JU-JITSU HISTORY
by Russ St. Hilaire
THE HISTORY OF JU-JITSU
ANCIENT JAPAN
Grappling styles have existed for eons. Early Egyptian and Greek art show the grappling arts in tombs, on pottery and in statuary. Grappling was known as far
back as 2300 B.C. Over the centuries the grappling martial arts spread throughout the world, eventually coming to Japan. Though the exact origin of Jujutsu is
unknown, it is agreed that the Japanese Jujutsu techniques were a culmination of many ancient forms used by other oriental warriors.
back as 2300 B.C. Over the centuries the grappling martial arts spread throughout the world, eventually coming to Japan. Though the exact origin of Jujutsu is
unknown, it is agreed that the Japanese Jujutsu techniques were a culmination of many ancient forms used by other oriental warriors.
Fighting forms have existed for centuries in Japan, but few were recorded, thus precise
dating is impossible. There were, however, orally passed traditions that mention early
combative confrontations in ancient Japan. Their exact origins are shrouded in mythology.
The earliest mention of a sportive fight was a style called Chikura Kurabe. Another early
tale is of Takemina Kata-no-Kami; a commoner, and Takemikazuchi-no-Kami; a divine
champion. They are recorded in ancient tradition as having a combative wrestling match.
Another tradition recorded in the NIHON-SHOKI refers to an early fighting style called
Sumai (meaning "struggle"), and states that the style may have existed as early as 23 B.C.
Here the story is of one Nomi-no-Sukune of Izumo who defeated Tajima-no-Kehaya on a
beach in Shimane Prefecture by fracturing Kehaya's ribs with a side kick, throwing him to
the ground and then trampling him, crushing his pelvis and ultimately killing him. This was
supposedly witnessed by the Emperor Suinin. Most of these early combative forms
resembled modern Sumo and wrestling. Some of the ancient recorded styles were Tekoi,
Sumai and Kumi-Uchi. Kumi-Uchi was a battlefield type of Sumai. It was developed
especially for battle against an opponent in lightweight armor. The art did not need gripping
to make the techniques work. The techniques were based on strong hips and legs which
were used to maintain contact with the enemy and throw him to the ground. Another ancient
form of Jujutsu was centered around the manipulation of joints and the immobilization of
the limbs. It was called Yawara. These combat arts existed with little change for over 600
years.
dating is impossible. There were, however, orally passed traditions that mention early
combative confrontations in ancient Japan. Their exact origins are shrouded in mythology.
The earliest mention of a sportive fight was a style called Chikura Kurabe. Another early
tale is of Takemina Kata-no-Kami; a commoner, and Takemikazuchi-no-Kami; a divine
champion. They are recorded in ancient tradition as having a combative wrestling match.
Another tradition recorded in the NIHON-SHOKI refers to an early fighting style called
Sumai (meaning "struggle"), and states that the style may have existed as early as 23 B.C.
Here the story is of one Nomi-no-Sukune of Izumo who defeated Tajima-no-Kehaya on a
beach in Shimane Prefecture by fracturing Kehaya's ribs with a side kick, throwing him to
the ground and then trampling him, crushing his pelvis and ultimately killing him. This was
supposedly witnessed by the Emperor Suinin. Most of these early combative forms
resembled modern Sumo and wrestling. Some of the ancient recorded styles were Tekoi,
Sumai and Kumi-Uchi. Kumi-Uchi was a battlefield type of Sumai. It was developed
especially for battle against an opponent in lightweight armor. The art did not need gripping
to make the techniques work. The techniques were based on strong hips and legs which
were used to maintain contact with the enemy and throw him to the ground. Another ancient
form of Jujutsu was centered around the manipulation of joints and the immobilization of
the limbs. It was called Yawara. These combat arts existed with little change for over 600
years.
THE MINAMOTO CLAN
Around 700 A.D. the Japanese began to have more frequent contact with the people of
China. Through these contacts, bits of Chinese culture, religion and art became assimilated
into the Japanese society. It is during this time, the Heian period, that Jujutsu took the form it
has today. Though there were already established combat arts in Japan, this new style of
fighting became the most popular. About 875-880 A.D., one of the sons of Emperor Siewa
met a Chinese man who taught him a few fighting techniques. From these techniques and
principles, Teijun Fujiwara (sometimes called Sadazumi or Sadagami) developed a fighting
art he called Aiki-Jutsu. Teijun Fujiwara taught these techniques exclusively to the royal
Minamoto family where it remained a secret style until the early 1100's. At that time, two
sons of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (a 5th generation descendent of Emperor Seiwa and ruler of
the Chinjufu area of Oshu) began to thoroughly develop, organize and catalog Aikijujutsu
techniques. Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (also known as Shinra Saburo or "Genji") (1036 -
1127 A.D.) and Minamoto no Yoshiie (Hachimantaro) (1041 - 1108 A.D.) were both
Yamusame (archery) and To-Ho (swordsmanship) masters, brought up in the tradition of
their forefathers. They both worked together to develop their families fighting techniques by
dissecting cadavers and studying the working of the muscles and bones. Yoriyoshi's eldest
son Yoshikiyo was also a famous warrior who fought against Abe no Sadatou in the Zen Ku
Nen war (1051 - 1062) and was victorious against Abe at the battle of Koromogawa no
Yakata. If Aikijujutsu would develop anywhere, it would be here in the most famous military
family in Japan. It was Minamoto Yoshimitsu who named his family style Daito-Ryu
AikiJujutsu after his estate called Daito. Minamoto no Yoshikiyo moved to the Kai region and
became the head of that branch of the Minamoto family. He called that branch
KaiGenjiTakeda. KAI was the region, GENJI the ancient family name and TAKEDA was the
town from whence he chose the new family name. The Takeda family ran several martial
arts schools in the area for over 400 years. The only two surviving Yamusame schools
Takeda-Ryu and Ogasawara-Ryu come from the schools of Takeda no Yoshikiyo.
China. Through these contacts, bits of Chinese culture, religion and art became assimilated
into the Japanese society. It is during this time, the Heian period, that Jujutsu took the form it
has today. Though there were already established combat arts in Japan, this new style of
fighting became the most popular. About 875-880 A.D., one of the sons of Emperor Siewa
met a Chinese man who taught him a few fighting techniques. From these techniques and
principles, Teijun Fujiwara (sometimes called Sadazumi or Sadagami) developed a fighting
art he called Aiki-Jutsu. Teijun Fujiwara taught these techniques exclusively to the royal
Minamoto family where it remained a secret style until the early 1100's. At that time, two
sons of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (a 5th generation descendent of Emperor Seiwa and ruler of
the Chinjufu area of Oshu) began to thoroughly develop, organize and catalog Aikijujutsu
techniques. Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (also known as Shinra Saburo or "Genji") (1036 -
1127 A.D.) and Minamoto no Yoshiie (Hachimantaro) (1041 - 1108 A.D.) were both
Yamusame (archery) and To-Ho (swordsmanship) masters, brought up in the tradition of
their forefathers. They both worked together to develop their families fighting techniques by
dissecting cadavers and studying the working of the muscles and bones. Yoriyoshi's eldest
son Yoshikiyo was also a famous warrior who fought against Abe no Sadatou in the Zen Ku
Nen war (1051 - 1062) and was victorious against Abe at the battle of Koromogawa no
Yakata. If Aikijujutsu would develop anywhere, it would be here in the most famous military
family in Japan. It was Minamoto Yoshimitsu who named his family style Daito-Ryu
AikiJujutsu after his estate called Daito. Minamoto no Yoshikiyo moved to the Kai region and
became the head of that branch of the Minamoto family. He called that branch
KaiGenjiTakeda. KAI was the region, GENJI the ancient family name and TAKEDA was the
town from whence he chose the new family name. The Takeda family ran several martial
arts schools in the area for over 400 years. The only two surviving Yamusame schools
Takeda-Ryu and Ogasawara-Ryu come from the schools of Takeda no Yoshikiyo.
THE MUROMACHI PERIOD
During the Muromachi period (1392-1537) there was another Jujutsu school that
was greatly influential. Takenouchi-Ryu was founded by Takenouchi Hisamori
(also called Takeuchi Toichiro) in 1532. Hisamori had spent time in the
mountains with a Yamabushi (hermit mountain warrior) and had learned five
arresting techniques and some principles of evasion. He combined these
techniques with his knowledge of Kumi-Uchi to make a Jujutsu style he called
Kogusoku. Later this style was renamed Takenouchi-Ryu Jujutsu. The second
headmaster of Takenouchi-Ryu, Hisakatsu, added Shinken Shobu (deadly
fighting). The third headmaster added Torite (restraining). One of its core
teachings was that of Koshi No Mawari, or grappling in the light armor of the day.
It became one of the three core styles of Jujutsu.
was greatly influential. Takenouchi-Ryu was founded by Takenouchi Hisamori
(also called Takeuchi Toichiro) in 1532. Hisamori had spent time in the
mountains with a Yamabushi (hermit mountain warrior) and had learned five
arresting techniques and some principles of evasion. He combined these
techniques with his knowledge of Kumi-Uchi to make a Jujutsu style he called
Kogusoku. Later this style was renamed Takenouchi-Ryu Jujutsu. The second
headmaster of Takenouchi-Ryu, Hisakatsu, added Shinken Shobu (deadly
fighting). The third headmaster added Torite (restraining). One of its core
teachings was that of Koshi No Mawari, or grappling in the light armor of the day.
It became one of the three core styles of Jujutsu.
Another school of Jujutsu that became popular was founded during the same period by Akiyama Shirobi Yoshitoki, a doctor from Nagasaki. He studied striking
and kicking techniques in China under Haku-Tei (also called Pao-Chuan), along with 3 Yawara techniques and 28 different types of Kassei-Ho. Akiyama
returned to Japan and began to teach these forms but found it hard to keep students with so few techniques. As a result, Akiyama retired to the temple of
Temmangu at Tsukushi about 1723 to study the techniques and attempt to expand on them. During his winter stay he one day noticed snow piling up on the
branches of the trees outside the temple. He saw that whereas the snow piled heavily on the branches of the great oak tree, is slipped harmlessly off the
pliable branches of the willow tree. Eventually the branches of the oak tree began to break under the weight of the snow, but the willow branches simply
yielded and allowed the snow to fall off, thereby saving the tree. This brought a great enlightenment (satori) to Yoshitoki and he used the concept of JU
(suppleness) to increase his techniques to 103. From his experience at the temple he decided to name his style Yoshin-Ryu (willow heart school). This ryu is
also called Yanagi-Ryu and Miura-Ryu after two of its most famous teachers.
and kicking techniques in China under Haku-Tei (also called Pao-Chuan), along with 3 Yawara techniques and 28 different types of Kassei-Ho. Akiyama
returned to Japan and began to teach these forms but found it hard to keep students with so few techniques. As a result, Akiyama retired to the temple of
Temmangu at Tsukushi about 1723 to study the techniques and attempt to expand on them. During his winter stay he one day noticed snow piling up on the
branches of the trees outside the temple. He saw that whereas the snow piled heavily on the branches of the great oak tree, is slipped harmlessly off the
pliable branches of the willow tree. Eventually the branches of the oak tree began to break under the weight of the snow, but the willow branches simply
yielded and allowed the snow to fall off, thereby saving the tree. This brought a great enlightenment (satori) to Yoshitoki and he used the concept of JU
(suppleness) to increase his techniques to 103. From his experience at the temple he decided to name his style Yoshin-Ryu (willow heart school). This ryu is
also called Yanagi-Ryu and Miura-Ryu after two of its most famous teachers.
AIZU
Takeda Harunobu (Shingen) (1520 - 1573) was a descendent of Minamoto (Takeda) no Yoshikiyo and one of the great warriors of the Sengoku era. Besides
being a sword, spear and archery master, he was a great leader in battle. He warred against Uesugi Kenshin, the ruler of Echigo in his most famous battle
known as Kawanakajima in 1561. In those days a wealthy samurai had several retainers under him to take care of many tasks which ran from
administration of troops, to running training camps. Shingen had several illustrious retainers, namely Sanada Yukitaka, Obata Toramori and Yamamoto
Kansuke (who wrote the famous HEIHO OKUGI SHO). During Haranobu's great military career he came into conflict with the Tokugawa clan. In a decisive
battle in 1572, Takeda Shingen beat Tokugawa Ieyasu. Even though this was a great victory for the Takeda clan, Shingen died from wounds sustained in his
clash with the Tokugawas while on his way to Kyoto. In April of 1573, Takeda Kunitsugu brought the last will and testament of Takeda Harunobu to the ruler of
Aizu, Ashina Moriuji. Ashina was a long time ally of the Takedas and turned over his portion to Kunitsugu. Takeda Kunitsugu received a large estate and farm
lands from Ashina and was persuaded to stay in Aizu as a swordmaster. From that day forward the Takeda family lived and taught Aikijujutsu in Aizu.
being a sword, spear and archery master, he was a great leader in battle. He warred against Uesugi Kenshin, the ruler of Echigo in his most famous battle
known as Kawanakajima in 1561. In those days a wealthy samurai had several retainers under him to take care of many tasks which ran from
administration of troops, to running training camps. Shingen had several illustrious retainers, namely Sanada Yukitaka, Obata Toramori and Yamamoto
Kansuke (who wrote the famous HEIHO OKUGI SHO). During Haranobu's great military career he came into conflict with the Tokugawa clan. In a decisive
battle in 1572, Takeda Shingen beat Tokugawa Ieyasu. Even though this was a great victory for the Takeda clan, Shingen died from wounds sustained in his
clash with the Tokugawas while on his way to Kyoto. In April of 1573, Takeda Kunitsugu brought the last will and testament of Takeda Harunobu to the ruler of
Aizu, Ashina Moriuji. Ashina was a long time ally of the Takedas and turned over his portion to Kunitsugu. Takeda Kunitsugu received a large estate and farm
lands from Ashina and was persuaded to stay in Aizu as a swordmaster. From that day forward the Takeda family lived and taught Aikijujutsu in Aizu.
In one fateful event in February of 1582, the unbroken line of Takeda Aikijujutsu masters came to an end. It was during that month that the forces of Oda
Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu took revenge for their loss in 1572 and attacked Takeda Katsuyori (the son of Takeda Harunobu) and was victorious over the
Takeda clan. As any samurai who felt he had failed his family would do, Katsuyori committed ritual suicide (seppuku). Luckily, the art had been passed onto the
retainers of the Takeda family who continued the tradition. The most famous were: Sanada Yukitaka, Sanada Masayuki, Sanada Yukimura, Sanada Nobuyuki,
Yamamoto Kansuke, Obata Toramori and Obata Kanbei Kagenori.
Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu took revenge for their loss in 1572 and attacked Takeda Katsuyori (the son of Takeda Harunobu) and was victorious over the
Takeda clan. As any samurai who felt he had failed his family would do, Katsuyori committed ritual suicide (seppuku). Luckily, the art had been passed onto the
retainers of the Takeda family who continued the tradition. The most famous were: Sanada Yukitaka, Sanada Masayuki, Sanada Yukimura, Sanada Nobuyuki,
Yamamoto Kansuke, Obata Toramori and Obata Kanbei Kagenori.
It must be understood that the teaching of the martial arts was restricted to extended family and retainers at that time. The headmastership was only passed on
from father to son, unless there was no heir. In this case the headmaster was chosen from the head retainer or from a close male member of the extended
family. The techniques that were taught as a matter of course to the footsoldiers (ashigaru or chugen) were simple, unrefined movements. Though they were
combat effective, they depended on strong legs and hips and a powerful body rather than the skill of a true martial science. Many of the techniques that influenced
the formation of Judo which came from the Kito-Ryu and the Tenshin Shin'Yo-Ryu were the techniques of the Chugen. The Goshinkiuchi or secret teachings (later
called Otome-Ryu by the Daito-Ryu masters) were only taught to the top classes of samurai. Knowledge of these methods were not allowed to pass to the lower
level retainers. Also, during this period families actually kept their knowledge a family secret. This allowed for superiority in battle against opposing family clans.
from father to son, unless there was no heir. In this case the headmaster was chosen from the head retainer or from a close male member of the extended
family. The techniques that were taught as a matter of course to the footsoldiers (ashigaru or chugen) were simple, unrefined movements. Though they were
combat effective, they depended on strong legs and hips and a powerful body rather than the skill of a true martial science. Many of the techniques that influenced
the formation of Judo which came from the Kito-Ryu and the Tenshin Shin'Yo-Ryu were the techniques of the Chugen. The Goshinkiuchi or secret teachings (later
called Otome-Ryu by the Daito-Ryu masters) were only taught to the top classes of samurai. Knowledge of these methods were not allowed to pass to the lower
level retainers. Also, during this period families actually kept their knowledge a family secret. This allowed for superiority in battle against opposing family clans.
Because the Aizu retainers were now the headmasters of Takeda-Ryu Aikijujutsu (Daito Ryu), the development of this style remained untouched in that area for
another 250 years. This branch of the family came to be known as Aizu Takeda. They were renowned in Japan as great swordmasters. There were 5 styles of
TO-HO and two of Aikijujutsu (Mizu no Shinto-Ryu and Shinmyo-Ryu) practiced by the Aizu Takeda. Additionally, there were many private schools in Aizu including
22 for Kenjutsu, 14 for Battojutsu, 16 for Jujutsu, 7 for Yamusame, 16 for Gunnery and 4 for Spear. Students in that area also studied Naginata, Bojutsu,
Kusarijutsu, Kacchu Kumiuchi and Jinchyu Ninjutsu. In all there were over 90 schools thriving in the Aizu.
another 250 years. This branch of the family came to be known as Aizu Takeda. They were renowned in Japan as great swordmasters. There were 5 styles of
TO-HO and two of Aikijujutsu (Mizu no Shinto-Ryu and Shinmyo-Ryu) practiced by the Aizu Takeda. Additionally, there were many private schools in Aizu including
22 for Kenjutsu, 14 for Battojutsu, 16 for Jujutsu, 7 for Yamusame, 16 for Gunnery and 4 for Spear. Students in that area also studied Naginata, Bojutsu,
Kusarijutsu, Kacchu Kumiuchi and Jinchyu Ninjutsu. In all there were over 90 schools thriving in the Aizu.
At one time there were over 700 documented Jujutsu schools in Japan. Many called their art Jujutsu, while others used such names as Ju-Do, Aiki-Do, Taijutsu,
Koshi-no-Mawari, Torite, Kenpo, Wajutsu, Hudaka, Hobaku, Shubaku and Yawara. All these were Jujutsu.
Koshi-no-Mawari, Torite, Kenpo, Wajutsu, Hudaka, Hobaku, Shubaku and Yawara. All these were Jujutsu.
| Yoshitoki Minamoto |