is a Japanese koryà « martial art whose foundation dates back to the early 16th century. The art developed some notoriety in Japan during the early 20th century under Kunii Zen'ya (1894-1966), the 18th generation sà Âke (headmaster). The current sà Âke is the 21st generation, Kunii Masakatsu. While the line is still headed by the Kunii family, the title of sà Âke is now largely honorific, and the responsibility for the preservation and transmission of the ryà «ha now lies in the shihanke line, currently represented by the 19th generation, Seki Humitake.
The characters Kashima 鹿島 are in honor of the deity enshrined in the Kashima Shrine located in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, who is supposed to have provided the divine inspiration (shin ç¥Â) for Kashima Shin-ryà «. The earliest elements of the school are credited to Kashima no Tachi, fencing techniques passed down by the priests of the Kashima Shrine following their creation by Kuninazu no Mahito in the 7th century. In Kashima Shinryà « lore, Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami, assisted by Kunii Kagetsugu, refined and expounded on Kashima no Tachi into the basis of the modern school. After this development, they went their separate ways. Kunii Kagetsugu began what is now named the sà Âke lineage (and is credited as the 1st generation of such), based in Iwaki province and handed down through the Kunii family line. Conversely, Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami taught a large number of students, creating a number of martial lineages, often with characters reading shinkage in the name. In 1780, the 12th generation sà Âke, Kunii Taizen Minamoto no Ritsuzan attained mastery in Jikishinkage-ryà «, studying under Ono Seiemon Taira no Shigemasa. As Jikishinkage-ryà « also traced its founding back to Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami, but passed down through Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Fujiwara-no-Nobutsuna rather than the Kunii family, this lineage is recognized within Kashima Shinryà « as the shihanke line, crediting Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami as the 1st generation. The sà Âke and shihanke lines remained united within the Kunii family until Kunii Zen'ya appointed Seki Humitake as his successor and the 19th generation shihanke while leaving his wife, Kunii Shizu, to carry on as the 19th generation sà Âke.
Despite the similarity of names, Kashima-Shinryà « is of only passing relation to Kashima Shintà Â-ryà «. While both schools regard Kashima no Tachi as a major antecedent, Kashima Shintà Â-ryà « claims as founder Tsukahara Bokuden, who independently generated a different refinement on Kashima no Tachi than that of Matsumoto Bizen-no-Kami.
The following licenses exist under the Kashima-Shinryà « Federation of Martial Sciences:
Kashima-Shinryà « can be studied in Japan (including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Tsukuba), and also in the United States (including Los Angeles, Athens, and Bozeman) and in Europe (including Breda, Dresden, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Ljubljana, Geneva, London, and Tampere).