自然流
The Jinen Ryū was founded in 1996 by Retired Lieutenant Colonel Fumio Manaka (Unsui Sensei), to teach the fundamentals of classical Japanese fighting arts in a comprehensive and authentic manner, as he was taught by his teacher Masaaki Hatsumi since his teenage years.
After teaching martial arts to the U.S. soldiers stationed in Japan Hatsumi Sensei noticed that the larger and stronger Americans had an advantage in bouts when using the same techniques. He began to question the legitimacy of modern martial arts training and started to search for an art where persons of equal skill truly were equals, even if the other one was more muscular. It was after this time, while studying the ancient Japanese weaponry of the Masaki Ryū under Yumio Nawa, that he learned of ninjutsu and a martial artist named Toshitsugu Takamatsu who claimed to be proficient in this art. In 1957 he and Fukumoto Yoshio began making regular trips to train with his new teacher (who resided at the time in Kashiwabara, in Nara), taking a 15-hour train ride from his hometown of Noda in Chiba. This training continued for 15 years until the passing of Toshitsugu Takamatsu in 1972.
During this period of 15 years while training under his teacher, Hatsumi Sensei would return home and study what he had learned from Takamatsu Sensei on his pupils, the senior of who was Fumio Manaka. At this time, the young Manaka san was tasked by his teacher to meticulously record the details of every technique practiced. Toward the end of fifteen years of being the recipient of techniques and recording their details as taught by the Grandmaster, Manaka Sensei was granted mastery levels (Menkyo-kaiden) of three schools inherited by his teacher from Takamatsu Sensei, and Menkyo in three more.
Manaka Sensei went on to serve a career as a military officer in the Japanese Defense forces, continuing his personal training and development as a martial artist. Until 1996 he remained the top student of Hatsumi Sensei, who had gone on to offering his magnificent experience as a martial arts master to the world. In 1996, Manaka Sensei began his own organization dedicated to the preservation of the arts taught to him by his teacher. Unsui Sensei teaches every class from his copies of the original denshō as well as the manuscripts of training written while his teacher was still a student.
The Ryū-ha are very complex and it must be understood that basic comprehension of taijutsu and weaponry fundamentals must be in place before progressing onto the traditions. One could spend their life studying the immense amount of techniques and principles Unsui Sensei has recorded within the Jinen Ryū, but without solid fundamentals, advancement in the individual lineages would be unrealistic.
Description of Technique
Bikenjutsu, 秘剣術
Although used as a general term to refer to swordsmanship native to Japan, in modern times, kenjutsu is more often used to refer to the specific aspect of swordsmanship dealing with partnered sword training. The prefix Bi (秘) refers to the origin of specific knowledge that was in olden times was considered highly secretive. Kenjutsu is the oldest form of training, and at its simplest level, consists of two partners with swords drawn, practicing combative simulation. Historically practiced with wooden katana, this most often consists of pre-determined forms, called kata, or sometimes called kumitachi. Among advanced students, kenjutsu training evolves into increasing degrees of rigorous sparring practice.
Nitōjutsu, 二刀術
Popularized by the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (1584 – 1645), the founder of Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū, Nitōjutsu utilizes both long sword (daito) and short sword (shoto) simultaneously in combat. The Jinenkan’s system of nitōryū is characterized by Unsui Sensei’s observation that the strength of nature is far beyond anything that is achievable by man’s strength. From this, he created the Jinen Ryū Nitōjutsu based on the movements of earth, water, wind and fire.
Kusarifundōjutsu, 万力鎖術
The kusarifundo is a hand held weapon used in feudal Japan consisting of a length of chain (kusari) with a weight (fundō) connected to each end of the chain. Various sizes and shapes of chain and weight were used as there was no set rule on the construction of these weapons. The kusari-fundo was useful when carrying a sword was not allowed or impractical, samurai police of the Edo period would use a kusarifundō as one of their non lethal arresting weapons. The founder of the Masaki Ryū, Masaki Tarodayu Dannoshin Toshiyoshi (1689-1776) is said to have developed a version of the kusari-fundowhile serving Lord Toda as a bloodless weapon that could be used to defend the grounds of Edo castle.
Juttejutsu, 十手術
Juttejutsu was evolved mainly for the law enforcement officers of the Edo period to enable non-lethal disarmament and apprehension of criminals who were usually carrying a sword. Besides the use of striking an assailant on the head, wrists, hands and arms like that of a baton, the jutte can also be used for blocking, deflecting and grappling a sword in the hands of a skilled user.
Tantōjutsu, 短刀術
Tantōjutsu is the term for knife fighting with the use of the Japanese tantō. Worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan, the tantō dates to the Heian period when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. Tantō were used in traditional martial arts and saw a resurgence of use in the West in the 1980s as the design made its way to America and is a common blade pattern found in modern tactical knives.
The Tanto is commonly referred to as a knife or dagger, the blade is single or double edged with a length between 15 and 30 cm (6-12 inches, in Japanese 1 shaku). It was designed primarily as a stabbing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well. Tantō are generally forged in hira-zukuri style, meaning that their sides have no ridge line and are nearly flat, unlike the shinogi-zukuri structure of a katana. Some tantō have particularly thick cross-sections for armor-piercing duty, and are called yoroi toshi. Tantō were mostly carried by samurai, as commoners did not generally wear them. Women sometimes carried a small tantō called a kaiken in their obi primarily for self-defense. Tanto were sometimes worn as the shōtō in place of a wakizashi in a daishō,especially on the battlefield. Before the advent of the wakizashi/tanto combination, it was common for a samurai to carry a tachi and a tantō as opposed to a katana and a wakizashi.
Tessenjutsu, 鉄扇術
Tessenjutsu is the martial art of the Japanese war fan, tessen. In the Jinen Ryū, it is trained as a companion with the jutte as it would have been used by Edo law enforcement. The use of the war fan in combat is mentioned in early Japanese legends. Yoshitsune, a hero of Japanese legend, is said to have defeated an opponent named Benkei by parrying the blows of his opponent’s spear with an iron fan.
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