Shindō jinen-ryū

Shindo Jinen-Ryu
神道自然流

Date founded	1933
Country of origin	Japan
Founder	Yasuhiro Konishi (1893–1983)
Current head	Yasuhiro (Takehiro) Konishi
Arts taught	Karate
Ancestor arts	Jujitsu
Ancestor schools	Shitō-ryū • Shotokan • Motobu-ryu • Takenouchi-ryū
Practitioners	Kiyoshi Yamazaki • Mina Yamazaki
Official website	Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai

Shindo Jinen Ryu (神道自然流) is a form of karate that was founded in 1933 by Yasuhiro Konishi (康弘小西, Konishi Yasuhiro).

Yasuhiro Konishi

Yasuhiro Konishi was born in 1893 in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan. His martial arts training began at the age of six, in Muso Ryu Jujitsu, which was followed by kendo when he was 13, and subsequently, Takenouchi-ryū Jujitsu, a style characterized by strong punches and kicks, similar to those later employed in karate. In 1915, he entered Keio University in Tokyo where he became captain of the school’s kendo team. Konishi's first exposure to te (the art form which would later be developed into karate) was through a university classmate named Tsuneshige Arakaki, who was from Okinawa. Konishi found te techniques to be similar to those he had learned in Jujitsu, and although Arakaki was not a master instructor, Konishi was intrigued by the system. After graduating, Konishi entered the business world, but also continued coaching Keio University’s kendo club. The life of a “salary man” was not fulfilling for him, however, and with the encouragement of his wife, Konishi quit his job in 1923, to open his own martial arts center. Naming his dojo the Ryobu-Kan ("The House of Martial Arts Excellence"), Sensei Konishi provided instruction in kendo and jujitsu.

In September, 1924, Hironori Ohtsuka, and Gichin Funakoshi, respectively the future founders of the Wado-Ryu and Shotokan styles of karate, came to the Keio University kendo training hall. Approaching Konishi with a letter of introduction from one of the school’s professors, Funakoshi asked if it would be possible to use the training hall to practice Ryukyu Kempo To-Te Jutsu. An inquiry like this would have been considered a “challenge” to Sensei Konishi at the time, and it was unheard of for one martial arts school to allow an instructor from another system to teach in his dojo. Nonetheless, Konishi remembered his university friend Arakaki's kata demonstrations, and accepted Funakoshi's request in the interest of expanding his own knowledge.

Within a month of joining the Ryobu-Kan - and with Sensei Konishi's help - Funakoshi established a to-te practice club at Keio University, making it the first university karate club in Japan. Senseis Konishi, Funakoshi, and Ohtsuka were the principal instructors, and with the addition of to-te to Konishi's curriculum of kendo, jujitsu, and western boxing, modern karate-jutsu was born. (Although no names were yet applied to the emerging styles.)

As karate gained popularity, a number of Okinawan masters began traveling to Japan, and because of Sensei Konishi's open-mindedness, many of these budoka (martial artists) visited the Ryobu-Kan to exchange techniques and teach. Among them were Kenwa Mabuni (founder of Shito-Ryu karate), Chojun Miyagi (founder of Goju-Ryu karate), and Choki Motobu, one of the most renowned fighters of his day. These three men profoundly influenced Konishi in various ways, and helped shape his own emerging style of karate. In addition to training with fellow karate masters, Konishi also studied under Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, who would later found aikido, but who was teaching Daito-Ryu Aikijujitsu at the time. Konishi considered Ueshibathe best martial artist he had ever encountered.

Established in 1895, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai ("Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society") is the governing Japanese governing body for budo. It is tasked with encouraging, promoting, and standardizing all martial disciplines and systems in Japan, and in the early part of the 20th century, it not only set the standards for ranking individual martial artists, but signed all certificates of membership. Already a member of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai because of his kendo and jujitsu training, Konishi felt strongly that karate should become part of Japanese education, and petitioned to have karate officially recognized as a martial art. However, while the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai continued to award titles in jujitsu and judo, karate was not acknowledged until 1935. With eventual recognition, however, came kyoshi ("master instructor") rankings for Konishi, Miyagi and Sannosuke Ueshima (the founder of Kushin-Ryu karate).

Formal Recognition of Karate

The Dai Nippon Butoku Kai required that all budo have distinct names, and Konishi encouraged his contemporaries to name their individual styles. Taking the Japanese words for "hard" ("go") and "soft" ("ju"), Sensei Miyagi named his style Goju-Ryu, since it blended hard and soft techniques. Sensei Mabuni, who had studied under Okinawan to-te masters Yasutsune (Anko) Itosu and Kanryo Higashionna, named his style Shito-Ryu, combining the first kanji from each of their names. For Sensei Ohtsuka, the study of budo placed one in harmony ("wa") with the universe, and his style became known as Wado-Ryu. Sensei Ueshima rooted the name Kushin-Ryu ("Sky-Heart") in the concept of harmony between the universe and the individual. And students convinced Sensei Funakoshi to name his style Shotokan, after Shoto ("Pine Waves"), his pen name.

For himself, Sensei Konishi believed that if one lives a moral life, then one is naturally following the divine way. Extending this idea, he posited that, if training in karate in a natural way leads one to mastery of one's body, knowledge and experience are vastly increased, and the foundation for naturally living a moral life is established. For this reason, and at the recommendation of Morihei Ueshiba (the founder of Aikido and Shinto scholar Danjo Yamaguchi, Konishi named his own style Shindo Jinen Ryu Karate-Jutsu ("godly, natural style, complete empty-handed way").

Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai

Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai (JKR) is the original and only governing body for Shindo Jinen Ryu. It is an international karate organization under the leadership of Yasuhiro (Takehiro) Konishi, 10th Dan, son of the soke, Yasuhiro Konishi. It has branches in more than 20 countries under the guidance of Kiyoshi Yamazaki, 8th Dan, International Director and Chief Instructor. Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai is the sole governing body for Shindo Jinen Ryu, and it is the only major karate organization that has never experienced an internal schism.

Characteristics

Shindo Jinen Ryu training is comprised of three main elements: kihon (basics), kata (forms or patterns of moves), and kumite (sparring). It incorporates elements of karate, aikido, jujitsu, and kendo in its curriculum, and also emphasizes both philosophy and education. The strong influences of both Gichin Funakoshi and Kenwa Mabuni are apparent in the style, and it includes, in addition to its own distinct kata, versions of all the Shotokan forms, as well as a number common to Shito-Ryu. The catalog of stances and techniques is equally broad, subsuming methods from both Shotokan and [Shito-Ryu]] without showing favoritism to either. There is a strong focus on practicality, and an approach that often combines entering strikes with finishing takedowns.

Kata

Shindo Jinen Ryu has an expansive repertoire of kata, incorporating variations on the entire Shotokan catalog, a number of Shito-Ryu forms, and a number of kata that are exclusive to Shindo Jinen Ryu. Kobudo is also part of this element of the style's curriculum.

Traditional Katas	Standard Katas	Kobudo	Additional Kata
Tai Sabaki Shodan	Heian Shodan	Suna Kake No Kon	Shisochin
Tai Sabaki Nidan	Heian Nidan	Shushi No Kon Dai	Saifa
Tai Sabaki Sandan	Heian Sandan	Shushi No Kon Sho	Kururunfa
Seiryu	Heian Yondan	Sakugawa No Kon	Tomari Bassai
Rohai	Heian Godan	Tozan No Kama
Naifanchin	Tekki Shodan	Ishimine No Tonfa
Anan	Tekki Nidan	Hama Hi Ga No Tonfa
Chatan Yara No Koshokun	Tekki Sandan	Ishimine No Sai
Nipaipo	Bassai Dai	Tsuken Shita Ha Ku No Sai
Pinan Shodan	Bassai Sho	Hama Hi Ga No Sai
Pinan Nidan	Kanku Dai	Tawa Ta No Sai
Pinan Sandan	Kanku Sho	Chatan Yara No Sai
Pinan Yondan	Empi	Ya Ka No Sai
Pinan Godan	Jitte	Ha Ni Tagawa No Sai
Suparimpei	Jiin	Jigen No Sai
	Jion	Kojo
	Gankaku
	Hangetsu
	Nijushiho
	Sochin
	Chintei
	Sanchin
	Seipai
	Unsu
	Gojushiho Dai
	Gojushiho Sho
	Seienchin

See Also

• Yasuhiro Konishi
• Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai
• Kiyoshi Yamazaki

Sources

• Japanese Karate, Volume 1: Shindo Jinen Ryu. [Motion Picture]. Thousand Oaks, CA: Tsunami Productions. 1998
• Japanese Karate, Volume 2: Ryobukai and Shotokan. [Motion Picture]. Thousand Oaks, CA: Tsunami Productions. 1998
• Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai Instructors Manual. 1996