A story has it that Hayashizaki was born to a samurai family, and that his father was killed in a duel. The young Hayashizaki vowed to avenge the fathers death, but knew he would need a significant advantage in order to defeat the killer. At the age of 21 he went to a Shinto shrine and spent there about 100 days. According to a vision he got in a dream he developed the batto-techniques (techniques where one draws the sword and strikes with one motion). He called his style Shimmei Muso ryu. This was the first systematized iai-school (altough similar fast-draw tecniques were already used in some of the older schools of kenjutsu). Later his students named the style Shin Muso Hayashizaki ryu.
Hayashizaki's tradition, often called the Shinmei Muso-ryu Batto-jutsu, is the root of many other Iaido traditions. For example, the Tamiya-ryu, Hoki-ryu, Shin Muso Hayashizaki-ryu and Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu among others, are all descended from Hayashizaki's Iai. For this reason Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu is considered the founding father of modern Iaido, even though the concept of Iai predates him.
It is believed that Hayashizaki himself stressed the spiritual side of training.
There is a temple, Hayashizaki-Iai-Jinja, dedicated to him.
A student of Jinsuke and others. He was the sword teacher to the first three Tokugawa Shoguns. He founded the Tamiya Ryu in the Tempo Era.
A military man and student of first Jinsuke and then Tamiya. He developed Iai as a major part of the curriculum of the Muraku Ryu which he founded in his own right.
Regarded as an important influence on subsequent headmasters.
A very important influence on the style being responsible for devising the Eishin Ryu set of forms. The performance of his forms was said to be "muso" (without equal). This word now forms part of the name of our Ryu. Do not confuse the "muso" in Muso Shinden Ryu which is different kanji and means "by divine inspiration" as in the name given by Jinsuke to his original school.
This man taught in Edo (modern Tokyo) after the departure of Eishin. He was thought to be a one time Ronin (lit.wave man or masterless Samurai).
He studied under Omori Rokurazaemon Masamitsu, Omori introduced him to a set of forms beginning from seiza (kneeling). At a later date after returning to Tosa these forms were incorporated into what was then known as Tosa Iaijutsu.
He was the adopted son of Rokudaya.
This man is notable in as much that he had two highly skilled students who developed their own particular styles. After his death the Ryu split into two ha or branches named after these two students. The first man was known as Tanimura and his style was more closely associated with the Tosa Iaijutsu. The other man was known as Shimamura who introduced considerable changes.
Nakayama Hakudo is probably the 20th century's most famous Iaido practitioner. Having founded his own ryu, which has become one of the worlds most extant Iaido ryu today (Muso Shinden ryu), he has had a profound impact on the popularity of Iaido. It was him who gave iaido its name.
Even if the spritual roots go way back, Muso Shinden ryu as we know it today was born in early 1900s. Nakayama Hakudo-sensei, a man who had dedicated his life to the study of kendo and iai, came to the conclusion that the classic arts should be re-interpreted and opened to the general public in order for them to survive in the changing world. He formulated the Muso Shinden ryu katas using techniques from Omori ryu and Eishin ryu. He stressed the importance of sword training, no longer as a practical art, but as an method of improving oneself. The sword is no longer a tool for cutting down your enemy, but a tool for cutting your ego.
The late Matsuo Kenpu (Hiroshi) Sensei, who lived in Yokohama, Japan, was born on May 10th of of the year Meiji 36 (1903) in Fukuoka-ken. He moved to Tokyo in the Taisho era. He passed away on June 17th, 1985. He was then 82 years old.
He moved to Tokyo in the Taisho era. He passed away on June 17th, 1985. He was then 82 years old.
While he was instructing budo, Matsuo Sensei earned his living by running an inn in Nishi-ku, Yokohama. He was not strictly a full-time budo instructor, but as some family member could see to the trade in his absence, he was able to find time for teaching budo. A great number of budo and bujutsu arts were taught at his dojo: all the Bugei ju happan except for swimming, horse riding and archery.
Matsuo Sensei was apparently very well known in the Japanese budo circles. It is said he was a stubborn samurai, who strictly adhered to tradition, "harder than rock". That is why he was able to learn well the "Bugei ju happan" (the traditional 18 arts of a samurai) and ninjutsu. His grandfather was a sojutsu (spear art) teacher to the Kuroda clan in Ky�
Takada Gakudo (Shigeru) Sensei, who lives in Yokohama, Japan, is our Muso Shinden Ryu teacher. He started his training with kendo in 1951 and began his iaido career two years later, when he was 15 years old.
Takada Sensei's iaido teacher was the late Matsuo Kenpu Sensei (iaido 10th dan), whose dojo, the "Dai Nippon Teigoku Shinkenkan Matsuo Dojo", Takada Sensei joined on the 6th of December 1953. After he got his menkyo kaiden in Muso Shinden Ryu, his teacher made him study different budo / bujutsu arts and also other iai schools.
Takada Sensei was one of the youngest, who got an 8th dan from Zen Nippon Iaido Renmei. For various reasons he later joined another association, the Dai Nippon Iaido Renmei, and he is now hanshi, 8th dan.
In summer 1999 he celebrated his 60th birthday . He trains every morning at home and teaches iaido twice a week in the Yokohama area.
For the first time Sensei visited Scandinavia in 1986, when there was an iaido seminar in Uppsala, Sweden. Two years later he came to Helsinki, Finland to teach there. After that Sensei has visited both countries every two years and later once a year, and each time the Scandinavian Muso Shinden ryu students have had an opportunity to study iaido under his guidance for one, two or even three weeks.
Sensei's budo career is a distinguished one. Here are some of the arts we know he has studied (and his grade in each):
Musô Shinden ryû iaidô (menkyo kaiden) Ôno-ha Hôki ryû iaijutsu (menkyo kaiden) Mugai ryû iaidô (menkyo kaiden) Hôzôin ryû sôjutsu (8th dan, kyôshi) Araki ryû nagamakijutsu (7th dan, kyôshi) Kendô (7th dan, kyôshi) Shindô Musô ryû jôjutsu (7th dan, kyôshi) Jûkendô (6th dan, kyôshi) Yagyû ryû kusarigamajutsu (6th dan, kyôshi) Yagyû ryû tessenjutsu (6th dan, kyôshi) Tankendô (5th dan) Araki ryû chikirikijutsu Jûjutsu of Kito and Yôshin ryû Iaidô of Araki, Eishin and Keishi ryû Kuroda ryû Shurikenjutsu Kuroda ryû ninjutsu
