Iizasa Ienao


Iizasa Chōisai Ienao was the founder of Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū which is a traditional Japanese martial art. His Buddhist posthumous name is Taiganin-den-Taira-no-Ason-Iga-no-Kami-Raiodo-Hon-Daikoji.
He was reputed to be a respected spearman and swordsman who served the Chiba family in what is today Chiba Prefecture. When his hometown was destroyed he began wandering the land until he settled down near the Katori Shrine and founded the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū in c.1447.