Tatsusaburo Nakayama

1931 Shimatsuma Junior High School Picture

Born
Meiji 3 1870
Kuramochi Village near Akeno, Makabe District, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Died
March 2, 1945
Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Residence
Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Style
Shindō Yōshin-ryū, Ono-ha Ittō-ryū, Jikishinkage-ryū, Jujutsu, Kenjutsu

Teacher(s)
Katsunosuke Matsuoka, Motokichi Inose,Tatsuo Matsuoka, Yosaburo Hakomori, Sasaburo Takano

Rank
Renshi, Mokuroku and Menkyo Kaiden License, Tokugyi Shosho Kendo Certificate and 5th dan,
Osteopath License

Notable students
Hironori Ōtsuka (founder of Wado Ryu)

Tatsusaburo Nakayama was a martial artist best known for being the first sensei and primary jujutsu teacher of Hironori Otsuka, founder of Wado Ryu, a blended style of Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu and Okinawan Shuri-te karate, which would eventually become one of the four main styles of karate.[1] Nakayama was highly skilled in both jujutsu (Menkyo license) and kendo swordsmanship (5th dan).[2]

Early life

Nakayama was born in 1870 in Kuramochi near Akeno Village, Makabe District, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. He was the oldest son of Kenzaburo Nakayama.[2]

On April 10, 1886, Nakayama entered Katsunosuke Matsuoka's Shindokan dojo and began learning the Jikishinkage-ryū kenjutsu and the Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu Betsuden (short sword capture, large sword capture, atemi, katsuho, etc.) as basic techniques for swordsmanship. Matsuoka was the founder and sōke of Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu.[3][4] Shindō Yōshin-ryū is believed to be the last Edo-period jujutsu school into which the Yōshin-ryū koryu (founded by Akiyama Shirōbei Yoshitoki in 1642) has been absorbed, and was a consolidation of the Totsuka-ha Yōshin-ryū and Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū jujutsu schools.[5]

In 1888, at the age of 18, on the recommendation of Katsunosuke Matsuoka, who was expected to have such talent, Nakayama entered the gate of Yosaburo Hakomori, a master of Jikishinkage-ryu kenjutsu swordsmanship.[6]

In March 1890, Nakayama received a Shoden Mokuroku license from Motokichi Inose (Matsuoka's successor and second soke over Shindō Yōshin-ryū), training at the Matsuoka Akeno Dojo near Kuramochi.[7] Two years later in March 1892 at the age of 22, he received his Chuden Mokuroku license.[8]

In 1895, at the age of 25, the highest technical license in Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu was awarded by Inose to Nakayama when he received the Joden Gokyu Menkyo.[8]

In 1898, Nakayama began training in the Ono-ha Ittō-ryū kenjutsu, under Sasaburo Takano.

In 1899, at the time of the death of Shindō Yōshin-ryū's founder, Katsunosuke Matsuoka, only 3 men, Inose (in 1878), Ohbata (in 1895), and Nakayama (in 1895) had been graded as Menkyo, meaning full mastery of the technical curriculum of the style.[9]

In 1905, a dojo named the Genbukan, was built near the Shimotsuma Junior High School, and Hakomori was named kancho (lead administrator), and Hakomori requested Nakayama to be his dojocho technical instructor.[8]

1908 Tatsusaburo Nakayama (leftmost dark uniform) class at Genbukan dojo, with Hironori Otsuka (3rd row 4th from right)

Shimotsuma Junior High School and the Dai Nippon Butoku Kan

Nakayama became employed as the physical education teacher at Shimotsuma Junior High School, teaching Judo and Gekken (kendo) classes.[10] One of his initial 35 students was a 13 year old Hironori Otsuka.[11]

In September 1906, Nakayama was awarded a special kendo Ittō-ryū Tokugyi Shosho certificate by Sasaburo Takano.[8]

In December 1908, Nakayama was involved with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, in performing a jujustu and kenjustu demonstration, performing jujutsu with Inose.[2] He also competed in this event in kenjutsu again Torajiro Watabiki and Toyokichi Otaki.

In 1913, The Butoku Kai awarded Nakayama with a Renshi license.[8]

Later life

In May 1919,[8] Nakayama entered the Matsuoka Honbu Shindokan dojo again,[10] studying Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu under Inose in order to obtain a license as a bone-setter(osteopath). He was also awarded the rank of second dan in kendo. In September of the following year, he was awarded a "Jujutsu Practical Skills Certificate" and received an osteopathic license from the Ibaraki Prefectural Office.[12]

On June 1, 1921, Nakayama awarded a Menkyo kaiden (certificate of complete mastery and license to teach)[13] in 'Shindō Yōshin-ryū judo' (jujutsu and judo terms were used fairly interchangeably at this time) to Otsuka.[14]

In 1923, the Butoku Kai awarded Nakayama with a 4th dan in kendo, and a Kendo Seirensho certificate, recognizing his dedication to kendo.[12]

In 1932, Nakayama retired from Shimatsuma Junior High School, but continued teaching and bone-setting at the Genbukan Dojo.[12]

On February 17, 1939, Nakayama received his 5th dan in kendo from Butokukai president Senjuro Hayashi.[12]

Death and posthumous memorials

On March 2, 1945, Nakayama died, per confirmation by family descendent Tsuyuko Nakayama,[15] in Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Sometimes an erroneous death year of 1933 is listed.

In 1973, Nakayama's students from Shimotsuma School raised a monument in his memory near the Genbukan Dojo.[2]

In 1974, another monument was raised in his memory in Kuramochi, his family home, by his kendo students.[2]

Photographs

A 1908 Genbukan dojo class picture shows Nakayama and his students, including a young 16 year old Otsuka.[16]

A 1931 class photo from Shimotsuma School shows Nakayama here.[17]

A photo of Nakayama's grave monument can also be seen here.[17]

Anecdotes

"Three Year Kill" (Sannen-katsuri)

Nakayama was good at striking and kicking techniques, and when he was training under Katsunosuke Matsuoka, he got into a big fight with dozens of rough-tempered construction workers, but at that time he was able to perform various attacks while changing his strength. I tested myself experimentally and hit all of them.

After that, when they searched for each of them and confirmed whether they were alive or dead, the earliest they lived was 3 months, and the longest lived 13 and a half years. Hironori Otsuka said that sannen-katsuri really existed because he averaged three years.

At this time, Nakayama used a fist with the second joint (knuckle) of his middle finger sticking out. [18]

Nakayama advocated that it is effective to use the fist with a joint of the finger sticking out to strike the vital point, and all the thrusts in Shindō Yōshin-ryū style were used.

This idea was inherited by Wado-ryu, which was founded by his disciple Hironori Otsuka,[19] and in the 36 kihon kata of Wado-ryu jujutsu kenpo, no straight fist is used, and all thrusts are fists sticking out the knuckle joint of the finger.[20][21]

Roundhouse kick

In the Meiji era, Nakayama used a roundhouse kick in which the opponent's ribs were kicked with the middle foot in a straight line at an angle of 45 degrees.[22] This kick was incorporated into the training system as a basic kicking technique of Wado-ryu karate, the roundhouse kick.[23] Otsuka describes, "As for kicks, front kicks, foot sword kicks, and karate did not have roundhouse kicks, so I introduced this from old-style jujutsu."[24][a]

Notes

^ The roundhouse kick is the third kick of the Shindō Yōshin-ryū Betsuden Kotozatsu, which Nakayama learned as a sword technique when he was studying swordsmanship under Katsunosuke Matsuoka, but the relevance is unknown.
I, this website administrator, attempted for 2.5 years to publish this as a Wikipedia article from 9/2023 to 3/2025 but was repeatedly denied because of lack of notoriety of the individual, and lack of sufficient 3rd party citations. Hopefully in the future someone will be able to convince Wikipedia otherwise about the important contributions of this grand martial artist who has had great notability to both Wado Ryu, Takamura-Ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu, as well as other Koryu Budo adherents, numbering in the tens of thousands, and find success in a later publishment.