Hōzōin In'ei
Hōzōin In'ei was a Buddhist monk and sōhei, abbot of Hōzōin temple, and guardian of all the temples of Nara. He is famous for having founded a school of Sōjutsu called Hōzōin-ryū in 1560s.
In'ei was a monk of Kōfuku-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. He adored martial arts and trained in the sword martial arts of Nen-ryū under Toda Yosaemon and Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū under Izasa Ienao. At the same time, he was coached and mentored by Daizendayū Moritada, a master of the spear. Under this master's guidance, In'ei honed his spearmanship. In'ei was noted for having arranged the meeting between Kamiizumi Nobutsuna and Yagyū Munetoshi, being the catalyst for the creation of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.
It is said that one evening, on seeing the reflection of the crescent moon shining on Sarusawa pond, he was inspired to create a spear with a cross-shaped spearhead. He imagined this style of spear would be more effective in fighting. With this new type of spear, he founded the Hōzōin-ryū.
He passed on leadership of the school to other Buddhist monks of his order, including Hōzōin Inshun, Hōzōin Insei, Hōzōin Infū, and Hōzōin Inken.
The school was revived and updated in the nineteenth century by Takeda Sōkaku, who introduced the use of bamboo practice swords.
In'ei and his school feature in the manga series Vagabond, in which he has retired as master of Hōzōin-ryū, only to train Miyamoto Musashi to defeat his successor.
