Yagyu Shinkage Ryu - 22nd Generation Soke
Hello, folks. A local culture-zine called "Gekkan Nagoya" (Nagoya Monthly) has a little feature on the new soke of (Owari) Yagyu Shinkage-ryu. I figured some might be interested, so I translated it. Here you are:
Carrying 440 years of history, the 22nd-generation soke
Shinkage-ryu, created by Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami at the end of the Muromachi Period. Under the auspices of the Owari Tokugawa clan, Yagyu Shinkage-ryu Heiho, familiar to many due to Yagyu Jubei and others, has continued down even to today, preserving the old forms since the days of the 2nd generation soke, Yagyu Munetoshi.
Yagyu Koichi, 55, is the 22nd generation soke. Centered in Nagoya, he guides roughly 300 students in the heart and technique of Shinkage-ryu.
A Surprising Encounter -- Grandmother and Yagyu Shinkage-ryu
"My encounter with Yagyu Shinkage-ryu can be summed up in one word. 'Surprise.' Becoming soke, as well, I think now I was being guided by my ancestors."
Born in Tokyo, Yagyu Koichi lived with his parents, his brother, and his paternal grandmother. In a life centered around his blind grandmother, he naturally learned compassion for others, and a spirit of self-sufficiency.
When he was 9 years old, he casually told his grandmother an anecdote about Yagyu Shinkage-ryu that he learned from a comic book. His grandmother responded, "You know, I am the daughter of Yagyu Toshichika sensei, the 19th soke of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu."
Koichi was amazed, and this was the start of a strong adoration of Shinkage-ryu. In junior high and high school, he threw himself into kendo. But upon entering Musashi University as an economics student, he learned that the Yagyukai had lectures in Tokyo, and joined without a moment's hesitation. Twice a month, he received the guidance of 21st soke Yagyu Nobuharu, his father's cousin.
After graduating, he began working for a large bank. While working he continued his training. There were times when he arrived late, but he never considered quitting.
"Shinkage-ryu is a part of my life. I can't imagine my life without it," he says.
To continue the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu tradition of direct transmission to son and heir, in 2000, at the age of fifty, he resigned from the bank and was adopted into the Yagyu family. He moved to Nagoya and devoted himself to the Way of the Sword. After four years of refining his skills, he officially inherited Yagyu Shinkage-ryu in February of last year, becoming the 22nd soke.
Defeat today the self of yesterday.
The most important characteristic of Shinkage-ryu is "Attack, Waiting, Front, Back; do not focus on one aspect." (懸待表裏は一隅を守らず ) It indicates not persisting in one thing, but rather flexibly changing form to match one's opponent. In order to do that, it is necessary to keep one's mind in a steady state, influenced by nothing.
"If your mind is shaken, the body will not move correctly," Koichi explains. "In Shinkage-ryu's kata (seihou), it's not a matter of being good at it or bad at it; it's a matter of being able to do it or not. There's no faking it."
This is a warning to himself, as well. The previous soke, Nobuharu, passed away in May of this year. He continued his personal research right up until just before his death at age 88, and in the end Koichi could not surpass him.
"Even though I was named soke, until now I still felt like I was on probation. But with Nobuharu-sensei's passing, little by little my consciousness as soke has grown. I've come to realize the weight of what my predecessors have passed down, and 440 years of history."
The wall is still high, but what must be done is clear. The mission he's been given is to accurately pass down to later generations the Yagyu techniques and heart.
"Defeat today the self of yesterday." (昨日の我に今日は勝つべし ) Keeping this family precept in his heart, his days of training will continue.
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Josh Reyer
Swa sceal man don, žonne he ęt guše gengan ženceš longsumne lof, na ymb his lif cearaš. - The Beowulf Poet