Hozan-ryū

Hozan Ryu (Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu) is a koryu sogo bujutsu or complete Japanese martial art.

Founded by Tsutsumi Hozan (Tsutsumi Yamashiro no kami Hozan), the date of its founding is debatable. Most likely it would have been in the late 1300's or early 1400's. Since Tsutsumi Hozan was the 12th disciple of the priest Jion, it is safe to assume that the sword style of Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu would have been based upon Jion’s Nen Ryu. Hozan was also adept with the jitte and at jujutsu, originally referred to as "yoroi kumi" (grappling in armor). Traditionally, Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu also included the "yari" (spear), "bo" (staff), "torinawa" or "hojojutsu" (tying techniques), and "kusarigama". Some also suggest the "manriki" or "manriki-gusari" (chain) and "chigiriki" and "jo" (staff and chain) may have been included in the system.

After the Meji Restoration

The majority of the weapon arts, including the sword work, were lost at the turn of the 20th century. A single sword technique, "hatten giri" (not "hachiten giri"), which means "eight heaven cuts," was included in the forms for the Japanese police sword school, the Keishicho Ryu Gekken Kata in 1886. ["Kendo Nippon", No. 283, September 1999 (Japanese Journal)] It is worth noting that none of the teachers at the police academy at the time were said to have been teachers of Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu. Also, at this time the art was only being taught in Kyoto and Himeji.

The last known teacher of Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu, Tsutsumi Masao, is said to have been a supporter of the ‘new’ art being developed by Jigoro Kano, called judo. It is hard to say after his death, in 1898, what remained of Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu, and what had been influenced by judo. Conversely, it is hard to say if Tsutsumi had any influence on the creation of judo, as did other styles in those days. One of Tsutsumi Masao’s students, Katsukuma Higashi, came to the United States in the early 1900’s and engaged in bouts with American wrestlers. Higashi’s record is somewhat debatable, but for his small size, and young age, he did quite well against the professional US wrestlers. Due to the age of Higashi when he arrived in the US, and the fact that his teacher had died several years earlier, one may assume that Higashi had not been as adept as he and his promoter, Hancock, boasted. The book written by Higashi and Hancock, "The Complete Kano Jiu-Jitsu (Judo)",cite book
last = Hancock
first = H. Irving
title = The Complete Kano Jiu-Jitsu (Judo)
publisher = G. P. Putnam & Sons
date = 1905
location = New York
pages = 544
isbn = See details, including the original book cover [http://www.bestjudo.com/brcompletekanojiujitsu.shtml here] .] shows a very distinct difference between from other early work published on judo, which are remarkably modern for the time (e.g Arima’s "Judo: Japanese Physical Culture"). This suggests that Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu Jujutsu may have been quite different from judo.

Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu also appears in Europe in the 1900’s. In Germany, Erich Rahn began teaching Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu Jujutsu to the Berlin Police in 1906. [Joseph R. Svinth. "The Evolution of Women's Judo, 1900-1945" "EJMAS", "InYo: The Journal of Alternative Perspectives on the Martial Arts and Sciences", Feb 2001.] By the 1930’s jujutsu, presumably Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu, but referred to as “European Jiu-jitsu,” had spread across Germany and Austria with three Federations and over 100 clubs. One possible source for this may have been Higashi, who left the US for France and then Germany in 1905. No trace of Higashi after traveling to Germany can be found.

Today

Today, Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu only exists in Australia, brought there by the late Jan de Jong. His son, Hans de Jong, states that his father was instructed in the art from 1927-1945 by two Japanese brothers, S. Saito (8th dan), and K. Saito (7th dan), in (classical). It is also important to note that the majority of teachers in Australia do not claim to be teaching Koryu, but simply self-defence jujutsu.

References

ources

* Serge Mol. "Classical Fighting Arts of Japan: A Complete Guide to Koryu Jujutsu" (2001). pp. 151. ISBN : 978-4-7700-2619-4.