Iizasa Choisai - Iizasa Choisai

A martial artist from the Muromachi period. He is said to be the founder of the revival of the Japanese national sword and spear arts. He was a local samurai from Iizasa, Katori County, Shimousa Province (Tako Town, Katori County, Chiba Prefecture). His name was Ienao, Yamashiro no Kami, and later Iga no Kami. In 1480 (Bunmei 12), at the age of 60, he became a monk and took the name Choisai. He loved sword and spear arts from an early age, and studied various martial arts that had been passed down in Katori and Kashima since ancient times. In his prime, he served the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490). Around this time, the influence of the Onin War in the central area spread to the Kanto region, and the Chiba clan, which had boasted strong unity since Tsunetane, also saw internal strife intensify, leading to the attack and annihilation of the head of the clan, Chiba Tanenao and Tanetoki, in 1451 (Hōtoku 3). Despairing over the current trends, Ienao decided to become a martial artist, and after spending 1,000 days in seclusion at Umekiyama Fudansho near Katori Shrine, he finally realized the secrets of swordsmanship, systematized them, and created a school of swordsmanship. It is called Tenshinshoden Shintō-ryū Heihō, or Katori Shintō-ryū. He died on April 15, 2nd year of the Chōkyō era, at the age of 68. Some say he was 102. The school produced many talented students, including Tsukahara Tosa no Kami Yasumoto (Bokuden's adoptive father), Morooka Ippasai (Morooka Ippa), and Matsumoto Bizen no Kami Masanobu. The second head of the Iizasa family, Wakasa no Kami Morichika, the third head, Wakasa no Kami Morinobu, and the fourth head, Yamashiro no Kami Moritsuna, all carried on the work of their ancestors and excelled in the art of swords and spears, becoming a major source of various schools of swordsmanship in the early modern period.

[Ichiro Watanabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

室町時代の武術家。日本の国刀槍術(とうそうじゅつ)史上、中興の祖といわれる。下総(しもうさ)国香取(かとり)郡飯篠（千葉県香取郡多古(たこ)町）の郷士(ごうし)。名は家直(いえなお)、山城守(やましろのかみ)、のち伊賀守と称し、1480年（文明12）60歳のとき入道して長威斎と号した。幼少のころから刀槍の術を好み、古来香取・鹿島(かしま)に伝えられた各般の武芸を学び、壮年のころは時の将軍足利義政(あしかがよしまさ)（1436―1490）に仕えたという。このころ、中央における応仁(おうにん)の乱の影響は関東にも波及し、常胤(つねたね)以来、一門の強固な団結を誇った千葉氏も、一族の内訌(ないこう)が激化し、1451年（宝徳3）惣領(そうりょう)の千葉胤直(たねなお)・胤時(たねとき)が攻め滅ぼされるという事態となった。こうした時代の流れに絶望した家直は兵法者としてたつことを決意し、香取神宮にほど近い梅木山不断所に千日参籠(さんろう)して、ついに剣の極意を悟り、これを体系化して一流を編み出した。天真正伝神道流兵法(てんしんしょうでんしんとうりゅうへいほう)、また香取神刀流という。長享(ちょうきょう)2年4月15日没、68歳。一説に102歳という。門下に塚原土佐守安幹(やすもと)（卜伝(ぼくでん)の養父）、師岡一波斎(もろおかいっぱさい)（諸岡一羽）、松本備前守(びぜんのかみ)政信(まさのぶ)などの逸材を輩出し、また飯篠家の2代若狭守(わかさのかみ)盛近(もりちか)、3代若狭守盛信(もりのぶ)、4代山城守盛綱(もりつな)、いずれもよく父祖の業を継ぎ、刀槍の術に秀で、近世剣術諸流派の一大源流となった。

［渡邉一郎］

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