Did Aikido originate in Aizu? Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu and Takeda Sokaku [Part 2] | The secret Aizu martial art "Oshikinai" and the mystery of Sokaku's youth

What is Oshikinai, the martial art of the Aizu domain that is said to be the origin of Daito-ryu?

According to Daito-ryu tradition, the school "Oshikiuchi," which was used in the palace and was kept secret from outside the domain, and it is said that Takeda Sokaku reorganized this and spread it to the world.

According to legend, Oshikinai was passed down among successive feudal lords and a very small number of high-ranking samurai in the Aizu domain, and was a martial art that was not taught to members of other domains

However, the true nature of this martial art, Goshikinai, is unclear, and since no clear documents remain, it has been considered a mysterious school

the Oshikinai from Saigo Tanomo, a former chief retainer of the Aizu clan and a priest at Ryozen Shrine in Date County, Fukushima Prefecture , and is said to have been advised to spread it to the world around 1897, at which point he set out on a journey around the country.

We will discuss its credibility as historical fact in a later section, but let's take a moment to consider what kind of technique Goshikinai actually was

The meaning of "Oshikinai"

First, I looked up the word "Oshikinai" in a dictionary and found that it was mentioned in the entry for "Aikido" in Heibonsha's World Encyclopedia (old edition)

According to the description, it is a "martial art for self-defense in the palace," and it is understood that it is positioned as a technique to be used in the special circumstances of the palace, i.e., inside a palace or castle

Although the term "denchu" generally refers to the residence of the shogun, here it can be assumed to refer to the interior of castles such as Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle and Edo Castle

Other explanations also state that it also included etiquette in the palace, suggesting that it was a comprehensive system that went beyond martial arts alone

Martial arts in the "Palace" shown in the Oshikinai

The important thing to note here is that wearing swords was generally prohibited in the palace, and the only equipment allowed was a short sword or similar worn at the waist

Naturally, fighting within the palace was strictly forbidden, and anyone who drew a short sword and started a fight would be severely punished, as can be imagined from the famous scene in "Chushingura."

In other words, the martial arts in the palace were

• Fighting with bare hands indoors
• Subduing an opponent with a knife
• Restrain the opponent without killing or injuring as much as possible

Elements such as these are important

These are requirements similar to arrest techniques in modern terms, and it is thought that judo techniques were therefore highly refined

"zatori" in many forms of old-style jujitsu, not just Daito-ryu and Aikido , is a vestige of this tradition, and cannot be discussed without taking into account Japan's unique physical culture of sitting in seiza indoors.

Although the full details of the ceremony are unclear, it is believed that techniques such as these, which were refined with the aim of quickly subduing and capturing an opponent, are one of the roots of Daito-ryu

---

The mystery of the career of Takeda Sokaku, a master of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu

Now let's take a look at the profile of Takeda Sokaku, the Aizu martial artist who popularized Daito-ryu throughout the world

However, the bottom line is that there are almost no accurate records about Sokaku's upbringing and early life, so traditionally the basis for information has been the legends of Daito-ryu and what Sokaku himself is said to have said

However, there are many parts that do not align with historical facts, and research findings have indicated that there may have been some kind of authoritative fiction regarding the history of the school

Here, based on the research of Takaku Tatsuhide ("A Study of the Historical Facts of Daito-ryu and the Meaning of Aikido", Martial Arts Studies, Vol. 52: Japan Martial Arts Association: 2019), we will look at Sokaku's career by comparing legend with historical fact

Early life and martial arts history

Takeda Sokaku was born in 1859 in what is now Aizubange Town, Kawanuma County, Fukushima Prefecture.

It was previously believed that his father was Takeda Sokichi, a samurai of the Aizu domain, but research has revealed that he was not a samurai but a farmer and foot soldier

His father, Sokichi, was a sumo wrestler with the sumo wrestling title "Shiraito," and during the Boshin War, he commanded about 150 wrestlers as the captain of a sumo unit, carrying out duties such as transporting cannons

Sokichi excelled not only in sumo but also in the arts and martial arts, and it is said that Sokaku first learned martial arts such as judo and spearmanship from his father

At the end of the Edo period, the family name was written as "Takeda" instead of "Takeda," and in the "Jinshin Family Register" of 1872 (Meiji 5), four families in the same village changed their name to "Takeda."

It is also said that he studied Ono-ha Itto-ryu swordsmanship under Shibuya Touma, a samurai of the Aizu domain, but Shibuya served in the Boshin War, which ended in defeat, making it difficult for him to teach after the Meiji Restoration.It has also been pointed out that it is unlikely that Sokaku, who was not the son of a samurai, would have been taught directly, and it is therefore highly likely that Shibuya's top disciple and assistant instructor, Takeda Zenjuro, was his original teacher

By the way, Ono-ha Itto-ryu was one of the schools studied by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and was practiced not only in Aizu but also nationwide, becoming a famous school that eventually had a major influence on modern kendo

From a young age, Sokaku excelled not only in martial arts but also in swordsmanship, and due to his small stature, he is said to have earned the nickname "Little Tengu of Aizu."

This is why there are cases in which Daito-ryu still carries techniques that are descended from Ono-ha Itto-ryu, which shows the deep connection with swordsmanship

According to legend, Sokaku went to Edo at around the age of 13 to train in martial arts, where he studied the Jikishinkage-ryu style under Sakakibara Kagenikichi, a master swordsman who had previously served as a swordsmanship instructor at the shogunate's Kobusho (military training center) and as a private instructor for the 14th shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi.He also spent his days training in various other martial arts and competing in matches with other styles

However, it is not certain whether he was actually able to enter Sakakibara's dojo, and it has been pointed out that he may have studied other schools in Edo

Marriage and in-law relationships revealed in family registers from the blank period of adolescence

There are no accurate records of most of Sokaku's youth, but it is said that when he was in his late teens, his older brother Sokatsu passed away and he was called back to take over as head of the family

However, legend has it that he ran away and tried to join Saigo Takamori's army during the Seinan War in 1877, but was unable to do so, and instead traveled around the country, including Kyushu, to train as a warrior

However, there are many mysteries surrounding Sokaku, such as why he, a native of Aizu, would join his arch enemy, Saigo Takamori of Satsuma, and how he was able to move freely throughout Kyushu during the tense circumstances of the Seinan War, the last and largest civil war in Japanese history

However, it is possible to imagine that he continued his wandering journey until his mid-twenties, and the first accurate record to appear is from the family register, which shows that his eldest daughter, Teru, was born in May 1885 (Meiji 18)

His wife was Kon, the grandson of Sato Kin'emon, who once served as a guard for the Aizu feudal lord, and recent research has suggested that Sokaku may have actually learned the secret Aizu Oshikinai from Kin'emon, his great-grandfather

It is also likely that learning Shugendo and Shingon Esoteric Buddhism from Nakagawa Mannojo, a fortune teller who lived nearby and was known as the Saint of I Ching, was an important factor in his martial arts training

---