八光流柔術秘傳之事
Hakkō-ryū Jūjutsu Hiden no Koto
(Matters of the Secret Methods of Hakko-ryu Jujutsu)
Comparing the Changes Made by Shodai Soke Okuyama Ryuho
to the Curriculum of Hakko-ryu Jujutsu
(Article Version 1.0)
Hakkō-ryū Jūjutsu Hiden no Koto 八光流柔術秘傳之事 (Matters of the Secret Methods of Hakko-ryu Jujutsu). This is the first scroll one is awarded after being initiated into Shihan training. The founder of the school, Shodai Soke Okuyama, grew more and more as a pacifist as the years went on. Sometime in the 1970s he made the decision to remove many of the original, more dangerous techniques from his school’s curriculum. New Shihan in Hakko-ryu mostly receive the newer reproduced version of this scroll that has these techniques removed. The original scrolls came in a wooden box and were larger. These days the scrolls are smaller reproductions and come in cardboard boxes.
The entire level of Sandaikichu was only added later on as well and never originally existed. There is a large influence on Shodai Soke Okuyama from the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism. This is one source for both the naming of his school using the term “Hakko” and the naming of “Sandaikichu”. A whole separate article could be written on the connection between Nichiren teachings and Okuyama Sensei.
There are a few people who might have received the older way of training. It really should be restored and offered to all those pursuing training in Hakko-ryu. Bad people are NOT pacifists! For me, this is where a huge mistake was made in the development of this school.
MORE ABOUT THIS TO COME!
(I will be adding more to this post and changing the version number.)
