Mukaida Soke

Mukaida Takeshi (向井田武) was born on January 9th, 1942, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. His father was a police officer, and the young Takeshi was introduced to martial arts at an early age. During his school years, he practiced Judō and Kendō and, for a while, also Karate-dō and later western Boxing. As a young man, he was of a small frame, and he was very interested in strengthening his body through learning traditional Bu-jutsu and had a keen interest in weapon techniques alongside hand-to-hand methods. After university, he began clerical work at the Japan Post. Still, his interest in Bu-jutsu only grew stronger and atypically, for modern Japanese culture, he would place his training as a top priority and find time for his daily practices.

In the mid 60’s, he met Hamaji Koichi Shihan in Nagoya and began practicing Shintō Musō Ryū and its associated arts. Training with Hamaji Shihan was held in the yard of a small Buddhist Temple near his house regardless of the weather. Under sunshine or pouring rain, hot and humid summer days or frosty winters, the Keikō (traditional training) was held on schedule for the few chosen disciples, after which it was often followed by more studying at Hamaji Shihan’s house recalling stories and anecdotes of his Jōdō teachings in Manchuria during WW2, of his days with his teacher Shimizu Takaji Shihan or his father Hachiro Hamaji Shihan and grandfather Hamaji Kanoto Shihan, a samurai at the service of the Kuroda Clan as master of Shintō Musō Ryū, or his ancestors (the Hamaji family has a long-standing relationship with Shintō Muso Ryū for several generations). Hamaji Shihan passed away in 1985. Before passing, he requested one of his closest friends and fellow senior Shintō Muso Ryū Menkyō Kaiden holder, Yoneno Kōtaro Shihan, to complete the teaching of Mukaida Shihan appointing him the Menkyō Kaiden after having learnt the secret techniques of the school.

Mukaida Takeshi’s study of traditional swordsmanship began with the practice of Shinkage-Ryū Iai-Do in 1979 with Akita Moriji Shihan. Akita Shihan was a direct student of Kashima Kiyotaka Shihan, which in turn had received full mastership from Yagyu Toshinaga 20th Sōke and Yagyu Toshichika 19th Sōke of the Shinkage Ryū. Akita Shihan was also teaching Budō at the Chukyō Daigaku University in Toyota city, Aichi Prefecture, 8th Dan Hanshi of Iaido and Kendō from the All Japan Kendō Federation and was a highly respected swordsman in his time. His Keikō would involve lengthy repetitions of fundamental techniques to strengthen the body and the mind and then focus on Kata (forms) of Shinkage Ryū Iai-jutsu and Ken-jutsu. Also, Iaidō of the Federation was studied alongside.

In the early 80’s Mukaida Takeshi began practicing Hōten Ryū after being introduced to its then current Sōke, Tachibana Kujūin Hōten. Hōten Ryū Keikō were held in Kyōto in the early hours of each Sunday, so he had to start traveling before sunrise from his house in Toyota to reach the location in time for practice. Also, the Keikō was traditionally held in a park regardless of weather conditions. The Hōten Ryū was a practical battlefield method to forge the spirit and learn about the uneven terrain where the techniques were developed. In addition, training in those days would include ascetic practices in the mountains around Kyōto and often in conjunction with the Shugendō sect of Buddhism. Often the study would continue at Tachibana Sōke’s house in the form of conversations or reading of old manuscripts or for the practice of Shōdō (traditional calligraphy) of which he was a master.

Around the same time, Mukaida Takeshi began the practice of Shintō Tenshin Ryū (also called Tenshin Kōryū), Asayama Ichiden Ryū, and other Ju-jutsu schools, under the guidance of Iwaki Hideo Shihan and later under Fujitani Masatoshi Shihan which taught him to the full mastership of the schools. Training with Fujitani Shihan would be regularly organized privately or with a selected number of fellow Budoka with whom Mukaida Takeshi had a strong connection. This small group was also practicing together in some of the other arts, in addition to unrelated ones, and permitted a fruitful exchange to develop their skills. Most of these fellow practitioners went on to open their own successful Bu-jutsu Dōjō in Aichi prefecture.

In 1989, Mukaida Takeshi started practicing swordsmanship under Minowa Hitoshi Shihan of Toyama Ryū and achieved full mastership and the rank of 8th Dan Hanshi in 2005. With his already-in-place Bu-jutsu background, especially in Kōryū swordsmanship, he rapidly excelled in his studies with Minowa Shihan. He joined him in the most impressive Enbu (demonstrations) of Tameshigiri (test cutting with a live blade) alongside his top disciples.

Mukaida Takeshi Shihan opened the Bushinjuku martial arts association (later Nihon-den Kobudō Bushin Kai) in 1985 and began to teach students the variety of techniques he mastered during his lifetime of Budō studies, with a focus on Shinkage Ryū, Shindō Musō Ryū, Shintō Tenshin Ryū, Asayama Ichiden Ryū, Hōten Ryū and Toyama-Ryū.

In 2010, he funded the Bushin Ryū Bu-jutsu Heihō and took the Bu-mei (martial arts name of Jitsutoshi in honour of his father (Mukaida Jitsu). He incorporated under this umbrella school the methods of Shinkage Ryū, Shintō Tenshin Ryū, Asayama Ichiden Ryū and Hōten Ryū, in response to the necessity to develop a more efficient teaching methodology to guarantee the complete transmission of the traditional arts unhindered by political and ideological restraints, and old-fashioned sentiments towards a multicultural environment that may affect certain Budō circles.

Mukaida Takeshi Jitsutoshi Sōke, was not only a master of the Bu-jutsu arts but a very kind, intelligent and progressive person. He understood the importance of passing on his knowledge to future generations regardless of gender, wealth, disabilities, or nationality. He saw the necessity of breaking unnecessary and antiquated barriers created in a bygone time when society was highly different and welcomed anyone who wanted to learn. He often said that a good teacher must possess skills and a good heart to understand his/her students and adapt the teaching to reach them better.

Mukaida Takeshi passed away due to illness on March 27, 2018. He is survived by his wife and son and the closest disciples who had followed him for many years: Pilato Marco, Kanda Shigehide, Brola Petri, Matsui Jun, Hidano Takashi, Imada Yumena, Namizaki Toshiki, Kamiya Tatsuya. Before his passing, he appointed as his successor Pilato Marco Shihan and gave him the Bu-mei of Bushin Taketoshi in 2016.

(end)