Kagehisa Ito

…The founder of Itto-ryu swordsmanship. His name was Kagehisa. His childhood name was Maehara Yagoro. He is known as a master swordsman, but his career is unclear. There is no established theory about his birthplace, which includes Ito in Izu, Oshima in Izu, Katata in Goshu, and Kanazawa in Kaga. There are several theories about his birth and death years, but there is no definite proof, and as a result, there are many legends and anecdotes. Ittosai was a self-taught swordsman, but it is said that he learned it from Kanemaki Jisai of the Tomita school and founded Itto-ryu. It is said that he traveled around the country, fought 33 serious sword duels, and defeated 57 enemies. There are some famous popular theories, such as that he unconsciously killed someone at Kamakura Hachiman Shrine and discovered Musoken, or that he was drinking with his concubine and sleeping under a mosquito net when she betrayed him, took out her sword, invited in bandits and attacked him, but he managed to escape the dangerous situation and invented the Fushi-yato (a sword for abandoning a Buddha). …

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Ito Kagehisa" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…一刀流剣術の祖。名は景久。幼名は前原弥五郎。剣豪で知られるが，経歴は不明確である。生国についても伊豆伊東，伊豆の大島，江州堅田，加賀金沢など定説がない。生没年についてもいくつかの説があるが確証はなく，それだけに伝説や逸話が多い。一刀斎は我流の剣法であったが，富田流の鐘捲自斎（かねまきじさい）に学び一刀流を創始したといわれ，全国を周遊して真剣勝負をなすこと33回，敵をたおすこと57人と伝えられる。鎌倉八幡宮で無意識のうちに人を切り夢想剣を開悟したとか，愛妾と酒を飲み，蚊帳の中で寝ている間に裏切った愛妾が刀を持ち出し，賊を招き入れ襲われるが，相手の刀を奪って危地を切り抜け仏捨刀（ふしやとう）を編み出したなどの俗説は有名である。…

※「伊藤景久」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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