Suio Ryu Iai Kenpo
From a "Kendo World" article (Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003) by Antony Cundy, a member of the Tradition.
"Origins
Suio Ryu Iai Kenpo, the tradition’s formal title, was founded by Mima Yoichizaemon Kagenobu (1577-1665) in around 1615. Yoichizaemon was born in the Dewa fiefdom to Mima Saigu a priest at the Junisha Gongen Shrine. Sadly, the actual sight of the shrine and the grave of the founder are no longer verifiable as they were both destroyed by landslide in the 18th century.
As a child Yoichizaemon studied the swordsmanship of the Bokuden Ryu, founded by Tsukuhara Bokuden, as well as a form of jojutsu practiced by Yamabushi, mountain warrior priests, called Kongo Jo Joho.
It was in the Spring of Yoichizaemon’s 18th year that he was to encounter a new and startling art, when his father’s friend Sakurai Goroemon Naomitsu came to visit the family. Being renowned in the local area for his martial skills Yoichizaemon asked Naomitsu for a friendly duel, which would be presided over by the former’s father, a challenge Naomitsu happily accepted.
At the appointed time Yoichizaemon faced his opponent in a chudan posture and Naomitsu in his yamabushi like attire, strangely with his sword thrust through his belt, placed his hand on the sword’s tsuka. Both competitors then advanced to the critical distance. Yoichizaemon, feeling suppressed by his opponents poise and unusual way of carrying the sword retreated one step to assume a jodan kamae. But, in that very moment Naomitsu loosed his blade sending it flying under Yoichizaemon’s guard and stopping it sharply in front of his face. ‘That’s enough,’ called Mima Saigu and the encounter was over. It was an exhibition of iaijutsu that would change Yoichizaemon’s life.
Naomitsu was actually a student of the iai innovator and founder of the Hayashizaki Ryu, Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu (1559-1604) and remained with the Mima family for the next 3 months in order to impart the outline of Hayashizaki’s teachings to the eager young Yoichizaemon.
Having gained a degree of understanding of the art from Naomitsu, Yoichizaemon vowed to develop his own system of iai by searching the deepest levels of this martial discipline. It is said that he spent his days drawing against a tree in the precincts of the shrine and in the evenings knelt before an altar and prayed for guidance from the deities.
To advance his studies further Yoichizaemon went on his first Musha Shugyo a traveling form of trial by combat in which warriors would voyage to different areas to test their martial skills against those of other traditions. He traveled to such places as Omine, Togakure, Ontake, Katsuragi and Tateyama. It was during this excursion that he met Sohei, warrior monks from Mt. Hiei who were fleeing the wrath of Oda Nobunaga, from whom Yoichizaemon learnt a system of battlefield naginata.
Twenty years had past since Yoichizaemon had sworn his oath to create a new system of iai, years in which he had polished himself by day and by night. It was in the middle of that twentieth night that Yoichizaemon gained enlightenment when, while kneeling in front of a shrine’s altar, he had a vision of a sphere in which were the forms of white gulls floating without conscious thought on water. He ran out into the shrine’s garden and grabbed a bokuto which he now found he could wield in any direction without fear or conscious thought.
Based on his vision Yoichizaemon created the traditions 64 core techniques, a figure taken from the 28 areas of heaven surrounded by 36 birds of earth represented in a mandala that Yoichizaemon drew immediately after his revelation. He named his tradition Suio Ryu Iai Kenpo, Suio utilizing the characters for water and gull, and placed within its teachings the arts of Iai, Kenpo (an alternate name for kenjutsu), Naginata, Kogusoku (a form of grappling) and jojutsu.
Even after achieving enlightenment and founding his own system Yoichizaemon continued to travel to test both his faith in the gods and his sword arm. It is believed though that this was not a voyage to gain victories and conquests, rather a test of his ability to achieve a state of selflessness. Yoichizaemon saw the practice of swordsmanship as a form of ablution to the gods and his own body as a vehicle to achieving a harmonization with the deities.
When he faced an opponent Yoichizaemon would never attempt to win by trickery or fancy techniques, rather he always aimed to perform aiuchi (lit: mutual strike), which would force his opponents to retire or face certain death.
Yoichizaemon stated that
“Our swordsmanship comes from the mountain ascetics. The essence of our tradition, and the attainment of an unassailable position, comes from cutting down our opponents while the sword is still in the scabbard, stifling our opponent’s actions and achieving victory through not drawing the sword. While engaged in combat, detach yourself from all thoughts of winning or losing, achieve a pure and unfettered mind and attain unification with the gods.”
Yoichizaemon used his spacious dojo to teach not only martial techniques but also taught of the universe through a Heaven and Earth Mandala that he had hung on its wall. At the age of 67 he retired from active teaching, passing responsibility to his son and heir Yohachiro, living out another twenty years before peacefully passing away at the age of 87."
Britt Nichols
Suio Ryu Iai Kenpo® USA Shibu
AiTe wa Baka Ja Nai
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Originally Posted by arnold11
