Ogasawara-ryu Genealogy
Genealogy
The Ogasawara family is from the Minamoto family line. The first of the Minamoto was Prince Tsunemoto, grandson of the Emperor Seiwa and an excellent archer and horseman. One of the most noteworthy of the Minamoto was Tsunemoto no Yoshiie under whose leadership the family's power increased greatly. Yoshiie's brother, Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, was the progenitor of the Ogasawara.
Yoshimitsu's great-grandson, Tomitsu, was highly skilled in both literary and military arts. Due to his bravery during the suppression of the Taira, he was given an honorary post. He further distinguished himself during the reign of the Emperor Takakura, when he was called on to shoot a mysterious light that was assailing the Emperor's court. Tomitsu's son, Nagakiyo, was the first to be called Ogasawara, after his home village in Kai province (now Yamanashi Prefecture). The Ogasawara's reputation for excellence in archery and horsemanship was already well-established at this point, and as a family document indicates: "After Nagakiyo became known as Ogasawara, the family's skill in military arts became more and more celebrated."
Nagakiyo served Yoritomo no Minamoto as master of archery and horsemanship, further increasing the fame of the Ogasawara. Etiquette, however, was not among the pressing needs of the warrior class at the height of the Kamakura Period, so Nagakiyo did not teach it.
It was the 7th Headmaster, Sadamune Ogasawara, who reintroduced etiquette to the arts of archery and horsemanship. For this he is called the restorer of the Ogasawara school. It is from the 7th Sadamune's teaching that the Ogasawara school as we know it today descended. Sadamune studied under the Zen Master Seisetsu Shoho and stressed the Zen components of their teaching, and incorporated them even more strongly into the Ogaswara-ryu. This paved the way for continuing evolution of the arts which we now know as the 'do' arts of Japan.
Sadamune served the Emperor Godaigo during the period between the collapse of the Kamakura Shogunate and the establishment of the Muromachi Shogunate. The Emperor took him into service on account of his great contribution to the downfall of the Kamakura, and assured him that the Ogasawara school of etiquette would become the code of the warrior class. Sadamune subsequently joined the forces of the Muromachi Shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, serving as master of etiquette and thus adding to his good reputation.
The Ogasawara continued to serve the Ashikaga from generation to generation. They taught not only archery and horsemanship, but also the rites of manhood, wedding rites, and the other ceremonial etiquette.
Three generation after Sadamune, a man named Nagahide compiled the "Sangi Itto", the cornerstone of Ogasawara etiquette. The volume was written at the behest of the third of the Ashikaga shoguns, Yoshimitsu, who deplored the deterioration of ancient courtier manners.
During the Warring States Period, the Ogasawara were charged with protecting the province of Shinano (now Nagano Prefecture). They fought Takeda Shingen several times, losing their territory but eventually regaining it under the banner of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The family head, Sadayoshi, handed down the "Seven Volumes of Ogasawara Etiquette" to his heir Hidemasa during this period. Unlike later systems of etiquette that only boast of splendor, these volumes provide an authentic explanation of the unadorned grace of warrior-class manners.
When the battle of Osaka broke out in the summer of 1615, Hidemasa and his heir, Tadanaga, went to the field in support of the Tokugawa and died heroic deaths. In return for their loyalty, the Ogasawara were named the ruling family of Akashi, Harima Province (now western Hyogo Prefecture), a fief with an annual yield of 110,000 koku of rice. Subsequently, they were named the rulers of Kokura, Buzen Province (now northeastern Fukuoka and northern Oita Prefectures), a fief with a yield of 150,000 koku of rice.
During the Edo Period, the Ogasawara instructed the succeeded elite of the shogunate in the fine points of etiquette. Even the general population began to bear the Ogasawara mark, as they increasingly adopted the manners of the warrior class. The Ogasawara code of etiquette was exhaustive. It explained rituals for annual events, furniture arrangement, how to change and fold clothes, how to write cards correctly, how to eat in a proper manner, how to wrap gifts, and more.
In the Meiji Era the head of the Ogasawara was given the title of count.
The Ogasawara family is from the Minamoto family line. The first of the Minamoto was Prince Tsunemoto, grandson of the Emperor Seiwa and an excellent archer and horseman. One of the most noteworthy of the Minamoto was Tsunemoto no Yoshiie under whose leadership the family's power increased greatly. Yoshiie's brother, Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, was the progenitor of the Ogasawara.
Yoshimitsu's great-grandson, Tomitsu, was highly skilled in both literary and military arts. Due to his bravery during the suppression of the Taira, he was given an honorary post. He further distinguished himself during the reign of the Emperor Takakura, when he was called on to shoot a mysterious light that was assailing the Emperor's court. Tomitsu's son, Nagakiyo, was the first to be called Ogasawara, after his home village in Kai province (now Yamanashi Prefecture). The Ogasawara's reputation for excellence in archery and horsemanship was already well-established at this point, and as a family document indicates: "After Nagakiyo became known as Ogasawara, the family's skill in military arts became more and more celebrated."
Nagakiyo served Yoritomo no Minamoto as master of archery and horsemanship, further increasing the fame of the Ogasawara. Etiquette, however, was not among the pressing needs of the warrior class at the height of the Kamakura Period, so Nagakiyo did not teach it.
It was the 7th Headmaster, Sadamune Ogasawara, who reintroduced etiquette to the arts of archery and horsemanship. For this he is called the restorer of the Ogasawara school. It is from the 7th Sadamune's teaching that the Ogasawara school as we know it today descended. Sadamune studied under the Zen Master Seisetsu Shoho and stressed the Zen components of their teaching, and incorporated them even more strongly into the Ogaswara-ryu. This paved the way for continuing evolution of the arts which we now know as the 'do' arts of Japan.
Sadamune served the Emperor Godaigo during the period between the collapse of the Kamakura Shogunate and the establishment of the Muromachi Shogunate. The Emperor took him into service on account of his great contribution to the downfall of the Kamakura, and assured him that the Ogasawara school of etiquette would become the code of the warrior class. Sadamune subsequently joined the forces of the Muromachi Shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, serving as master of etiquette and thus adding to his good reputation.
The Ogasawara continued to serve the Ashikaga from generation to generation. They taught not only archery and horsemanship, but also the rites of manhood, wedding rites, and the other ceremonial etiquette.
Three generation after Sadamune, a man named Nagahide compiled the "Sangi Itto", the cornerstone of Ogasawara etiquette. The volume was written at the behest of the third of the Ashikaga shoguns, Yoshimitsu, who deplored the deterioration of ancient courtier manners.
During the Warring States Period, the Ogasawara were charged with protecting the province of Shinano (now Nagano Prefecture). They fought Takeda Shingen several times, losing their territory but eventually regaining it under the banner of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The family head, Sadayoshi, handed down the "Seven Volumes of Ogasawara Etiquette" to his heir Hidemasa during this period. Unlike later systems of etiquette that only boast of splendor, these volumes provide an authentic explanation of the unadorned grace of warrior-class manners.
When the battle of Osaka broke out in the summer of 1615, Hidemasa and his heir, Tadanaga, went to the field in support of the Tokugawa and died heroic deaths. In return for their loyalty, the Ogasawara were named the ruling family of Akashi, Harima Province (now western Hyogo Prefecture), a fief with an annual yield of 110,000 koku of rice. Subsequently, they were named the rulers of Kokura, Buzen Province (now northeastern Fukuoka and northern Oita Prefectures), a fief with a yield of 150,000 koku of rice.
During the Edo Period, the Ogasawara instructed the succeeded elite of the shogunate in the fine points of etiquette. Even the general population began to bear the Ogasawara mark, as they increasingly adopted the manners of the warrior class. The Ogasawara code of etiquette was exhaustive. It explained rituals for annual events, furniture arrangement, how to change and fold clothes, how to write cards correctly, how to eat in a proper manner, how to wrap gifts, and more.
In the Meiji Era the head of the Ogasawara was given the title of count.
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