Toyama-ryū
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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 Academy" in Toyama,
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, led to the establishment of Toyama-ryu.Draeger, Donn F. (1974) Modern bujutsu & Budo - The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan. (Vol. III). New York: Weatherhill. Page 65. Today, separate lines of Toyama-ryū are primarily located in the Kantō, Tokai and
Kansai 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 metropoli ...
region of Japan.


Background

After the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, officers in the Japanese Army were required to carry Western-style sabres. During the 1920s Japan went through a phase of Militant Nationalism that lasted until defeat in the Second World War. By adopting the
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
, the traditional sword of the
samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
, the Japanese were allying themselves with the samurai military tradition. Adopting the katana also served to calm discontent among the more politicized sections of the army who had been outraged at mechanization (another lesson learned from
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
) which had de-emphasized the role of infantry and cavalry. In 1925, since not all officers had sufficient background in
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 ...
to deploy these weapons in combat, a simplified form of sword technique was devised that emphasized the most essential points of drawing and cutting. Takano Sasaburo and Nakayama Hakudo were senior teachers at the academy. Academy director Lieutenant Colonel Morinaga Kiyoshi (森永清 中佐) selected 5 kata from Nakayama's Omori-ryu to serve as the basis of the "Gunto no Soho". The system was further refined by committee. The army '' iai-battō'' ''
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 ...
'' differ from those of many '' koryū'' sword schools in that all techniques are practised from a standing position. Also, this modern '' ryū'' has a strong emphasis on ''
tameshigiri ''Tameshigiri'' (試し斬り, 試し切り, 試斬, 試切) is the Japanese art of target test cutting. The kanji literally mean ":wiktionary:試, test :wiktionary:切, cut" (kun'yomi: ためし ぎり ''tameshi giri''). This practice was popul ...
'', or "test-cutting." At the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Toyama Military Academy became the U.S. Army's
Camp Zama is a United States Army post located in the cities of Zama, Kanagawa, Zama and Sagamihara, in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about southwest of Tokyo. Camp Zama is home to the U.S. Army Japan (USARJ), I Corps (Forward), U.S. Army Aviation Batta ...
. Nonetheless, the military iai system was revived after 1952. By the 1970s, three separate organizations represented Toyama-ryū
Iaido , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sport ...
: in
Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...
, the Greater Japan Toyama Ryu Iaido Federation (established by Yamaguchi Yuuki); in
Kansai 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 metropoli ...
(Kyoto-Osaka area), the Toyama Ryu Iaido Association (established by Morinaga Kiyoshi former Head Instructor of the Toyama Academy); and the All-Japan Toyama Ryu Iaido Federation (established by Nakamura Taizaburo). Each of these organizations was autonomous. Today, there are many active instructors of Gunto no Soho and all three mainline Toyama-ryū schools (Moringa-ha, Nakamura-ha and Yamaguchi-ha) inside and outside Japan, licensed by several organizations including the Zen Nihon Toyama-ryu Iaido Renmei (ZNTIR), the Toyama-ryu Iai-Batto Do Renmei (TIBDR), The International Battodo Federation (IBF), the Zen Nihon Battodo Renmei (ZNBDR), the International Shinkendo Federation, The United States Federation of Batto-do (USFBD) and the International Batto-Do Rengo-Kai. As well as in the Czech republic
Czech Toyama Ryu Federation
, Sweden, Poland, Australia, England and Italy.


See also

* Battōjutsu *
Imperial Japanese Army Academy The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...
*
Tameshigiri ''Tameshigiri'' (試し斬り, 試し切り, 試斬, 試切) is the Japanese art of target test cutting. The kanji literally mean ":wiktionary:試, test :wiktionary:切, cut" (kun'yomi: ためし ぎり ''tameshi giri''). This practice was popul ...
* Nakayama Hakudō


References

Zen Nihon Toyama-ryū Iaido Renmei (全日本戸山流居合道連盟). url=http://toyamaryuiaido.jp/index_en.html Toyama Ryū Iai-Battodo Renmei (戸山流居合抜刀道連盟). url=https://tibdr.com Czech Toyama Ryu Federation. url=https://toyama-ryu.cz Kokusai Batto Renmei (中村流/). url=https://www.ibf-battodo.org Zen Nihon Battodo Renmei (全日本抜刀道連盟). url=https://znbatto.com/en/about Kokusai Toyama Ryū Renmei url=https://www.toyama-ryu.org. International Batto-Do Rengo-Kai (国際戸山流連盟) url=https://www.genbukai-hq.org/batto/batto-history.php Dai Nihon Dentô Morinaga Toyama-Ryu Iai-Do Rengō-kai Nihon Toyama Ryu Iaido So-Renmei {{DEFAULTSORT:Toyama-Ryu Japanese swordsmanship Gendai budo Japanese martial arts Iaido