Emmei ryu

[Ulf Lehmann]

Well, there is an other thread about Musashi in this forum, but I think my question need a separate thread.
Mr. Donn Draeger wrote in his book „Classical Budo“:
„The great kenshi Miyamoto Musashi was also well versed in methods of close-quarter combat. In his youth, as a disziple of the Emmei ryu just prior to the opening of the Edo period, Musashi studied Yawara ge, which in the Emmei ryu style was not entirely a weaponless art...“
But some other historians describes the Enmei (Emmei) ryu as a early form of Musashis own Niten ichi ryu. Other people named this school Enmyo ryu. Is Emmei ryu = Enmyo ryu? Does anybody know if it´s a separate school ore truly the pre-form of the Hyoho niten ichi ryu?
Maybe, there are some failure in translations or is it only an other fact in the legend of Musashi? I´m really confused!

regards
Ulf Lehmann

[Richie112]

Looking through buyubooks I found that there was a series of books coming out about Musashi. http://www.buyubooks.com/product_details.cfm?id=10511

The book apparently has material originally published in Japan by Takahashi Kao (14th Headmaster of Enmei-ryu). I haven't been able to find any further information about Enmei ryu and the only reference I found was the above unanswered post. I know that it possibly was a 2 sword technique and Enmei is the old name of Akashi where Musashi was a retainer. Does anyone has any further information about the ryu and how diffrerent it is to Niten ichi ryu?

[Meik Skoss]

Takahashi Kao is the 14th headmaster of Emmei-ryu? I rather doubt the legitimacy of that, frankly. So far as I know, Emmei-ryu is no longer extant, and hasn't been for some time. Also, since it existed during the late Warring States and early Tokugawa periods, for it to only be at the fourteenth generation is a little odd. Most ryu of that time are up to about the twentieth generation, give or take a few.

Takahashi has written a rather strange book on jukendo (with very bad English translations of part of it) and included a section of what I can only call *bizarre* material on bojutsu and sojutsu. My take is that he's a bit of a crank. I'd really want to see the documentation of his lineage, not to mention the actual technique, before believing this claim about Emmei-ryu.

As far as the name of the ryu is concerned, Emmei and Enmyo (probably it would be pronounced Emmyo) are both possible ways to say it, but I think the former is more common.

Hope this helps.

[Richie112]

I must admit I suspected that that might be the case.
Well, I think that will be one series of volumes I will avoid buying.

Thanks for the info