The oldest line of is probably the school founded by Nakamura Sakyōdayū Yoshikuni around 1610, and is often referred to as . Nakamura later changed his name to , and this school may also be referred to as , or . This line has a historical connection to the

Takeda family The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

through the founder's grandfather, Nakamura Yorifusa. Yorifusa was a retainer of the Koshu Takeda who founded a school of

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 ...

called Taiyo ryu. Yoshin Koryu was founded by Nakamura Yoshikuni 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 ...

after being driven from Takeda lands by

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

. It is stated that Yoshin Koryu was a mixture of Taiyo ryu and knowledge gained by Yoshikuni’s exposure to

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, knowledge gained while living in Nagasaki and in nearby Miura village.

History

An area of confusion concerning this school is its founding in Nagasaki, where the more ubiquitous school using the name of

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 ...

(Akiyama line) and another school named Miura ryu was founded. This other Miura ryu was founded by Miura Yojuiemon of the Fukuno ryu jujutsu lineages. This school was reportedly influenced by the Chinese martial artist and scholar, Chin Genpin. It is possible there was cross pollination between all these schools that all reportedly were in existence in Nagasaki in the first half of the 17th century. This school survived 11 generations.

Hikosuke Totsuka was a Japanese jujutsu master of the Yoshin-ryū school. Under his leadership, the Totsuka-ha Yoshin-ryū was the largest jujutsu organization in Japan, as well as the last great school of this art, until the rise of Kodokan judo. He was report ...

was a celebrated master, creating the Totsuka-ha lineage. The last fully licensed actively teaching instructor of Yoshin Koryu ryu jujutsu, however, was Kanaya Motoyoshi, son of Kanaya Motojuro who died in the early 20th century. With his death the Yoshin Koryu jujutsu school lost transmission and no longer exists. Densho were apparently passed on to a 12th generation headmaster but the waza are no longer practiced. The various names used for this school: Yoshin Koryu, Miura Yoshin ryu, Miura ryu, Yoshin ryu, and Totsuka ha Yoshin ryu. Schools influenced by Yoshin Koryu: Tenshin Yoshin ryu, Shindo Yoshin ryu, Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin ryu, and

Kodokan The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology Literally, ''kō'' ...

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 ...

References

Ko-ryū bujutsu {{martialart-stub