Odani Nobutomo

Odani Nobutomo (1798–1864) was a retainer of the shogunate and swordsman active in the late Edo period, known for bringing the Jikishin Kage-ryū to full maturity by succeeding to it as its 13th headmaster. During a period spanning the Tenpō to the Kōka era, he was celebrated together with Shimada Toranosuke and Ōishi Susumu as "the Three Great Swordsmen of the Tenpō era," and he was also honored as the "Sword Saint of the Bakumatsu." He is also known to have been a cousin by family register (second cousin by blood) of Katsu Kaishū (Katsu Yoshikuni).

Nobutomo was born in Edo as the son of the hatamoto Odani Chūnojō (Nobutaka). From an early age he showed outstanding talent for swordsmanship. He entered training under his teacher Danno Gennoshin (12th headmaster of the Jikishin Kage-ryū) and built up his skills. He was said to have surpassed his teacher while still young, and in his twenties he received full license (menkyo kaiden) in the Jikishin Kage-ryū. He then opened his own dōjō and trained many disciples. He worked to raise the technical completeness of the Jikishin Kage-ryū while also promoting its spread.

Nobutomo actively incorporated shinai training (practical training with protective gear) into his method, bringing innovation to the swordsmanship of his time. Unlike schools centered on kata practice, his practical training method using shinai and protective gear became the foundation of modern kendō. The training system Nobutomo established is said to have had a major influence on the modernization of kendō in the Meiji period. His skill was widely recognized even in his own day. When the shogunate's Kōbusho (shogunate military academy) was established in Ansei 3 (1856), he took the posts of deputy director and fencing instructor.

Among his disciples were outstanding swordsmen such as Shimada Toranosuke and Sakakibara Kenkichi, and Nobutomo's view of swordsmanship was passed on to modern kendō. The fame he earned as a "sword saint" conveys to this day the image of Nobutomo as a seeker of the Way, who aimed for the heights of pure martial arts even amid the turmoil of the Bakumatsu period.