Hoki-ryu Iai

While not devoted exclusively to the tradition, this blog will often have a fairly heavy basis towards Hōki-ryu iai at times due to the author’s participation in the ryu. I have written more about this school HERE, but here is a very quick outline of the tradition.

Hōki-ryu (伯耆流) (Katayama Hōki-ryu (片山伯耆流) is another common name seen) iai is one of the major surviving iai-based traditions today. While not as well known as some other ryu, it does have a long history. Hōki-ryu was founded by Katayama Hōki-no-kami Fujiwara Hisayasu (片山伯耆守藤原久安) who is generally said to have lived from 1575 to 1650. Some people claim he was a student of the famous Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu (林崎甚助重信), however there is much contention on this point and most researchers of the ryu reject this claim (the Katayama family records make no mention of him). Early in his life he learned 18 secret techniques of swordsmanship from his uncle Katayama Shoan. The Katayama family is also said to have had a familial connection to the Takeuchi family of Takeuchi-ryu (竹内流) fame, possibly directly to the founder Takenouchi Hisamori (竹内久盛) himself, and this ryu did have a direct influence on aspects of Katayama Hisayasu’s art. In 1596 Hisayasu spent time on Mt. Atago in Kyoto and after a period of intense training was divinely inspired in a dream, which lend to the foundation of his own ryuha. Katayama Hisayasu became involved with the ruling Toyotomi family, instructing Toyotomi Hidetsugu and Hideyori in his art. In 1610, Katayama Hisayasu was called before the emperor Go-Yozei to demonstrate his teaching of Iso-no-Nami. For this he received the court rank of Ju-Goi-Ge and made governor of Hōki (Hōki-no-kami).

Following the destruction of the Toyotomi family, Katayama Hisayasu spend some time wandering Western Japan before finally settling in Iwakuni in present day Yamaguchi prefercture. In his later years he spent his time teaching in Iwakuni, as well as other locations, such as Aki, modern Hiroshima. He died in 1650. His art continued to be passed down in the Katayama family until World War Two and was known as Katayama-ryu kenjutsu (片山流剣術) in that area. In different areas, different lines of transmission took on various permutations of the name, including Katayama Hōki no Kami-ryu (片山伯耆守流), Hōki-ryu (伯耆流), and Batto Hōki-ryu (抜刀伯耆流) among others.

The line of transmission within the Katayama family was as follows:

1. Katayama Hisayasu 片山久安 (1575-1650)
2. Katayama Hisataka 片山久隆 (1626-1699)
3. Katayama Hisayuki 片山久之 (1686-1759)
4. Katayama Hisayoshi 片山久義 (d. 1798)
5. Katayama Tsutomu 片山務人 (c.1769-1798)
6. Katayama Hisatoyo 片山久豊 (d. 1846)
7. Katayama Hisatoshi 片山久寿 (c.1827-1890)
8. Katayama Busuke 片山武助 (d. 1945)

One of Katayama Hisayasu’s direct students was from Kumamoto in Higo (modern Kumamoto prefecture), and a number of lines of the art came to be transmitted in the area under the name of Hōki-ryu iaijutsu (伯耆流居合術). Of these, the most important branch was probably that of the Hoshino family. In 1776, Hoshino Kakuemon (星野角右衛門) went to Iwakuni and had the art of Hōki-ryu iaijutsu he had learned recognized by Katayama Hisayoshi as a legitimate line of teachings from founder Katayama Hisayasu. At this time he also began learning the Katayama family’s Katayama-ryu and began the process of bringing the Hoshino family’s art in line with that of the Katayama family. Kakuemon’s adopted son, Hoshino Ryūsuke (星野竜介), returned in 1804 for a period of intense study under Katayama Hisatoyo. He returned to Kumamoto with a number of mokuroku in the art, solidifying the connection between the families and their traditions. Later Hoshino Kumon (星野九門) is said to have also gone to Iwakuni to study under Katayama Hisatoshi, although the exact dates in this case are not clear. Finally in 1938 Hoshino Ryūta (星野龍太) invited Katayama Busuke to Kumamoto to further bring their two ryu in line and a number of Hoshino Ryūta’s students received licensing directly from Katayama Busuke (at least a couple of these lines directly connected to licenses issued by Katayama Busuke still continue today).

The line of transmission within the Hoshino family was as follows:

1. Katayama Hisayasu 片山久安 (1575-1650)
2. Katayama Hisataka 片山久隆 (1626-1699)
3. Katayama Hisayuki 片山久之 (1686-1759)
4. Katayama Hisayoshi 片山久義 (d. 1798)
5. Hoshino Kakuemon 星野角右衛門 (d. 1791)
6. Seki Gumma 関郡馬
7. Hoshino Ryūsuke 星野竜介 (1762-1837)
8. Hoshino Shirozaemon 星野四郎左衛門 (d. 1882)
9. Hoshino Kumon 星野九門 (1838-1916)
10. Hoshino Ryūta 星野龍太
11. Hoshino Noritoshi 星野宣敏

Due to the modernization of Japanese society, during Hoshino Kumon and Hoshino Ryūta’s time the tradition began to lose its centralization around Kumamoto and the Hoshino family, with a number of eventual senior teachers relocating throughout Japan. Following the death of Hoshino Noritoshi, who had actually moved away from Kumamoto to the Kansai area, the ryu passed out of the hands of the Hoshino family entirely. Today the majority of groups are more or less independant of each other. The technical curriculum of the ryu now varies from group to group, but all groups have at their core the 15 kata of the Omote and Chudan sets.

Omote (表)

1. Osae-nuki (押え抜)
2. Kote-giri (小手切)
3. Kiritsuke (切付)
4. Nukidome (抜留)
5. Tsukidome (突留)
6. Shihō-kanagiri (四方金切)

Chudan (中段)

1. Hiza-zume (膝詰)
2. Mune no katana (胸之刀)
3. Oikake-nuki (追掛抜)
4. Kaeri-nuki (返り抜)
5. Issasoku (一作足)
6. Mukō-zume (向詰)
7. Nagarōka (長廊下)
8. Kissaki-gaeshi (切先返)
9. Shihō-zume (四方詰)

These two sets are unique to the Kumamoto tradition and not found in the Katayama family’s art. Following the study of these sets, the progression varies greatly from group to group, but in most cases students continue on to study from the Katayama-ryu kenjutsu curriculum in one form or another. Today groups are spread throughout various places in Japan, but the main centers of activity are in the Kansai area, Kumamoto and the Iwakuni/Hiroshima area, with many smaller groups appearing in different areas throughout the country and even internationally.