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Marume Nagayoshi (丸目 長恵, 1540–1629) was a retainer of theSagara clan in theSengoku period and a swordsman in the earlyEdo period.[1] He was considered one of the best pupils ofKamiizumi Nobutsuna, and went on to found theTaisha ryū school.[1] He was sometimes known as Kurandonosuke and also as Ishimi Mamoru, but was best known as Marume Nagayoshi, which he was called inkōdan. His original name was Fujiwara, and his art name was Tessai. In his later years he shaved his head and went by the name of Ishimi Nyūdō Tessai.
Marume was born in 1540 inYatsushiro District,Higo Province (modern-dayHitoyoshi,Yatsushiro City,Kumamoto Prefecture).[2] His father was Marume Yozaemon and it is said that his mother was a woman from Akaike Izu. When theSatsuma army attacked Ōhata in 1555, he fought alongside his father, earning recognition for his military prowess in his first battle. They both received the nameMarume, their former one said to have beenYamamoto.
In 1556, he underwent military training by Amakusa Izu Mamoru, the lord of Amakusa Province and Hondo Castle.
He went toKyoto in 1558, studyingfencing under Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, the founder ofShinkage-ryū. Later on, when theMuromachishōgun,Ashikaga Yoshiteru, saw a fencing performance by Kamiizumi with which Marume assisted, Yoshiteru gave them both a letter of commendation.[1] They gave the same demonstration toEmperor Ōgimachi, and so the Honchō bugei shōden records Nagayoshi as being a warrior of the north side of the imperial court, although it has not been confirmed as to whether he actually was in imperial service.
Returning to his home town, Nagayoshi taught the Shinkage-ryū style for the Sagara clan. In 1566, he once again went to Kyoto taking along his students Marume Jusai, Marume Kihē and Kino Kurōzaemon, but Kamiizumi was visiting his nativeKōzuke Province at the time. Nagayoshi put up notices atMount Atago, Seigan-ji temple andKiyomizu-dera temple. They challenged martial artists and passersby to a real sword fight with swordsman from the best style in all the land, but nobody came forward and Nagayoshi returned home without having a duel. In 1567, Kamiizumi, who had learnt of what happened in Kyoto, awarded him (under the name Kamiizumi Isenokami Nobutsuna) amenkyo kaiden that recognised Nagayoshi as 'master of the killing sword' and 'master of the life-saving sword'.
Once again returning home, Nagayoshi performed government service for the Sagara clan, but whenShimazu Iehisa of theShimazu clan attackedŌkuchi Castle, the Sagara clan, for whom Nagayoshi was choosing strategy, were defeated. Many officers and soldiers were killed, and Ōkuchi Castle was taken. After this defeat, Sagara placed the blame on Nagayoshi's shoulders, sentencing him to the severe punishment ofhissoku, a kind of house arrest. His dreams of becoming a military commander effectively ended.
Following this, Nagayoshi focused exclusively on swordsmanship. He defeated different schools across Kyushu, and when Kamiizumi learnt of this he entrusted Nagayoshi as the teacher of Shinkage-ryū in western Japan. Nagayoshi once again travelled to Kyoto along with his students to study Kamiizumi's newly developed techniques, but upon their arrival he had already died. It is said that a dejected Nagayoshi returned home and, after several years of training night and day, he opened his 'Taisha ryū' school.
The Sagara, who had already surrendered to the Shimazu, now only controlledKuma District inHigo Province and had also sworn allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1587, the disfavour towards Nagayoshi had eased, and he once more began to serve under the Sagara clan, being paid 117koku as an initial salary to teach his Taisha ryū style.
Taisha ryū spread throughout Kyushu, and not only amongst members of the Sagara clan, but also many members of other clans. Among them were the military commandersKamachi Akihiro and Tachibana Muneshige, with secret techniques being passed on to the former.
In his later years, Nagayoshi assumed the art name 'Tessai', and it is said he spent his life reclusively, whilst pursuing the cultivation of Kiriharano (inNishiki). Nagayoshi had ability not only in kenjutsu, but alsosōjutsu,naginatajutsu,equestrianism,shuriken andninjutsu. It is also said that Nagayoshi was a man of culture who excelled in things likecalligraphy, waka, dancing and the flute.
He died in 1629. His grave is in Kiriharano Dōzan, Nishiki, Kuma District, Kumamoto.