Shindō Munen-ryū

Fukui Hyōemon (1700–1782) was born in Shimano no Kuni (now Tochigi Prefecture) and learned Shin Shinkage Ichiden Ryu under Nonaka Gonnai received Menkyo Kaiden at a relatively young age.

Hyōemon, unsatisfied, traveled Japan taking part in shinken shobu (death matches) and honing his skills. He became so reputed that he was listed on Imperial and Tokugawa Bakufu records as one of the best swordsmen of his time. Hyoemon continued to travel through Japan until he encountered a small shrine in the Inazuma Mountains. There he found the Izuna-Gongen Shrine where he meditated and trained in isolation for 50 days. On the 50th night he achieved enlightenment. The resulting enlightenment was organized into a rather large syllabus of techniques later codified as "Shindō Munen-ryū".

Hyōemon thereafter traveled to Edo (present day Tokyo) where he opened a dojo in Yotsuya. There he trained a small number of dedicated students until his retirement. Hyōemon then passed the ryu onto his successor Togasaki Kumataro (2nd Generation). His grave can be found in present-day Saitama not too far from his protege's (Togasaki Kumataro).

The fourth successor of Shindō Munen-ryū, Saitō Yakuro Yoshimichi (斎藤弥九郎), established the dojo called Renpeikan (練兵館) in Edo.

Shindō Munen-ryū reached the pinnacle of its popularity towards the end of the Edo period (1603–1868). In this politically unstable time, Shindō Munen-ryū swordsmen participated in both the political and physical battles that came to define the Bakumatsu (1853–1868). It was not uncommon for Shindō Munen-ryū swordsmen of different or even the same dojo to engage each other in combat. Politically active members like Katsura Kogoro and Ito Hirobumi later took active leadership roles in the Meiji Government.

Today the Kanto ha Shindō Munen-ryū is one of the remaining branch of Shindō Munen-ryū. Negishi Shingorō (根岸信五郎) was the last headmaster who teaches Shindō Munen-ryū in the edo period. Shingorō received the licence Menkyo Kaiden in Edo Den from Saitō Shintaro. Shingoro, however felt the loss of idealism and passion that surrounded him during the closing days of the Tokugawa Bakufu. He acknowledged this fact by closing the Renpeikan's doors (officially ending the Edo Line) and opening the Yushinkan (有信館道場) Dojo and founding the Kanto Ha.

Prior to the fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu there were many Shindō Munen-ryū branches all over Japan. These branches operated independently of one another and prospered.

The dawn of the Meiji in 1868, however brought many new hardships with it and most of the branches Shindō Munen-ryū were forced to close their doors due to lack of patronage and the Meiji Sword Ban. Most surviving branches opened their doors again after the Meiji Sword Ban was lifted. Most, however lost the majority (if not all) of their kata as a result. In present-day branches like Choshu Han Den, Hachinohe Han Den, and Saitō Ha only practice a small portion of the Iaijutsu curriculum. Most of these Iaijutsu kata were reconstructed from written descriptions, and so may not be true to the original forms.

The style itself survived the Meiji period (1868–1912) completely intact however, largely due to the efforts of Negishi Shingorō (Edo Den 6th Generation/Creator of Kanto ha) who taught swordsmanship to the Tokyo Police Force. Shingorō's successor Nakayama Hakudō continued to preserve Shindō Munen-ryū throughout the Taisho (1912–1926) and Showa Periods (1926–1989) by producing some of the notable swordsmen in modern history. Examples are Nakayama Zendo, Hashimoto Toyo, Kiyoshi Nakakura, Haga Junichi, and Nakashima Gorozo.

The Nihon Kobudō Kyokai and Shinkyokai have recognized Kanto ha of Shindō Munen-ryū as the branch that preserves most of Shindō Munen-ryū (Kenjutsu, Iaijutsu, and other practices). The current headmaster of this branch is Ogawa Takeshi (10th Generation).