YSR branches

[Cliff Judge]

I understand there are two main lines of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu currently practiced, the Owari line and the Edo line. I understand that they've been split for a very long time. I've developed a general curiosity as to what the diferences are between the art practiced in both, and what relation the schools have outside of the common ancestry.

Do these two schools have any similarity at all to this day? Can anyone who has seen both schools or done some research into this subject provide some type of comparison?

Do the practitioners of both branches relate to each other nowadays, or is the kind of question that would get me a blank stare if I asked it? ("What those guys are doing has nothing at all to do with what we do here.")

Thanks
Cliff Judge

[Fred27]

My impression is that one of the branches emphasize more on weapons and the other more on the unarmed aspect. Dont quote me on that though. I havent read about YSR in awhile.

[Cliff Judge]

I mean Yagyu Shinkage Ryu - which I thought was all ken, all the time?

[Fred27]

Ah crap! Sorry bout that. My mind supplanted "Shinkage" with "Shingan". :eek:

[DDATFUS]

Do the practitioners of both branches relate to each other nowadays, or is the kind of question that would get me a blank stare if I asked it? ("What those guys are doing has nothing at all to do with what we do here.")



Let me preface this by saying that I am not a member of the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, and thus anything I say should be taken with a boulder-sized grain of salt.

As I understand it, the Edo line of Yagyu Shinkage, for all extents and purposes, died out a long time ago. However, according to some students of Shinkage Ryu, the Owari line maintained the knowledge of the Edo-line variations of the Yagyu kata until fairly recent times. While I am fairly sure that the main line, currently led by Yagyu Koichi, no longer practices the Edo variations, some groups that split off from Owari Yagyu line a few generations ago might still keep those traditions alive.

To add to the confusion, several decades ago a menkyo kaiden of the Owari line of Yagyu Shinkage named Muto (I believe he was a student of Yagyu Nobuharu's father and grandfather, whose names escape me at the moment) did extensive research into the Edo line of Yagyu Shinkage. Based on this research, he "re-created" Edo-style Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. This is why Draeger refers to Muto Sensei as a master of "Edo-style Yagyu Shinkage" in his book Classical Budo.

Finally, there is another Shinkage line, I think called the Yamato-ha?, which seems to claim some tie to the Edo line. I have almost no knowledge of their history. I saw them demo once and thought that it looked pretty similar to the Owari stuff that I've seen. There is a fellow in Philadelphia named Paul Manogue who teaches this branch. I've exchanged a couple of emails with him before; he would probably be in a much better position to tell you about his group.

Really, if you want to get good answers to your questions, I would email Meik Skoss or Chip Armstrong, both of whom have been more than helpful in responding to my own emails in the past. Meik can be contacted through koryu.com, and Chip can be contacted through the International Hoplological Society's website. The IHS website also sells a rather excellent article on Yagyu Shinkage Ryu written by Dave Hall which I highly recommend.

So, finally, why are we wondering about Yagyu Shinkage anyway? Jikishinkage, after all, is the true Shinkage Ryu ;)