Matsubayashi Henyasai
松林蝙也斎
Founder of the Musō Gan-ryū, Nicknamed "the Bat" for His Freely Leaping Swordsmanship
Description
Origins
Matsubayashi Henyasai is said to have been born in 1593 in Kaizu, Shinano Province (present-day Matsushiro, Nagano), as the son of Matsubayashi Nagatsune, a retainer of the Uesugi clan.
Swordsmanship Training and the Founding of Musō Gan-ryū
Henyasai studied Kashima Shintō-ryū as well as the Musō-ryū founded by Musō Gonnojō, and by adding his own innovations to these teachings founded his own school, Musō Gan-ryū.
A Remarkable Feat Before Tokugawa Iemitsu
Henyasai is said to have performed astonishing feats of light, freely leaping swordsmanship before the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, including leaping onto an opponent's blade. This display reportedly earned him a comparison to a bat, from which he came to be known by the name Henyasai ("Bat-like").
Later Reputation
Known for his freely leaping technique and distinctive approach to swordsmanship, Matsubayashi Henyasai is remembered as one of the more idiosyncratic swordsmen of the early Edo period, his exploits passed down in the swordsmanship lore of various regions.
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