At 10:59 PM 8/12/97 -0700, G. Hauenstein wrote:

>Shinkendo is not based upon Toyama Ryu so therefore your analogy is
>incorrect. Shinkendo is again, the culmination of Obata Sensei s lifetime
>study of the martial arts. . . .  and he also
>studied Kashima Shin ryu under Master Tanaka.

As long as we're picking nits here, I think that it's important to point
out that Obata Sensei could NOT have studied Kashima-Shinryu under any
"Master Tanaka," because there has not been anyone named Tanaka licensed to
teach Kashima-Shinryu at any time during the last century.   I assume that
Mr. Hauenstein's reference is to Obata's having trained at some point under
Tanaka Shigeho at the Meiji Grand Shrine.  This is entirely possible, but
Tanaka is an aikido teacher, not a teacher--or even a member--of the
Kashima-Shinryu.

Tanaka's KSR experience comes through Inaba Minoru, who studied KSR briefly
(about a year) under Kunii Zen'ya, the previous generation *soke*, at the
behest of his (Inaba's) teacher, Tanaka Mizuho (who, I believe, is
Shigeho's father).  Inaba left the ryuha after Kunii's death, without
receiving any sort of license or diploma from Kunii, but later was given an
untitled diploma by Kunii's widow.  He continues to teach sword techniques
*derived from* KSR kenjutsu as part of his aikido instruction, but this is
no more KSR than rock music is jazz.  Inaba's (and his students') timing,
application of power, style of movement, strategic approach, and underlying
philosophy are all aikido, not KSR.

Before I get anyone too excited, let me hasten to add that there is
ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with taking kenjutsu techniques from any koryu and
adding them in this way to aikido, to another koryu, or to any other art.
But doing so is something quite different from actually teaching the koryu
itself.  Nor am I in any way impugning Inaba's (or Tanaka's) swordsmenship
per se; but it's very important to clarify that it is NOT
Kashima-Shinryu--it is aikido.  (In this sense, Mr. Hauenstein's statement
that shinkendo is not aiki-ken is incorrect; if Inaba studied kenjutsu
under Tanaka, he studied a form of aikido sword--i.e. aiki-ken.)

Inaba has been asked on many occasions  not to use the name KSR or the
title of  KSR shihan, and has always agreed to refrain from doing so.  Of
late, however, I've noticed that a number of his students and the students
of his students have been describing him publically as a legitimate teacher
of KSR.  Koryu belong absolutely to one man--the current generation soke or
shihanke--and his authorized representatives.  Only those who have been
initiated to the level of menkyo-kaiden have the right to use the name of
the school (that's what the "menkyo" part of the rank means) under
circumstances other than those specifically authorized by the soke/shihanke.

A long post, but if we're going to talk lineages and origins, we need to be
precise.





Karl Friday
Dept. of History
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602
ph. (706) 542-2537

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