Hi. I asked Chris Moses if we could do a Q&A with him on his school, Shinto Ryu. He asked his teacher and the teacher agreed it would be okay. I didn't know anything about his school, and was interested to find out more. We are hoping that this Q&A will serve to inspire more Q&A threads. If you've got something to share, would you consider it?
Anyway, here's what Chris and I have so far. This is assembled from our PMs on the subject. Please add your own questions, and nominate other Q&A's.
Q: Hey, can I ask you some questions about Shinto ryu? Would you consider participating in a Q&A on the swordforum? I had never heard of your art until I visitedyour site. I'd be interested in hearing more about the founder, it's history, and the other aspects of the art (the dance and poetry which, in fact, you do not practice, correct?).
A: From our website (www.Shinto-ryu.net):
“Shinto Ryu was formally founded in Meiji 23 (1890) by Hibino Raifu. Hibino Raifu was born Hibino Masayoshi in 1864, in Kagoshima, Kyushu.
At 5 years old he moved to Saitama ken and began his study of Iai and Kenjutsu. At 16 years old he began to accept students.
After its founding, Shinto Ryu began to spread throughout Japan with support from both the military and cultural communities.
In Meiji 44 (1911) the Shinto Ryu dojo opened.
In Taisho 15 (1926) the founder died.”
Flushing that out a bit: Hibino Raifu began training at a young age in Kyushu. In addition to studying with several teachers in his area (I don’t know exactly which ones) he devoted himself to 'defeating' the family tree. Every day he would train with the tree. Using his bokken he eventually wore the tree completely down. After that, he went around challenging various teachers in his area. He won many challenges, and became known for his extremely fast draw, Soke described his use of the sword as the same as we would use our finger, it was like an extension of him rather than a tool or weapon. This was when he was about 16. At this time he began to take on students as he defeated other teachers. At some point in addition to his batto/kenjutsu he became well known for his dance (kenbu) and poetry chanting. These three aspects of his art were structured into three schools under the Shinto-Ryu umbrella organization. During WWII, the second Soke died before being able to pass on the art to his son. The son, not wanting the art to be lost, encouraged several shihan who had trained with his father to coordinate the actual teaching/training, while he continued to act as the head of the organization and our link to the founder. There is some speculation that his eldest daughter may inherit the tradition and act as a shihan and as the Soke. There are currently less than 150 practitioners of Shinto-ryu, mostly in Japan, but also in the US, Korea and South America. Many of the current senior teachers seem to have come to Shinto-ryu from other styles. My teacher's teacher was influenced my numerous styles of kenjutsu and batto. He was also a fairly close acquaintance of Nakamura Sensei (of Toyama ryu). If you've ever seen "Budo" the scene of Nakamura running along the trail cutting down targets was shot near Fuji where Mochizuki Sensei (my teacher's teacher) lives. Mochizuki set the targets and helped coordinate the shoot and path.
I study under Robby Pellett Sensei, yondan, in Seattle, Wa. Our branch studies the iai-battojutsu portion of the curriculum exclusively. This consists of solo kata, paired kata, tameshigiri, and various drills/ exercises. I’ll do my best to answer whatever questions people may have, and welcome any additional information should anyone be familiar with our school or its founder. While very interested in our history, I must confess that I know more about the kata and curriculum of the school than specifics about our history and lineage. Thank you for your interest.