is a school of ''ikebana'', or Japanese floral art. History Sōgetsu was founded by Sōfū Teshigahara in 1927. Sōfū's father was an ikebana master, who taught his son from childhood. Sōfū wanted to become a painter, but he found that t ...

ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the (alcove) of a traditional Japan ...

, Kantei-ryū in

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, etc.).

In the martial arts

Japanese martial arts are often classified and codified into . Usually a given style will have its own curriculum, ranks and licensure system. These may be based on the parent style or a combination of sources that form the background of the system. The name of a style may have particular meaning or may simply be a location.

Toyama-ryū established in 1925 by a committee of senior experts of several sword traditions for the curriculum of the Rikugun Toyama Gakkō. The special school for training army personnel founded in 1873, called Rikugun Toyama Gakkō or " Toyama Army Aca ...

is named for the

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places and organizations * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama, Toyama, the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, ...

Military Academy in Japan. In contrast,

Gōjū-ryū , Japanese for "hard-soft style", is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters dur ...

is the ' hard-soft' style, which indicates both characteristic techniques and thematic elements that form a 'signature' of the style. Sometimes this is merged or confused with the name of the

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

(as is the case with Shōtōkan-ryū karate). High-level practitioners of an established style may splinter off and form their own derivative styles based on their own experience or interpretation. Sometimes this is encouraged by the parent style, sometimes it represents an ideological schism between senior members of the style. Sometimes, it is done simply for 'marketing' reasons or to adjust a system to modern times. There is no universal licensing or ranking system across all . A high-ranking person or black belt in one style does not necessarily correspond to a high-level understanding in another style or group of styles. There are many in Japan that have existed for many hundreds of years, as well as many more that were created in modern times. The concept of organizing a codified system is obviously not a Japanese or outwardly Asian one, though many international or foreign styles may adopt the nomenclature and systemization of koryū bujutsu in order to add an air of mystique or legitimacy to their system, or simply as a way to show respect to their roots and background.

References

External links

*
"What is a 'Ryu'?" by Wayne Muromoto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryu Japanese words and phrases Japanese martial arts terminology

In the martial arts

Further reading

References

External links