Hyōhō Niten Ichi Ryū – Legitimate 12th Sōke and Shihan: Yoshimochi Kiyoshi

 

Hyōhō Niten Ichi Ryū – Legitimate 12th Sōke and Shihan: Yoshimochi Kiyoshi

The sword saint Miyamoto Musashi, once widely known through the works of Yoshikawa Eiji and Koyama Katsukiyo, more recently through the manga Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue, and also through the expression “Banri Ikkū” (萬理一空), famously referenced in the promotion speech of Kotoshogiku upon attaining the rank of Ōzeki, gathered within Hyōhō Niten Ichi Ryū the sword techniques through which he achieved victory in more than sixty duels throughout his life, together with his personal ideal of the Way of the Sword.

Although the general public commonly associates this school solely with the use of two swords, the twelve forms of Itto Seihō, or single-sword techniques, are in fact the culmination of the methods Musashi employed in real combat. The seven forms of Kodachi Seihō and the five forms of Nitō Tachi Seihō, known as Gohō, originated from the concept expressed in the “Book of Earth” of the Go Rin no Sho: when risking one’s life, every available weapon must be used; to die with a weapon still sheathed at one’s waist is contrary to true purpose. From this principle emerged Musashi’s technical ideal.

The bōjutsu curriculum consists of seven forms of Bō-ai Bō Seihō and thirteen forms of Tachi-ai Bō Seihō. These techniques were refined by Musashi during his later years in Kumamoto after encountering a highly skilled staff practitioner named Shioda Hamanosuke, thus giving rise to the bōjutsu of Niten Ichi Ryū. Altogether, these forty-four techniques constitute the complete transmission of Hyōhō Niten Ichi Ryū, handed down uninterrupted through the legitimate lineage of the Sōke.

In addition to these techniques, Musashi recorded in the Go Rin no Sho the spiritual state he attained through daily training and Zen discipline. Throughout the work, numerous teachings emphasize the importance of the mental and spiritual dimensions of practice. One of these teachings is “Banri Ikkū” (萬理一空), an expression often interpreted as persevering toward a single truth or purpose without ever losing sight of the path.

If one adds a personal interpretation based upon the spirit of these writings, it may be understood as the daily practice and cultivation of not only technical mastery, but also the ability to observe reality as it truly is and perceive the essence of all things. When all doubt disappears, one reaches the state of “Kū” — emptiness or void — a condition in which there is no hesitation within the principles of the sword and the spirit remains unmoved by any circumstance. This principle is also connected to the Hyōhō concept of “Jissō Enman,” in which both sides recognize each other’s level and part ways without the need to fight.

From the age of thirteen until the famous duel against Sasaki Kojirō on Ganryūjima at the age of twenty-nine, Musashi remained undefeated in more than sixty contests and became one of the most renowned swordsmen in Japan. Yet, as he himself wrote in the Dokkōdō, he “never departed from the Way of Strategy.” His life was never one of peace or rest.

Only in his later years, in Kumamoto, under the guidance of the monk Shunzan of Taishōji Temple — the mortuary temple of the Hosokawa clan — did Musashi finally attain spiritual tranquility through Zen and reach the state of “Banri Ikkū.” Thus, the union of sword and Zen became the true technical and spiritual essence of Niten Ichi Ryū transmitted down to the present day. Musashi himself stated that the state of Banri Ikkū could not be fully expressed in writing and that each individual must discover it through personal effort.

Banri Ikkū

The author explains that he himself received instruction in kendō and iaidō from childhood under his father, Gosho Motoharu. Nevertheless, even today, the very moment the thought “I will strike” or “I will perform this demonstration well” arises in his mind, his natural calmness immediately disappears. For this reason, he admits that he still remains far from the state in which technique and spirit are unified.

Why, then, is the legitimate transmission of Hyōhō Niten Ichi Ryū, which should have remained in Kumamoto, now located in Usa, Ōita Prefecture? To explain this, one must speak of the 8th Sōke, Aoki Kikuo. 

Aoki-sensei was born in 1886. From childhood he encountered Niten Ichi Ryū and received instruction from the 7th Sōke, Santō Kiyotake. Santō-sensei had fought on the Satsuma side during the Satsuma Rebellion and had lost his eldest son at Tabaruzaka. Perhaps because of this, he treated Aoki almost as though he were his own grandson. Later, after graduating from Kumamoto Commercial School, Aoki taught there until various circumstances led him to relocate to Taiwan.

Kiyonaga Tadanao, who would later become the 9th Sōke, entered the Japanese military in Taiwan in 1937. The following year, after winning a kendō tournament in Taichung, another participant informed him of a teacher at Taichung Commercial School who was also the legitimate 8th Sōke of Niten Ichi Ryū and the 14th Sōke of Sekiguchi Ryū Battōjutsu: Aoki-sensei. Thus began his apprenticeship. After the war, Kiyonaga returned to Usa and became a middle school teacher. In 1951 he invited Gosho Motoharu, also a teacher and the author’s father, to visit Aoki-sensei, who had by then returned to Kumamoto from Taiwan. Both men became direct disciples and traveled to Kumamoto every weekend to devote themselves to rigorous training.

Eventually, Aoki-sensei himself began traveling to Usa to teach. At times he visited together with his wife and stayed either at Kiyonaga’s residence or at the Yoshimochi family home, where Gosho Motoharu lived. He instructed the swordsmen of Usa with great dedication. The author recalls the excitement and pride he felt as a child whenever Aoki-sensei stayed at their house. As a gesture of gratitude for the family’s hospitality, this master — gifted in many arts much like Musashi himself — left behind numerous calligraphic works. The family still preserves more than a dozen of them as treasured heirlooms.

In 1958, the red oak bokutō carved by Musashi himself — the symbol of the Sōke transmission of Niten Ichi Ryū — was finally returned to Aoki-sensei. It had previously been entrusted to acquaintances in Taiwan for safekeeping during the chaos following the war. On one side of the bokutō was engraved “Jissō Enman no Hyōhō,” and on the reverse side “Kanryū Taigetsu Chōnyo Kyō,” secret principles of Niten. That same year, on December 8th, a commemorative tournament celebrating the return of the bokutō was held in Usa, and the author himself appears in the commemorative photograph taken at that event.

Considering his advanced age, Aoki-sensei decided to transmit in their entirety all forms of both Niten Ichi Ryū and Sekiguchi Ryū to Kiyonaga and Gosho, who had dedicated their lives to daily training and had mastered both traditions. Both men received Menkyo Kaiden, the license of complete transmission. Kiyonaga was appointed the 9th Sōke of Niten Ichi Ryū, while Gosho became representative of the 8th Sōke. This took place in 1967.

That same year, within the grounds of Usa Jingū, a monument bearing the inscription handwritten by Aoki-sensei himself — “Miyamoto Musashi – Seishin Chokudō” — was erected. The official transmission ceremony was performed before this monument. Through this act, the uninterrupted legitimate lineage of Hyōhō Niten Ichi Ryū, transmitted from Musashi himself, was transferred from Kumamoto to Usa. 

Furthermore, the red oak bokutō symbolizing the Sōke transmission is presently preserved within Usa Jingū by the will of the 10th Sōke, Imai Masayuki. As time passed, the spirit and techniques of Kiyonaga Tadanao were inherited by his son, Kiyonaga Fumiya, and today the disciples of Kiyonaga and Gosho remain united under the guidance of the 12th Sōke.

Whenever the author contemplates the powerful calligraphies left behind by Aoki-sensei, such as “Banri Ikkū” or “Kanryū Taigetsu Chōnyo Kyō,” he feels the profound determination with which Aoki sought to preserve the techniques of the founder Musashi, even to the extent of transferring the legitimate lineage from Kumamoto to Usa. In recent years, not only have Japanese students increased in number, but practitioners from distant countries such as Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, France, Switzerland, and the United States have also joined the tradition. Thanks as well to the generosity of a local monk, a dedicated dōjō for the school has been established, allowing it to flourish even further.

With the pride of belonging to the only dōjō preserving the legitimate techniques of the tradition, the author, as the 12th Sōke, assumes the responsibility of transmitting all inherited teachings to future generations, training successors while continuing daily discipline and refinement together with his disciples.