is a that was founded in the late Edo period by . He was one of the last masters who was called a .
Curriculum and Characteristics
The curriculum of this (martial arts style) contains mainly , , and , but the main weapons used are the long and short swords (katana and ).(in English)
Hokushin Ittō-ryū is a school of Japanese swordsmanship that emphasizes efficient techniques and minimizing extraneous movement. A central principle of the style is control of the enemy's center line, often with the technique, involving cutting down the opponent's sword, which is regarded as a defining technique of Ittō-ryū. The tradition emphasizes (thrusting techniques). The ideal technique involves defense and offense in a single action.
Characteristic of the training is the use of (heavily padded gloves) like in its ancestor styles Ono-ha Ittō-ryū and Nakanishi-ha Ittō-ryū, which are used in several (two person practice).(in English) This kind of training became more and more obsolete towards the end of the Edo period with the spread of (full contact duels with bamboo training swords and training armour) and the use of (training armour) and (bamboo training sword).
Hokushin Ittō-ryū is also one of the remaining ryūha which still practices with (wooden swords). The is practiced using (real swords with the sharp edge removed).(in Japanese)
Hokushin Ittō-ryū also includes Iaijutsu (). Today only a few teachers know the techniques. Some techniques are depicted in old papers in the Kumamoto prefectural library. It is a very simple form of , with 4 while seated (reacting to an enemy in front or behind), 4 while standing (reacting to an enemy in front or behind), and 3 kata with (stepping backwards).
In the Noda-Konishi line, some have been added to and .
Gogyō-no-kata has five and three which look very similar to , which were the Nakanishi-ha's as revised by in 1908.
In 1932, and demonstrated seven and three as Hokushin Ittō-ryū at .Refer to The program of 36th Butoku-sai great demonstration festival No.3 第三十六回武徳祭大演武會演武番組 其三) The number of is two more than in the Gogyō-no-kata.
Battōjutsu is not the Chiba family's Hokushin-ryū iai. The kata names and techniques were introduced by Konishi Shigejirō (refer to Kendo Nippon, Mar. 1978 12–15), but the techniques and the kata names differ from the Edo-Meiji period's densho texts. For example, , and .
Famous swordsmen
Towards the end of the Bakumatsu period (1853-1867), the Hokushin Ittō-ryū was one of the three biggest and most famous ryūha all over Japan. Swordsmen of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū had a strong influence on the development of modern kendō in the late 19th century. Also many famous and politically influential people were masters of this swordsmanship school.
Some of the most prominent figures are:
(Daughter of the 1st Chiba-Dōjō headmaster, also known as Chiba Sanako) (Novelist, scientist, also Yagyū Shingan-ryū shihan) (Military advisor of the Shinsengumi) (Founder of the Kiyokawa-school and Roshigumi) (One of the most famous kendoka of the 20th century) (A key developer of modern kendo) (A key developer of modern kendo) (13th Sōke of the Annaka-han Araki-ryū and founder of the Negishi-ryū (Shurikenjutsu)) (Famous swordsman of the Bakumatsu and Meiji period and 14th Sōke of the Annaka-han Araki-ryū) (Famous revolutionary) (Master of Ono-ha Ittō-ryū, Hokushin Ittō-ryū, founder of (Shogunate retainer and later Meiji government official, pioneering industrialist, banker and philanthropist) (Master of Yagyū Shingan-ryū, Ono-ha Ittō-ryū, Hokushin Ittō-ryū, and founder of (A key developer of modern kendo) (Captain of the 8th squad of the Shinsengumi) (Vice commander of the Shinsengumi) (Founder of the Ittō Shōden Mutō-ryū) (Kenjutsu instructor of the Shinsengumi)
Ranking System The Hokushin Ittō-ryū has three teaching steps:
(entry-transmission) (middle-transmission) (inner-transmission)
Like many other koryū, Hokushin Ittō-ryū traditionally awards makimono-scrolls and/or inka-jō. There is no modern dan/kyū system in this school. The traditional five scrolls of Hokushin Ittō-ryū are:
(full transmission of all techniques) (full transmission of the ryūha)
The so-called also exists and is normally issued together with the Menkyo (Chūmokuroku). It certifies the mastery of all naginatajutsu techniques of the school. Some names of the naginata kata are the same as those in the .
In the , the Sadakichi line () also awarded like Ono-ha Ittō-ryū (see the Sadakichi line's densho collected in Tottori prefectural museum () ). However, the Shusaku line () had only three Mokuroku, which are the , the and the , so written in the "Kenpo Hiketsu" by Chiba Shusaku ().
During the Bakumatsu period, Hokushin Ittō-ryū was very popular due to the decreased number of mokuroku down to only 3, from the 8 of the Ono-ha Ittō-ryū. In all Bujutsu ryūha, students have to pay money or send gifts to the instructor when issued with a mokuroku, therefore Hokushin Ittō-ryū was a more accessible ryūha for poorer farmers and bushi. Also, a number of the students joined the coup of the Edo Bakufu with other students from newer ryūha, such as those from Shinto Munen-ryū.
Lineage
Edo-Genbukan (extinct)
1st 2nd 3rd (he led the Edo-Genbukan until his death in 1862) 4th 5th
Chiba Shūnosuke Koretane restored the Edo-Genbukan in 1883 with the help of Inoue Hachirō and Yamaoka Tesshū. The Edo-Genbukan was closed between the 20th–30th year of the Meiji-period. The exact date is unknown.
Chiba family Seiden (revived, Ryūgasaki 龍ヶ崎)
1st Chiba Shūsaku Narimasa 千葉周作成政 2nd Chiba Eijirō Nariyuki 千葉栄二郎成之 (he led the Genbukan until his death in 1862) 3rd Chiba Michisaburō Mitsutane 千葉道三郎光胤 4th Chiba Einosuke 千葉英之助 (He did not practice Hokushin Ittō-ryū) 5th Chiba Masatane 千葉雅胤 (He did not practice Hokushin Ittō-ryū) 6th Chiba Yoshitane 千葉吉胤 (He did not practice Hokushin Ittō-ryū) 7th Shiina Kazue 椎名市衛 (He claims to have practiced Hokushin Ittō-ryū under Yajima Saburo (谷島三郎), who practiced under the Tobukan 3rd generation headmaster Kozawa Toyokichi (小澤豊吉))
This Hokushin Ittō-ryū line ended with the 3rd generation headmaster, Chiba Michisaburo. However Shiina Kazue managed to find Chiba Michisaburo's progeny, Chiba Yoshitane, who did not practice Hokushin Ittō-ryū. Shiina Kazue became Sōke in 2013.
Chiba-Dōjō (Revived)
1st Chiba Sadakichi Masamichi 千葉定吉政道 2nd Chiba Jūtarō Kazutane 千葉重太郎一胤 3rd Chiba Tō-ichirō Kiyomitsu 千葉統一郎清光 4th Chiba Tsukane 千葉束 5th Chiba Hiroshi Masatane 千葉弘 (He did not practice Hokushin Ittō-ryū) 6th Ōtsuka Yōichirō 大塚洋一郎 (He practiced Hokushin Ittō-ryū under Konishi Shigejirō (小西重治郎)) 7th Ōtsuka Ryūnosuke 大塚龍之介 (He practiced Hokushin Ittō-ryū under Konishi Shigejirō and Ōtsuka Yōichirō)
The Chiba-Dōjō of Chiba Sadakichi Masamichi (younger brother of school's founder) became one of the most famous Dōjō all over Japan after its founding in the late 1840s. The teaching-line of the Edo-Genbukan disappeared soon after the Dōjō was closed at the end of the Meiji period. The Chiba-Dōjō was also closed at the beginning of the Taisho period. The Chiba family, which did not practice the school but owned the family documents has survived until today. The 5th generation head of the family, Chiba Hiroshi, did not practice or train in the school, nor was there anyone actively practicing under him. Therefore, he renounced his family's claims and documents to Ōtsuka Yōichirō Masanori, the 6th Sōke who trained under Konishi Shigejirō of the Noda-ha Hokushin Ittō-ryū. Ōtsuka recreated the Chiba-line in 2013, and was then succeeded by a German citizen named Markus Lösch, who later was legally adopted by Ōtsuka Yōichirō and thus changed his name to Ōtsuka Ryūnosuke when he became Menkyo-Kaiden in 2014. He later was appointed the 7th Sōke in March 2016.
Regional Lines
At the middle of the Meiji-period there were many side branches, founded by pupils of the two main lines. One of the most famous was the Tobukan in Mito. It was established by Kozawa Torakichi, a student of the Edo-Genbukan. Kozawa Torakichi was also an instructor at the , the official clan school of the Mito-clan. After the Meiji-restoration and the abolishment of the traditional clan system the Kodokan was closed, so in order to continue teaching, Kozawa Torakichi opened his own Dōjō, the Tobukan. There he taught Hokushin Ittō-ryū together with and . (Torakichi's second son inherited Suifu-ryū kenjutsu from his own other dōjō.) This Hokushin Ittō-ryū line is also the line of the school which is a member of the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai. Up until today, the Kozawa family is still preserving the teachings of its first headmaster at the Tobukan in Mito.
In the Tobukan there is no Hokushin Ittō-ryū "Sōke". Instead there exists a Hokushin Ittō-ryū "representative" (as described in the Nikon Kobudo kyokai homepage).
The family name "Kozawa" of the 3rd generation, Toyokichi, and the 4th generation, Takeshi are son-in-law taken into family with Ichiro's daughter (as described on the Tobukan homepage).
1st 2nd 3rd , , 4th , 5th , (in Japanese)
Otaru-Genbukan 小樽玄武館 (Noda-ha)
(This dōjō is not to be mistaken for the Edo-Genbukan.)
Kobayashi Seijiro was granted the Inka-jo from Chiba Michisaburo, and opened the Shisei-kan dōjō in Tokyo. He did not have a son, so he adopted Katsuura Shiro, who was later granted a Hokushin Ittō-ryū menkyo. He then went to Otaru, Hokkaido for musha-shugyo. The master of Otaru Nanburo, Noda Wasaburo, approved of his kenjutsu and personality. His daughter Haru married Shiro, and Shiro was taken into family as Noda Shiro. In 1913, the Otaru Genbukan was constructed in Nanburo. Chiba Katsutaro (Michisaburo's second son) gave his permission to use the name Genbukan.
In 1933, 14 year-old Konishi Shigejirō became a disciple of Otaru Genbukan, becoming an assistant instructor in 1937. In 1938, Shigejirō joined the war. In 1944, Noda Shiro died. After the war in 1945, Shigejirō conceded the inheritance of the line to his senior Miura Yoshikatsu, but Shigejirō later inherited it from Yoshikatsu in turn.
In 1950, Shigejirō opened an outdoor dōjō in Zenpukuji temple park in Tokyo, and in the autumn constructed a proper dōjō, giving it the name Genbukan.(in Japanese) Shigejirō died in 2009 at 90 years of age.
1st Noda Shiro 野田四郎 (founder of the Otaru-Genbukan) 2nd Kobayashi Yoshikatsu 小林義勝 3rd Konishi (Ono) Shigejirō 小西(小野)重治郎 (moved the dōjō to Tokyo and renamed it Suginami-Genbukan) 4th Konishi Shin'en Kazuyuki 小西真円一之
The Chiba dōjō's 6th Sōke, Ōtsuka Yōichirō, was a student of Konishi Shigejirō.
A student of Konishi Shigejirō, Tsukada Yoshikazu, teaches in his dōjō called Kotōkan in Nagano.
They are training in gymnasiums and the historical Matsushiro Literary and Military School. This building was built in the Bakumatsu period, the construction is based on the in .
was the Sendai-han's instructor of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū in Edo period.) He started the in Sendai.
In the 20th century, Tsumura Keiji claimed that he had inherited Sakurada Sakuramaro's Hokushin Ittō-ryū line.
The inheritance tree contains several strange points. In any case, he and his students are training . They are now training in .
1st 2nd
References
External links
Official website of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Genbukan Japan Dojo Official website of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Genbukan Hong Kong Dojo Official website of Hokushin Ittō-ryū in Tobukan Official website of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō (Ōtsuka-ha, Tōkyō-Shibu) Official Italian branch's website of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō Lineage of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Chiba-Family (Japanese)