The administration of the system is primarily handled by the Eishin-Ryu Traditions Association, led by the Soke, and by the all Japan Iaï-Do federation, which oversees competitions and promotions in many different Iaï-Do styles.Kendo was born in the mid Edo period as a martial art using the shinai and protective equipment, and continues to this day earning as much popularity as to host international competitions. Today, Eishin ryu is practiced by two or three thousand people in Japan, and has exponents around the world. There are a number of other, less widely-practiced forms of Iaï Do that grew out of Hayashzaki Jinsuke’s art. Certainly the characters used in his name are the same as those used in the name of the style.Īfter the eleventh generation, the lineage split into two separate lines: one leading to Saito Iamau, the eighteenth generation soke of the Muso Shinden-Ryu, and the other to Fukui Torao, as shown above. Most Iaï-Do historians agree that the inspiration for the name Eishin-Ryu came from the name of the seventh generation headmaster, Hasegawa Chikaranosuke Eishin. Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto Shgenobu Founder.The names of all the headmasters from the founders time are as follows: In each generation a headmaster, or soke, has been appointed to guide the practice of the art, and each soke has had his own influence on the development of iaido.ĮishinRyu claims an unbroken line of transmission from Hayashzaki Jinsuke through twenty one generations to the present-day soke, Fukui Torao, who was appointed in 1975 after the death of his predecessor, Kono Hyakuren. It is considered the foundation for the two major styles of Iaï-Do practised today: Eishin-Ryu and Muso Shinden-Ryu. Hayashizaki’s Iaï-Do has had many names since then. It is said that he went to Yamagata Prefecture to pray for guidance and receive divine inspiration for a new way of drawing the sword.Whatever the circumstances, at some point he established his own style of swordsmanship and called it Shimmei Muso-Ryu, “divinely inspired, unparalleled style”. Many of the historical details of Hayashizaki’s life are suspect, since, like most famous martial artists in Japan, his story has been widely fictionalized, but it seams clear that he grew up during a time of constant warfare in Japan, and was exposed to various sword fighting methods from an early age. The founder of EishinRyu was Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto Shigenoubu, who lived between 15 in present-day Kanagawa prefecture. The only budo form with a longer history is Tenshin Shoden katori Shinto Ryu, an eclectic system of fighting arts that includes some Iaijutsu.
The full name of the style of Iaï-Do that is the most widely practiced in central Japan today is Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu, meaning “peerless, direct transmission, true-faith style of Eishin.”Įishin Ryu claims a lineage about 450 years long, making it the second oldest extant martial art form in Japan.
The emphasis in these schools was preservation of techniques that swordsmen had practiced before 1868. After the restoration, swordsmanship went into a general decline, but a number of schools perpetuated the art of swordsmanship: Iaaijutsu, Kenjutsu, or Batto-jutsu among them.
Swordsman were engaging in single combat in Japan up until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.