About Iaido
Contents:
- Iaido Overview
- History of Iaido
- Other Schools Of The Hayashizaki Line
Iaido Overview:
Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu Iaido is the traditional Japanese art of sword-drawing. Our School, or “ryu,” is comprised of seven sets of prearranged techniques called “waza” or “kata” depending on whether they are performed alone or with a partner.” Waza sets are arranged to form shoden (“initial-level”), Chuden (“Middle-level”), and okuden (“secret-level”). Each waza has five distinct elements: Drawing the sword (nukitsuke), raising the sword overhead in a defensive manner (furikaburi), the downward cut (kiri oroshi), blood removal (chiburi), and replacing the sword in its scabbard (noto). Each waza has a scenario, or practical application, that explains, informs, and clarifies the movements. Historically, these varied drawing and cutting applications would have prepared the Samurai for nearly any situation that might arise.
Said to have been developed over four hundred and fifty years ago, certain forms of Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu have changed little. For some people, it is the martial art that is most near and dear to the Japanese themselves. As such, the Yama Oroshi Dojo’s curriculum and instructional objectives reach far beyond the waza of Eishin- Ryu. Only by studying Japanese history and culture can one begin to understand the finer aspects of iaido.
Although practicing iaido requires no particular religious affiliation, studying Iaido is a deeply personal and spiritual journey. Practitioners come to attain deeper insight into their true nature. Constantly humbling in its dauntless precision, iaido students must confront their own demons in order to let go of their delusions. This is reflected by the translation of the three characters, or ideograms that comprise iaido:
- I, pronounced “ee,” means to exist, and has elements of the concept of being seated.
- Ai, pronounced “I” means to achieve a state of harmony through unification, or blending with energy.
- Do, pronounced “dough” means The Path or The Way.
Assembled, the ideograms in iaido translate as “the Way to harmonize with one’s existence.” Not what a newcomer might expect as the translation for the name of a sword art that seems outwardly aggressive despite its gracefulness.
Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu is a school steeped in traditionalist values and spirituality. The translation of the of the name of the school indicates its gravity:
- Muso, pronounced “moo-soh” means divinely inspired;
- Jikiden, Pronounced “jee-key-den” means directly transmitted;
- Eishin-Ryu, pronounced “ay-shin-ree-oo” means School of Hasegawa Eishin (the seventh headmaster of the system).
Envision yourself back hundreds of years ago, in medieval Japan, watching a duel in a grassy meadow. Imagine the surprise that a classically trained swordsman, or kenjutsuka, would have had when he showed up for a duel with his sword drawn and garments tied back for battle only to find his opponent, the iaido master, standing quietly in meditation. Without posturing, shouting, or even drawing the sword, the iaido practitioner waits calmly. He is completely detached from life and death, and understands that he and his opponent are not two separate beings but one. And so the iaido practitioner continues to stand calmly, sword in scabbard, hands relaxed but at the ready.
Although it may seem that the iaidoka is at a disadvantage, he actually has a strategic, advantage. He also has a moral advantage, in that he has not drawn his sword. Hopefully, the kenjutsuka would see that he had already been bested and admit defeat without bloodshed. If he instead decided to pursue the fight, trained to overcome an opponent with ferocity and unyielding spirit, the kenjutsuka would invariably commit to a full attack. At the moment of attack, an opening would be created. At this moment, the iaidoka would draw and with perfect efficiency, cut and kill the attacker in one motion. Standing still, in a moment of extended awareness, the iaido master would then remove the blood from his sword using a whipping motion and return the sword to its scabbard with dignity.
Due to the rarity of medieval iaido, such scenes may have taken place infrequently. Nevertheless, such is the ideal to which historical and modern iaidoka aspire. The strategic brilliance and graceful simplicity is, to this day, an amazing spectacle to witness.
Training in iaido will increase your physical fitness, improve your balance and core strength. Most importantly it will stir your soul. Because our art is practiced as a form of moving meditation, iaidoka, or “iaido practitioners” in our dojo are often asked to contemplate the metaphor of the sword and its motions. This cultivates a deep and profound understanding of compassion. [I don’t understand the last sentence and its relationship to those before it.] The dojo offers four iaido classes per week and Roach Sensei travels to give lessons and seminars. Our Dojo Community is pleased to invite you to watch some classes and decide whether you want to commit yourself to study.
The Yama Oroshi Dojo is affiliated with the Kokusai Budoin and the Shudokan Martial Arts Association. The Kokusai Budoin has affiliations with the Japanese Imperial Family as well as the genetic successor of the famous Tokugawa Shogunate Family that ruled Japan for nearly three hundred years. Our association with these legitimate, globally recognized, very conservative budo organizations helps to insure the highest level of instruction at the Yama Oroshi Dojo.
Iaido History:
Jinsuke Shigenobu (1546-1641) is the man generally credited with creating what is now called iaido. He had grown up in an age of constant warfare and had almost certainly been exposed to various battle-tested styles of swordsmanship. Seeking divine inspiration, he traveled to Yamagata prefecture and engaged in austerities and prayer at the Hayashizaki Shrine. He received the divine enlightenment that he sought in the form of a system of drawing the sword and cutting in one motion. His experience was so profoundly powerful that he renamed himself Hayashizaki after the Deity of the shrine. He then founded the shimmei Muso-Ryu (“divinely inspired, unparalleled Style”). In his honor, his students renamed the style Shimmei Muso Hayashizaki-Ryu, adding his name to the style.
It is true that other schools such as tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-Ryu had been previously practicing some techniques that utilize a quick-draw, but Jinsuke Hayashizaki Shigenobu is generally credited with creating what has become modern iaido. This may be because his entire system was based on the quick-draw, rather than incorporating it sparingly, as other earlier sword arts did. Most historians agree that Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu claims the most direct lineage, which traces its roots directly, in an unbroken chain of headmasters, back to Jinsuke Hayashizaki Shigenobu’s system.
Later, the seventh headmaster of the system, named Hasegawa Eishin structured the techniques into Shoden, Chuden, and Okuden. He also added sets of techniques that employ a raised knee posture called tatehiza. These changes, coupled with his outstanding skill, inspired a change of the schools name from Shimmei Muso Hayashizaki-Ryu to Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu. The famed Student of Eishin, Oe Masamichi, made the name change in his honor. Also, adding Jikiden to the name indicates that the style is to be handed down directly from teacher to student. This is one of the reasons that the performance of advanced, or secret techniques is forbidden outside of the dojo. The other reason for not showing techniques outside the dojo traces its roots to a need that arose in medieval Japan to keep the teachings of a particular school guarded so as to insure its strategic advantage.
The Tanimura-Ha are made famous by the legendary iai goshi, or warrior farmers of the Tosa Clan. It is a long and proud tradition, which has left its mark on the sociological evolution of Japan. Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu was preserved by the iaigoshi and did not officially leave the prefecture until the turn of the nineteenth Century. Some iaido teachers believe that the concealment and preservation by the Tosa clan has led to our style being an accurate representation of historical iaido techniques. However, within our style, a faction did split and formed the Shimomura ha, which would later form the foundation for another popular iaido school, Muso Shinden-Ryu.
By the late seventeen hundreds, the style was branching into two main factions: the Shimomura-ha, which took the style out of Tosa to Tokyo and surrounding regions; and the Tanimura-ha, the style that remained in Tosa until almost 1900. Yama Oroshi Dojo’s Style, the Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu, represents the Tanimura-ha, or Tanimura branch of modern iaido.
The Muso Shinden-Ryu is considered a sister school that also evolved from the traditions of Jinsuke Hayashizaki Shigenobu’s original art form. The techniques are practiced similarly but with slightly different applications and emphasis on scale of motion. It is an old and honored style of iaidoworthy of preservation and respect.
The Shimomura-Ha is credited with the modern popularization of iaido in modern times. By spreading iaido outside of Tosa Clan, the Shimomura-Ha popularized iaido among the elite Samurai class. Once brought outside of Tosa by the Shimomura-Ha, iaido gained popularity with highly ranked Samurai officials. These practitioners had different stations and duties than the lower ranked Tosa warriors. Some scholars speculate that the differences in the technique between the Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu and Muso Shinden-Ryu reflect the differing tastes of the Samurai who practiced them. The lower ranked Bushi of the Tosa prefecture show simple, practical and understated motions, whereas the higher ranked practitioners preferred grander motions, emphasis on ceremonial appearance, and larger scaled motions based on the movements of Kabuki and the aesthetics of the tea ceremony “Chado.”. All in all, the techniques of these two important schools are very similar, especially to an outsider.
The famous Muso Shinden-Ryu Soke, Nakayama Hakudo [also written “Hyakudo”] (aka Hiromichi) is the one who gave the art its modern name “iaido.” His Muso Shinden-Ryu is largely credited with popularizing iaido in post WWII Japan. Without the Muso Shinden-Ryu, it is unclear what would have become of iaido in a modernized Japan. One historian who specializes in iaido commented, “Tracing the lineage of iaido is akin to plotting the genealogy of an inbred hillbilly family.” [You probably ought to cite to this person’s published work.] Often the headmaster or one style would be the headmaster of two or three others simultaneously. The important thing to remember is that the Muso Shinden Ryu should be honored and respected equally with the Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu. These two proud traditions are so dizzyingly intertwined that they are forever inseparable within history books.
Other Schools Of The Hayashizaki Line:
Below I will list the other schools that have stemmed from Jinsuke’s lineage. Most of these are extremely rare in Japan today. Some of them are no longer practiced and have gone extinct. It is my sincere hope that I might play some small part in maintaining and preserving Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu so that it does not meet the same grave fate as those styles that have been extinguished by time and cultural “progress.”
- Shimmei Muso_Ryu
- Daimyojin Muso-Ryu
- Hoki-Ryu
- Ichinomiya-Ryu
- Ikkan Ryu
- Jinmei Muso To-Ryu
- Muraku-Ryu
- Sekiguchi-Ryu
- Tamiya Ryu
- Asaka-Ryu
- Hayashizaki Shin Muso-Ryu
- Hayashizaki Tamiya-Ryu
- Higo-Ryu
- Hijikata-ha Mugai-Ryu
- Ichinomiya-Ryu
- Ichinomiya To-Ryu
- Ichinomiya-Ryu Tani-ha
- Ishin-Ryu iai
- Isoyama-Ryu
- Izawa-Ryu
- Jiko-Ryu
- Jushinshin-Ryu
- Kageyuki-Ryu
- Kamiizumi-Ryu Iaijutsu
- Kanso-Ryu
- Kisshyo Tamiya-Ryu
- Kubota-ha Tamiya-Ryu
- Mugai-Ryu
- Mukei-Ryu iai
- Muraku-Ryu Kamiizumi-Ha iai
- Muso-Ryu Iai
- Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu
- Muso Shinden-Ryu
- Omori-Ryu
- Sekiguchi-Ryu Batto-Ha
- Sekiguchi Shinshin-Ryu
- Shibukawa-Ryu
- Shimomura-ha Tosa Iai
- Shin Tamiya-Ryu
- Shin-Ryu (from Muraku-Ryu)
- Shin-Ryu (from Hoki-Ryu)
- Shinro-Ryu
- Shinshin-Ryu
- Suio-Ryu
- Takahashi-Ha Jikyo-Ryu
- Tamiya Kando-Ryu
- Tanimura-Ha Tosa Iai
- Yamagishi-Ryu
- Yamamura-Ha Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu
Copyright:
Some of The material above are taken from Roach Sensei’s forthcoming book. Any reproduction in print will be considered infringement on copy-written material and will be prosecuted as such. If you have any questions you are welcome to contact Roach Sensei directly.
Notes:
This brief dose of iaido history has been assembled from the following sources:
(1) oral tradition, given to me by my Sensei (see my Bio page for details).
(2) Journal of Aisian Martial Arts (Volume 2-number 3), History of Iaido by Kimberley Taylor Sensei;
(3) Koryyu Iai No Hondo, by Norikazu Iwata Sensei, translated by Aoyagi Weston.
(4) the late Donn Draeger’s outstanding books and lectures. The following information can be found in numerous books but the texts that I recommend that my students read when they want further information are primarily Draeger’s writings. His works are outstanding and his status as America’s foremost expert on the evolution of Japanese martial arts is generally unquestioned.
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