From its conception in the mid-seventeenth century through the friendship of Hagiwara Jūzō and Niki Shinjūrō through to the current Grandmaster Uematsu Yoshiyuki, the school has broken off into multiple branches and offshoots, leaving a spiderweb network of lineage trails. Of all these, only one branch school survives to this day and should be considered one strand among a web of others, all of which have now faded.
The following lineage chart was rebuilt by Mieko Koizumi from original scrolls. Before Mieko’s efforts, the lineage kept by the current grandmaster was only considered to go back as far as Kaneko Kichibei (profiled in the following section). Furthermore, as Hagiwara Jūzō is taken to be the founder, based on the present information, the current grandmaster is the 15th generation and the only remaining master of the school.
The Mubyōshi Ryū lineage, based on our research:
1. Hagiwara Jūzō Shigetatsu (萩原重蔵茂辰)
2. Tōmi Gen’nai Nobuna (東美源内宣名)
3. Shimano Zenzaemon Naokata (嶋野善左衛門直賢)
4. Nagai Kagami Katayoshi (永井各務方叔)
5. Tsuchikawa Kakuemon Takayoshi (土川覚右衛門貴好)
6. Nanbu Shōzō Atsuyoshi (南部庄藏篤慶)
7. Nanbu Shōsuke Atsukuni (南部庄助篤圀)
8. Kaneko Kichibei Masatake (金子吉平正武)
9. Yamazaki Sōsuke (山崎惣助)
10. Michiseya Jinshichi (道清屋甚七)
11. Sono Kōsuke (曽野幸助)
12. Kishii Kiyozō (岸井清藏)
13. Nishimura Yosabei (西村興三兵衛)
14. Nishimura Seitarō (西村清太郎)
15. Uematsu Yoshiyuki (上松義幸)
Japanese names have multiple possible readings. The above transliterations are considered correct, but other readings are possible.
The constant use of Japanese names and terms can become tiresome, especially without context. The following list has been created to give a quick overview of the names found within the school, including the surrounding arts that are connected. Over the centuries, Mubyōshi Ryū has had hundreds if not thousands of students, but this list gives insight into the names found on the school scrolls and inferred history.
• a Sengoku Period warrior, dates unknown, known to be an expert swordsman
• in legend had a sword and spear fight with Tsukahara Bokuden (塚原卜伝), with Bokuden being the victor in sword, and the spear match being a draw
• said to have founded Shinjin Ryū, which was the basis of Niki Shinjūrō’s knowledge, some of which found its way into Mubyōshi Ryū
• only in the school history through association
• held the position of yoriki (captain of men) within the Kaga domain
• studied Shinjin Ryū under a man named Keison-in
• taught Shinjin Ryū to Mizuno Chūzaemon and Hagiwara Jūzō
• appears to have been expelled from Shinjin Ryū
• his teachings form the foundations for Mubyōshi Ryū
• considered the founder of Mubyōshi Ryū and to have taken most of his teachings from Niki Shinjūrō
• appears to have written the shinobi scroll Mizukagami, or collected the teachings from elsewhere and complied them
• was instructor to Tōmi Gen’nai
• considered to be Mubyōshi Ryū’s key figure
• most likely studied Shinjin Ryū under Niki Shinjūrō
• ?–1715
• a rōnin in Kaga
• taught Shinjin Ryū and Mubyōshi Ryū
• taught kumiuchi (grappling) in the Keibukan, the official school of the Kaga domain
• transcribed a version of the Mizukagami scroll
• taught Shinsō Ryū in the Keibukan
• his ancestor studied under Tōmi Gen’nai (profiled above)
• studied both Mubyōshi Ryū and Sodeoka Ryū Bō jutsu (quarterstaff)
• wrote the document Kaimokusho, which lists the school’s entire curriculum, including all the scroll titles and the list of oral traditions
• 1795–1858
• prolific martial artist, especially jūjutsu, kodachi (shortsword), and magic
• his father was a public servant, serving as a rice storage manager
• he was ashigaru (foot solider) in Komatsu Castle; lived in Komatsu City
• was given a bonus by Maeda Nariyasu
• built his own dōjō with the dimensions of 3.5 by 7 ken [21 by 42 feet], situated next to his house, which was built between 1818 and 1830 in Sono Machi, in Komatsu City, near Raishōji Temple
• four legends associated with him: (1) crossing a river on a straw mat; (2) performing the skill of disappearing beneath tatami mats and reappearing elsewhere to escape, done at Raishōji Temple; (3) having the ability to travel great distances at speed; (4) curing people of malaria and toothache; people used to use powder taken from his gravestone near Raishōji Temple to use as medicine
• two graves exist for him, one in Komatsu City public cemetery and one near Raishōji Temple
• owned a dōjō in Komatsu City, land still owned by the family, though the dōjō has been destroyed
• student of Kaneko Kichibei Masatake
• student of Kaneko Kichibei Masatake
• student to Kaneko Kichibei Masatake
• 1832–1909?
• studied Mubyōshi Ryū, Toda Ryū, Shizuka Ryū, Asaka Ryū, Yamaguchi Ryū, and Mizuno Ichi Ten Ryū
• established Hanbei Ryū lion dancing troupe, based on the above schools
• taught Mubyōshi Ryū at the Keibukan around 1854
• taught Shintō Ryū In-jutsu (in-jutsu is an unidentified art)
• studied Toda Kongō Ryū
• 1869–1919
• born in Nakabayashi in 1869 into a family of farmers
• studied swordsmanship, grappling, quarterstaff, halberd, sickle and chain, iron weapons, and more from Machida Hanbei when he was seventeen
• built a dōjō in Nakabayashi in 1901 and had over two hundred students from the Meiji period into the Taishō Period
• organized a local kendō association and helped local development
• students built a monument next to his dōjō in 1919
• established a lion dance in the Nakabayashi area performed on festival days in front of his monument
• studied Mubyōshi Ryū from Kaneko Kichibei’s student, Shimomura Fuyuzō; studied Issō Ryū from Matsumoto Koredayū Takahisa; said to have combined Mubyōshi Ryū and Issō Ryū and formed Issō Mubyōshi Ryū, teaching at the Keibukan around 1854
• current grandmaster of Mubyōshi Ryū
• inherited mainly the jūjutsu sections of the school and some weapon skills
• current grandmaster of Mukaku Ryū
A selection of the traditions from the school have been passed on to its current master, Uematsu Sensei, who runs the school to this day. Mubyōshi Ryū entered into the Uematsu family traditions in the twentieth century, and it must be made absolutely clear that Uematsu Sensei does not claim to have inherited the shinobi tradition; he is the inheritor of the jūjutsu side only with some other smaller aspects. However, the Uematsu family has long held their own military tradition, called Mukaku Ryū, a samurai school that focuses on chū-kodachi (shortswords) and shuriken (throwing blades). In an effort to preserve the maximum amount of skills, both Mubyōshi Ryū and the Uematsu family traditions of Mukaku Ryū have been recorded here, but they were never historically connected. Any student wishing to train in either of these schools is welcome to attend the dōjō in Japan.