If you have any books written by Yumio Nawa, Masaaki Hatsumi, Fujita Seiko, Okuse Heishichiro (any rare Ninjutsu books), Kanji Naruse that you would like to sell or trade, please email me at robertg@robertg.com

Masaki School’s vise chain and chain sickle technique.

            Toshishima Masaki was born in 1689.  Mino-Ogaki Clan’s man, Masaki Tarodayu Toshimitsu was a master of Ko-tohda one sword school and Sen-I school long sword technique in Horeki period (1750’s). Later he established Masaki one sword school. Masaki school vise chain and chain sickle technique is a martial arts founded by him. It is composed of various techniques including hitting, tying and throwing. It is also called other names such as chain, ball chain, chain sickle, weight chains etc. 51 centimeter and approximately 1 foot 9 inch long chain with haiku poem card looking weights at both ends of it should be used of a vise chain. The total length of the chain is 69 centimeters approximately 2 feet 3 inches.

            It started when clan’s chief was ordered to be a guard at Edo castle main gate. Founder Masaki Tarodayu Toshimitsu invented vise chain and chain sickle technique because he wanted to have control over trespassers without blood shed and without using the sword (from folk tale “genkikensou-dan). Ogaki it is said that he invented it when an oracle from Divine Akiba appeared in his dream when he was sixty some years old (from tales of distinguished services “Bukou-ron). It is also said “It started in Houreki 4 (1754) the year of the monkey and dog". The techniques consist of “surface Iai fighting” and “rear Iai fighting”. The surface Iai fighting used chain for hitting and swinging while the rear Iai fighting uses it for tying, throwing and fastening an opponent. The surface Iai is based on Masaki one sword school method and the rear Iai is a Jujitsu method by using the vise chain. There are combination techniques with the surface and rear Iai. Furthermore, there would be over 300 techniques which are complicated as well as refined. Masaki died in 1776 at the age of 88. He was buried at the Joinji Temple of Ogaki-Funamachi.

Founder:                       Masaki Tarodayu Toshimitsu

2^nd successor:               Masaki Kizaemon Toshimasa

3^rd successor:                Masaki Kizaemon Toshichika

4^th successor:                Masaki Kizaemon Toshizane

5^th successor:                Miura Koushiro Kazutsuma

6^th successor:                Kagoya Sawata Takatane

7^th successor:                Handa Sakujiro Katsumune

8^th successor:                Watabe Kenji Masayuki

9^th successor:                Nawa Hounen Yoshimasa

10^th successor:              Nawa Yumio

Teachers: Sano Shinichi - Nakano Akira - Nakamura Kiyoyasa - Seyama Masahiro

Edo (former Tokyo) Police office truncheon and rope tying methods.

            Sanshu Yoshida Clan’s man (Mikawa Yoshida Clan Ohkouchi family), Kamei Sonroku Shigemura was the 4^th head of Yagyu school truncheon technique and a well known master of truncheon. Edo Police officer truncheon and rope tying methods is a martial arts founded by him. Shigemura researched 30 some traditional schools of truncheon technique in the country and collected refinements from them to edit Edo Police Officer truncheon and rope tying methods by Edo 8^th Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune’s order. The Shogun established Shigemura’s work as a truncheon technique manual for Edo Hacchobori Police officers around the Kyoho period (1716-1723).

This truncheon technique is called as “method” because it is a selection from 30 some traditional schools of truncheon techniques

First it starts from “breaking evil, manifesting justice “ from which is a charm against evils for captors. There are 12 basic forms with each of which tying techniques are responded. Also there are 18 forms that  a man holds a truncheon in the left hand and same sized hook-less rope in right hand. In general they are fast tying and hooking techniques.

Founder:                       Mamei Sonroku Shigemura

2^nd successor:               Kamei Rokuzaemon Shigemasa

3^rd successor:                Okada Umezo Shigenaga

4^th successor:                Nawa Hounen Ypshimasa

5^th successor:                Nawa Yumio

Teachers: Sano Shinichi - Nakano Akira - Nakamura Kiyoyasa - Seyama Masahiro

Why the Masaki School’s vise chain and chain and sickle technique and Edo Police officer truncheon and rope tying methods were handed down together.

Nawa Hounen was the 9^th head of Masaki School chain techniques. At the age of 23 he was appointed as a detective as the various temples, shrines and town office in Ogaki Clan on February 18 1855 (Kaei 5). He invited the said clan’s man Nishida Sanemon Ennosuke, a master of three weapons (pushing pole, U shaped head pole for neck capture and a crisscrossed U-shaped pole for sleeve capture) to teach him. Fortunately there was not a teacher of truncheon technique. So with Ogaki and Yoshida's Clans permission he also invited Okada Umezo Shigenaga a 3rd head of rope tying and truncheon, who was directly affiliated with Kamei Sonroku Shigemura. Hounen became a disciple of Okasa and practiced as he served as detective at the temples, shrines and town office until the Meiji Restoration (1867). Edo Police officer truncheon and rope tying methods were handed down to the Ogaki Clans’s man and Nawa Yumio  who is Hounen’s great grand son. Nawa Yumio became the 5^th head of the said methods and handed down vise chain techniques.

Masaki Society

 As the 10^th successor of Masaki School’s vise chain and chain sickle technique and 5^th successor of Edo Police officer truncheon and rope tying methods the headmaster Yumio Nawa honorably maintains and practices them. The society’s name comes from the Masaki School’s founder.

Yumio Nawa Profile:

Born on January 3, 1912 (Meiji 45) in Kitakyushu-shi. Passed away on September 1, 2006.

Historical time and event researcher (Japan Broadcasting Corporation, historical plays etc.) Collector of rare truncheon, capturing tools and old documents.

Above is a History Magazine dated April 1960. It featured an article on Yumio Nawa. The picture then reappeared in the newspaper in October 1962, see below.

Translation of the above article:

October 8th, 1962

Tales of Contemporary Unusual, Incredible and Mysterious Men

YUMIO NAWA

Martial arts master uses Ninjutsu

We are in a room within a second story apartment in Nishigahara, Kita-ku, Tokyo (near Komagome Station) that Yumio Nawa uses as his office. Stopping him before launches into a lecture about Jutte jutsu and his prided collection of Jutte (the weapon used by meakashi feudal police - in days of old) estimated to be worth some 3,000,000 yen in today's money, we asked him what his line of profession was.

After a brief pause, as if was talking about a completely different person. "What would you say? I suppose I'm a jack-of-all trades." He smiles and continues: "During my army days I used to do break and entries it was a simple since I know Ninjutsu. At any rate, with the exceptions of arson, murder and abducting women, I've done it all" he says indifferently.

Member of the Torimono Writer's Club

I asked Mr. Nawa to describe his job titles. Nawa took a brush and easily gave me seven job titles including Torimono Writer's Club member and an entrepreneur running a ballet scholl with his beautiful wife Michko (a member of the Komaki Ballet Troupe) situated in their neighborhood in Tachikawa City. He himself is also a creative dancer from the tradition of the famous Russian dancer Alexander Sacaroff, as well as being a master of Japanese Kobudo.

Has collected unusual weapons since his junior high school days

His real pride however is his collection of unusual weapons often seen in samurai movies. Arresting weapons such as Jutte and weighted chains (Manrikigusari) as well as Kusarigama and Shuriken. It is said that it must be the largest of it kind in Japan. Due to this portions of the Nawa collection are to be found on display in sword and antique exhibitions in department stores across Japan and are well known today.

Mr. Nawa began collecting in his junior year in his high school days (Okura Junior High) when he loved fighting and consequently developed a passion for these obscure weapons. Over 30 years have passed in his collecting career since that time and over 20 years of practical research and training with Nawa today possessing a masters ability in Masaki-ryu weighted chain, Toda-ryu Kusarigama and Edomachikata Hojo and throwing Katori Shinto, Chishin and Shirai-style shuriken. A multi talented man, Nawa not only teaches a large group of young students the art of self-defense once a week in his dojo in Komagome but also acts as a martial arts choreographer for movies and television.

Using shuriken for self-defense

On asking "So why would someone want to learn the shuriken or weighted chain today?" Mr. Nawa removed a black leather bag adorned in a floral design with green thread from his rubashka and took out a shuriken, a weighted chain and a whistle he carries for self-defense. "I'm never without these" he says "With these, one doesn't need to fear even 100 hoodlums - if one swings the chain around most run away and with a single shuriken one can reprove a would be molester on a train if he touches you. They are wonderful self-defense weapons" he answered.

(Tetsutaro OHNIWA)

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See his various written publications below:

Here are some very rare signed books authored by Nawa Sensei given to me as gifts from Nawa Sensei in November 2004 during my visit with him.

Above book is entitled Zukai kakushi buki hyakka (Illustrated Concealed Weapons). This original first edition book was printed on January 3, 1977. This is Nawa Sensei's favorite book.

Above book is entitled Zukai kakushi-Buki Soran (Illustrated Concealed Weapons), printing dated January 25, 2002 the original first reprinted edition was October 25, 1998. The original first edition book was printed in 1977 see above book.

Above book is entitled Zoku-Machigai darake-no Jidai-geki Volume 1. (Historical Plays Filled With Mistakes Volume 1), printing date is 1980.

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Above book is entitled Zoku-Machigai darake-no Jidai-geki Volume 2. (Historical Plays Filled With Mistakes Volume 2), printing date is April 4, 1994.