{"id":13508,"date":"2024-02-20T17:17:18","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T16:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/?page_id=13508"},"modified":"2026-02-15T16:05:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T15:05:05","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/historia\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tenshin Sh\u014dden Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b (Katori for short) is the oldest Japanese fencing school, including: the art of katana sword fighting (kenjutsu<\/a>), staff (b\u014djutsu<\/a>), glaive (naginatajutsu), spear (s\u014djutsu) (see: school program<\/a>).<\/p>

Founded in the 15th century, it has survived to this day through direct transmission, making it one of the best-preserved medieval combat systems in the world. Unlike modern martial arts such as iaid\u014d, aikid\u014d or kend\u014d (so-called gendai b\u016bd\u014d), it was created for practical use on the battlefield and is classified as so-called martial arts. old samurai schools (k\u014dry\u016b bujutsu) with a long tradition.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tenshin Sh\u014dden Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b calligraphy by master Goro Hatakeyama<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It reached Europe thanks to master Yoshio Sugino (1904\u20131998), who contributed to the popularization of the school in Japan (including choreographing fights for Akira Kurosawa's films and training actors such as Toshiro Mifune; he also introduced Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b to schools and universities) and around the world. After his death, his assistant and close student Goro Hatakeyama (1928-2009) and his heir son Sugino Yukihiro continued teaching in Europe.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Founder of the school<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Iizasa "Ch\u014disai" Ienao (1387-1488) was born in the village of Iizasa in Shimosa Province. He was an outstanding spearman and swordsman in the service of the Chiba family. After the fall of the clan, he wandered around the country for a long time, finally settling near the Katori temple, which was a popular martial arts center at that time. He was ordained a monk, receiving the name Choisai, and began long-term training, which resulted in the founding of the Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b school.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Illustration of Iizas "Ch\u014disai" Ienao<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There are numerous (often contradictory) stories about his life. It is known that in his youth he was one of the teachers of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436\u20131490). For some time he also held the office of governor of Yamashito Province. According to some records, he was also an expert of Mus\u014d Jikiden Ry\u016b Yawaragi, being the school's seventh chief instructor ("yawara or yawaragi" is an older term for jujutsu).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The grave of the school's founder - Iizas "Ch\u014disai" Ienao<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The legend of the school's founding<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Legend has it that at the age of 60, Ch\u014disai began intense, solitary, 1,000-day training at the Katori temple, where he practiced fighting techniques day and night, until one day, when he collapsed from exhaustion and dozed off, a kami appeared to him in his dream ( deity) of the temple and gave him the mokuroku heiho no shinsho scroll, containing descriptions of all techniques and kata.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Katori Temple - Katori Jing\u016b<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The name of the school Tenshin Sh\u014dden Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b comes from this wonderful dream, which loosely translates as "The way of the deity of the Katori temple in accordance with divine truth." This legend is typical of the time, when many swordsmen attributed their extraordinary skills to contacts with kami.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The square in front of the Katori temple<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The fate of the school<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Originally, Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b techniques were passed down through the Iizasa family. The current head of the school is the 21st principal Kota Iizasa, who took over from his predecessor, the 20th principal Yasusada Iizasa (Iizasa Shuri-no-suke Yasusada). Yasusada Iizasa had stopped actively practicing martial arts for health reasons and had previously entrusted teaching to master Risuke \u014ctake. The latter, in turn, after his retirement, declared his eldest son Nobutoshi \u014ctake his successor, while he gave his younger son Ky\u014ds\u014d Shigetoshi the title of shihan-dai. In 2017, Ky\u014ds\u014d Shigetoshi was given the full-fledged title of shihan (guiding teacher) and became an official representative of the school. His older brother Nobutoshi \u014ctake was expelled from the school on December 9, 2018.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Famous swordsmen and the influence of Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b on other schools<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Many martial arts schools of the time were based on Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b. Several famous swordsmen (including Tsukahara Bokuden and Matsumoto Bizen no kami Masanobu) who learned directly from Ch\u014disai or his successors founded their own schools, using variations of its name, e.g.: Shint\u014d written in different characters - Kashima Shint\u014d-ry\u016b (Bokuden-ry\u016b ), Kashima-ry\u016b, Kashima shin-ry\u016b (founded by Matsumoto), Arima-ry\u016b, Ichiu-ry\u016b, Shigen-ry\u016b.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Characteristics of style<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b techniques are intended to be used on the battlefield to fight fully armed. Wide and stable positions were to enable confident movement on uneven terrain and ensure adequate cutting power. Unlike a sports fight, the target of each attack are places not protected by armor (gaps in the armor, so-called female dogs). The school places the greatest emphasis on learning sword techniques (katana), but the training was to prepare the samurai (Japanese: bushi) to fight with other weapons, and in the absence of them, to hand-to-hand combat (see:\u00a0school program<\/a>).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Weapons used in Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b is known for its extremely original and effective method of training. It is based on learning techniques arranged in training patterns (kata) for two people, with cuts being made to the training weapon instead of the body (which are mistakenly perceived as hard locks), so as to enable safe but uninterrupted training at full speed and force. Thanks to this approach, dozens of techniques and practical solutions could be woven into each kata, which over time become intuitive and reflexive to the practitioners.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Modern masters<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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