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Where the Name “Iaido” Originates
Iaido is the art of drawing and attacking with a sword. "Iaido" 居合道 is composed of the 3 characters; "i(ru)" ( 居 ) which translates as “ to be, to stay in, to sit, to remain seated”, "a(u)" ( 合 ) which translates as “to come together, to meet, to harmonize”, and “dou” ( 道 ) which translates to “way or path”. There is some debate among experts as to how and why the term "iai" came to refer to drawing the sword. One school of thought contends the terms originated with the practice of drawing the sword while seated, which had no practical value in traditional times, since samurai did not wear their long swords while seated. Another possibility is that "iai" was adopted for this purpose to suggest the idea of handling an opponent instantly and without moving from the spot on which one is attacked. Another idea is that the characters read together mean “the way of being in harmony”, since without all aspects of the practitioner (body, mind and spirit) working in unison the techniques could not be properly executed.
History of Modern Iaido
The Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu and the Muso Shinden Ryu represent the most popular forms of iaido, in terms of student population. The iaido of the ZNKR is heavily based on these two schools, that of the ZNIR (Zen-Nihon Iaido Renmei, the All-Japan Iaido Federation) mostly based on the former. Most modern students belong to one of the two ryu, plus the ZNKR or ZNIR.
In the latter half of the 15th century, Ienao Izasa (also known as Choisai Izasa) founded the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu. Together with his leading swordsman, he devised the art of attacking with the draw called iai-jutsu. In the early part of the 16th century, the Tatsumi Ryu and Takenouchi Ryu also practiced iai-jutsu.
In the late 16th century, Shigenobu Jinsuke allegedly was divinely inspired to develop a new sword-drawing art. He renamed himself Hayashizaki after the inspirational place and founded the Shimmei Muso Ryu to teach his art, called batto-jutsu. He was one of the first to teach swordsmanship as a way for spiritual development. Popularly misidentified as the originator of iai-jutsu, his influence has been great. More than 200 ryu have been founded in the wake of Jinsuke's inspiration and image, many of them named after him.
Various headmasters in the line of Jinsuke's teachings formed their own ryu. Among them were Shigemasa Tamiya (Tamiya Ryu), Kinrose Nagano (Muraku Ryu) and Eishin Hasegawa (Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu), who were the 1st, 3rd and 7th headmasters descending from Jinsuke.
The ryu which branched out from the teachings of these and others are too numerous to mention here.
Hakudo Nakayama, who lived at the beginning of the 20th century, studied Omori Ryu, Muraku Ryu and Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu and was experienced in all aspects of swordsmanship. He became the 16th and last undisputed successor to the Jinsuke/Eishin line. He also studied
Shindo Munen Ryu and Yamaguchi Itto Ryu. He went on to develop his own style, Muso Shinden Ryu batto-jutsu. Due to his diverse experience, the ryu boasted a bewildering array of techniques. He was asked to develop a simplified curriculum. He did so, and made the techniques available to all interested persons, most of which are kendoka. These forms of iai-jutsu, along with others, were gradually restyled as iaido in the late 40s.
The kata are divided up into 3 types: Seiza no bu, Tatehiza no bu, and Tachi no bu. The first section of 3 kata is done from the Seiza sitting position. The fourth kata is the sole kata of the second section, which is done from the Tatehiza sitting position. The rest of the kata are done from standing position. The 12 kata of Seitei-set are:
Seiza no bu ( せいざ の ぶ ) :
1. Mae （ まえ） (To the Front)
2. Ushiro （うしろ） (To the Rear)
3. Ukenagashi （うけながし） (Take and give back)
Tatehiza no bu （たてひざ の ぶ）:
4. Tsuka-ate (つか あて） (Strike with the handle)
Tachi no bu （たち の ぶ）:
5. Kesa-giri （けさ ぎり） (Diagonal cuts)
6. Morote-tsuki （もろて つき） (2 handed thrust)
7. San-po-giri （さんぽう ぎり） (3 direction cuts)
8. Ganmen-ate （がんめん あて） (Strike to face)
9. Soete-tsuki （そうえて つき） (Companion hand thrust)
10. Shi-ho-giri （しほう ぎり） (4 direction cuts)
11. So-giri （そう ぎり） (Many cuts)
12. Nuki-uchi （ぬきうち） (Draw & Cut down)
MusoShinden Ryu: (The koryu of the TKI Club)
Omori Ryu: Shoden
1.
Shohatsuto
2.
Sato
3.
Uto
4.
Atarito
5.
Inyoshintai
6.
Ryuto
7.
Junto
8.
Gyakuto
9.
Seichuto Koranto
10.
Inyoshintai Kae Waza
11.
Nuki Uchi
Hasagawa Eishin Ryu: Chuden
1.
Yoko Gumo
2.
Tora Itsutoku
3.
Ina Zuma
4.
Uki Gumo
5.
Yama Oroshi
6.
Iwa Nami
7.
Uroko Gaeshi
8.
Nami Gaeshi
9.
Taki Otoshi
10.
Nuki Uchi
Okuden Suwari Waza: Okuden
1.
Kasumi
2.
Sunegakoi
3.
Shiho Giri
4.
Tozume
5.
Towaki
6.
Tanashita
7.
Ryozume
8.
Tora Basiri
Okuden Tachi Waza: Okuden
1.
Yukezure
2.
Tsure Dachi
3.
Somakuri
4.
Sodome
5.
Shinobu
6.
Yukichigai
7.
Sodetsure Gaeshi
8.
Moniri
9.
Kabezoi
10.
Uke Nagashi
11.
Oikake Giri
12.
Ryoshikitsure
13.
Itomagoi
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