History

In 1387, the founder of the Katori Shinto Ryu, Ienaoko, was born in the village of Iizasa. It is told that he became a master of sword and spear (yari) at an early age. As a samurai of the daimyo of Chiba he took part in several battles. The ruling house of Chiba fell from power after a conflict with the Shogun, in which the fortified homestead of the Iizasa-family was levelled with the ground, as were a number of villages in the family domain. Sad and masterless, Ienaoko travelled to the Katori shrine, hoping to attain satori (enlightenment) by a combination of prayer, meditation and rigorous training. At this time, he was 64 years of age. He went to live in a simple dwelling at the gate of the Katori shrine, near his present grave.

It is said that he rose every morning before dawn, in summer and winter, and practiced with sword, naginata (halberd) and yari until late in the evening. Before he returned to his home he took an ice-cold bath for purification. After that he spent an hour reciting his prayers at the Katori shrine. Having come home he studied religious and philosophical scriptures until late at night, physical exhaustion notwithstanding. He led this life for one thousand days.

Then one night the god to whom the Katori-shrine was dedicated, Futsunoshi no Mikoto, appeared to him in a dream. The god had taken the form of a young man and was sitting on the branch of an old tree near the place where Ienaoko performed his daily exercises. The vision beckoned Ienaoko to come closer and presented him with a scroll, the Mokuroku Heiho Shinsho, uttering the words: 'Choisai, you shall be the tutor of all the great sword fighters under the sun!' Then the young man jumped out of the tree and disappeared. As Ienaoko woke up he held the scroll clasped to his breast. The Mokuroku contained the divine descriptions of martial techniques and strategy.

Following this revelation Ienaoko changed his name to 'Choisai' and founded his sword fighting school. He called it 'Katori', after the Katori shrine. To honour Futsunoshi no Mikoto he added the words 'Tenshin shoden' (transmitted by the Gods). He also added the word Shinto: immaculate (pure) sword.

The present headmaster of the Katori Ryu posesses a large number of manuscripts, mostly claimed to be written by Choisai, that emphasize how he exhaustively studied and elaborated the techniques he was given. When the Gods let him pass away, in the second year of Sho-Kyo (1488), on the fifteenth day of the fifth month, Choisai had reached the high age of one hundred and one year. Starting with Choisai's eldest son, Wakasaka no Kami Morichika, his descendants continued the school for generation after generation.After the foundation of the school by Choisai it became the stated tradition that it only served the emperor, or the country if it was in danger.

Every person who wanted to practice martial arts in a serious and devoted manner could be admitted to the school. The registers in the archives of the Katori Shinto Ryu hold the names of famous sword fighters in Japanese history, such as Nobutsuna, the founder of the Kage Ryu, the renowned Tsukuhara Bokuden, founder of the Kashima Shinto Ryu, the famous generals Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Takenaka Hanbei Shigeharu, and many others. Even the legendary Miyamoto Musashi is said to have visited the Katori shrine in his quest for enlightenment.

Until the present day a memorial service is held every year on the fourteenth of April in the Katori shrine. This service includes a gohei: a Shinto-ritual in which the Gods are invoked with a holy staff, embellished with strips of paper folded in a complex way. Every twelfth year, in the Year of the Horse, a great feast is held for two days: the Jinko-Sai. In the 35th year of Showa (1960) the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu was declared to be an 'intact (i.e. authentic) national cultural treasure of Japan', as the first and only of the martial disciplines.

The disciples of the Katori Shinto Ryu are not allowed to engage in arbitrary or even friendly contest. The drawing of a sword is considered to be a grave matter, decisive of life and death. The sword may never be drawn rashly. Even drawing the blade only one centimetre from the scabbard is considered an invitation to a duel. A friendly contest is called "shiai" in Japanese. In Katori Shinto philosophy this is synonymous with "shi ni ai", a fight to the death. As a consequence there is no competition in the Katori Shinto Ryu:competition is only possible because of the limitations that have been set on the fighting techniques to prevent bodily harm.

In the Katori Shinto Ryu a disciple could traditionally receive a certificate of appreciation (mokuroku) - in ancient times after about fifteen years of intensive training. Much later, upon achieving a certain level of proficiency, he could also receive a menkyo (teaching license). The highest degree is the gokui kaiden (master of the secret techniques). Only a few individuals will achieve this level of skill and maturity.