or "Outer Nothingness School" is a Japanese koryà « martial art school founded by on 23 June 1680. Its formal name is Mugai Shinden Kenpà  (ç¡å¤ÂçÂÂä¼Âå£æ³Â).
The founder of Mugai-ryà «, Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi (è¾»æÂÂ丹è³ÂèÂÂ) was born to Tsuji Yadayà «, a descendant of Sasaki Shirà  Tadatsuna, in the first year of Keian (1648, early Edo period), in the Masugi (馬æÂÂ) village area of Miyamura (å®®æÂÂ) in the Kà Âga (ç²è³Âé¡) region of à Âmi (è¿Âæ±Â), now Shiga Prefecture.
When he was 13, he went to Kyoto to study swordsmanship, and at the age of 26 he received kaiden (full transmission) and opened a school in Edo (now Tokyo). Which school he studied is unclear. The most accepted theory is that he learned Yamaguchi-ryà « swordsmanship under Yamaguchi Bokushinsai, but earlier documents state he studied under Ità  Taizen.
Also, he studied Zen Buddhism and Classical Chinese literature under Zen monks Sekitan Ryà Âzen (ç³æ½Âè¯堨) and Shinshà « (ç¥Âå·Â) at Kyà «kà Âji temple (å¸æ±Â寺) in Azabu Sakurada-chà  (麻å¸Âæ¡Âç°çº). At the age of 32, he reached enlightenment and received from his Zen teacher a formal poem taken from the Buddhist scriptures as an acknowledgment and proof of his accomplishment. Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi used the word Mugai from this poem as his nom de plume, and hence, later generations alluded to his swordsmanship teachings as being "the style of (Tsuji) Mugai", or Mugai-ryà «.
The name "Mugai" comes from the following poem:
The earlier documents on the school opened by Tsuji Gettan were lost in 1695, when a great fire hit Edo. Later records show that he had 32 daimyà  as pupils, including the rà Âjà « Ogasawara Sado-no-kami Nagashige, Sakai Kageyu Tadataka, the feudal lord of Maebashi, and Yamauchi Toyomasa, the feudal lord of Tosa. The list also included 150 jikisan, and 932 baishin.
Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi was known not just as a master of the sword, but as an enlightened Zen philosopher and scholarâÂÂhis writing Mugai Shinden Kenpà  Ketsu shows heavy influences from Zen and Chinese philosophy.
He died on June 23 in the 12th year of Kyà Âhà  äº«ä¿ (1725) at the age of 79. The tombs of Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi's successors are kept at the Nyoraiji temple (å¦Âæ¥寺), which is now in Nishià Âi (西大äºÂçº), Shinagawa (Ã¥ÂÂå·Âåº), Tokyo.
Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi was unmarried and it is assumed that he had no offspring, as he adopted the eldest son of priest Sawatari Bungo-no-kami (ç¿渡è±Âå¾Âå®Â), of à Âkunitama Shrine (大å½éÂÂç¥Â社) in what is now known as the Tokyo provincial government area, as his son. Sawatari's eldest son took the name Tsuji Kimata Sukehide (é½治è¨Âæ©å¤Âè³Âè±) and became one of Tsuji Gettan's successors, along with Gettan's nephew, Tsuji Uheita (è¾»å³平太).
Tsuji's school spread mainly in four domains: Himeji (now a city in Hyogo Prefecture), Isezaki (now part of Gunma Prefecture), Koromo (now Toyota city of Aichi Prefecture) and Tosa (now Kochi Prefecture).
In the Meiji era, two of the most famous swordsmen in Japan were from Mugai-ryà «, both being appointed as Hanshi by Dai Nippon Butokukai: Takahashi Kyà «tarà  (1859-1940) from Himeji and Kawasaki Zensaburà  (1860-1944) from Tosa. The lineage of Takahashi Kyà «tarà  was kept by his grandson, Takahashi Hidezà Â, Hanshi of Zen Nihon Kendà  Renmei.
The school has only kenjutsu in its curriculum, having adopted the Jikyà Â-ryà « (èªé¡æµÂ) school of iaijutsu as a complement, and it has a strong connection with Zen due to Gettan's belief that the "sword and Zen are the way of the same Truth".
The curriculum of Mugai-ryà « consists of 10 techniques with a long sword and 3 techniques with a short sword. Later, the techniques for duels (shiaiguchi 試åÂÂå£) were also added.
An analysis of the techniques present in Mugai-ryà « shows a clear influence of Ittà Â-ryà «, so either the Yamaguchi-ryà « studied by Tsuji was a derivation of Ittà Â-ryà «, or Ità  Taizen was a master of this style.
The scarce number of techniques in Mugai-ryà « reflects Tsuji Gettan's philosophy on the actual effectiveness of techniques, as well as his methods of teaching and grading.
Jikyà Â-ryu (èªé¡æµÂ) is a school of iaijutsu founded by Taga Jikyà Âken Morimasa (å¤Âè³Âèªé¡è»ÂçÂÂæ¿), being a derivation of the Shin Tamiya-ryà « (æ°ç°宮æµÂ) school. Taga is said to have taught iaijutsu to Tsuji Gettan while in Edo. The Takahashi lineage of Mugai-ryà « kenjutsu learned iai from the Yamamura lineage of Jikyà Â-ryà «, generation after generation.
Jikyà Â-ryà «'s base curriculum features two sections, which comprises two sets each. They are, in order: Goka äºÂç® (5 techniques), Kumiai çµÂå (15 techniques), Goyà  äºÂç¨ (7 techniques) and Naiden å 传(14 techniques). After those, there is a further "set", taught only to the most advanced students.
Although this school is usually known as being associated to the Mugai-ryà «, it is a school on its own. Its most famous lineage is the Yamamura lineage, but there are other lesser known lineages.
Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà  (Mugai Shinden Iai Hyà Âdà  ç¡å¤ÂçÂÂä¼Âå± åÂÂå µéÂÂ) is a modern school of iaido founded by Nakagawa Shiryà  Shinichi (ä¸Âå·Â士é¾Âç³ä¸Â, 1895âÂÂ1981). Nakagawa was, in his youth, a kendo disciple of Takahashi Kyutarà Â, but he chose to focus on the iaijutsu techniques that Takahashi knew. Based on those, Nakagawa created Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà Â.
Nakagawa's lineage was formally passed to Ishii Gogetsu Zenzà  (ç³äºÂæÂÂæÂÂÃ¥ÂÂèµ) in the late 1950s. However, this seems to be revoked by Nakagawa himself later on.
Today Mugai-ryà « has splintered into several lines and there is no one sà Âke(representative). Nakagawa Shiryà  Shinichi is generally considered the last sà Âke. He did not appoint a successor, but awarded several menkyo kaiden (full transmission), and his students continue to teach the school and several new lines have been established, each with their own sà Âke. Nakagawa also founded an organization called Mugai Kai to help preserve the school.
Although there are some minor variations according to the lineage, the base curriculum of the school can be considered as follows:
Apart from these, there is a set called Naiden (å ä¼Â), taught only for the advanced students.
Mugai-ryà « Kenjutsu, Jikyà Â-ryà « Iaijutsu and Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà  are three separate entities, being distinct from each other.
Mugai-ryà « kenjutsu (Mugai Shinden Kenpà Â) is a school of kenjutsu whose practitioners also studied Jikyà Â-ryà « iaijutsu. Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà  (Mugai Shinden Iai Hyà Âdà Â) is a gendai budo (modern school) of iaido, being named after the kenjutsu school due to the fact that Nakagawa Shinichi's kendo teacher was from Mugai-ryà « kenjutsu.
Although the lore in Mugai-ryu Iai Hyà Âdà  traditionally places its founder as Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi, this is historically inaccurate. Nakagawa himself states several times that "Mugai-ryà « is actually Jikyà Â-ryà «", hence the Mugai Shinden Iai Hyà Âdà  must be seen as a different school from the Mugai Shinden Kenpà Â, which is a school of kenjutsu.
However, while it can be said that Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà  was created based on some of the Jikyà Â-ryà « techniques, making several techniques visually similar, both schools are completely different. This can be seen in the actual techniques, as well as their uses, interpretations and variations, and in other teachings.
For instance, a glance at the names of the techniques shows that Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà  altered the order of the curriculum, removed and rearranged several Jikyà Â-ryà « techniques and added new ones.
The following table maps some of the Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà  techniques' names to the original Jikyà Â-ryà « curriculum:
Also, although Nakagawa had access to several Jikyà Â-ryà «'s densho (scrolls and manuscripts), he was not fully instructed in them. This is apparent in his explanation of the densho called Yà Âhà Â(Mochiikata) Nijà «goka-ji(Nijà «goka no koto) (ç¨æ¹äºÂÃ¥ÂÂäºÂç®ÂäºÂ), where he admits his ignorance about the concept of "misumi" (ä¸Âè§Â), for instance. Other evidences of his incomplete instruction can be seen in his explanation on the length of the sword and on the sageo(ä¸Âç·Â), both lacking crucial information for a true Jikyà Â-ryà « practitioner, among other teachings and oral instructions that are not seen in Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà Â.
The grading system used in Mugai-ryà « Iai Hyà Âdà  is based on the modern dan/kyà « systems of modern martial arts like judo and kendo. Jikyà Â-ryà « and Mugai Shinden Kenpà  employ an older grading system, used during the Tokugawa Shogunate.