* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Jingo Muneharu
神後宗治
One of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Shinkage-ryū Who Accompanied Kamiizumi Nobutsuna
Description
Discipleship under Kamiizumi Nobutsuna
Jingo Muneharu was one of the senior disciples of Kamiizumi Ise no Kami Nobutsuna, founder of Shinkage-ryū. When Nobutsuna, following the fall of the Nagano clan of Minowa Castle in Kōzuke Province, traveled the provinces to spread Shinkage-ryū, Jingo Muneharu accompanied him alongside Hikita Kagekane (Toyogorō), attending instruction sessions across the country.
The "Four Heavenly Kings" of Shinkage-ryū
Jingo Muneharu is counted, together with Hikita Kagekane, Marume Nagayoshi (Kurandonosuke), and Okuyama Kimishige, as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Shinkage-ryū," the four most outstanding among Kamiizumi Nobutsuna's many senior disciples. Each of the four is known to have added his own refinements to Shinkage-ryū and to have transmitted it to later generations.
Accompanying the Master on His Travels
During Nobutsuna's travels through the provinces, Jingo Muneharu, as one of his most senior and longest-serving disciples, is said to have remained constantly at his side, even attending sessions in which Nobutsuna instructed shoguns and daimyo.
Later Reputation
Compared with fellow "Four Heavenly Kings" Marume Nagayoshi and Hikita Kagekane, relatively little documentary evidence survives concerning Jingo Muneharu's own deeds. Nonetheless, he is remembered in the history of swordsmanship as one of the closest attendants who supported the nationwide spread of Shinkage-ryū.
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