Hikita Kagetomo

Hikita Kagetomo (1537–1605) was a warrior and martial-arts master of the Sengoku to early Edo period, commonly called Bungorō. A leading disciple of the swordsmanship sage Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, he was later regarded as the founder of Hikita Kage-ryū swordsmanship and Shinkage Hikita-ryū spearmanship; in his later years he took the name Seiunsai. A nephew of Nobutsuna, he honed his skills with sword and spear at his master's side and was counted among the "Four Heavenly Kings of the Shinkage-ryū," noted especially for his spear technique. He is said to have instructed powerful daimyō including Oda Nobutada, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, Hosokawa Fujitaka, and Kuroda Nagamasa. The art he transmitted, considered "another Shinkage-ryū" distinct from the Yagyū line, was passed down as the Hikita Kage-ryū and survives to this day. He died in 1605.