I had been under the impression that most lines of Masaki-ryu were subsumed within other arts these days; is that the case?
Suio-ryu have a heiden bujutsu in their tradition. They teach a line of Masaki-ryu kusarigama. Masaki-ryu is still taught seperately from other traditions, however, it is sometimes taught alongside other traditions the instructors may have licences in, say Edo Machigata Juttejutsu, or another ryuha.
Araki is found in Seattle Washington and Portland Oregon, in addition to a couple of spots in Japan. There is no headquarter school. Aaron Fields
It has honbu dojo, but since Araki Ryu is not just one line, there are several honbu to chose from, and not one that is representative of all the lines..One for each division of the school. As Steve said, Gunma is the head of one line, this one; http://www.arakiryu.jp/ But there are several others out there, not all associated with the above line, one in Saitama (Is that Kikuchi Sensei's line then Steve?)and others in other areas..Including Araki Ryu Iai in Hyogo I believe.. Anyway..
As I understand it, there is no single definitive group. There are several legitimate ones, each of which is more-or-less recognized by the others.
Araki-ryu have several lines, all independant of each other. There are two lines in Gunma (Kikuchi & Suzuki - Both lines called Araki-ryu Kempo) , and two that I know of in Saitama (Araki-ryu Gunyo Kogusoku - The line I practice and one more line, originating from Gunma.). There is also a line that only does iai in Hyogo(Araki Mujinsai-ryu Iaido). They all have hombu dojo, since they are all seperate entities from each other, albeit being related by lineage. The ones in Kanto have in their syllabus; Torite, kenjutsu, iaijutsu, bojutsu, nagamakijutsu, sojutsu, chigirikijutsu, kusarigamajutsu, ryofundojutsu and some lines have shurikenjutsu.
Kogusoku,may I know the sylabus of Araki-ryu Gunyo Kogusoku ? If possible sylabus of Masakiryu too,please
"....until the time of the 9th Soke, Fukuhara Shinzaemon Kagenori. Shinzaemon was both a student of the 8th Soke of the Suio Ryu, Yoshino Yaichiro Sadatoshi, as well as a student of Yoshida Shigesaemon Sadatoshi, in turn a senior student of Masaki Taro Dayu Toshimitsu the founder of a system of manrikigusari (a chain with weights attached at both ends) called the Masaki Ryu. Shinzaemon took what he had been taught of the Masaki Ryu weight and chain techniques and added a kama, or sickle, into the equation. He named his system Masaki Ryu Kusarigamajutsu and the system has been taught in conjunction with the Suio Ryu to this day, where it is more correctly referred to as Masaki Ryu Fukuhara Ha Kusarigamajutsu." Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan: Part 6, Suio Ryu 水鴎流 by Antony Cundy, Kendo World, Vol. 2 No.2 in 2003
Britt, Thanks for the clarification on the name of the line of Masaki-ryu taught in Suio-ryu. Much obliged.
