Our History

Hajime Risho Hayabuchi, 16th Soke

Our style was established by the order of Araki Settsu no Kami Murashige in Hyogo prefecture in the 16th century. It has been passed down for over 400 years and we honor it today by learning the techniques and continuing the ancient tradition.

We have 30 Suwariwaza (kneeling techniques), 13 Tachiwaza (standing techniques) and 9 Kumitachi (simulated techniques. We also have more advanced techniques apart from these. Additionally, we learn about Japanese culture and the etiquette of the Samurai.

Indicative of our style is strong and sharp technique that combines speed and fluency of movement. We stress the importance of imagining real fighting situations during practice, especially the attack, block and secondary response sequence.

Our headmaster, Hajime Hayabuchi is the 16th Soke of the original or true line of Araki Muninsai Ryu Iaido. He was chosen by his grandfather Miyuki Hayabuchi, the 15th Soke, and succeeded him in 1998 upon his grandfathers death at the age of 91 years. Our technique has been handed down through the generations for 400 years.

There is no written information on Araki technique or philosophy from previous Headmasters. However, the main dojo itself has passed down our technique and philosophy through oral tradition and skillful demonstration for many generations. In order to do this correctly each headmaster would choose his successor very carefully from only the very best of his students to continue this tradition. Over this time our basic technique has not changed but rather refined to make the application more realistic.

Former Headmasters -Kinbusa Kan-Ichiro & Hayabuchi Risho

Kinbusa Kan-Ichiro, 14th Soke

 

Hayabuchi Risho, 15th Soke