Suihasu-ryū

Suihasu-ryū (水蓮流) meaning "water lotus school," is a traditional school (koryu) of Japanese martial arts, founded by Shindou Hiroshi (神童仁志,1532-1621) in the late Muromachi era (1562). It is a system which stresses the importance of religious revelation inspired by pilgrimage (see "musha shugyo").

History

At the age of 17, Shindou Hiroshi started his "musha shugyo", traveling throughout Japan for 10 years. He met Tsukahara Bokuden, a legendary swordsman, under whom he studied for a year and a half, learning the art of swordsmanship (kenjutsu). He later met another young martial arts student, Yagyu Muneyoshi, and together they studied under another famous swordsman, Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna for 3 years, after which Shindou returned to his lands in Kyūshū. There he settled at Arahirayama, where he meditated and trained every day for 2 years. According to legend, it was there that seven tengus who lived in Arahirayama appeared to him and taught him the secrets of the art.

uihasu ryu and Tokugawa shogunate

The Shindou clan was a small bushi clan of Hyuga. They are said to have helped the very first emperor(神武天皇 Jinmu Tennō) serving him with loyalty and honor, and that the emperor gave them the secret mission to serve as protectors of the Japanese people, giving then a document called "nichinoisho". It is said that when Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara, Shindou Hiroshi met him and gave him both the "nichinoisho" and the "Kojiki" that were in the hands of his family. Tokugawa Ieyasu, understanding the meaning of the documents, created a new post, called "shometsuki", in which the Shindou clan served until the Meiji Restoration.

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