* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Tsukahara Bokuden
塚原卜伝
Undefeated Sword Master of Kashima
Description
Prodigy of Kashima
In Entoku 1 (1489), Tsukahara Bokuden was born in Hitachi Province, present-day Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture. He grew up in a family of priests at Kashima Shrine and showed his talent for the sword at an early age. The Tsukahara family was a warrior house with deep ties to Kashima Shrine. Bokuden learned the family tradition, Kashima Koryū (Kashima Chūko-ryū), from his birth father, and Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū from his adoptive father, Tsukahara Yasumoto. He is also said to have received the inner secret of Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami Masanobu, Ichi no Tachi. He integrated and refined these traditions into Kashima Shintō-ryū. Bokuden's sword training was more than the mastery of technique. It is also said to have included a mystical experience in which he received the essence of the sword directly from the divine spirit of Kashima Shrine.
Training Journeys
Bokuden made several training journeys across the provinces over the course of his life. In these journeys he faced swordsmen throughout the country, and in nineteen real-blade duels he was never once defeated. This myth of invincibility speaks to the depth of his skill and spirit, and he was later hailed as the kensei (Sword Saint). During his travels, Bokuden associated with the most capable generals and swordsmen of his era, and his character and skill earned him great respect from prominent figures in many regions.
Ties to the Ashikaga Shogunate
Bokuden's reputation as a swordsman reached the shogunal household, and he is said to have taught swordsmanship to Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the thirteenth shogun of the Muromachi shogunate. Yoshiteru studied the sword under Bokuden with great dedication and became skilled enough to earn the nickname the 'Swordsman Shogun'. Much of the reason Yoshiteru is remembered by later generations as the 'Swordsman Shogun' is attributed to Bokuden's instruction. His teaching at the shogunal court raised Bokuden's social standing and also gave Kashima Shintō-ryū an opportunity to spread its fame throughout the realm.
Philosophy of the Sword
The core of Bokuden's swordsmanship philosophy is Ichi no Tachi. Ichi no Tachi is the inner secret of inner secrets, a supreme technique said to decide a contest with a single strike. This technique was a state that could be reached only after a lifetime of training, and Bokuden is said to have transmitted this secret only to his most trusted disciples. The anecdote of Mutekatsu-ryū is also famous as one of Bokuden's. When a young man challenged him to a contest on a boat, Bokuden lured him to an island and then rowed away, winning without fighting. The story clearly shows that the essence of the sword lies not in force but in wisdom and mind.
Influence on Warlords
Many warlords received Bokuden's teachings, and prominent generals of the era, including Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Kitabatake Tomonori, and Hosokawa Fujitaka (Yūsai), were among his disciples. Kitabatake Tomonori was a daimyō of Ise and known as one of the foremost swordsmen of his day, and he is said to have received Bokuden's Ichi no Tachi. Hosokawa Fujitaka is also said to have received instruction from Bokuden in the arts of the sword and spear. Through these prominent disciples, the techniques of Kashima Shintō-ryū spread throughout the country and influenced many later schools of swordsmanship.
Final Years and Succession
In Genki 2 (1571), Bokuden died at the age of eighty-three. In his later years he returned to Kashima and is said to have spent his remaining life in quiet retirement. His life was devoted to the sword alone, and he left an extraordinary record: nineteen real-blade duels without defeat, thirty-seven battles in war, and 212 enemies slain. Kashima Shrine is still visited today by many martial artists as a sacred site of swordsmanship, and it is revered as the place where Bokuden's sword spirit resides.
Notable Swords
- Ichi no Tachi (a swordsmanship method that embodies the secret technique itself. A one-strike-kill secret that Bokuden refined over his lifetime, transmitted only to the disciple he trusted most)