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 swordsmanship (kenjutsu

Kenjutsu

, meaning "the method, or technique, of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means the way of the sword. Kenjutsu is the umbrella term for all traditional schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration...

) founded by Aizu Hyūga-no-Kami Iko (c.1452–1538) in c.1490. This school is also sometimes called Aizu Kage-ryū after the name of its founder. The founder was also known as Aizu Ikōsai Hisatada, and his surname is sometimes written as "Aisu" instead of "Aizu."

Legacy

Aizu had two primary students, his son Aizu Koshichiro, and Kamiizumi Hidetsugu. Kamiizumi Hidetsugu would go on to teach Kage-ryū to his son Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna, a famous swordsman and founder of (which would be renamed Yagyū Shinkage-ryū

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu

is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship . Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who added his own name to the school. Today, the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū remains...

 by Nobutsuna's equally famous student Yagyū Sekishūsai Muneyoshi.

Modern practice

Today, the Kage-ryū of Aizu Hyūga-no-Kami Iko exists only through its influence of later schools of swordsmanship, such as Yagyū Shinkage-ryū and Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū

Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu

, often referred to simply as Jikishinkage-ryū or Kashima Shinden, is a traditional school of the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship...

, and the many schools that they in turn influenced.