Hakko Ryu Jujutsu

Hakkō-ryū or Hakkō-ryū Jujutsu is a school or 'style' of jujutsu related to Daito-ryu founded in 1941 by Okuyama Ryuho (1901-1987) a student of Sokaku Takeda and a practitioner of shiatsu. Many techniques of this school are very similar to those of the Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu. The school is now headed by his son who took the name Okuyama Ryuho. The headquarters or hombu dojo is located in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture.

 

Meaning of the Name

Hakkoryu comes from the Japanese language meaning "The Style of the Eighth Light." In the color spectrum there are nine color bands, Violet is the eighth light. Schools of Hakkoryu Jujutsu exercise strategies that avoid conflict as much as possible, and employ techniques that do not use strength, but instead use techniques that work against the body's natural motions and movements to take down the opponent. The 8th light also reflected a great sense of pride in his nation, as he said the ninth band, the color purple creates and develops the 8th.

 

School

Okuyama was an instructor of Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu which he studied from two people Kyoju Dairi Matsuda (Toshimi) Hosaku and later Takeda Sokaku himself. In 1938 Okuyama finished his studied with Takeda and published a martial art text called Daito-ryu Goshinjutsu (The Daito System of Self-Protection), later Okuyama founded the Dai-Nippon Shidokai (Greater Japan Way of the Samurai Association} and began teaching what he called Daito Hiden Shido(Secret Daito-Ryu Way of the Samurai}. Okuyama's first Dojo was located in Asahikawa and was called Nippon Shidokai Ryubukan, in 1939 he moved to Kanda and opened another dojo called Dai Nihon Shidokai, this marked the beginning of the split from Daito Ryu, by this time Takeda was very old and his son Tokimune was still very young, seeing no place for advancement in the Daito Ryu school, and being a skilled medical and martial person, Okuyama began to form his own system based on Daito Ryu Jujutsu and Daito Ryu Aiki no jutsu.

 

The Hakkoryu Kaiso Hokokusai (ceremony proclaiming the founding of Hakkoryu) was held on June 1 1941 at the Shiba Tenso Jinja (Shinto shrine in the Shiba district of Tokyo}, on that date Hakko ryu was formed and Okuyama took the pen name Ryoho (spin of the Dragon). The Hakkoryu Kobujuku (private school for Hakkoryu study) was located in Kanda district of Tokyo, during world war II the allied Bombing grew to close, Okuyama and his family fled and joined the Mount Haguro sect of Shugendo (a mixture of Buddhism and Shintoism) in Yamagata Prefecture. The Hakkoryu Kobujuku was burned down during the bombing of Tokyo. In 1947 he moved to Omiya City (Saitama City) and founded the Hakkoryu So Hombu Dojo (Hakkoryu Juku Hombu Dojo), this is still the home city of Hakkoryu today.

 

While Hakkoryu techniques are closely related to Daito Ryu it is the influence of oriental medicine and a strict moral code that distinguishes the style. The Koho Shiatsu system is taught to its members at the higher levels. The jujutsu system's emphasis is placed on pressure points and manipulation of the opponent's body through both the skeletal structure and the body's meridians, this helps give Hakkoryu its trade mark of looking weak but being very powerful in application.

 

The techniques of Hakkoryu are passed on in the form of Kata or waza set known as Gi, each one has a number of Omote (surface) techniques that must be learn before the student can progress on to the next level, each level also contains Kihon waza, which introduce the core principles of Hakkoryu to the student, the Omote techniques are not to be changed but only handed down to the next generation etc. they are as follows:

Besides the Omote, Kihon, and Gensoku Of Hakkoryu, some subjects obviously include such concepts as:

After Yondan the system uses the older Koryu Menkyo license, a student must be invited By Okuyama to train with him in the Menkyo waza sets, to obtain an invitation the student must be referred by a Shihan in good standing with the Hombu, upon getting an invitation, the student would travel to Japan and live with the Okuyama family for a period of time and then receive Menkyo training

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