Takenouchi-ryū
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is one of the oldest
jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...
koryū in
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. It was founded in 1532, the first year of Tenbun, on the twenty-fourth of the sixth
lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Euro ...
by Takenouchi Chūnagon Daijō Nakatsukasadaiyū Hisamori, the lord of Ichinose Castle in Sakushū. Although it is famous for its jūjutsu, Takenouchi Ryū is actually a complete
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 ...
, including armed grappling (yoroi kumiuchi), staff (''
bōjutsu () is the martial art of stick fighting using a bō, which is the Japanese word for staff. Staffs have been in use for thousands of years in Asian martial arts like Silambam. Some techniques involve slashing, swinging, and stabbing with the ...
''), sword (''
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 ...
''), sword drawing (''
iaijutsu is a combative quick-draw sword technique. This art of drawing the Japanese sword, katana, is one of the Japanese ''ko-ryū'' martial art disciplines in the education of the classical warrior (samurai, bushi).Gordon Warner, Warner, Gordon and D ...
''), glaive (''
naginatajutsu is the Japanese martial art of wielding the . The naginata is a weapon resembling the European glaive and the Chinese Guandao, guan dao. Most naginatajutsu practiced today is in a modernized form, a ''gendai budō'', in which competitions also ...
''), iron fan ('' tessenjutsu''), restraining rope ('' hojōjutsu''), and resuscitation techniques (''sakkatsuhō''). Its jūjutsu techniques have been influential in the founding of many other schools in Japan. Takenouchi Ryū is still actively transmitted today by members of the Takenouchi family, as well as by other groups both within and outside Japan. Together with the
Yōshin-ryū ("The School of the Willow Heart") is a common name for one of several different martial traditions founded in Japan during the Edo period. The most popular and well-known was the Yōshin-ryū founded by physician Akiyama Shirōbei Yoshitoki at ...
(楊心流) and the Ryōi Shintō-ryū, the Takenouchi-ryū (竹内流) was one of the three largest, most important and influential Jūjutsu schools of the
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
(江戸時代 Edo jidai 1603 - 1868) before the rise of
Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
.


History

According to the ''Takenouchi Keisho Kogo Den'', the document recording the establishment and development of the school, Takenouchi Hisamori retired to the mountains near the Sannomiya shrine to train his martial skills. He practiced there for six days and six nights, wielding a ''
bokken A ''bokken'' (, , 'wood', and ''ken'', '(double-edged) sword') or ''bokutō'' (, , 'wood', and ''tō'', '(single-edged) sword') is a Japanese wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu. It is usually the size and shape of a ''katana'', but is so ...
'' (wooden sword) two '' shaku'' and four ''sun'' in length (about 2 ft. 4 in. or 72 cm), a relatively long weapon for his purportedly short stature. On the sixth night he fell asleep from exhaustion using his ''bokken'' as a pillow. He was woken by a mountain priest with white hair and a long beard who seemed so fearsome to Hisamori that he thought it must be an incarnation of the god Atago. Hisamori attacked the stranger, but was defeated. The priest said to him "When you meet the enemy, in that instant, life and death are decided. That is what is called ''hyōhō'' (military strategy)." (凡そ敵に向へば時を移さず、たちどころに殺生降伏させる。これが兵法といふものぞ。) He then took Hisamori's ''bokken'', told him that long weapons were not useful in combat, and broke it into two daggers one ''shaku'' and two ''sun'' long. The priest told Hisamori to put these in his belt and call them ''kogusoku'', and taught him how to use them in grappling and
close combat Close-quarters battle (CQB), also called close-quarters combat (CQC), is a close combat situation between multiple combatants involving ranged (typically firearm-based) or melee combat. It can occur between military units, law enforcement and cr ...
. These techniques became called ''koshi no mawari'', literally "around the hips". The priest then taught Hisamori how to bind and restrain enemies with rope, using a vine from a tree. Then the priest disappeared mysteriously amidst wind and lightning. Takenouchi Hisamori's second son Hitachinosuke Hisakatsu became the second head of Takenouchi Ryū after his father formally passed him the tradition at the age of 64. He and his successor and son Kaganosuke Hisayoshi added their own techniques to the curriculum, extending it into a complete ''sōgō bujutsu'' system.


Curriculum

Takenouchi Ryū is best known for its jūjutsu, over which it covers an extensive ground. Its unarmed jūjutsu techniques include ''tehodoki'' (grip breaking), ''ukemi'' (tumbling), ''nagewaza'' (throwing), ''kansetsuwaza'' (joint dislocation), ''atemi'' (striking weak points), ''shimewaza'' (choking), ''newaza'' (ground techniques), and ''kappō'' (resuscitation). These are combined to form
kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts ...
for the various sections of jūjutsu taught, including ''toride'' (capturing and restraining), ''hade'' (attacking vital points unarmed), and ''kumiuchi'' (grappling). These unarmed kata are the best known of the Takenouchi Ryū jūjutsu, but they are not truly its foundation. As related in the establishment myth of the school, the central forms of jūjutsu in Takenouchi Ryū are the ''kogusoku koshi no mawari'', techniques of armed grappling using the short sword against armed opponents. It is upon this foundation that the rest of the jūjutsu techniques were developed by Hisakatsu and Hisayoshi, the second and third heads of the school. Beyond the core of jūjutsu, many different weapons are taught. These include the sword, the staff, rope tying, the naginata, and more. The sword curriculum is divided into major sections, with ''kenjutsu'' covering basic swordsmanship against a similarly armed opponent, ''saide'' covering grappling with the sword, and ''iai'' covering the techniques of rapid sword drawing and striking. The staff is central to Takenouchi Ryū's study of movement, and as such forms an important part of the curriculum. Staff work addresses various lengths of staff, in particular ''bōjutsu'' for the six ''shaku'' staff and ''shinbō'' for a slightly shorter staff. Other sizes taught include ''jōjutsu'' for the common four ''shaku'' two ''sun'' staff, and ''hanbō'' for shorter sticks around three ''shaku'' in length. Rope restraints are an important adjunct to the arresting arts of ''toride'', and the techniques of tying up opponents called ''hojōjutsu'' or ''hobaku'' are taught using the ''haya nawa'' which is a two ''shaku'' five ''sun'' rope, traditionally of a purple color. Takenouchi Ryū is perhaps lesser known for its other weapons techniques, but as a true ''sōgō bujutsu'' it retains a number of weapons for use both on and off the battlefield. The ''naginata'' and ''kusarigama'' are covered, as well as the ''jutte'' truncheon, ''shuriken'' throwing darts, and the ''tessen'' iron fan. Some kata feature rather peculiar weapons intended to show the use of everyday objects for defense against sword attacks. These include the ''kasa'', a Japanese style umbrella, and the ''nabebuta'', a wooden lid for a cooking pot.


Influence

Takenouchi Ryū has exerted a strong influence in the development of jūjutsu. The branches of the Takenouchi Ryū have subsequently have influenced schools directly or indirectly and thus many techniques found in modern jūdō and aikidō can be traced back to their roots in Takenouchi Ryū in one way or another. A number of important jūjutsu koryū were founded by students of the school, such as the Rikishin Ryū, Fusen Ryū, Sōsuishitsu Ryū, Takagi Ryū and its branches (such as Hontai Yōshin Ryū), and Araki Ryū. These ryūha have incorporated many techniques from Takenouchi Ryū either directly from the school or by analyzing the techniques of its exponents. Takenouchi Ryū has documents by its founder on the use and teaching of rokushakubojutsu stick This makes it the oldest verifiable school to teach these skills and it is believed to have had a great influence on other arts teaching rokushakubojutsu. Other arts have long histories and claim to have been teaching rokushakubo, but so far no documents from the period have been found. It may be that these other schools added it later on to their teachings.


Lineage

As with any koryū, the lineage of Takenouchi Ryū is a matter of importance and pride to its members. Since the tradition was maintained in the family a careful account of the successive leaders of the school has been kept over the centuries. After the 8th headmaster, Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisayoshi, the lineage was split into two branches called the ''sōke'' and ''sōdenke'' lines. This was done to ensure that the blood line and tradition would be preserved.


Bitchū Den

Besides the two divisions of the school given above, there are multiple groups claiming lineage of Takenouchi Ryū. Among them, one group is called the Bitchū Den Takenouchi Ryū (竹内流 備中伝). The group claims that they directly originate from Bitchu Takenouchi-ryu, a branch of Takenouchi-ryu that spread at the early 17th century. The Bitchu Takenouchi-ryu lineage was developed through Takeuchi Seidaiyū Masatsugu, a disciple of the third headmaster of the family line of Takenouchi Ryū, who moved to Okayama, the capital of Bitchū Province (now western
Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...
). Bitchū Den lineage: : 4. Takeuchi Seidaiyū Masatsugu. : 5. Yamamoto Kazuemon Hisayoshi. : 6. Shimizu Kichiuemon Kiyonobu. : ... : 14. Takeuchi Tsunaichi Masatori. Head of Nisshinkan dōjō. : 15. Nakayama Kazuo Torimasa. Current head of Nisshinkan dōjō, second head of Okayama Daigaku College Kobudō Section. : 16. Ono Yotaro Masahito. Head of Chōfūkan dōjō and Dōshisha Daigaku College Kobudō Section. The Bichū Den lineage has its own curriculum with variations and the addition of techniques in certain areas.


Donteki-ryū

(Reference) "Yoshisato dontekisai nobutake monka Takenouchi-ryū Kumiuchi-jutsu Sōdenkeifu" by Itagaki Taisuke Honoring Association


Takeuchi Santo-ryū

The Takeuchi Santo-ryū or Takenouchi Santo-ryū (竹内三統流) was founded in the Higo Domain by mixing three Takenouchi lineages influenced by Araki-ryū. This school is extinct, but the writings of its last master Hideki Shimada are studied by the Bitchū Den.Takeuchi Santo-ryu
Kogenbudo


International branches of Takenouchi-ryu Bitchūden

Two varieties of training groups are authorized: dojo and study circles. Authorized dojo are usually headed by someone ranked Daigeiko or higher, have full teaching authority and limited authority to award rank. Study circles train with the permission of the head of Chōfukan Dojo, have limited teaching authority and no authority to award rank. As of May 2023 there are four international dojo and several study circles. Dojo * Shōfukan 松風館, run by Anna Seabourne, located in
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
in the United Kingdom. * Gyōfukan 暁風館, run by Anthony Abry, located in
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, Mexico. * Seifukan 正風館, run by Wayne Muromoto, located in
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. * Shōfukan 翔風館, run by Alex Kask, located in
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,
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, Canada. Study circles * Ryūfukai 龍風会, run by Andrew Antis, located in
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. * Mushinkai 無心会, run by Marek Motyčka, located in
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, Czech Republic. * Zuifūkai 瑞風会, run by Kazuki Kawakami and Greg Harada-Davis, located in
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, Australia. * Joseph Fichter teaches in southern
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. * Graham Pluck teaches in
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, Ecuador.


References

* Mol, Serge. 2001. ''Classical fighting arts of Japan: A complete guide to koryū jūjutsu''. Tokyo: Kodansha International. . * Skoss, Diane (ed.). 1999. ''Sword and spirit''. Volume 2 in ''Classical warrior traditions of Japan''. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Koryu Books. .


External links


Takenouchi Ryū official website
official website of Takenouchi Ryū Japan, English and Japanese language

in the Koryu.com Guide to Classical Ryuha
Bitchū-den Takeuchi-ryū
at the Shōfūkan dōjō in Vancouver, Canada

on an 1844 Takenouchi-Ryu text {{DEFAULTSORT:Takenouchi-ryu Ko-ryū bujutsu Jujutsu Japanese martial arts