noted for developing the arts of tessen-jutsu and jutte-jutsu. (See Chapter Four for more information on tessen-jutsu and Chapter Five for more information about jutte-jutsu.)
Yoshin-ryū
There are two different accounts of the Yoshin-ryū source. The first states the founder as Miura Yoshin, a physician in Nagasaki. Convinced that physical illness was the result of an imbalance between the use of mind and body, he developed a number of techniques for disarming and restraining an opponent by utilizing his principles for resolving this imbalance. After his death, two of his first followers established their own schools, respectively called Miura-ryū and Yoshin-ryū after the family and given names of the originator.
A second account claims Akiyama Shirobei Yoshitoki, also a physician from Nagasaki, to be the founder. While studying medicine in China, he also learned several te, or “fighting tricks,” as well as many different kappo (resuscitation techniques). Upon his return to Japan, Akiyama began teaching his fighting style, but was dissatisfied with the limited number of techniques. Determined to improve his fighting proficiency and develop a wider range of techniques, he retired to the Temmangu temple at Tsukushi for several months to meditate and seek inspiration.
It was a harsh winter, and Akiyama watched as the snow fell on the temple grounds. He noticed the sturdy branches of the surrounding trees often broke and were crushed under the weight of accumulated snow. However, the weaker willow-tree was able to escape this fate due to the suppleness of its branches. The flexible branches bent and gave way as the weight increased, thus allowing them to throw off the snow and spring back after releasing their burden. Akiyama was so impressed, he based his new fighting techniques on this concept, giving his sect the name Yoshin-ryū, which means “willow-heart school.”
Kushin-ryū
Kushin-ryū was founded by Inouye Nagakatsu. However, his grandson, Inouye Nagayasu (generally known as Gumbei), was so adept in jūjutsu that he is often credited as being the originator. This style closely resembles the Kito-ryū style, especially in the emphasis on throwing skills. It is stated that Inouye Nagayasu trained for some time under Takino, a former student of Kito-ryū.
Tenjin-shinyo-ryū
Tenjin-shinyo-ryū was founded by Iso Matayemon, a retainer of the Kii clan. A native of the Matsuzaka in Ise province, he studied under Hitosuyanagi Oribe, a master of Yoshin-ryū. Following the death of his teacher, he later studied under Homma Joyemon, an adept in Shin-no-Shintō-ryū. Convinced from his actual fighting experiences that victory required the skillful application of atemi, the art of striking the vital and vulnerable points of an opponent’s body, Iso Matayemon emphasized atemi in the founding of his own style. He called his new style Tenjin-shinyo-ryū, deriving the name partially from both Yoshin-ryū and Shin-no-Shinto-ryū.
Shintō Musō-ryū
Although primarily concerned with the arts of the sword and staff, Shintō Musō-ryū has also incorporated many other auxiliary arts since its inception. Shintō Musō-ryū was founded by Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi during the early part of the Edo period. The third successor of the Shintō Musō-ryū, Matsuzaki Kinueumon Tsunekatsu added Ittatsu-ryū hojo-jutsu (rope binding) from Ittatsuryu and jutte-jutsu (truncheon art) from Ikkaku-ryū, to the Shintō Musō-ryū curriculum
In more recent years, the Japanese police modified many of the same Ikkaku-ryū jutte-jutsu techniques from the Shintō Musō-ryū curriculum for their keisatsu keibo-jutsu (police baton art) training. Although the basic techniques are similar, the targets and applications of keisatsu keibo-jutsu techniques have been modified slightly to enable police officers to more effectively control a suspect with minimum injury, rather than to put the individual down at any cost.
Disarming the Populace
Prior to the end of the Sengoku period, most able-bodied subjects were armed with various weapons to some degree. As Japan became unified, though, a heavily armed populace was considered a significant threat to the new government. To discourage uprisings and revolt, Hideyoshi Toyotomi initiated a series of legislative social reforms. These edicts strictly defined social classes and drastically restricted social mobility.
In 1588 Hideyoshi issued the Taiko no katanagari (sword hunt), a decree prohibiting the possession of swords and guns by all but the noble classes. Claiming that the possession of weapons by peasants “makes difficult the collection of taxes and tends to foment uprisings,” the mandate prohibited farmers from possessing long or short swords, bows, spears, muskets, or any other form of weapon. Local daimyō, official agents, and deputies were ordered to collect all such weapons within their jurisdictions and deliver them to be melted down to supply materials for construction of a temple containing a massive Buddha.
The proposal for creating a Buddhist image from destroyed weapons was meant to placate pious warrior monks as well as religiously devout commoners. This edict also met with widespread daimyō approval. Local rulers realized that disarming peasants also effectively restricted their neighbors from quickly raising a militia should any potential territorial disputes arise. Once the weapons were collected, though, Hideyoshi ordered them melted down and used to build a statue in his own likeness.
As a result of the sword hunt edict, only members of the warrior class were permitted to wear the daishō, thus differentiating samurai from the rest of the population. Three years later, Hideyoshi issued another edict clearly segregating the population into four major social castes—warrior, farmer, craftsman, and merchant. It further isolated and restricted interaction between different classes and denied any changes in social status.
Below the samurai or bushi class were the nōmin (farmers). The nōmin were considered second in class only to the samurai because they provided the crops and livestock necessary to feed the population. The creation of mutually exclusive farming and military social castes was calculated to prevent formation of alliances. Although they represented by far the largest segment of the population, the unarmed nōmin were weak and relatively helpless against military forces. And while the samurai were armed and trained in battlefield tactics, their overall numbers were comparatively small, representing less than one-tenth of the total populace at any one time. Yet Hideyoshi recognized the potential threat facing the new administration should nōmin and samurai join forces for revolution. To prevent this, the samurai were forced to move away from their villages and farms and to live within garrison towns.
The next lower classes lived in towns and were called chōnin (townsmen). These craftsmen and artisans formed the third tier of the feudal Japanese caste system. They were held in nominal favor since they produced the tools and utensils needed by the farmers and the weapons and associated decorations required by the bushi.
The fourth tier consisted of merchants, who were looked down upon because they essentially created nothing while basically living off the produce of others. Although they were considered fairly low in the social structure, the merchant class owned most of the actual property by the nineteenth century. Many became bankers, not only financing other merchant ventures, but also lending money to the members of the samurai class. As the richest members of the society, they frequently bought titles or married into samurai families to improve their status.
Members of the samurai class had for many years considered financial issues as beneath their dignity and even disdained the handling of money. This extended to having their servants actually pay for all necessities to avoid contact with coins. Physically touching money was considered unclean, and most samurai would wrap their coins in paper before presenting them for payment to another.
As a result, many samurai were not very adept at dealing with fiscal issues and so now often found themselves in serious financial straits. Ironically, many of their rights and power, including the carrying of weapons, were often circumscribed by the bankers and money lenders from the merchant class.
