Welcome to the United Kingdom branch of Tenshinsh\u014d-den Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b .<\/p>\n
Intangible Cultural Asset of Chiba Prefecture<\/p>\n
Tenshinsh\u014d-den Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b was founded by Iizasa Choisai Iena\u014d Sensei during the mid Muromachi era (1336-1573) in the Katori region of Shim\u014dsa province (present-day Katori city, Chiba prefecture), and is the source from which many Japanese martial arts have evolved.<\/p>\n
At approximately sixty years of age, Iizasa Sensei undertook a thousand days of prayer and austere training\u00a0\u00a0in the grounds of the Katori Shrine.\u00a0\u00a0Tradition tells us the deity Futsunushi no Kami appeared to Iizasa Sensei, declared him the first amongst all other swordsmen under the sun and presented him with a divine scroll on the warrior arts.\u00a0\u00a0Since the art was received through divine transmission, Iizasa Sensei named it \u201cTenshinsh\u014d-den\u201d (direct and authentic transmission from the deities) Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b.<\/p>\n
The tradition has been carefully handed on across the centuries, through successive generations of master teachers, to the present day.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0\u00a0practice of Tenshinsh\u014d-den Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b\u00a0\u00a0in the United Kingdom follows the teachings passed down from Hayashi Sakuichir\u014d Shihan to Hayashi Yazaemon Shihan, who was then succeeded by \u014ctake Risuke Shihan (Shinbukan D\u014dj\u014d founder). Practice is led by \u014ctake Nobutoshi Shihan, in accordance with the sublime teachings of \u014ctake Risuke Shihan (1926 -2021) of the Shinbukan D\u014dj\u014d which is situated in the countryside near Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.<\/p>\n
In 1960, through the efforts of Hayashi Yazaemon Shihan and \u014ctake Risuke Shihan, Tenshinsh\u014d-den Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b was awarded the status of Intangible Cultural Asset of Chiba Prefecture.\u00a0\u00a0The tradition was the first martial art in Japan to be designated as a cultural asset. \u00a0\u00a0Both \u014ctake Risuke Shihan (1926 – 2021) and \u014ctake Nobutoshi Shihan hold the official title of Guardian, as designated by the authority of the Chiba Prefecture Office of Education.<\/p>\n
Tenshinsh\u014d-den Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b\u00a0\u00a0is preserved and transmitted both domestically and internationally as a classical Japanese warrior tradition unique to the Katori region.<\/p>\n