Yoshioka-ryu
Encyclopedia
is a koryū
Japan
ese sword-fighting martial art and is part of the Kyohachi-ryū. The Yoshioka-ryū became famous during the latter half of the 16th century when Yoshioka Kenpo (founder of Yoshioka-ryū) was assigned to be the sword instructor of the Ashikaga shogun
s in Kyoto
.
The Yoshioka-ryū was founded in the first half of the Tenmon
period (1532–1554) by Yoshioka Kenpo (Kenbo). Yoshioka Kenpo was originally a dyeworker and his family was famous for a special method to produce a unitary dark blue tone which could be produced in the same nuance every time. The tone was named after Yoshioka Kenpo and was called Kenpo-zome. Kenpo mastered his swordsmanship and developed his own fighting style which Kenpo led back to Kiichi Hogen's style and teachings. Yoshioka Kenpo was renowned for his skills with the sword and became the official instructor of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu
(reigned from 1521–1545) in Kyoto.
But it is said that Yoshioka Kenpo had no honorable death. It is said that Kenpo was hurt incidentally with a stick by a Noh
actor during a performance at the Shogun's castle. Kenpo left the scenery humiliated.
The shame for not being able to defend himself from the incidental attack of the actor was too great for the sword master and instructor of the shogun. Soon after, Kenpo came back and killed the actor in public with a sword which he had smuggled into the castle under his clothes.
Since the usage of weapons of any kind was strictly forbidden at the court on pain of death, Kenpo was declared a criminal and pursued. Before Yoshioka Kenpo was killed, he killed many of his pursuers.
However, Yoshioka Kenpo had built the foundation for one of the most famous Kenjutsu ryū (sword fighting styles) of Kyoto, led by his children and grandchildren. However, the Yoshioka-ryū did not last longer than four generations.
When the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru
(reigning from 1546–1565) once started a comparison fight between the Yoshioka and Shinmen Munisai
(father of Miyamoto Musashi
), Shinmen Munisai won 2:1. This battle caused a crucial feud between both families. Just one generation later, Miyamoto Musashi's wins against Yoshioka Seijūrō and Yoshioka Denshichirō, and his assassination of Yoshioka Matashichiro ended the feud and led to the decline of the Yoshioka in 1604 (according to Nitenki, a student of Miyamoto Musashi
).
manga Vagabond
has a variation on the feud between Musashi and the Yoshioka. While the Yoshioka apparently never connected Musashi to Munisai (thus the family feud being a non-issue), Musashi had sought them out as a way to leapfrog his way to fame, slaying a few disciples at the dōjō before Seijūrō arrived and exposed him as lacking. Nevertheless he continued to challenge and dueled Denshichirō, but their first encounter ended prematurely on account of the Yoshioka dōjō being inadvertently set aflame, so Denshichirō told Musashi to grow stronger and then face him a year later.
Nearly a year later, when Musashi accepted a more formal challenge from Denshichirō, Seijūrō attempted to kill Musashi at Rendaiji field on New Year's Day without informing anyone possibly due to believing that Denshichirō could not defeat Musashi. However, Musashi defended himself and slew Seijūrō on New Year's Day. Denshichirō would be mentally traumatized at the sight of his older brother's body and soon started to lose practice bouts to his nominal students, leading the disciple Ueda Ryōhei to plot to have Sasaki Kojirō
act as a substitute, only for Ryōhei to be expelled by Denshichirō for this. At the duel, Musashi was delayed by Ryōhei threatening him with revenge should he win but had so advanced as a swordsman as to defeat Denshichirō fairly and with relative ease, killing the second brother at Rengeoin temple. Ryōhei's expulsion only lasted until Denshichirō's death, after which he returned and became head of the school/family. (There is no third biological brother in Vagabond, where Ueda Ryōhei had been adopted by one of Kenpo's disciples, and even before Denshichirō's death he had the support of at least a sizable number of the Yoshioka swordsmen.)
Ryōhei's next plot to have all seventy of the Yoshioka swordsmen ambush Musashi at Ichijouji field proved to be the school's undoing: Musashi overheard the plot only for Ryōhei to formally challenge him without changing the plan or at least preparing the Yoshioka swordsmen for what was essentially a murder plot that had been given away. As a result, Musashi ended the Yoshioka school by literally destroying the school's membership in that final encounter.
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"...
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...
ese sword-fighting martial art and is part of the Kyohachi-ryū. The Yoshioka-ryū became famous during the latter half of the 16th century when Yoshioka Kenpo (founder of Yoshioka-ryū) was assigned to be the sword instructor of the Ashikaga shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
s in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
.
The Yoshioka-ryū was founded in the first half of the Tenmon
Tenmon
is the ninja art of understanding and using meteorology as a strategic weapon. It allowed ninja to foresee weather changes and to use them as an advantage. By knowing nature's changes, animal behaviour, or atmospheric signs, one could use rainy weather or a hot sunny period as strategic elements to...
period (1532–1554) by Yoshioka Kenpo (Kenbo). Yoshioka Kenpo was originally a dyeworker and his family was famous for a special method to produce a unitary dark blue tone which could be produced in the same nuance every time. The tone was named after Yoshioka Kenpo and was called Kenpo-zome. Kenpo mastered his swordsmanship and developed his own fighting style which Kenpo led back to Kiichi Hogen's style and teachings. Yoshioka Kenpo was renowned for his skills with the sword and became the official instructor of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu
Ashikaga Yoshiharu
was the 12th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who held the reins of supreme power from 1521 through 1546 during the late Muromachi period of Japan...
(reigned from 1521–1545) in Kyoto.
But it is said that Yoshioka Kenpo had no honorable death. It is said that Kenpo was hurt incidentally with a stick by a Noh
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
actor during a performance at the Shogun's castle. Kenpo left the scenery humiliated.
The shame for not being able to defend himself from the incidental attack of the actor was too great for the sword master and instructor of the shogun. Soon after, Kenpo came back and killed the actor in public with a sword which he had smuggled into the castle under his clothes.
Since the usage of weapons of any kind was strictly forbidden at the court on pain of death, Kenpo was declared a criminal and pursued. Before Yoshioka Kenpo was killed, he killed many of his pursuers.
However, Yoshioka Kenpo had built the foundation for one of the most famous Kenjutsu ryū (sword fighting styles) of Kyoto, led by his children and grandchildren. However, the Yoshioka-ryū did not last longer than four generations.
When the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru
Ashikaga Yoshiteru
, also known as Yoshifushi or Yoshifuji, was the 13th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1546 to 1565 during the late Muromachi period of Japan. He was the eldest son of the 12th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu; and his mother was a daughter of Konoe Taneie...
(reigning from 1546–1565) once started a comparison fight between the Yoshioka and Shinmen Munisai
Shinmen Munisai
, also called Hirata Munisai, was a martial artist, expert in using the sword and the jutte. He was also the father of the samurai named Miyamoto Musashi. He was the son of Hirata Shōgen 平田将監, a vassal of Shinmen Iga no Kami, the lord of Takayama Castle in the Yoshino district of Mimasaka Province...
(father of Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
), Shinmen Munisai won 2:1. This battle caused a crucial feud between both families. Just one generation later, Miyamoto Musashi's wins against Yoshioka Seijūrō and Yoshioka Denshichirō, and his assassination of Yoshioka Matashichiro ended the feud and led to the decline of the Yoshioka in 1604 (according to Nitenki, a student of Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
).
In popular culture
The Takehiko InoueTakehiko Inoue
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for the basketball manga Slam Dunk, which has become a success both in Japan and overseas. Many of his works are about basketball, Inoue himself being a huge fan of the sport, and many Japanese children started to play basketball because they read the manga...
manga Vagabond
Vagabond (manga)
is an ongoing manga by Takehiko Inoue, portraying a fictionalized account of Miyamoto Musashi's life, on a loose adaptation of Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi....
has a variation on the feud between Musashi and the Yoshioka. While the Yoshioka apparently never connected Musashi to Munisai (thus the family feud being a non-issue), Musashi had sought them out as a way to leapfrog his way to fame, slaying a few disciples at the dōjō before Seijūrō arrived and exposed him as lacking. Nevertheless he continued to challenge and dueled Denshichirō, but their first encounter ended prematurely on account of the Yoshioka dōjō being inadvertently set aflame, so Denshichirō told Musashi to grow stronger and then face him a year later.
Nearly a year later, when Musashi accepted a more formal challenge from Denshichirō, Seijūrō attempted to kill Musashi at Rendaiji field on New Year's Day without informing anyone possibly due to believing that Denshichirō could not defeat Musashi. However, Musashi defended himself and slew Seijūrō on New Year's Day. Denshichirō would be mentally traumatized at the sight of his older brother's body and soon started to lose practice bouts to his nominal students, leading the disciple Ueda Ryōhei to plot to have Sasaki Kojirō
Sasaki Kojiro
was a prominent Japanese swordsman widely considered as a Kensei, born in Fukui Prefecture. He lived during the Sengoku and early Edo periods and is most remembered for his death while battling Miyamoto Musashi in 1612.-History:...
act as a substitute, only for Ryōhei to be expelled by Denshichirō for this. At the duel, Musashi was delayed by Ryōhei threatening him with revenge should he win but had so advanced as a swordsman as to defeat Denshichirō fairly and with relative ease, killing the second brother at Rengeoin temple. Ryōhei's expulsion only lasted until Denshichirō's death, after which he returned and became head of the school/family. (There is no third biological brother in Vagabond, where Ueda Ryōhei had been adopted by one of Kenpo's disciples, and even before Denshichirō's death he had the support of at least a sizable number of the Yoshioka swordsmen.)
Ryōhei's next plot to have all seventy of the Yoshioka swordsmen ambush Musashi at Ichijouji field proved to be the school's undoing: Musashi overheard the plot only for Ryōhei to formally challenge him without changing the plan or at least preparing the Yoshioka swordsmen for what was essentially a murder plot that had been given away. As a result, Musashi ended the Yoshioka school by literally destroying the school's membership in that final encounter.