Ittatsu-ryū is a traditional school of the Japanese martial art of hojōjutsu. Today, Ittatsu-ryū has been assimilated into the traditional school of Shintō Musō-ryū. This particular school of hojōjutsu was created in the late 17th century by Matsuzaki Kinueimon Shigekatsu, the third Shintō Musō-ryū headmaster. The modern Ittatsu-ryū system comprises 24 training-forms, grouped into 3 different series.
History
Hojōjutsu or Nawajutsu, is the traditional Japanese martial skill of restraining a person using cord or rope. It found use on both on and off the battlefield in up to 125 individual martial arts schools. It was used in particular by the various police-forces of the Edo-period and remains in use to this day with the Tokyo police force. In the warring-era it was not uncommon for warriors carrying a rope for use as a tool or as a restraint for prisoners of war when on campaign. The rope is to be used on an opponent after he or she has been subdued using restraining methods such as the methods found in the Ikkaku-ryū juttejutsu system. Ittatsu-ryū Hojōjutsu was created in the 17th century by Matsuzaki Kin'ueimon Shigekatsu, the third shihanke of the Shintō Musō-ryū, who also created the Ikkaku-ryū, and later transmitted through the "New Just" Musō-ryū tradition as its main rope-art. The rope used in Ittatsu-ryū is about 5 meters in length and a diameter of about 3.5 mm. Although handcuffs have generally replaced the rope, there exists today a modern form of hojojutsu in the Tokyo policeforce. This system was derived mainly from the Ittatsu-ryū tradition and were taught by the Shintō Musō-ryū ShihankeShimizu Takaji in his formal duty as a police force instructor in the mid 20th century.
Hojō methods
In the strict social-system of the Tokugawa-era there was a high emphasis on treating each individual according to what class the individual belonged to. Each of the Ittatsu-ryu form-series is adapted to deal with the social status of the individual being restrained. A samurai-lord,, would have to be restrained in a way that enables the individual to retain his or her dignity. Women, priests, samurai, and commoners would have to be restrained in a way that represented their position in the class-hierarchy without disgracing them.
Training
The hojō-methods are for the most part taught only to advanced students who have achieved a high level of proficiency in the Shinto Muso-ryu Jodo forms, though the level required is not standardized and different Jodo-organisations have different requirements.
