is a Japanese koryà « martial art school founded by Fukui Hyà Âemon Yoshihira (ç¦ÂäºÂå µå³è¡ÂéÂÂÃ¥ÂÂå¹³) in the early 18th century. The style rapidly gained popularity throughout Japan due to the efforts of Togasaki Kumataro, Okada Junmatsu, Saito Yakuro, and his sons Shintaro and Kannosuke.
Fukui Hyà Âemon (1700âÂÂ1782) was born in Shimano no Kuni (now Tochigi Prefecture) and learned Shin Shinkage Ichiden Ryu under Nonaka Gonnai received Menkyo Kaiden at a relatively young age.
Hyà Âemon, unsatisfied, traveled Japan taking part in shinken shobu (death matches) and honing his skills. He became so reputed that he was listed on Imperial and Tokugawa Bakufu records as one of the best swordsmen of his time. Hyoemon continued to travel through Japan until he encountered a small shrine in the Inazuma Mountains. There he found the Izuna-Gongen Shrine where he meditated and trained in isolation for 50 days. On the 50th night he achieved enlightenment. The resulting enlightenment was organized into a rather large syllabus of techniques later codified as "Shindà  Munen-ryà «".
Hyà Âemon thereafter traveled to Edo (present day Tokyo) where he opened a dojo in Yotsuya. There he trained a small number of dedicated students until his retirement. Hyà Âemon then passed the ryu onto his successor Togasaki Kumataro (2nd Generation). His grave can be found in present-day Saitama not too far from his protege's (Togasaki Kumataro).
The fourth successor of Shindà  Munen-ryà «, Saità  Yakuro Yoshimichi (æÂÂè¤弥ä¹ÂéÂÂ), established the dojo called Renpeikan (練堵館) in Edo.
Shindà  Munen-ryà « reached the pinnacle of its popularity towards the end of the Edo period (1603âÂÂ1868). In this politically unstable time, Shindà  Munen-ryà « swordsmen participated in both the political and physical battles that came to define the Bakumatsu (1853âÂÂ1868). It was not uncommon for Shindà  Munen-ryà « swordsmen of different or even the same dojo to engage each other in combat. Politically active members like Katsura Kogoro and Ito Hirobumi later took active leadership roles in the Meiji Government.
Today the Kanto ha Shindà  Munen-ryà « is one of the remaining branch of Shindà  Munen-ryà «. Negishi Shingorà  (根岸信äºÂéÂÂ) was the last headmaster who teaches Shindà  Munen-ryà « in the edo period. Shingorà  received the licence Menkyo Kaiden in Edo Den from Saità  Shintaro. Shingoro, however felt the loss of idealism and passion that surrounded him during the closing days of the Tokugawa Bakufu. He acknowledged this fact by closing the Renpeikan's doors (officially ending the Edo Line) and opening the Yushinkan (æÂÂ信館éÂÂå ´) Dojo and founding the Kanto Ha.
Prior to the fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu there were many Shindà  Munen-ryà « branches all over Japan. These branches operated independently of one another and prospered.
The dawn of the Meiji in 1868, however brought many new hardships with it and most of the branches Shindà  Munen-ryà « were forced to close their doors due to lack of patronage and the Meiji Sword Ban. Most surviving branches opened their doors again after the Meiji Sword Ban was lifted. Most, however lost the majority (if not all) of their kata as a result. In present-day branches like Choshu Han Den, Hachinohe Han Den, and Saità  Ha only practice a small portion of the Iaijutsu curriculum. Most of these Iaijutsu kata were reconstructed from written descriptions, and so may not be true to the original forms.
The style itself survived the Meiji period (1868âÂÂ1912) completely intact however, largely due to the efforts of Negishi Shingorà  (Edo Den 6th Generation/Creator of Kanto ha) who taught swordsmanship to the Tokyo Police Force. Shingorà Â's successor Nakayama Hakudà  continued to preserve Shindà  Munen-ryà « throughout the Taisho (1912âÂÂ1926) and Showa Periods (1926âÂÂ1989) by producing some of the notable swordsmen in modern history. Examples are Nakayama Zendo, Hashimoto Toyo, Kiyoshi Nakakura, Haga Junichi, and Nakashima Gorozo.
The Nihon Kobudà  Kyokai and Shinkyokai have recognized Kanto ha of Shindà  Munen-ryà « as the branch that preserves most of Shindà  Munen-ryà « (Kenjutsu, Iaijutsu, and other practices). The current headmaster of this branch is Ogawa Takeshi (10th Generation).
The Sanshinkai organization teaches a style of Iaijustu also called Shindà  Munen-ryà «. The style was propagated by Mitsuzuka Takeshi, a student of Nakayama Hakudo's school, from a makimono that described a set of tachiwaza (standing) kata for intermediate students to the Sanshinkai curriculum. It is often taught alongside Musà  Shinden-ryà «, but outside of Musà  Shinden-ryà «'s core curriculum. The styles of Shindà  Munen-ryà « practice in the Sanshinkai and that of Japan's extent groups are not directly related, though the noto (placing the blade back into the scabbard) is similar.
Following lineage chart is recognized by Nihon Kobudo Kyokai and Shinkyokai.
1. Fukui Hyà Âemon Yoshihira (1700âÂÂ1782): Ryuso.
2. Togasaki Kumataro Teruyoshi: Edo Den.
3. Okada Junmatsu Yoshitoshi (岡ç°åÂÂæ¾): Edo Den; Okada established Gekikenkan(æÂÂå£館) Dojo.
4. Saità  Yakuro Yoshimichi: Edo Den; Established the Renpeikan Dojo in Edo.
5. Saità  Shintaro: Edo Den.
6. Negishi Shingorà  (1844âÂÂ1913): Edo Den; Open the Yushinkan (æÂÂ信館éÂÂå ´) Dojo.
7. Nakayama Hakudà  (1872âÂÂ1958): Kanto Ha.
8. Nakayama Zendo/Yoshimichi (Nakayama Hakudà Â's son): Kanto Ha.
9. Saeki Soichiro: Kanto Ha; Saeki trained over 10 years with Nakayama Hakudà Â, only to receive the Menkyo no Maki and Menkyo-Jo from Nakayama Zendo prior to his death.
10. Ogawa Takeshi: Kanto Ha.
Examples of branches that were affected:
1. Iwaname
2. Ukifune Gaeshi
3. Norashi Gaeshi
4. Utsuseme
5. Matsukaze
6. Zangetsu Hidari
7. Zangetsu Migi
8. Doto Gaeshi
9. Raito Gaeshi
10. Yoto
11. Yinto
12. Inazuma Gaeshi