Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū
天真正伝香取神道流（てんしんしょうでん かとりしんとうりゅう）
| Founder | Iizasa Chōisai Ienao |
|---|---|
| Founded | Mid-15th century (Muromachi period) |
| Transmission seat | Katori, Chiba Prefecture |
Widely regarded as the oldest extant Japanese martial tradition, Katori Shintō-ryū stands out for the clarity of its origins and its historical reliability. Its curriculum is comprehensive in the manner of a true Sengoku-era sōgō bujutsu: not only kenjutsu but kodachi, iai, sō (spear), naginata, bō, and taijutsu.
The kata are fast and relentless, built to forge the stamina, concentration, and judgment the battlefield demanded. Within their continuous exchanges of attack and defense, the forms are said to conceal deliberate hidden techniques — advanced tactical thinking lurking behind the surface movements, designed to keep the school’s true intentions from watching eyes.
Rooted in the Shintō thought of Katori Jingū, the tradition treats martial technique and spiritual cultivation as a single whole, extending the way of the warrior into etiquette, mindset, and daily conduct. Its founder, Iizasa Chōisai Ienao, taught the martial arts as “a way of bringing people to life,” and the school remains highly regarded today as a system that transmits both battlefield technique and spiritual culture intact.
Embu of this ryūha
