A Complete History of Sosuishi-ryu Jujutsu

The Kojiki (hereditary) record books of Japanese Jujutsu record that on June 24, 1532, a pilgrim passing through the town of Okayama, situated between Kyoto and Hiroshima, stopped at the house of Takenouchi Nakastsukasadayu Hisamori. The pilgrim was in reality the god Atago, in whom Hisamori believed. Before his departure, the pilgrim disclosed 5,000 forms of arrest to Hisamori. Hisamori continued to study the secrets revealed to him. When he mastered the secret principles, he established a school of Jujutsu and named it Takenouchi-ryu, after himself.

In 1650, a Samurai of Bungo Takeda named Futagami Hannosuke Masanori, a master of Takenouchi-ryu and many other schools, sought retreat on the Yoshino Mountain for 37 days. There, in the stillness of the mountain, he practiced and meditated on the basic philosophy of Jujutsu. When he returned from the mountain, he began to teach a distinctive system of Jujutsu that he called Sosuishitsu-ryu, meaning 'School of Holding Together Two Rivers,' named after the pure flowing waters of the Yoshino Rivers.

Another Samurai of Bungo Takeda, Matahichi Shitama, was a great elocutionist. Otomo, his lord, had given him the name Shitama Kuchino-kami Muneyoshi ('Shitama' means enchanted mouth). He, too, was interested in Masanori's methods; and invited Masanori to live with him in Nogata, a town which lies between Kokura and <censored>uoka on the southern island of Kyushu. Masanori agreed; and Shitama became proficient in the art of Jujutsu.