Toshitsugu Takamatsu
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Toshitsugu Takamatsu (高松 寿嗣, Takamatsu Toshitsugu)'s real first name was Hisatsugu but he changed it later to Toshitsugu using the same Kanji but different pronunciation. He was born on 10 March 1887 in Akashi and died on 2 April 1972.[1] He was also known under different martial arts names and nicknames : Jutaro, Chosui (Pure Water), Uoh (Winged Lord), Nakimiso (Cry-baby), Kotengu (Little Goblin), Moko no Tora (Mongolian Tiger), Kikaku (Demon Horns), Yokuoh (Running In The Sky Old Man), Kotaro (Young Tiger), Shojuken, Garakutabujin (Enjoy Sketching Martial Artist), Kozan and Kyosha. His posthumous name is Junshokakuju Zenjomon. His house (a motel/tea-inn) was in front of Kashihara Shrine, in Kashihara City (Nara Prefecture). He had a cat (Jiro) and enjoyed painting very much.
He was married to Mrs. Uno Tane who was born on 28 June 1897 and who died on 4 February 1991. They adopted a girl named Yoshiko. His father (Takamatsu Gishin Yasaburo) owned a match-factory and received Dai-Ajari (Master) title in Shingon Buddhism from the mountain priest Kumano Shugendo. His Dojo was named "Sakushin" (Cultivating Spirit).
From his grandfather (on mother's side), Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu, Koto Ryu Koppo-Jutsu, Gyokko Ryu Kosshi-Jutsu, Togakure Ryu Ninpo, Gyokushin Ryu Ninpo and Kumogakure Ryu Ninpo. From Mizuta Yoshitaro Tadafusa he became Grandmaster in Hontai Takagi Yoshin Ryu Ju-Jutsu (age 17) and from Ishitani Matsutaro Takakage he became Grandmaster in Kukishin Ryu, Gikan Ryu, Hontai Yoshin Takagi Ryu and Shinden Muso Ryu too. He was a good friend of Jigoro Kano (Kodokan Judo) and took care of his younger brother. They both lived in the same region.
He traveled through Korea and Mongolia to China at the age of 21, taught martial arts and delivered many battles on life or death. He learned 18 Korean and Chinese martial arts from Kim Kei-Mei. He taught martial arts at an English school in China and had over 1000 students. He was the bodyguard of the last Chinese Emperor Puyi. He became Tendai Buddhism priest in 1919. In 1921 he was permitted to copy the Kukishin-Ryu scrolls (+ Amatsu Tatara scrolls) of the Kuki family. During the Second World War (1945) the original scrolls were destroyed and lost. In 1949 he presented new scrolls to the Kuki family which he had rewritten based on his copies and memory. He lost an eye during one of his mortal combats. It was replaced by a glass eye. He was deaf on one ear also due to one of his fights. He said that a Shaolin fighter and a shorinji boxer were the most dangerous enemies he ever met. He was buried on Kumedra cemetery in Nara. He used to write articles for the Tokyo Times newspaper. He was well known in Japan as a Grandmaster of Ju-Jutsu and Bojutsu but many people were surprised by his death to hear that he was a true Ninja Grandmaster (of 9 schools).
In may of 1950, Toshitsugu Takamatsu established Kashihara Shobukai in Nara prefecture. In the post-War era Takamatsu spent his time developing successors to his martial tradition. At the same time, he often sponsored Magokuro-kai-musubi tsudoi meeting and lectures about Amatsu Tatara, especially Izumo Shinpo, and reared many martial artists and religious leaders.
He taught and formed many next generation Grandmasters such as Fumio Akimoto (considered the senior student of Takamatsu), Kimura Masaji (It is possible that no other student of Takamatsu has had more training with the Grandmaster), Sato Kinbei (introduced Ueno Takashi to Takamatsu), Takashi Ueno, Yoshiaki Hatsumi (Ueno's personal student) and others.