Shindō Munen-ryū


Shindō Munen-ryū or Shintō Munen-ryū is a Japanese koryū martial art school founded by Fukui Hyōemon Yoshihira in the early 18th century. The style rapidly gained popularity throughout Japan due to the efforts of Togasaki Kumataro, Okada Junmatsu, Saito Yakuro, and his sons Shintaro and Kannosuke.

History

The Feudal Era of Japan

Fukui Hyōemon was born in Shimano no Kuni and learned Shin Shinkage Ichiden Ryu under Nonaka Gonnai received Menkyo Kaiden at a relatively young age.
Hyōemon, unsatisfied, traveled Japan taking part in shinken shobu and honing his skills. He became so reputed that he was listed on Imperial and Tokugawa Bakufu records as one of the best swordsmen of his time. Hyoemon continued to travel through Japan until he encountered a small shrine in the Inazuma Mountains. There he found the Izuna-Gongen Shrine where he meditated and trained in isolation for 50 days. On the 50th night he achieved enlightenment. The resulting enlightenment was organized into a rather large syllabus of techniques later codified as "Shindō Munen-ryū".
Hyōemon thereafter traveled to Edo where he opened a dojo in Yotsuya. There he trained a small number of dedicated students until his retirement. Hyōemon then passed the ryu onto his successor Togasaki Kumataro. His grave can be found in present-day Saitama not too far from his protoge's.
The fourth successor of Shindō Munen-ryū, Saitō Yakuro Yoshimichi, established the dojo called Renpeikan in Edo.
Shindō Munen-ryū reached the pinnacle of its popularity towards the end of the Edo period. In this politically unstable time, Shindō Munen-ryū swordsmen participated in both the political and physical battles that came to define the Bakumatsu. It was not uncommon for Shindō Munen-ryū swordsmen of different or even the same dojo to engage each other in combat. Politically active members like Katsura Kogoro and Ito Hirobumi later took active leadership roles in the Meiji Government.
Today the Kanto ha Shindō Munen-ryū is one of the remaining branch of Shindō Munen-ryū. Negishi Shingorō was the last headmaster who teaches Shindō Munen-ryū in the edo period. Shingorō received the licence Menkyo Kaiden in Edo Den from Saitō Shintaro. Shingoro, however felt the loss of idealism and passion that surrounded him during the closing days of the Tokugawa Bakufu. He acknowledged this fact by closing the Renpeikan's doors and opening the Yushinkan Dojo and founding the Kanto Ha.
Prior to the fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu there were many Shindō Munen-ryū branches all over Japan. These branches operated independently of one another and prospered.

The Modern Era of Japan (1868–)

The dawn of the Meiji in 1868, however brought many new hardships with it and most of the branches Shindō Munen-ryū were forced to close their doors due to lack of patronage and the Meiji Sword Ban. Most surviving branches opened their doors again after the Meiji Sword Ban was lifted. Most, however lost the majority of their kata as a result. In present-day branches like Choshu Han Den, Hachinohe Han Den, and Saitō Ha only practice a small portion of the Iaijutsu curriculum. Most of these Iaijutsu kata were reconstructed from written descriptions, and so may not be true to the original forms.
The style itself survived the Meiji period completely intact however, largely due to the efforts of Negishi Shingorō who taught swordsmanship to the Tokyo Police Force. Shingorō's successor Nakayama Hakudō continued to preserve Shindō Munen-ryū throughout the Taisho and Showa Periods by producing some of the notable swordsmen in modern history. Examples are Nakayama Zendo, Hashimoto Toyo, Kiyoshi Nakakura, Haga Junichi, and Nakashima Gorozo.
The Nihon Kobudō Kyokai and Shinkyokai have recognized Kanto ha of Shindō Munen-ryū as the branch that preserves most of Shindō Munen-ryū. The current headmaster of this branch is Ogawa Takeshi.

Shindō Munen-ryū as taught by Iaido Sanshinkai

The Sanshinkai organization teaches a style of Iaijustu also called Shindō Munen-ryū. The style was propagated by Mitsuzuka Takeshi, a student of Nakayama Hakudo's school, from a makimono that described a set of tachiwaza kata for intermediate students to the Sanshinkai curriculum. It is often taught alongside Musō Shinden-ryū, but outside of Musō Shinden-ryū's core curriculum. The styles of Shindō Munen-ryū practice in the Sanshinkai and that of Japan's extent groups are not directly related, though the noto is similar.

Edo Den/Kanto Ha lineage chart

Following lineage chart is recognized by Nihon Kobudo Kyokai and Shinkyokai.
1. Fukui Hyōemon Yoshihira : Ryuso.
2. Togasaki Kumataro Teruyoshi: Edo Den.
3. Okada Junmatsu Yoshitoshi : Edo Den; Okada established Gekikenkan Dojo.
4. Saitō Yakuro Yoshimichi: Edo Den; Established the Renpeikan Dojo in Edo.
5. Saitō Shintaro: Edo Den.
6. Negishi Shingorō : Edo Den; Open the Yushinkan Dojo.
7. Nakayama Hakudō : Kanto Ha.
8. Nakayama Zendo/Yoshimichi : Kanto Ha.
9. Saeki Soichiro: Kanto Ha; Saeki trained over 10 years with Nakayama Hakudō, only to receive the Menkyo no Maki and Menkyo-Jo from Nakayama Zendo prior to his death.
10. Ogawa Takeshi: Kanto Ha.

Branches from the Feudal Era of Japan

Examples of branches that were affected: