The martial art of Hontai Yoshin Ryu Takagi Ryu was created in the 17th century. It is believed that this school developed particularly actively during the Edo period. At that time, it was practiced in the regions of Himeji and Ako, and then, during the Meiji period and later, the school appeared and became known in other regions of Japan.

There are several different stories about the development of the school. This is due to the fact that in the 19th century, the school continued to exist in several versions. It should be noted that some stories cannot be confirmed by documents and have some discrepancies in different branches of the school.

There are records from the school that mention that on August 15, 1695, the Emperor appointed Takagi Oriemon Shigetoshi as a master in several arts, an imperial bodyguard, and an instructor of the imperial palace guard. However, this information has not been confirmed.

Takagi passed away in 1711. Several images of him remain, created by the renowned engraver Utagawa Kuniyoshi. These images are from a series about Japanese heroes and sword masters.

In 1993, followers of the Hontai Yoshin Ryu school visited his grave in the Shiraishi Castle area and held a training session there in memory of their founder.

The second master of the school, Takagi Umanosuke Shigesada, was born in 1655 and in 1671, at the age of 16, received menkyo kaiden from his father and Soke. In his travels around the country, he studied various schools of combat and is considered the founder of some of them. For example, in addition to Takagi-ryu, he is also credited with founding Mikken-ryu and Kakugai-ryu.

In his youth, he took part in several unsuccessful battles with the elderly master of Takenouchi-ryu. This was Takeuchi Hisayoshi, grandson of the founder of the Takeuchi school, Hisamori, and the third Soke of this school. The fights were quite official and took place at Tsuyama Castle in the presence of Lord Mori, as evidenced by data from both schools.

At that time, Master Takeuchi was traveling around the country conducting his “musha shugo.” According to descriptions, he was short in stature and absolutely not muscular. Despite the significant difference in size and strength, the young Takagi, who was said to be able to drive coins into wood with his fists and was of enormous height (about 180 cm, which was considered rare in medieval Japan), was defeated twice and taken under control.

Engravings depicting Takagi Toranosuke defeating earthly and underwater demons.

The third master of the school was considered an outstanding master of hand-to-hand combat of his time. He taught in Himeji and received 500 koku of rice for teaching high-ranking samurai the martial arts of his family. This was a record amount, demonstrating the special status and respect accorded to the master. It was believed that 1 koku of rice was enough to feed one person for a year. In addition to jujutsu, his training program included bojutsu, naginata jutsu, sojutsu, and shuriken jutsu.

Gennosuke (Gennosuke) Hideshige Takagi died at the early age of 32, passing the school on to his friend and student. The fourth Soke was Okuni Kihe Shigenobu, born in 1684 in Izumo, a master of Kuki-shin-ryu, who became famous for his perfect art of fighting with a naginata spear and a bo staff.

It is believed that Okuni was also a bearer of the Tendo-ryu naginata jujutsu and Chosui-ryu tai jujutsu traditions, having received them from Tetsuhei Masataka.

The masters met in the mountains during a period of mystical asceticism. After meeting Master Takagi in a series of “taryu jiai” duels, he was defeated in hand-to-hand combat but proved to be the best in combat with wooden weapons. After Genoshin Hideshigi Takagi invited him to visit his family's dojo, Okuni became his disciple and later inherited the title of Soke from him. He developed the school in Ako, a city known for the story of the 47 samurai who became ronin and avenged their lord, Asano Nagano.

From that time on, the two arts were combined, and Hontai Takagi Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu and Kukishin Ryu Bojutsu were studied together as a single system.

There are some discrepancies in the information about the relationship between the Kukishin-ryu and Takagi-ryu schools. According to sources from the Kuki family, the techniques of Kukishin-ryu were studied in the Takagi family earlier, at the beginning of the 17th century. According to this statement, a representative of the Takagi family had been studying Kukishin-ryu since 1602, and on March 7, 1617, he received the traditional scrolls and the complete transmission of the school. Representatives of the Kuki family believe that the relationship between the two schools began several generations earlier with the battle between Takagi and Okuni. However, the official version of the Hontai Yoshin Ryu Takagi Ryu school states that the first contact between the schools was between Genoshin Hideshigi Takagi and Kihay Shigenobu Okuni.

It is known that Okuni practiced the mystical art of “shugendo” - the path to gaining power. It was in the mountains, during his secluded practice, that he first met the third patriarch of Takagi Ryu, who was also undergoing similar asceticism.

It should be noted that followers of the Hontai Yoshin ryu believe that the school borrowed only the section on weapon fighting techniques, although followers of the Kukishin ryu believe that much of the hand-to-hand combat section are also similar in technique and principles. These two schools were intertwined not only at the beginning of their journey, but also later, when in the 19th century, master Ishii (Ishitani) Matsutaro, having received knowledge from his father Ishiyama Takeo Masatsugu, head of the Hontai Takagi Yoshin Ryu, studied Kuki Shin Ryu in parallel with Iba Toyotaro, the 14th grand master of Kukishin Ryu.

The next bearers of the Takagi Yoshin Ryu tradition were: Okuni Hachikuro Nobotoshi, Okuni (Taro-Daisuke) Daifu Tadanobu, Okuni Kihyo Yoshisada, Okuni Yozaemon Yoshisada, Nakayama Jinai Sadahide, Okuni (Take-Uemon) Buemon Hidenobu, Nakayama Kazaemon Sadayoshi, Okuni Kamaji Hidetoshi. All these masters ran the school in Ako.

One of Okuni Kihyo's students in the Hontai Takagi Yoshin Ryu and Kuki Shin Ryu, Ivanaga Gennosuke Masamitsu, also received an instructor's license in 1753. Due to family circumstances, he was forced to move to the other end of the country, separated from the school, and formed his own style, Shingetsu Muso Yanagi Ryu, which still exists today.

The thirteenth bearer of the tradition, Yagi Ikigoro Hisayoshi, is a separate milestone in the development of the school, as it was with him that its active division into a number of versions began. He was the first to award the highest title and scrolls of the school to several students at once, and after him, other bearers of the tradition began to do the same. According to available data, Yagi was drawn into a political conflict in October 1841, as a result of which he became a ronin.

An interesting historical fact has been recorded: once, while walking, he was suddenly attacked by a huge rabid dog that was terrorizing the entire district, and he killed it with a wooden hairpin.

Having no other work, he opened a dojo in the western part of Kobe and taught many students, some of whom achieved a high level of mastery. Three of his students later created their own branches of the school: Fujita-den, Ishibashi-den, and Ishiyama-den. The Ishiyama line is also called Ishitani-den. Each of these schools developed in parallel, and since the school split, each version has its own genealogy.

The Ishibashi line may have ended with him, as it is not known for certain to whom he passed on the menkyo kaiden. Ishibashi was a shop owner, his business took up a lot of his time, and he was not active in developing his school. It is believed that after his death, all his scrolls remained with his children. One of his descendants did teach, calling his style Ishibashi Takagi Ryu. He had several students, one of whom, Akiyama Yotaro, named his style Hontai Kukishin-ryu. His son, Soke Ishii Takeo, later studied Kukishin-ryu under Ishii Matsutaro.

According to the Fujita-den version, the 14th Soke of the school was Fujita Togoro Hisakichi, who taught the 15th Soke, Mizuto Yoshitaro (Mizuta-den), and subsequently the next head of the school (according to this version), Takamatsu Toshitsugu, who passed on the line of succession to Sato Kinbei, Kimura Masaharu, and Hatsumi Masaaki. Some texts on the line descending from Takamatsu Toshitsugu state that his transmission of Takagi-ryu also came from Master Ishii (Ishitani). This is probably due to the fact that he was in contact with Ishii Matsutaro.

Some jujutsu adepts also claim that Ishii Takeo was not only a master of Kukishin ryu and Takagi ryu, but also the 11th Soke of the Gikan ryu school. According to this information, on August 27, 1863, Ishii, already the Soke of two schools, met Uryu Gikan, the 10th Soke of Gikan ryu, who had been wounded in the arm, in one of the temples. Ishii helped him, and they became friends. Gikan taught him his family school of hand-to-hand combat and eventually passed on the menkyo kaiden to him.

The master made a number of changes to the techniques of Hontai Takagi Yoshin ryu. He developed several additional sections and passed the title of 15th Soke to his son Ishiya Matsutaro Masaharu, who left home at an early age and also became Soke of another version of Kuki ryu (from Akiyama Yotaro, a follower of the Ishibashi line), who, in turn, passed on the title of 16th Soke to his father's best student, Kakuno Happeita Masayoshi (Kakuno-den).

According to some sources, Ishii Matsutaro himself worked as a security chief at a factory owned by the Takamatsu family in his later years. It is believed that he also taught Takamatsu Toshitsugu.

The 16th Soke of the Kakuno Happeita school (also read as Hachiheita) was born in the 8th year of the Meiji era. He is considered the most talented student of Ishiyama Takeo and contributed greatly to the development of the school. The master gave demonstrations throughout the country and made some changes to the technique. His most famous performances were demonstrations of Hontai Yoshin Ryu Takagi Ryu no Kata on July 11, 1935, at Kashima Jingu and on June 12 at Katori Jingu.

It is known that Master Kakuno formed his own fighting style, Kakuno ryu, but taught it separately from the main line of Hontai Takagi Yoshin ryu.

Soke Kakuno opened a dojo in Kobe, where he had several high-level students. The most prominent of them were Minaki Saburo Masanori, Tsutsui Yoshitaro, and Kanazawa Ichizo.

During Minaki's absence, master Tsutsui Tomotaro Yoshitaka (1906–1983), who also held the rank of menkyo kaiden, became the head of the school. Minaki and Tsutsui were relatives and friends. Therefore, upon Minaki's return, the school split, and Tsutsui Tomotaro became the Soke of a branch he named Takagi Ryu Jujutsu.

At Soke Tsutsui's school, they continued to cultivate the old techniques with virtually no changes, teaching traditional kneeling fighting methods and sword selection techniques, rear capture methods, hard throws with falls, and continuation of techniques on the ground. In his lineage, he is the 17th Soke after Kakuno Happeita.

Soke Minaki taught that martial arts without the spirit of Buddha are not true Budo, as he believed that the heart of a true master must be compassionate. He believed that the development of true martial arts requires the development of the creative potential of students. He is known for his statements that “Budo is a philosophy and an art of creation” and “do not lose your way to sincerity.”

Minaki Saburo, the 17th Soke of Hontai Yoshin Ryu, was considered a very authoritative master of the school, and the version he practiced was very well known in his time, so the Japanese Federation of Traditional Martial Arts asked him and his students to create an educational and demonstration film about the Takagi family's martial art. The film also showed elements of Kukishin Ryu bojutsu.

Master Kanazawa Ichizu was an outstanding specialist and teacher, one of the best students of Soke Kakuno. While the master was still alive, Kanazawa was offered to become the next head teacher of the school, but for a number of reasons he refused. He continued to teach students the classical versions of Hontai Takagi Yoshin Ryu and Kukishin Ryu until his death, but did not open his own school, passing on all his knowledge to his son Kanazawa Akira and his friend and colleague Yasumoto Akiyoshi. Kanazawa placed particular emphasis on studying methods of disarming an opponent attacking with a knife. His disarming practice included both studying techniques and various methods of combat. Inoue Tsuyoshi and his son, Inoue Kyoichi, also studied under Kanazawa Ichizu.

There are several interesting stories about Soke Minaki. Many of his students talk about the amazing power of this short man's strikes. One such story took place shortly after the end of World War II, when there were many gangs in Japan. In the area between Osaka and Kobe, where Minaki lived, one of these gangs killed and robbed a young woman carrying food for her children. Since the police were unable to take any action, Minaki decided to take justice into his own hands. He began walking around the dangerous area, provoking the gangsters, and at one point, he was attacked by them. After a hand-to-hand fight, several members were killed, and the rest retreated. Many years later, when Minaki's students learned about this, they asked him how he managed to disperse an entire gang single-handedly without weapons. In response, he picked up a flat stone and split it with a blow from the edge of his palm. This happened a few days before Soke's death.

There are also stories about fierce battles with representatives of other styles who came to his dojo to test their skills. According to his students, some of these fights ended in serious injuries.

Officially, Soke Minaki divided Hontai Yoshin Ryu and Kukishin Ryu and passed on Hontai Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu and the sword of the 13th head of the Yagi Hisayoshi school to his student Inoue Tsueshi Munetoshi as a good organizer and a person who contributed to international development. This took place in 1982 at an official ceremony. However, a number of his students received “menkyo kaiden” in Hontai Takagi Yoshin Ryu - the highest level of recognition and the right to independence and to open their own schools: Haraga Hiroshi, Kanazawa Akira (son of Kanazawa Ichizo), Sato Kimimaro, and Yasumoto Akiyoshi.

Of course, after the division of the schools, the masters of the Hontai Yoshin Ryu line did not stop practicing the methods of weapon combat from Kukishin Ryu that they had learned over many years of training, but this section became known as Hontai Yoshin Ryu Bo-jutsu.

Soke Minaki Saburo demonstrates hanbo-jutsu

In 1986, with the joint support of the Japanese and Chinese governments, a series of martial arts demonstrations was organized in China. Hontai Yoshin Ryu was the only jujutsu school selected by the Japanese Traditional Martial Arts Federation to demonstrate the classical art of hand-to-hand combat.

Along with the school's delegation, masters of Aikido, led by Ueshiba Moriteru, Shorinji Kempo, Judo, Kyudo, Kendo, and Kenjutsu also participated in the demonstration.

As a leading master of Jujutsu, Yasumoto Sensei demonstrated this section of the school, while his colleagues showed the art of wielding various weapons included in the Hontai Yoshin Ryu program.

It should be noted that Soke Inoue inherited only the Hontai Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu line, as the Kukishin Ryu Bojutsu line was inherited by Kyoeda Matsuda, who remained Soke for only one day, after which he transferred the school and the title of “Soke” to Master Tanaka Fumon, who called himself “the secret disciple of Minaki Saburo.”

It should be noted that Soke Tanaka does indeed have photographs showing him training in jujutsu under the guidance of Minaki Saburo, whereas, according to the regular students of Minaki's dojo, they did not see this. Another important note is that from questioning Yasumoto Soke we learned that Minaki Soke taught several students at their local dojos and on many occasions Yasumoto Akiyoshi was Minaki Soke’s uke and he confirmed that the aforementioned claims by Tanaka are true. Minaki Soke was a professional teacher and he taught both jujutsu and bone setting with Yasumoto as his uke.

Thus, Tanaka Fumon became the 19th Soke of Kukishin ryu Bo-jutsu of this lineage. He calls this style the “School of Nine Demons,” which suggests that this version of the name is probably preserved in the Ishii lineage.

Continuing his research, Soke Tanaka also studied the Kukamishin ryu style under Ihei Matsumoto and became a bearer of the tradition. Interestingly, in this line, Ishii Matsutaro Tadaaki is considered the 16th Soke.

There is information that different types of weapons were used in different lines of the school at different times. For example, it is known that in Mizuta-den, the Kukishin ryu bojutsu section was not passed on, as Master Mizuta left his teacher's dojo before mastering this technique, having received menkyo no maki (in this version, this is not the highest degree).

In the Soke Minaki line of the school, Kukishin ryu and Hontai Yoshin ryu were separated and taught separately, and had different Soke. There is also a densho that includes a section on “kama” (sickle) fighting techniques, but there is no information about where this technique originated in the school.

A scroll from 1844 that has survived to this day states that in this version, the school was passed on from the well-known Nakayama Kazaemon to a certain Yamada Takahiro. The school then passed to Asada Sadamu, then to Minamoto Sadatsugu, who in turn passed it on to Kitakawa Moritaro. Virtually nothing is known about this version of the school today.