Mugai Ryu Iaido & Kenjutsu

Japanese Samurai Martial Art with the Katana

The Samurai and Katana are the symbol of traditional Japanese martial arts and culture and have a strong influence on all facets of society and martial arts. The samurai was part of the nobility and stood for honor, justice, courage and strength.

Strictly speaking, Mugai Ryu Iaido is actually a style called Jikyo Ryu, but because Mugai Ryu practitioners were teaching Jikyo Ryu, this form of Iaido is generally referred to simply as Mugai Ryu.

The founder of Mugai Ryu, Tsuji Gettan, learned Jikyo Ryu from its founder, Taga Jikyoken Morimasa, and successive generations of the Tsuji family learned Jikyo Ryu from the subsequent soke (head masters) of Jikyo Ryu directly.

Jikyo Ryu was officially inherited by the Mugai Ryu practitioners of the time when it was clear that there would be no successor in Jikyo Ryu beyond the 6th generation soke. Contemporary Mugai Ryu is comprised of Jikyo Ryu Iaido taught in conjunction with classical Mugai Ryu swordsmanship. Nakagawa Shiryu Shinichi, the 11th soke of Mugai Ryu, is credited as the driving force behind Mugai Ryu and Jikyo Ryu reformation and is known as the master who reinvented the art, which he christened “Mugai Ryu Iaihyodo”.

Today, Niina Toyoaki Gosoke is currently the ruling Soke of Mugai Ryu Iaido.