A Short History of Daito-ryu

According to oral traditions, Daito-ryu history stretches back 1000 years to one Shinra Saburo no Minamoto Yoshimitsu.

Legend has it that Minamoto Yoshimitsu systemized and refined the grappling arts of the Genji clan. He called his art Yamato-ryu. This was an amalgamation of kogusoku (armoured grappling), jujutsu and aiki-jujutsu. Through his study of dissected corpses, Minamoto Yoshimitsu was better able to understand the biomechanics of joint locking and nerve striking techniques.

These techniques were passed on down through the centuries by the descendents of Minamoto Yoshimitsu, who later took the family name of Takeda and settled in the province of Kai (modern day Yamanashi Prefecture).

After the death of the famous warlord, Takeda Shingen, the Takeda family joined the Aizu clan, where their jujutsu style along with Ono-ha Itto-ryu kenjutsu became incorporated into the official martial arts curriculum of the Aizu samurai.

Due to the lack of known extant records on the style before the 20^th century, there are some people who believe that Daito-ryu is not a Koryu style, but rather it is the invention of one man, Takeda Sokaku.

Whether he is regarded as the founder or restorer of the art, it cannot be disputed that Daito-ryu gained widespread fame in Japan's Meiji and Taisho periods due the efforts of Takeda Sokaku.

Takeda Sokaku

Takeda Sokaku (1859- 1943) was born the second son to a country samurai in what is now present-day Fukushima Prefecture. Takeda Sokaku received much of his early training from his Father, Takeda Sokichi in Daito-ryu jujutsu, sumo and bojutsu (the art of the staff). He was also instructed in Ono-ha Itto-ryu kenjutsu by Shibuya Tomo, a master swordsman of the Aizu clan. In this art he received the Menkyo kaiden (full transmission licence).

Takeda Sokaku later became a live in student of the renowned swordsman Sakakibara Kenkichi, a master of the Jikishinkage style. Training at the Sakakibara dojo was gruelling, and during that time Takeda had the chance to cross swords with many skilled swordsmen. As a result Takeda Sokaku was able to develop his sword techniques to a fearsome level.

As well as being a master of jujutsu and the sword, Takeda Sokaku mastered many other weapons including the staff, bow, short staff, and also the shuriken. He later received a licence in the Takada-ha Hozoin style of the spear.

Takeda Sokaku spent many years travelling the land polishing his sword skills in duels, and as a result he earned a reputation as a peerless swordsman. Because of this he was nicknamed "the Tengu of Aizu". (A Tengu is a mythological long nosed demon with unparalleled martial skills.)

Takeda Sokaku led an adventurous life, and there are many famous (or infamous) stories told about him. One incident happened in Fukushima Prefecture around 1882. Takeda Sokaku was reportedly goaded into a street brawl after a group of construction workers insulted his sword and old style of dress. Takeda lashed into the workers with his famous Kotetsu sword killing several of them, and wounding numerous others. He barely survived and was detained by police for about a month before being acquitted.

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 Saigo Tanomo, the former chief councillor and governor-general of the Aizu domain become a Shinto priest. He then took the ecclesiastical name Hoshina Chikanori. Chikanori was well respected within the Aizu clan, and his word still carried a large degree of clout. Due to this, Chikanori is said to have influenced Takeda's direction within the martial arts.

To commemorate this change, he wrote a poem in Takeda Sokaku's enrolment ledgers dated May 12^th 1898. The poem reads:

"People do they know?

Though one may strike the flow of the river,

In the water no visible mark shall remain....."

One possible interpretation is that the river is a metaphor for time. No matter how skilled a swordsman may be, the chance to make one's mark on history (with the sword) had passed, and any effort to do so would amount to little.

The beginning of the Meiji period was a turbulent time and many cultural and political changes were taking place. One such change was the abolishment of the samurai class and the outlawing of wearing swords. Undoubtedly such changes, along with the advice given by Hoshina Chikanori directed the development of Daito-ryu.

From this time on Takeda Sokaku began in earnest to teach and emphasize the jujutsu techniques of his ancestors. He spent the rest of his life traveling the length and breadth of Japan giving seminars in Daito-ryu to high ranking military, police, and government officials. The Tengu of Aizu passed away on the 25th April 1943 at age eighty-four, in Aomori prefecture.                                                                                                          

Over the course of 50 years, Takeda Sokaku is said to have taught some 30,000 students, all of which have been meticulously recorded in the eimeiroku (enrolment ledgers) and the shareikoku (payment ledgers).