Matsuzaki Namishirō
松崎浪四郎
Kurume Domain Swordsman Who Fought Famous Bouts Against Momoi Shunzō and Ueda Umanosuke, an Adept Active into the Meiji Era
Description
Life
Born in 1833 in Kurume, Mii District, Chikugo Province (present-day Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture), as the son of Matsuzaki Hachiemon, a retainer of Kurume domain. His given name was Naoyuki, and in later years he took the pen name Ryūu Rōjin.
Swordsmanship
In 1844 he entered the school of Katōda Heihachirō in Katōda Shinkage-ryū. He received a license in Shinkage-ryū in 1848 and a license in Hōzōin-ryū spearmanship the following year. In 1855 he traveled to Edo for martial training, defeating Momoi Shunzō and Saitō Shintarō and fighting Ueda Umanosuke to a celebrated draw. Through this training in Edo he also formed a friendship with Yamaoka Tesshū.
Career
During the Boshin War he took part in the fighting at Iwaki-Taira. After the Restoration, in 1871 he became swordsmanship instructor of Kurume domain, later also holding administrative posts. He did not abandon the sword even in the Meiji era, traveling to Tokyo in 1884 and fighting numerous celebrated bouts against swordsmen from across the country.
Anecdote
Known for such skill that it was said he "always took the first point," in his later years he changed schools to Yamaoka Tesshū's Mutō-ryū, calling his own style "Yamaoka Mutō-ryū." In 1895, past the age of sixty, he still competed in the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai's grand martial arts demonstration and was awarded a seirenshō certificate of mastery — said to have been the last match of his life.
Later Reputation
Matsuzaki is remembered as a master who carried the old art of swordsmanship through into a new era, from the Bakumatsu period into the Meiji era. He died in 1896 at the age of sixty-three.
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