Written and translated by Motobu Naoki
Shishida Fumiaki and Nariyama Tetsurō, "Aikidō Classroom" (1985), includes the following description.
As the momentum for Saigō Takamori's military uprising grew, [Takeda] Sōkaku abandoned his priesthood and set out for Kyushu. As mentioned above, Sōkaku visited Momoi Shunzō's dōjō in Sakai, Osaka, to train in swordsmanship, but when he heard the news of Saigō's military action, he hurriedly headed for Kyushu. Sōkaku landed in Kyushu, but failed to join Saigō's army and the Satsuma rebellion came to an end. After this, Sōkaku joined a group of acrobats and traveled around the country. In Kumamoto, Kyushu, he fought and defeated an Okinawa-te (karate) fighter with his bare hands, and then traveled to the Okinawa islands in search of more masters. Sōkaku later defeated Tanozaki Kō'emon, a master of Yagyū Shingan-ryū, a style known for its striking and practical fighting techniques, and others in Iwate Prefecture, which is said to have been the result of his youthful study of kenpō (p. 229).
The above is almost the same as the chronology of "Takeda Sōkaku and Daitō-ryū Aiki Jūjutsu" (2002), which I introduced the other day, but the book did not include the information that Takeda defeated the masters of Yagyū Shingan-ryū and that this was the result of his kenpō study in his younger days. However, "Aikido Classroom" was published earlier than "Takeda Sōkaku and Daitō-ryū Aiki Jūjutsu."
The source of the above is unknown, but the author Shishida was in contact with Hisa Takuma, a student of Takeda's who had received full license (menkyo kaiden) from Takeda, so the information might have come from Hisa.
The anecdote of his victory over Yagyū Shingan-ryū is also a matter of honor for the school, and should be treated with caution unless proven otherwise by contemporaneous historical documents. In any case, the oral tradition tells us that Takeda honed his fighting techniques as a result of his martial arts training in Okinawa.
By the way, the titles of Daitō-ryū scrolls include numbers, such as "Daitō-ryū Jūjutsu Hiden Mokuroku 118 Kajō Ura Omote (118 Articles of Daitō-ryū Jūjutsu Secrets Catalog, Back and Front)" and "Hiden Ōgi no Koto 36 Kajō Ura Omote (36 Articles of the Hidden Secrets of Daitō-ryū, Back and Front)." The individual techniques are not named, but are numbered "Article 1, Article 2 ......," and explanations of the individual techniques are appended. This is a deviation from the style of Japanese martial arts scrolls, and together with the fact that no Daitō-ryū scrolls existed before Takeda Sōkaku, it is one of the main reasons for the theory that Daitō-ryū was Takeda's creation.
* Takeda Sōkaku's son, Takeda Tokimune, added names to individual techniques, so the main lineages of Daitō-ryū today have names for their techniques.
Now, there is a theory that "118 articles" were originally "108 articles," and 108 has a kata in karate called Sūpārinpei (108), and 36 has a kata called Sansērū (36). Is this just a coincidence?
Also, about the name of the school "Daitō-ryū". Since the name "Daitō-ryū" cannot be found in historical records before Takeda Sōkaku, there are various theories about its origin today. For example, Tateyama Ichirō, "Aiki no Jutsu (The Art of Aiki)" (1956), states the following.
On the other hand, Daitō Hisanosuke, a student of Takeda Nobutomo, became a ronin and fled to Aizu after the fall of the Takeda clan, but he was reluctant to call himself Takeda-ryū, so he called himself Daito-ryū and taught it secretly without public recognition (Note 1).
However, there is no mention of a person named Daitō Hisanosuke before this book, and his existence cannot be confirmed. It is difficult to imagine any researcher today supporting this theory.
In addition, the following description is found in the "Complete Works of Japanese Martial Arts, Vol. 5" (1966).
The Takeda family is said to be a lineage of the Takeda clan, whose founder was Shinra Saburō Yoshimitsu, a descendant of the Seiwa Genji clan. When Yoshimitsu was a child, his family built a mansion in Daitō, Shiga Prefecture, and he was called Tate no Saburō or Daitō Saburō, from which the name Daitō is said to have been taken as the name of the school (Note 2).
This theory is often cited, but there is no place named Daitō in Shiga Prefecture, nor is there any evidence that Minamoto no Yoshimitsu was called Daitō Saburō. The name Tate no Saburō is mentioned in Rai San'yō's "Nihon Gaishi (Unofficial History of Japan)" (1827), but not Daitō Saburō. The name Daitō Saburō appears only in documents related to the Daitō-ryū after World War II.
Pink: Tate no Saburō, from "Nihon Gaishi Vol. 2: Genji Shoki: Genji (First Volume)," written by Rai San'yō and supplemented by Rai Matajirō, 1876.
There are (or were) not that many place names called "Daitō" in Japan. Most of them were created through municipal mergers and rezonings after the 20th century. In the Meiji era, there was only Daitō Town in Ōhara District, Shimane Prefecture (Note 3), or the Daitō Islands, which were incorporated into Okinawa Prefecture in 1885. I have never heard of Takeda visiting Shimane.
The Daitō Islands were originally uninhabited, but the Japanese government declared them as Japanese territory after a survey and incorporated them into Okinawa Prefecture. I wrote that it was unrealistic for Takeda to travel to Okinawa in 1879, when the Ryukyu Kingdom (domain) was abolished. Therefore, 1885 or so would have been very possible. Perhaps the incorporation of the Daitō Islands must have been a topic of conversation in Okinawa at that time. Therefore, it is possible that Takeda Sōkaku heard the name Daitō in Okinawa and adopted it as the name of his school.
Note 1: Tateyama Ichirō, Aiki no Jutsu (The Art of Aiki), Shinjitsu-sha, 1956, p. 110.
Note 2: Imamura Yoshio, Ogasawara Kiyonobu, and Kishino Yūzō (eds.), Complete Works of Japanese Martial Arts, Vol. 5 (Jūjutsu, Karate, Kenpō, Aikijutsu), Jinbutsu Orai-sha, 1966, pp. 503, 504.
Note 3: Yoshida, Tōgo, Great Japan Geographical Dictionary (First Volume, Second Edition), Tomisanbō, 1907, p. 1054.