養神会道場宝蔵院流高田派槍術

Why I love koryu:

形を傅受するまゝにて意味をしらねは仕合の用に達がたし: Simply memorizing forms exactly as they are passed down without learning their underlying application renders them useless in a real confrontation.

心の位 (Kokoro no kurai): Achieving the proper mental state, calmness, and situational awareness.

遠近の間相: Understanding the tactical distance, spatial timing, and engagement ranges between oneself and the opponent.

I am deeply thankful to the Kami sama 神さま that in almost 5 years of teaching Hozoin Ryu sojutsu in Toronto I have had only one person quit! Those are pretty good percentages! The Gods know who is meant to be in the Ryu and who is not! Sometimes it is beyond the keen of us mortals but the Universe always self regulates!!!
I am deeply grateful for those who persevere through practice.

I would like to introduce the other deity of Hozoin Ryu, Marish*ten. Marish*ten is revered in many Koryu bujutsu Ryuha 古流武術流派 (traditional martial schools, including Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu as mentioned in the Kongen no Maki 根元之巻).
Here is what Marish*ten offered the practitioner:
摩利支天
Marish*ten, the Japanese personification of the morning sun and a patroness of the warrior class, profoundly shaped Japanese martial traditions by offering a spiritual and psychological framework for survival. She provided practitioners with three primary benefits: invisibility/elusiveness, swiftness, and composure.

1. Invisibility and Elusiveness
Derived from the Sanskrit word for light or mirage, Marish*ten represented the idea that the formless power of the sun cannot be captured, harmed, or seen. In the martial context of Bujutsu, this concept was translated into the tactical advantage of evading an enemy's attention. She was revered as a protector who could render armies, scouts, and operatives unnoticed or shield them from harm.

2. Strategic Swiftness and Timing
Marish*ten’s nature as the dawn symbolized the transition from darkness to light, which martial traditions interpreted as the power of swift decision-making and decisive action. In combat, speed was not just physical, but mental—the ability to act before an opponent's plan could mature. Practitioners of classical traditions like the Kashima Shinto-ryu invoked her for the tactical readiness to strike without hesitation.

3. Mental Clarity and Composure
Beyond practical combat tactics, Marish*ten was a vital figure for training the warrior's inner state. Her veneration was heavily tied to maintaining a clear, quiet, and ethically steady mind while under pressure. For historic figures like Tokugawa Ieyasu and the samurai, carrying talismans dedicated to Marish*ten was a reminder to transcend the fear of death, dispel panic, and maintain supreme emotional control.
Her profound influence is still honored in the classical traditions of Koryu budo, where she is frequently enshrined alongside indigenous Shinto war deities like Takemikazuchi

There are two deities associated with Hozoin Ryu sojutsu 宝蔵院流槍術, Marish*ten who is easy to find information on and Kasuga Aka Douji who is not as easy to find information about. Here is what I have researched so far:
春日赤童子
The "Aka Doji" (Red Youth) of Nara's Mt. Wakakusa is a local manifestation of the Shinto-Buddhist deity Kasuga Aka Doji, who is the avatar of the Kasuga Shrine deities and has Seitaka Doji, an attendant of Fudo Myoo, at his core.

The Fudo Myoo Connection
In Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, Fudo Myoo is often flanked by eight divine youths (Hachidai Doji), the two most famous of which are Kongara Doji and Seitaka Doji. Seitaka Doji is specifically depicted with red skin and is a symbol of obedience and fierce protection.

The Nara / Wakakusa Connection
In Nara, you have Kasuga Aka Doji (sometimes just called Aka Doji). During the medieval period, the concepts of Shinto gods and Buddhist entities merged. Kasuga Shrine and the Buddhist temple Kofukuji were intrinsically linked.
* The Avatar: The Kasuga deities were seen as protectors of Buddhism. Because of this, they were visually equated with Seitaka Doji, the red-skinned attendant of Fudo Myoo.
* Wakakusa Shrine: This concept of the Red Guardian Deity is deeply embedded in the sacred landscape around Mt. Wakakusa, Mizutani Shrine, and the Kasuga-taisha forest, which have been sites of religious pilgrimage for centuries.
In short: The Aka Doji of Nara is essentially a localized Shinto manifestation (or "avatar") of Fudo Myoo's attendant, Seitaka Doji, adapted to protect the sacred mountains and shrines of Nara

Hozoin Ryu Shin Shikake’s Hicho 新仕掛けの飛鳥 was taught.

It must be exhausting to be my student!! 😆
Each week I translate one of Hozoin Ryu’s 100 songs (teaching’s passed down from Hozoin In’ei) for our study after practice.
Tomorrow the “song” quotes Mencius, so I sent a separate email to my students explaining the history of Mencius, the tenant’s of Neo-Confucianism and the impact, historically of Neo-Confucianism on the samurai caste education. It was a lot to read! But I wanted them to understand the thought process behind a half sentence used in the teaching.
I may not have skills but I have an obligation to pass on the arts that I have been entrusted with uncorrupted.

There is not much in life that I love, I love my budo. It’s a given that I absolutely love Niten and Jikiden but every Hozoin practice that I do I love this tradition more and more, week by week! That is an excessively nice feeling! I am a rich man!!
I am eternally grateful to my teachers for teaching me, my partners for practicing with me and my ancestors in this tradition for keeping the tradition alive for the past 400+ years so that I have the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful tradition now! May I never bring shame to this tradition or my teachers.

Taught the guys ShinShikake’s Hayauma 新仕掛けの早馬

I’ve always wondered why certain individuals of atrocious character can be “popular” amongst famous teachers. Or how “thieves” who are treacherous in nature and had been lazy in their training, but yet through deceit become the head of schools can attract a following. I always wondered if those people were deaf, dumb and blind, then it dawned on me, nature’s rule never changes; like attracts like.
Hawks don’t roost with chickens.