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Intressant läsning:Shurikenjutsu of Katori Shintō-ryū

Besides the practice of Yawara/Jūjutsu, the art of Shurikenjutsu is probably one of the most talked about and misunderstood topics online when it comes to the practice of Shintō-ryū. The following article shall shed some light and maybe also correct some misinformation which has been spread across the net.

According to Wikipedia, Katori Shintō-ryū contains three sets of techniques dealing with the Shuriken: Omote no Shuriken (7 kata), Gogyō no Shuriken (8 kata) and Gokui no Shuriken (9 kata). Based on my research, which also includes the study of historical material, I can say that I never encountered any form of written proof that Shintō-ryū does indeed consist of a high number of kata created solely for the use of the shuriken. What’s more is, that in all the documents I was able to study I never encountered any remark or note that Shurikenjutsu is part of the curriculum – at all. And those documents span a time period of almost 400 years. Even modern documents issued during the past 120 years do not mention Shurikenjutsu.

Having said that, I would like to elaborate what we can surmise based on information which is accessible. Of course, having said that, there might still be documents out there which I just haven´t found yet or inner teachings I have not been initiated to. In case that changes, and my understanding will therefore also change, I will be more than happy to revise whatever I have written here.

Now, let us dig into it.

First, let us talk about the spelling of the word Shuriken 手裏剣. It consists of the kanji for hand (手), inside/palm (and a couple more) (裏) and sword (剣). It can also be read as Teuraken, a common expression within Shintō-ryū, especially when dealing with the study of Kenjutsu. So, although there is no mention of any spikes being thrown at poor peasants, we still can find the same term in the densho of the school, albeit with a different meaning and therefore application.

That being said, there is no doubt that members of Shintō-ryū engaged in the practice of Shurikenjutsu. Sugino Yoshio-sensei was famous for demonstrating Shurikenjutsu frequently, pre-WW2 and post WW2 (as a sidenote, most of those demonstrations were joined by a combination of members coming from Chiba and Kanagawa. At that time, one would not distinguish between the hombu in Chiba or the Shibu in Kanagawa). Although we can´t see Sugino-sensei demonstrating, one of his students, Someya Chikatoshi, can be seen in the following video. Someya-sensei would, after finishing his studies under Sugino-sensei, go ahead and create the Meifu Shinkage-ryū school of Shurikenjutsu which is still practiced to this day.

youtu.be/9tVK1FCnzc8?list=PL22D3C08D3BF249B9&t=607

A short explanation to the video: The drawing, cutting, chiburui and nōtō are what can be considered the standard way of Shintō-ryū Shurikenjutsu. Although the video shows the execution by a member of the Sugino dōjō, the same technical explanation can be found in publications related to the dōjō of Ōtake-sensei.
As there is not much footage available, attached another video which IIRC was shot by Mike Finn (please correct me if I´m wrong):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICntqHvuHGo

What makes the whole topic interesting is the way people respond to the question of how many kata are actually being practiced. I heard everything from “we only throw and do no cut whatsoever” to “we have the basic throw-and -cut pattern and throw from many different directions, standing as well as seating”.
My personal opinion is that there was, probably as kuden transmitted, a way of teaching the art of the Shuriken to eager students: The Throw-and-Cut pattern. After that, everything else became just henka waza (arrangements). For something as “simple” as Shurikenjutsu, I would not expect any sophisticated formulation of three sets of kata as Wikipedia would like us to believe (which, honestly, is probably all based on a translation error).

Attached is a photograph of boys with their toys. ... Se merSe mindre