Transmission of Keys
Tanomo Saigo was probably the first to coin the term
Aiki. Many active practitioners refining, researching and evolving
the clan secrets came before him and many after, most not acknowledged
and only some few with a more propagandized profile. Notwithstanding,
and whether labelled with a name or not, the art was practiced intergenerationally
and renamed Daito-ryu (after
the Aizu Clan, Daito Castle) , continuing as a composite system for
combat training irrespective of whether unarmed, bearing small arms
or larger weapons.
Over time, particularly after becoming popularized
as a result of Morihei Ueshiba's Aikido, an aspect of the art now
named Daito-ryu, evolved and much seemed lost behind much speculation,
factional disagreements, unnecessarily mystification, further obfuscated
in the dark politicking which followed. Some formalized lineages
often made themselves irrelevant arguing about trivial details and
claims about "validity." A long, intricate
history full of disputes, politics, ambiguity and intrigue followed.
This of course altered nothing for those who quietly got on with
training. Quiet groups continued to train whether with or without
affiliations.
Two major events in Japanese history transformed the
way people approached martial arts in general at this time. The first
was the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate which marked the beginning
of the Edo era and the Meiji restoration which marked it's end. Tanomo
Saigo was the eldest a large family which belonged to the very powerful
Hoshina clan. His father was an important retainer of the Aizu clan
and like all children of important families Tanomo was enrolled in
the Nishinkan at the age of ten. There he learned from Soemon Takeda..
It is said he also learned Mizoguchi Ha Itto-Ryu, Koshu-Ryu Gungaku
kenjutsu and became a teacher of all these arts. He was also a brilliant
military strategist having learned the science of Koshu-Ryu. He became
Jodai Karo or chief retainer of the Aizu clan. When the Boshin war
broke out the Aizu clan sided with the Shogun. Tanomo lead his troops
against the powerful Satsuma and Choshu clans at the battle of Shirakawaguchi.
Although the Aizu samurai were fierce and skilled fighting men, being
ill equipped, they suffered a surprising defeat.
When a rumour reached Aizu that Tanomo had been killed,
his entire family including wife and children committed seppuku.
Soon after on the 22th of September 1868 the Aizu surrendered. Tanomo
then retired to the Tsutsukowake Shrine in Fukushima and, distraught,
became a Shinto priest. He also took the name of his ancestors and
was known as Chikanori Hoshina or Hoshina Genshin. It is there that
he taught martial arts. Eventually, one strand of his teachings became
known as Daito Ryu.
It is said that he told Sokaku Takeda: "The time
of the sharp edge is over." Meaning that the time of the samurai
as a fighting man had come and gone but the spirit lives on. Training
in martial arts would no longer be done in order to serve a master
but to better one's self and in doing so become a better, more compassionate
human being. The extent of Tanomo Saigo's technical teachings to
Sokaku is speculative and opinions differ. But it is certain that
Sokaku was greatly influenced by Tanomo Saigo in his attitude and
his adaptation to a world that was no longer the world of the samurai.
Tanomo Saigo could be seen as a preserver and transmitter
of highly valued key principles, the distillation of generations
of experience and research.
Daito-ryu
Aikijujutsu
Daito-ryu
Aikijujutsu 
