is one of the oldest jujutsu koryà « in Japan. It was founded in 1532, the first year of Tenbun, on the twenty-fourth of the sixth lunar month by Takenouchi Chà «nagon Daijà  Nakatsukasadaiyà « Hisamori, the lord of Ichinose Castle in Sakushà «. Although it is famous for its jà «jutsu, Takenouchi Ryà « is actually a complete martial art, including armed grappling (yoroi kumiuchi), staff (bà Âjutsu), sword (kenjutsu), sword drawing (iaijutsu), glaive (naginatajutsu), iron fan (tessenjutsu), restraining rope (hojà Âjutsu), and resuscitation techniques (sakkatsuhà Â). Its jà «jutsu techniques have been influential in the founding of many other schools in Japan. Takenouchi Ryà « is still actively transmitted today by members of the Takenouchi family, as well as by other groups both within and outside Japan.
Together with the Yà Âshin-ryà « (æ¥Âå¿ÂæµÂ) and the Ryà Âi Shintà Â-ryà «, the Takenouchi-ryà « (竹å æµÂ) was one of the three largest, most important and influential Jà «jutsu schools of the Edo period (æ±Âæ¸æÂÂ代 Edo jidai 1603 - 1868) before the rise of Judo.
According to the Takenouchi Keisho Kogo Den, the document recording the establishment and development of the school, Takenouchi Hisamori retired to the mountains near the Sannomiya shrine to train his martial skills. He practiced there for six days and six nights, wielding a bokken (wooden sword) two shaku and four sun in length (about 2 ft. 4 in. or 72 cm), a relatively long weapon for his purportedly short stature. On the sixth night he fell asleep from exhaustion using his bokken as a pillow. He was woken by a mountain priest with white hair and a long beard who seemed so fearsome to Hisamori that he thought it must be an incarnation of the god Atago. Hisamori attacked the stranger, but he was defeated. The priest said to him "When you meet the enemy, in that instant, life and death are decided. That is what is called hyà Âhà  (military strategy)." (å¡ãÂÂæµã«åÂÂã¸ã°æÂÂãÂÂ移ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã¡ã©ãÂÂãÂÂã«殺çÂÂéÂÂä¼ÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂå µæ³Âã¨ãÂÂãµãÂÂã®ãÂÂãÂÂ) He then took Hisamori's bokken, told him that long weapons were not useful in combat, and broke it into two daggers one shaku and two sun long. The priest told Hisamori to put these in his belt and call them kogusoku, and taught him how to use them in grappling and close combat. These techniques became called koshi no mawari, literally "around the hips". The priest then taught Hisamori how to bind and restrain enemies with rope, using a vine from a tree. Then the priest disappeared mysteriously amidst wind and lightning.
Takenouchi Hisamori's second son Hitachinosuke Hisakatsu became the second head of Takenouchi Ryà « after his father formally passed him the tradition at the age of 64. He and his successor and son Kaganosuke Hisayoshi added their own techniques to the curriculum, extending it into a complete sà Âgà  bujutsu system.
Takenouchi Ryà « is best known for its jà «jutsu, over which it covers an extensive ground. Its unarmed jà «jutsu techniques include tehodoki (grip breaking), ukemi (tumbling), nagewaza (throwing), kansetsuwaza (joint dislocation), atemi (striking weak points), shimewaza (choking), newaza (ground techniques), and kappà  (resuscitation). These are combined to form kata for the various sections of jà «jutsu taught, including toride (capturing and restraining), hade (attacking vital points unarmed), and kumiuchi (grappling). These unarmed kata are the best known of the Takenouchi Ryà « jà «jutsu, but they are not truly its foundation. As related in the establishment myth of the school, the central forms of jà «jutsu in Takenouchi Ryà « are the kogusoku koshi no mawari, techniques of armed grappling using the short sword against armed opponents. It is upon this foundation that the rest of the jà «jutsu techniques were developed by Hisakatsu and Hisayoshi, the second and third heads of the school.
Beyond the core of jà «jutsu, many different weapons are taught. These include the sword, the staff, rope tying, the naginata, and more. The sword curriculum is divided into major sections, with kenjutsu covering basic swordsmanship against a similarly armed opponent, saide covering grappling with the sword, and iai covering the techniques of rapid sword drawing and striking. The staff is central to Takenouchi Ryà «'s study of movement, and as such forms an important part of the curriculum. Staff work addresses various lengths of staff, in particular bà Âjutsu for the six shaku staff and shinbà  for a slightly shorter staff. Other sizes taught include jà Âjutsu for the common four shaku two sun staff, and hanbà  for shorter sticks around three shaku in length. Rope restraints are an important adjunct to the arresting arts of toride, and the techniques of tying up opponents called hojà Âjutsu or hobaku are taught using the haya nawa which is a two shaku five sun rope, traditionally of a purple color.
Takenouchi Ryà « is perhaps lesser known for its other weapons techniques, but as a true sà Âgà  bujutsu it retains a number of weapons for use both on and off the battlefield. The naginata and kusarigama are covered, as well as the jutte truncheon, shuriken throwing darts, and the tessen iron fan. Some kata feature rather peculiar weapons intended to show the use of everyday objects for defense against sword attacks. These include the kasa, a Japanese style umbrella, and the nabebuta, a wooden lid for a cooking pot.
Takenouchi Ryà « has exerted a strong influence in the development of jà «jutsu. The branches of the Takenouchi Ryà « have subsequently have influenced schools directly or indirectly and thus many techniques found in modern jà «dà  and aikidà  can be traced back to their roots in Takenouchi Ryà « in one way or another. A number of important jà «jutsu koryà « were founded by students of the school, such as the Rikishin Ryà «, Fusen Ryà «, Sà Âsuishitsu Ryà «, Takagi Ryà « and its branches (such as Hontai Yà Âshin Ryà «), and Araki Ryà «. These ryà «ha have incorporated many techniques from Takenouchi Ryà « either directly from the school or by analyzing the techniques of its exponents.
Takenouchi Ryà « has documents by its founder on the use and teaching of rokushakubojutsu [ stick]. This makes it the oldest verifiable school to teach these skills and it is believed to have had a great influence on other arts teaching rokushakubojutsu. Other arts have long histories and claim to have been teaching rokushakubo, but so far no documents from the period have been found. It may be that these other schools added it later on to their teachings.
As with any koryà «, the lineage of Takenouchi Ryà « is a matter of importance and pride to its members. Since the tradition was maintained in the family a careful account of the successive leaders of the school has been kept over the centuries.
After the 8th headmaster, Takenouchi Tà Âichirà  Hisayoshi, the lineage was split into two branches called the sà Âke and sà Âdenke lines. This was done to ensure that the blood line and tradition would be preserved.
Besides the two divisions of the school given above, there are multiple groups claiming lineage of Takenouchi Ryà «. Among them, one group is called the Bitchà « Den Takenouchi Ryà « (竹å 浠åÂÂä¸Âä¼Â). The group claims that they directly originate from Bitchu Takenouchi-ryu, a branch of Takenouchi-ryu that spread at the early 17th century.
The Bitchu Takenouchi-ryu lineage was developed through Takeuchi Seidaiyà « Masatsugu, a disciple of the third headmaster of the family line of Takenouchi Ryà «, who moved to Okayama, the capital of Bitchà « Province (now western Okayama Prefecture).
Bitchà « Den lineage:
The Bichà « Den lineage has its own curriculum with variations and the addition of techniques in certain areas.
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<small>(Reference) "Yoshisato dontekisai nobutake monka Takenouchi-ryà « Kumiuchi-jutsu Sà Âdenkeifu" by </small> </div>
The Takeuchi Santo-ryà « or Takenouchi Santo-ryà « (竹å ä¸Âçµ±æµÂ) was founded in the Higo Domain by mixing three Takenouchi lineages influenced by Araki-ryà «. This school is extinct, but the writings of its last master Hideki Shimada are studied by the Bitchà « Den.
Two varieties of training groups are authorized: dojo and study circles. Authorized dojo are usually headed by someone ranked Daigeiko or higher, have full teaching authority and limited authority to award rank. Study circles train with the permission of the head of Chà Âfukan Dojo, have limited teaching authority and no authority to award rank. As of May 2023 there are four international dojo and several study circles.
Dojo
Study circles