, also known as Benkei Musō, was a Chinese-born Japanese

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

ist,

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

, and

Yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or holy persons) of the eighth ...

. He belonged to

Hitoyoshi Domain 270px, Sagara Yorimoto, final daimyo of Hitoyoshi Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was centered around Hitoyoshi Castle in what is now the city of Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto and was ruled by the ''tozama daimyō'' Sagara clan fo ...

as ninja. He was thought to be the head of ninja group, Ura-Taisha(裏タイ捨) or Sagara-ningun(相良忍軍).

Biography

Nothing is known about his early life in China. Raikei was thought to be Chinese martial artist who traveled to Japan. According to documents owned by Marume clan, he fought a duel with Oda "Rokuemon" Sekika in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

. Sekika was the disciple of

Marume Nagayoshi Marume Nagayoshi (丸目長恵, 1540–1629) was a retainer of the Sagara clan in the Sengoku period and a swordsman in the early Edo period. He was considered one of the best pupils of Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, and went on to found the Taisha ryū s ...

a renowned swordsman and the founder of Taisha-ryū. He was defeated by Sekika, and became Nagayoshi's disciple. Raikei became one of the finest disciples of Nagayoshi. At the time, Taisha-ryū training contained several arts including

ninjutsu , and are terms for the techniques and skills used by spies and scouts in pre-modern Japan known as ninja. Some of these techniques are recorded in ninja scrolls, some which have been published and translated. The study of these scrolls have c ...

. He was given menkyo and assigned to teach other disciples in place of Nagayoshi. He seemed to show more talent for

than

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 o ...

, and become the general coach of ninjutsu in Taisha-ryū school. He also managed to help Arise Geki, the navy commander of Taisha-ryū construct

Junk ship A junk () is a type of Chinese sailing ship characterized by a central rudder, an overhanging flat transom, watertight bulkheads, and a flat-bottomed design. They are also characteristically built using iron nails and clamps. The term applies ...

s. In 1635, Raikei gave certification of Taisha-ryū to Nagata Morimasa. After this event, he became shugensha or

at Mt. Iwaya in Kashima. During his pilgrimage, Raikei became prominent figure among Yamabushi and Sanka, itinerant people among the mountains, and established ninja corps. According to Taisha-ryū tradition, this ninja group called Ura-Taisha(Shadow Taisha) and opposed Shogunate force such as

Yagyū clan The were a family of ''daimyōs'' (feudal lords) with lands just outside Nara, Nara, Nara, who became the heads of one of Japan's greatest schools of swordsmanship, Yagyū Shinkage-ryū. The Yagyū were also Kenjutsu teachers to the Tokugawa sh ...

Iga IGA or IgA may refer to: Businesses and organizations * IGA (supermarkets) (initially Independent Grocers Alliance), a name used by many independent supermarkets throughout the world ** IGA (Australian supermarket group), the local Australian v ...

, Kōga. A few Taisha-ryū dojos suggest that Raikei was the head of Sagara-ningun(Sagara ninja troops), the ninja group served

Sagara clan The Sagara clan (相良氏, ''Sagara-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan of daimyos. They were a tactical ally of the Shimazu clan. In the Edo period, they became the daimyo of the Hitoyoshi Domain and ruled until the Meiji Restoration. After t ...

, the daimyō of

. There is no further written information about him after this. However, it is documented that the man called Benkei Musō initiated Taketsugi Yosanbei into the art of Taisha-ryū at Ureshino in 1651. Musō is identified Raikei by Miyazaki Jūnen, the practitioner and researcher of Taisha-ryū. Raikei was buried next to his master, Nagayoshi.

Legacy

Raikei was credited as the second headmaster of Kataoka Taisha-ryū, the

Kinki The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolit ...

line of Taisha-ryū. One of the private writing of Taisha-ryū contains Chinese-style illustrations which attributed to Raikei.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denrinbō, Raikei Ninja Japanese ninjutsu practitioners Japanese swordfighters Japanese wushu practitioners People of the Edo period Chinese emigrants to Japan Chinese male martial artists Chinese wushu practitioners 17th-century deaths Shugendō practitioners 17th-century martial artists

Biography

Legacy

See also

References