Do you teach the Owari or Edo school of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu?
(A) Both. Officially, we teach the Owari line of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, as handed down to us by Otsubo Shiho (Menkyo Kaiden). Otsubo sensei began his studies as a deshi under Yagyu Toshichika (Genshu), the great-grandfather of the current headmaster, Yagyu Koichi. When Genshu passed away, he continued to study under his son, Toshinaga (Genchou). The Edo line of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu was intact up until around the Meiji period, but later died-out. Otsubo Shiho & Muto Masao worked closely with the Edo Yagyu family to resurrect the Edo-line of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu. They scoured through over 500 documents and texts in order to discover the necessary information. When Otsubo Shiho passed away in 1992, Muto became his successor. Muto later passed on the “Otsubo-line” of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu to his successor, Kajitsuka Yasushi.
