Kumamoto Han Niten Ichi Ryū History

(Noda Branch)

 Shinmen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu (Miyamoto Musashi) was an especially gifted and considered “unrivalled under heaven” swordsman in the two-sword style and was said to be undefeated in over 60 duels.

 He learned Tōri Ryū Jutte and Enmei Ryū from his adoptive father, Shinmen Munisai, a samurai of Kuroda Province. In his later years, he developed Niten Ichi Ryū and wrote the Book of Five Rings (Go Hō no Kata) in Kumamoto Province which conveyed the secrets of swordsmanship. 

 Before he died, he entrusted his Niten Ichi Ryū school to the Terao brothers, who were students in his later years. The famous book on strategy was given to the older brother, Terao Magonojō who lineage included the Kuroda Clan in Fukuoka, while the younger brother, Terao Motomenosuke whose lineage included the Hosokawa Clan in Kumamoto.

 Terao Magonojō, also known as Terao Nobuyuki, had six sons, and chose his fourth son, Nobumori, as his legitimate successor, as his skill in swordsmanship resulted in him called the reincarnation of Musashi himself, and have him the name Shinmen in honour of his teacher, and made him the 3rd generation Soke. At this time, his older brothers obeyed their father’s wishes and became Nobumori’s students. However, Nobumori died at a young age without naming a successor, and a senior student called Murakami Heinai Masao, who had already received a teaching licence, became the 4th generation headmaster under the Murakami branch, and Terao Harutaka, the 3rd son of Terao Nobuyuki became the head of the Terao/Shikata branch, asserting legitimacy as the true 4th generation headmaster.

 Later, a headmaster called Noda, who held a teaching licence from both the Murakami branches and Terao/Hikata branches, created a new line called the Noda branch based on the original teachings of Shinmen Nobumori from which flourished the following headmasters of Kumamoto Niten Ichi Ryū.

 After World War 2, Araseki Nitōsai, who descended from the Fukuoka Han Niten Ichi Ryū lineage, dating back to 2nd generation headmaster Terao Magonojō Nobumasa (7th generation from Echigo Han, known as Shinmen Nitō Ryū) became the 18th generation headmaster with all the teachings from the Terao family intact. It can be said that the only legitimate teachings in Japan are linked to the 2 lines that date back to the Terao brothers.

 Currently, the 21st generation headmaster, Kokura Han Niten Ichi Ryū Heihō Mitsutake Tenshinsai Fujiwara no Masanobu who studied under the legitimate 20th headmaster Yamane Akira ni Shinsai, and received a teaching licence in September 2014, is a direct and living link to the teachings passed down through 20 generations from the Terao brothers.