Hōzōin In'ei

Hōzōin In'ei (宝蔵院 胤栄, 1521 – 16 October 1607) was a Buddhist monk and sōhei, abbot of Hōzōin temple, and guardian of all the temples of Nara. He is famous for having founded a school of Sōjutsu called Hōzōin-ryū in 1560s.[1]

In'ei watching the reflection of the moon.

In'ei was a monk of Kōfuku-ji Temple in Nara, Japan.[2] He adored martial arts and trained in the sword martial arts of Nen-ryū under Toda Yosaemon and Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū under Izasa Ienao. At the same time, he was coached and mentored by Daizendayū Moritada (大膳太夫盛忠), a master of the spear. Under this master's guidance, In'ei honed his spearmanship.[3] In'ei was noted for having arranged the meeting between Kamiizumi Nobutsuna and Yagyū Munetoshi, being the catalyst for the creation of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.

It is said that one evening, on seeing the reflection of the crescent moon shining on Sarusawa pond, he was inspired to create a spear with a cross-shaped spearhead.[2] He imagined this style of spear would be more effective in fighting. With this new type of spear (known as jumonji-yari (十文字槍)), he founded the Hōzōin-ryū.

He passed on leadership of the school to other Buddhist monks of his order, including Hōzōin Inshun (1589-1648), Hōzōin Insei (1624-1689), Hōzōin Infū (1682-1731), and Hōzōin Inken (1746-1808).[3]

The school was revived and updated in the nineteenth century by Takeda Sōkaku (1858-1943), who introduced the use of bamboo practice swords (shinai).[4][5]

In'ei and his school feature in the manga series Vagabond, in which he has retired as master of Hōzōin-ryū, only to train Miyamoto Musashi to defeat his successor.[6]

Bibliography
  • Frederic, Louis (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • De Lange, William. Famous Swordsmen of the Sengoku Period.
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References
  1. "Hozoin-ryu sojutsu". www.koryu.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. "宝蔵院流槍術". www4.kcn.ne.jp. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. Habersetzer, Gabrielle. (2000). Encyclopédie technique, historique, biographique et culturelle des arts martiaux de l'Extrême-Orient (in French). Habersetzer, Roland, 1942-, Centre de recherche Budo. Paris: Editions Amphora. p. 220. ISBN 2-85180-556-8. OCLC 45361964.
  4. "Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Headquarters / History / Takeda Sokaku". www.daito-ryu.org. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  5. "Takeda Sōkaku". Northern Virginia Sin Moo Hapkido Institute.
  6. Inoue, Takehiko. (2008). Vagabond. Oniki, Yuji., Dutro, Steve. (Vizbig ed.). San Francisco, CA: Viz Comics. ISBN 978-1-4215-2054-4. OCLC 351686593.
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