Tomita Seigen

Tomita Seigen (dates disputed, c. 1537-c. 1579) was a swordsman of Echizen Province (present-day Fukui Prefecture) who gained enormous fame in the Sengoku era as a master of Chūjō-ryū swordsmanship. Despite losing his sight in his later years, the essence of his sword techniques never faded, and many swordsmen are said to have sought his teachings.

Seigen's origins are disputed, with accounts placing him as either a member of the Tomita family of Echizen or of the Kuratsukami clan. From youth he studied Chūjō-ryū (also called Hosokawa-ryū) swordsmanship, emerging as a senior disciple. Chūjō-ryū is a swordsmanship school centered on the kodachi (short sword), said to have been founded during the Northern and Southern Courts era by Chūjō Hyogo-no-kami Nagahide, and Seigen mastered this to become regarded as the strongest swordsman in Echizen Province.

Seigen's swordsmanship was characterized by the subtleties of kodachi technique and control of fighting distance. His technique of responding to an opponent's long sword with a short sword was groundbreaking for his era, and his remarkable skill was passed down as "Seigen's kodachi." His continued pursuit of the sword way even after losing his sight is transmitted as an anecdote showing that swordsmanship can reach a spiritual realm transcending visual technique.

Among his disciples, Tomita Shigekuni (who later founded "Tomita-ryū") and Kanemaki Jisai (said to have learned swordsmanship from Seigen) were particularly famous. Kanemaki Jisai reportedly later taught swordsmanship to Sasaki Kojirō, and there is a theory that Sasaki Kojirō's "Tsubame Gaeshi" technique was influenced by Seigen's kodachi techniques. In this way, Seigen's sword philosophy greatly influenced later swordsmen, occupying an important place in the history of Japanese swordsmanship.