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History

Early Development

It is thought likely that the first iron swords were manufactured in Japan in the fourth century, based on technology imported from Korea. While swords clearly played an important cultural and religious role in ancient Japan, it is in the Heian period when the globally recognised curved Japanese sword was developed, and when swords became an important weapon, as well as a symbolic item. No known Kenjutsu lineage survives from this period, the oldest schools still in existence today arose in the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573), known for long periods of inter-state warfare. Three major schools emerged during this period.

• Aisukage ryū
• Ittō ryū
• Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū

These schools form the ancestors for many descendent styles, for example from Ittō ryū has branched Ono-ha Ittō ryū and Mizoguchi-ha Ittō-ryū (among many others).

The Edo Period

During the Edo period schools proliferated to number more than five hundred, and training techniques and equipment advanced, giving rise to the development of the bamboo practice sword, the shinai, and protective armour, bogu. This allowed practice of full speed techniques in freeform sparring, while reducing risk of serious harm to the practitioner. Prior to this, training in Kenjutsu had consisted mainly of basic technique practice and paired kata, using solid wooden practice swords (bokutō), or live blades.

Decline

Beginning in 1868 the Meiji Restoratio lead to break up of the military class and the modernisation of Japan along the lines of western industrial nations. As the samurai class was officially dissolved at this time, kenjutsu fell into decline, an unpopular reminder of the past. This decline continued for approximately twenty years, until rising national confidence lead to an increase of the uptake of traditional sword arts again, particularly in the military and the police.

In 1886 the Japanese Police gathered together kata from a variety of kenjutsu schools into a standardised set for training purposes This process of standardisation of martial training continued when, in 1895, a controlling body for all martial arts in Japan, the Dai Nihon Butokukai, was established. Work on standardising kenjutsu kata continued for years, with several groups involved , until in 1912 an official edict was released by the Dai Nihon Butokukai. This edict highlighted a lack of unity in teaching, and introduced a standard core teaching curriculum to which the individual kenjutsu schools would add their distinctive techniques. This core curriculum, and its ten kata evolved into the modern martial art of kendo. The era could be regarded as the end of the development of kenjutsu and the birth of kendo.

See Also

• Yagyū Shinkage-ryū
• Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū
• Kashima Shinto-ryū
• Kashima Shin-ryū
• Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū
• Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryū
• Maniwa Nen-ryū
• Tatsumi-ryū
• Kashima Shin-ryū

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Today many koryū schools continue to employ kenjutsu as part of their curriculum. Some are even thriving on a relatively small scale. Schools (or ryū) such as Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, Katori Shinto-ryū, Kashima Shinto-ryū, Kashima Shin-ryū, Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū, Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryū are some of the more famous still existing. Some of these schools trace their lineage to the early years of the Tokugawa shogunate. Many other schools can legitimately trace their history from the founder dating back to the 14th century, such as Maniwa Nen-ryū (founded: 1368) or Tatsumi-ryū (founded: Eishō era 1504-1521) or Kashima Shin-ryū (founded: ca. 1450).

• Yagyū Shinkage-ryū
• Katori Shinto-ryū
• Kashima Shinto-ryū
• Kashima Shin-ryū
• Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū
• Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryū
• Maniwa Nen-ryū (founded: 1368)
• Tatsumi-ryū (founded: Eishō era 1504-1521)
• Kashima Shin-ryū (founded: ca. 1450)