Sokaku Takeda
Takeda
Sokaku was born the second son of Takeda Sokichi, on October 10,
1859, in the Takeda mansion in Oike in Aizu (present-day Fukushima
prefecture). As a boy, Sokaku learned kenjutsu, bojutsu, sumo, and
Daito-ryu from his father, and studied Ono-ha Itto-ryu at the Yokikan
dojo under Shibuya Toba.
In
1873, Sokaku travelled with his father to the dojo of his father's
friend, swordsman Sakakibara Kenkichi. There he stayed on as a live-in
student and immersed himself in studying the Jikishinkage-ryu. At
the Sakakibara dojo, Sokaku had opportunities to meet and train
with many of the top swordsmen of the day, many of whom had formerly
been members of the Tokugawa shogunate's Kobusho, the exclusive
martial arts school for government retainers. He studied diligently,
and eventually mastered many different skills and weapons, including
sword (ken), staff (bo), half-bow (hankyu), short-staff (jo), and
throwing darts (shuriken). Later, he also received a license (inka)
in the spear arts of the Hozoin-ryu.
Sokaku
traveled around visiting dojos throughout Japan, testing and polishing
his martial skills wherever he went. He also deepened his spiritual
connections through constant visits for prayer, devotions, and ascetic
training to sacred places such as Udomyojin in Kyushu, Mt. Futara
in Nikko, and Mt. Haguro in Dewa Province (now Akita and Yamagata
prefectures). His sword skills were unparalleled and he was feared
as "the Little Tengu of Aizu" (a tengu is a type of long-nosed
demon; they are renowned for their martial arts skills).
In about 1875, rumor reached Sokaku that Saigo Takamori had launched his rebellion in Satsuma against the forces of the new Meiji government. He decided immediately that he would go to lend his support. He made it as far as Kyushu but was unable to reach his destination, so he returned to Osaka where he spent the next ten years as a guest in the Kyoshin Meichi-ryu dojo of swordsman Momonoi Shunzo.
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Sokaku
learned Daito-ryu from his father Sokichi, but it was from Saigo
Tanomo, former Chief Councilor of the Aizu domain, that he learned
oshikiiuchi. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Saigo Tanomo had
become a Shinto priest and taken the name Hoshina Chikanori. In
1875, Sokaku visited him at Tsutsukowake Shrine in Fukushima to
study for entrance to the priesthood. While he was there, he received
instruction in the arts of oshikiiuchi from Chikanori. Although
Sokaku decided not to become a priest, he visited his mentor many
times after that, and under Chikanori's instruction is said to have
perfected seemingly miraculous skills of understanding another's
mind and thought, and to have grasped the true depths of oshikiiuchi.
On May 12th of 1898. Chikanori presented him with a single poem,
inscribing it in Sokaku's enrollment book. One interpretation of
Chikanori's words is that he is likening the flow of a river to
the flow of time. With the beginning of the Meiji period, the age
of the sword had ended, and no matter how skilled a swordsman might
be, he can no longer make any mark and will amount to nothing. Therefore,
it is time to pursue and make your way with jujutsu.
With
this, the formal succession of Daito-ryu aiki jujutsu was assured.
From that time on, Sokaku identified himself as a practitioner of
both Daito-ryu aiki jujutsu and Ono-ha Itto-ryu. He traveled around
Japan teaching both arts and came to be recognized as the reviver
(chuko no so) of the Daito-ryu.
Sokaku
was not a large man - he stood no more than 150 centimeters tall
- but his eyes were piercing and his techniques were of an almost
supernatural level. He is said to have been able to sense a person's
past, present, and future even before being introduced. Among his
more well-known students were Saigo Tsugumichi, Hokushin Itto-ryu,
swordsman Shimoe Hidetaro, and Aikido founder Ueshiba Morihei, as
well as army and navy officers, judges, police, martial artists,
and other prominent individuals. He is said to have taught as many
as thirty thousand people during his life, the signatures and seals
of whom are all entered in enrollment books that are preserved to
this day.
In his later years, Sokaku focused his activities in Hokkaido. He passed away on April 25, 1943, at the age of eighty-three while teaching in Aomori Prefecture.
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