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Today, the most widely practiced style of iaido in central Japan is "Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu," meaning "Peerless, Direct Transmission, True-Faith Style." Eishin-Ryu claims a unbroken history of about 450 years, making it the second oldest extant martial art form in Japan (the only budo form with a longer history is "Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-Ryu," an eclectic system of fighting arts that includes some "Iaijutsu," the art of drawing the sword and reacting to surprise attacks.
History of Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu
The founder of eishin ryu was Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto Shigenobu, who lived between 1546 and 1621 in present-day Kanagawa prefecture. Many of the historical details of Hayashizaki's life are suspect, since, like most famous martial artists in Japan, his story has been widely fictionalized, but it seams clear that he grew up during a time of constant warfare in Japan, and was exposed to various sword fighting methods from an early age. It is said that he went to Yamagata prefecture to pray for guidance and receive divine inspiration for a new way of drawing the sword. Whatever the circumstances, at some point he established his own style of swordsmanship and called it shimmei muso ryu, divinely inspired, unparalleled style.
Hayashizaki's iai-do has had many names since then. It is considered the foundation for the two major styles of iai-do practiced today: eishin ryu and muso shinden ryu. In each generation a headmaster, or soke, has been appointed to guide the practice of the art, and each soke has had his own influence on the development of iaido. As an example, Muso Jikiden Eishinryu was originally developed for the tachi, a slightly longer and more deeply curved predecessor of the katana. Hasegawa Chikaranosuke Eishin, from whom the styles name is derived, adapted the style to the newly developed katana.
--Fhkittredge 21:51, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)
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