History of Tenjin Shinyo Ryu

Founder

Born in 1804, Hachiroji Okayama (later renamed to Iso Mataemon) became a warrior of the Kishu Clan. When he was 15 years old, he entered Yoshin-ryu in Kyoto, Japan. After a few years of study and nearly achieving mastery, his teacher died. Transferring to the Shinno Shinto-ryu, whose master was Joemon Honma, Hachiroji studied and mastered all of the skills.

History

Faced with a dilemma, Hachiroji requested help from the senior students of both Yoshin-ryu and Shinno Shinto-ryu. Through prayers and practice of both styles at the temple, Tenjin Shinyo-ryu was conformed. While traveling to participate in the required ‘fighting pilgrimage’ for all founders of new styles, Hachiroji and a senior disciple were confronted by more than 100 bandits. In the resulting battle and having exhausted all of the secret skills, Hachiroji was inspired and extensively researched the use of natural body weapons (Atemi) in combative situations.

After mastering this field of study, Hachiroji created a new style of Self Protection. He used an existing development theory and the Defend Guard System to the new research, creating a new System and incorporated all aspects into the existing Tenjin Shinyo-ryu. This new System was accepted by many who studied it from the Founder.