Iaido- Brief History

Iaido, the art of drawing the sword, can be traced back hundreds of years to its creator, Jinsuke Shigenobu, better known as Hayashizaki (Rinzaki) Jinsuke. Although much of his life’s tales have been highly developed, what is known is that he was most likely born in Sagami (Kanagawa Prefecture) in the mid- sixteenth century, around 1545, during a time of great conflict which may have consequently led to his interest in swordsmanship.

No traceable documentation has been found about Jinsuke’s childhood or about his martial arts training background up until the year 1595, where it is said that he resided in Bushu, present day Saitama Prefecture, for 18 years. It was during this time that Hayashizaki Jinsuke developed batto- jutsu.

Shimmei Muso Ryu or Junpaku- Den Batto- jutsu would become the bases for all modern noncombative iaido today.

Jinsuke’s batto- jutsu was founded on the Chinese theories of Yin and Yang (In and Yo in Japanese) and is a fighting system developed to quickly draw the katana while cutting the enemy in one stroke. His disciples would later call this style Shin Muso Hayashizaki Ryu, which today has evolved into over 200 schools of Iaido, the predominate ones being Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu and Muso Shinden Ryu.

After developing Shimmei Muso Ryu, Jinsuke headed out on musha- shugyo, dueling samurai to determine the greater fighting system. Along his tour he defeated many warriors and had many disciples. In around 1616, when he was about 73 years old, he toured for a second time and was never seen again. He is assumed to have passed away in 1621.

As batto- jutsu evolved through the Edo period, becoming iaijutsu, sword drawing art, so did the society around it. Batto- justu was watered down and started to become more of an art and a mechanism for spiritual enlightenment rather than an actual fighting form. During the Edo period the sword was not only a sign of the samurai class, but a vehicle in which the samurai could search for clarity and peace mind.

As time progressed into the Meiji Restoration period, the wearing of the katana in public was band, and iaijutsu made its final transition into Iaido, the way of drawing the sword. In this final stage Iaido lessened its emphasis on developing techniques to defeat opponents, and strived to become an art in which to seek spiritual clarity through diligent practice and perfection of technique.

Today, Iaido is still practiced by millions, and continues to fascinate even the most experienced of martial artists, as it provides us with a glimpse into the past and allows us to attempt to walk along the footsteps of the samurai.