is a traditional school (koryū

Koryu

is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. This word literally translates as "old school" or "traditional school"...

) of the Japanese martial art of hojōjutsu

Hojojutsu

Hojōjutsu or Nawajutsu, is the traditional Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope.Encompassing many different materials, techniques and methods from many different schools, Hojojutsu is a quintessentially Japanese art that is a unique product of Japanese history and...

. Today, Ittatsu-ryū has been assimilated into the traditional school of Shintō Musō-ryū

Shinto Muso-ryu

, most commonly known by its practice of jōdō, is a traditional school of the Japanese martial art of jōjutsu, or the art of wielding the short staff . The technical purpose of the art is to learn how to defeat a swordsman in combat using the jō, with an emphasis on proper combative distance,...

. 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 (kata

Kata

is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....

), grouped into 3 different series.

History

Hojōjutsu (捕縄術) or Nawajutsu, (縄術) is the traditional Japanese martial skill of restraining a person using cord or rope (Hojō). 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

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 of the Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

-period and remains in use to this day with the Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 police force. In the warring-era (1467-1615) 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 (torite) 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

Ikkaku-ryu juttejutsu

Ikkaku-ryū juttejutsu is a school of juttejutsu that, as the equivalent to its sister variant Chūwa-ryū tankenjutsu , is taught alongside traditional school of Japanese martial arts, Shintō Musō-ryū. It is composed of 24 forms divided into two series...

, and later transmitted through the "New Just" (Shintō) Musō-ryū

History of Shinto Muso-ryu

is a traditional school of the Japanese martial art of jōjutsu, the art of handling the Japanese short staff . The art was created with the purpose of defeating a swordsman in combat using the jō, with an emphasis on proper distance, timing and concentration...

 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

Handcuffs

Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist...

 have generally replaced the rope, there exists today a modern form of hojojutsu in the Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

force. This system was derived mainly from the Ittatsu-ryū tradition and were taught by the Shintō Musō-ryū Shihanke Shimizu Takaji

Shinto Muso-ryu

, most commonly known by its practice of jōdō, is a traditional school of the Japanese martial art of jōjutsu, or the art of wielding the short staff . The technical purpose of the art is to learn how to defeat a swordsman in combat using the jō, with an emphasis on proper combative distance,...

 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

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 (1603-1868) there was a high emphasis on treating each individual according to what class the individual belonged to. Each of the Ittatsu-ryu form(kata)-series is adapted to deal with the social status of the individual being restrained. A samurai-lord, (if being arrested for a crime), would have to be restrained in a way that enables the individual to retain his or her dignity. Women, priests (of either shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 or Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 faith), samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

, commoners (considered to be near bottom of the class-system), 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.

List of Ittatsu-ryū Hojōjutsu forms

The modern-day Ittatsu-ryū system comprises 24 forms of rope-tying divided between 3 series
called Ge, Chû and Jô.

Ge (inferior) series

1. Ichimonji haya nawa
2. Hagai tsuke haya nawa
3. Hitoe hishi nawa
4. Shin hagai tsuke nawa
5. Ya hazu nawa
6. Sumi chigai nawa
7. Shin tombô nawa
8. Happô karami nawa
9. Yagura hishi nawa

Chû (middle) series

1. Hishi haya nawa
2. Hishi nawa
3. Jûmonji nawa
4. Bajô bagai tsuke nawa
5. Tombô nawa
6. Shin futae hishi nawa
7. Shin kikô nawa
8. Yagura hishi nawa

Jô (higher) series

1. Jûmonji haya nawa
2. Jûmonji nawa
3. Futae hishi nawa
4. Kikô nawa
5. Age maki nawa
6. Shin hagai tsuke nawa
7. Munawari hitoe hîshi nawa
8. Kiri nawa