Origin of swordsmanship “Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto ryu” 03
Handed down skills.
Do you know the origin of the name “Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto ryu"?
“Tenshinsho" is another name for the god “Futsunushi no Kami" that appears in the Japanese mythology “Nihon Shoki".
“Futsunushi no Kami" is closely related to “Takemikaduti no Kami". These two gods came to ancient Japan from heaven in mythological times. Both are considered gods of swords and martial arts. “Futsunushi no Kami” is enshrined at Katori Jingu Shrine, and “Takemikaduti no Kami” is enshrined at Kashima Jingu Shrine, both of which are deeply worshiped by people who love martial arts “Budo".
Ienao Iizasa completed 1,000 days of training in the mountains of Katori Shrine, the birthplace of swordsmanship. At that time, he received the words of the god of Budo “Futsunushi no Kami" to “Become a master of all martial artists" and realized the correct way of swordsmanship. He named his newly created sword technology system “Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto ryu" . That’s meaning “Truth handed down from God".
The two gods are still enshrined in front of many Budo dojos in Japan. These two gods are “Futsunushi no Kami" and “Takemikaduti no Kami". By the way, “Takemikaduchinokami" is the god of swords and Sumo. Therefore, many Sumo wrestlers worship “Takemikaduchinokami".
The technique of “Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto ryu" is huge. In addition to swordsmanship, many of these techniques include using weapons such as spears and shurikens, and throwing down armored enemies with bare hands. “Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto ryu" was created during Japan’s civil war, so it has all the techniques a samurai can use to fight on the battlefield. Among them, of course, swordsmanship is the most fundamental.
The swordsmanship of “Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto ryu" has Kata of “Omote no Tachi" and Kata of “Gogyo no Tachi" . All Katas are very violent and move quickly back and forth and left and right. However, the real important technique seems to be hidden in those quick and colorful movements. And the truth is invisible to outsiders, and only masters who have undergone long and rigorous training can know it.