Koryū Koryu is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. This word literally translates as "old school" or "traditional school"...  Japanese martial art
Shinkage-ryū (新陰流)
Founder(s)
Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna Kamiizumi Nobutsuna Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Fujiwara-no-Nobutsuna was a samurai in Japan’s Sengoku Period famous for creating the Shinkage-ryū school of combat.-Early life:... (上泉 伊勢守 信綱)	1508–1578
Founding Date
Late Muromachi period Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...	c.1540s
Arts taught
Japanese name	Description
Kenjutsu Kenjutsu , meaning "the method, or technique, of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means the way of the sword. Kenjutsu is the umbrella term for all traditional schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration...	Sword art

meaning "new shadow school", is a traditional school (koryū

Koryu

is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. This word literally translates as "old school" or "traditional school"...

) of Japanese martial arts

Japanese martial arts

Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. At least three Japanese terms are often used interchangeably with the English phrase "Japanese martial arts": , literally meaning "martial way", , which has no perfect translation but means something like science,...

, founded by Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna (上泉 伊勢守 信綱, 1508–1578) in the mid-sixteenth century. Shinkage-ryū is primarily a school of swordsmanship (kenjutsu

Kenjutsu

, meaning "the method, or technique, of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means the way of the sword. Kenjutsu is the umbrella term for all traditional schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration...

and iaijutsu

Iaijutsu

, the art of drawing the Japanese sword. One of Japanese martial disciplines in education of the classical warrior .-Etymology:"Iaijutsu" was known before the Tokugawa period but it is unclear exactly when the term "iaijutsu" first came into use, or when exactly drawing the katana from its...

), and is a synthesis of Nobutsuna's studies in the schools of Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū

Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu

is one of the oldest extant Japanese martial arts, and an exemplar of koryū bujutsu. The Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū was founded by Iizasa Ienao, born 1387 in Iizasa village , who was living near Katori Shrine at the time...

, Nen-ryū

Nen-ryu

is a traditional school of Japanese martial arts founded in 1368 CE by the samurai Sōma Shiro Yoshimoto in modern day Nagano Prefecture, where Yoshimoto is said to have taught only fourteen students until his death.-Teachings:...

, and Kage-ryū (Aizu)

Kage-ryu (Aizu)

is a traditional school of swordsmanship founded by Aizu Hyūga-no-Kami Iko in c.1490. This school is also sometimes called Aizu Kage-ryū after the name of its founder...

.

History

Until the 16th century in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, martial techniques were concerned with effectiveness in real battle. At the time of the founder of Shinkage-ryū, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, the superiority of a school was determined through duels. Basic postures were very distinct; very low, in protection of the body. The idea of winning at any price was deeply ingrained in the teachings of the schools that existed at this time. Primary philosophical and strategic concepts included the and the .

However, with the arrival of firearms and other elements of modern warfare, these traditionally invincible techniques were no longer sufficient. As a result of the use of this new technology, Kamiizumi was spurred to make a number of changes. He changed the basic postures a bit by raising them slightly, he changed the manner of holding the sword, and he shortened the length of the blade of the sword. Perhaps most importantly, he also invented a new method of teaching to make the study and practice of the sword easier. Until Kamiizumi, swordsmen practiced their art with either a very hard wooden sword (bokken

Bokken

A bokken , "wood", and ken, "sword") , is a Japanese wooden sword used for training. It is usually the size and shape of a katana, but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tantō...

) or one with a dulled steel blade. Because of this, swordsmen had to stop their blows during training if they did not want to hurt themselves or their students or partners. Kamiizumi created a practice sword made of a length of bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

, split two to 16 times on one end, and covered in a lacquered

Lacquer

In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...

 leather

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

 sleeve. He called this invention a hikihada shinai.

Kamiizumi, sensing the changes in the ways of war at the time, re-thought his methods of martial arts and began to advocate the utilization of light armour during training. The face of war was being transformed, and as it was necessary to move faster than before, Nobutsuna perfected a style of sword "freer" in its movements, more sparse, more restrained, more adapted to brawls and to duels than the fields of large scale battles.

Yagyū Shinkage-ryū

Kamiizumi did not have children and left all his property and his school to his student Yagyū Sekishusai Muneyoshi (柳生 石舟斎 宗厳 1507–1606). Muneyoshi thus became the second headmaster of Shinkage-ryū in 1566, and subsequently founded his own school, the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu

is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship . Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who added his own name to the school. Today, the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū remains...

. He was renowned as a remarkable swordsman, and was the fencing instructor of the 15th and last Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki

Ashikaga Yoshiaki

was the 15th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573. His father, Ashikaga Yoshiharu was the twelfth shogun, and his brother, Ashikaga Yoshiteru was the thirteenth shogun....

 (足利 義昭, 1537–1597). After Muneyoshi gave a demonstration to the 2nd Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada

Tokugawa Hidetada

was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...

(徳川 秀忠, 1579–1632), of the empty-handed "sword-taking" (mutō-dori) techniques he had developed, the Yagyū family became the official fencing instructors to the Tokugawa shogunate.