Description
Japanese jujutsu master from Osaka, founder of Daito-ryu jujutsu (大東流柔術) and
of the Seibukan dojo at Dojima-ura-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka in 1878. Born in 1847 as
the son of the Kishu domain retainer Taniguchi Toemon, he trained in Sekiguchi
Shinshin-ryu under Sekiguchi Ujitane (from 1860), in Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu
under Yamana Shinkuro (山名新九郎) and in Shibukawa-ryu under Takenaka Isamu (竹中勇).
After a warrior pilgrimage (musha shugyo) through Shikoku, Kyushu, Chugoku, Omi
and Yamashiro in 1874, he settled in Osaka in 1876, succeeding to the dojo of
Yamana Shinjuro (山名新十郎) - a different, related figure from his teacher Yamana
Shinkuro - and in 1878 established the Seibukan and founded Daito-ryu jujutsu.
His students included Uyenishi Sadakazu, Taro Miyake, Yukio Tani and Seizo
Yamamoto, who carried the school's ground-grappling skills to London from
1900. He was the sempai (senior) of the Fusen-ryu master Mataemon Tanabe, who
cross-trained (degeiko) at the Seibukan from 1898 and regularly taught there.
Despite the similar name, his Daito-ryu jujutsu is a separate school from the
Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu lineage of Takeda Sokaku.
Teachers (3)
-
Se
Sekiguchi Ujitane
linkSekiguchi Shinshin-ryū
2
(1860)
expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
fact_check
Handa trained in Sekiguchi Shinshin-ryu under Sekiguchi Ujitane from 1860 per JA
Wikipedia, which cites the 1900 biographical dictionary and Fukuoka (2021); the
single J-STAGE attestation is of Handa as an established Dojima master by
1873-74, consistent with early training.
"1860年（万延元年）より紀州藩で柔術師範をしていた関口氏胤から関口新心流を学んだ。"
— 大東流柔術 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
-
Ya
Yamana Shinkurō
expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
fact_check
JA Wikipedia records Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu study under Yamana Shinkuro, whose
teaching is central to the Daito-ryu jujutsu curriculum Handa later created. The
Yamana Shinjuro of Osaka (whose dojo Handa succeeded to) is regarded as a
relation of Yamana Shinkuro.
"関口新心流の他に、山名新九郎から天神真楊流、竹中勇から澁川流を学んだ。"
— 大東流柔術 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
-
Ta
Takenaka Isamu
expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
fact_check
Shibukawa-ryu study under Takenaka Isamu recorded by JA Wikipedia.
"関口新心流の他に、山名新九郎から天神真楊流、竹中勇から澁川流を学んだ。"
— 大東流柔術 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
Students (4)
-
Ya
Yamamoto Seizō
expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
2 sources
fact_check
JA Wikipedia lists Yamamoto Seizo among Handa's Daito-ryu jujutsu students
(4th dan); Wolf (2016) independently places S. Yamamoto in Handa's Osaka
dojo alongside Uyenishi and Taro Miyake.
"海外に柔術を伝えた上西貞一（大東流二段）、三宅タロー（大東流五段）、谷幸雄（大東流二段）は半田弥太郎の門人であった。"
— 大東流柔術 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
"as the training ground of Uyenishi, Yamamoto and Taro Miyake"
— Wolf, Tony; Bartitsu Society. (2016). New
Discoveries and Speculations re. the Submission Grappling of British Jiu-Jitsu.
The Bartitsu Societylinkinfo
-
Uyenishi Sadakazu
expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
7 sources
fact_check
Attested in the peer-reviewed Brough (2020) article and en/ja/es Wikipedia; the
Bartitsu Society confirms the Handa school. The style is Handa Yataro's
Daito-ryu jujutsu, distinct from the Takeda Sokaku lineage. Dojo location and
period not precisely dated; the JA Wikipedia account dates the Seibukan to 1878.
"In a March 1904 interview with Uyenishi for Health and Strength Magazine,
journalist J. St. A. Jewell wrote: "Uyenishi learned the art from Mr.
Yataro Handa of Osaka, Japan" ... The Osaka dojo that Handa opened in 1897,
however, seems not to have been affiliated with Tenshin Shin'yo-ryu, but
rather a style called Daito-ryu... an obscure development of Sekiguchi-ryu
jiujitsu."
— Wolf, Tony; Bartitsu Society. (2016). New
Discoveries and Speculations re. the Submission Grappling of British Jiu-Jitsu.
The Bartitsu Societylinkinfo
"Uyenishi learned the art from Mr. Yataro Handa of Osaka, Japan, whose
portrait I have been fortunate enough to secure (as quoted in Wolf 2016)."
— Jewell, J. St. A.. (1904). Interview with Sadakazu
Uyenishi ("Uyenishi Learned the Art from Mr. Yataro Handa of Osaka,
Japan")info
"Uyenishi trained at the dojo of Yataro Handa in Osaka. In 1898 renowned
jujutsu teacher, Mataemon Tanabe, taught at Handa's dojo [Keegan
2019]."
— Brough, David. (2020). The Golden Square Dojo and
its place in British Jujutsu historylinkinfo
"As he was contemplating a military career, his father encouraged him to
begin training in jujitsu and he enrolled in a local dojo; in an interview,
Uyenishi noted that it had been the school of Yataro Handa in Osaka, where
Mataemon Tanabe taught."
— Sadakazu Uyenishi - Wikipedia (English). Wikipedia
(English)linkinfo
"本人のインタビューによると、天神真楊流から開かれた大東流柔術を教える半田弥太郎の道場で柔術を学んだということである。"
— 上西貞一 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
"海外に柔術を伝えた上西貞一（大東流二段）、三宅タロー（大東流五段）、谷幸雄（大東流二段）は半田弥太郎の門人であった。"
— 大東流柔術 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
"His unarmed combat training had been with sensei Yataro Handa in
Osaka."
— Bartitsu Society. Raku, the Japanese Wrestler
(1907). The Bartitsu Societylinkinfo
-
Tani Yukio
expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
5 sources
fact_check
Tani's training with Handa rests on the 1904 Jewell interview (Health and
Strength, via Wolf 2016) and the JA Wikipedia listing of Tani among Handa's
Daito-ryu students, and is repeated by the peer-reviewed BJS paper (Brough et
al. 2023, citing Wolf 2016). However, judo historian Oimatsu, as reported by
Wolf 2016, places Tani with Tanabe Mataemon at the Senbukan in Kobe - so the
Handa training is close to disputed, though no source denies it outright;
confidence kept at level 1 accordingly.
"There is also some evidence he trained in Yataro Handa's jujutsu
school called the Seibukan in Osaka."
— (2026). Yukio Tani - Wikipedia. Wikipedia (English)
linkinfo
"海外に柔術を伝えた上西貞一（大東流二段）、三宅タロー（大東流五段）、谷幸雄（大東流二段）は半田弥太郎の門人であった。"
— 大東流柔術 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
"Tani, another famous jiujitsu man, at present appearing on the music hall
stage with Apollo, the Scottish Hercules, was also a pupil of Yataro
Handa's, and I believe I am correct in stating that he received the
finishing touches of his jujitsu education at Mr. Handa's hands [Jewell,
Health and Strength, March 1904]... Although Tani's training with Handa has
not been positively confirmed, judo historian Shinichi Oimatsu noted that
"Tani was a student of Tanabe Mataemon in Kobe"."
— Wolf, Tony; Bartitsu Society. (2016). New
Discoveries and Speculations re. the Submission Grappling of British Jiu-Jitsu.
The Bartitsu Societylinkinfo
"Tani, another famous jiujitsu man... was also a pupil of Yataro
Handa's, and I believe I am correct in stating that he received the
finishing touches of his jujitsu education at Mr. Handa's hands (as quoted
in Wolf 2016, who cautions the training has not been positively
confirmed)."
— Jewell, J. St. A.. (1904). Interview with Sadakazu
Uyenishi ("Uyenishi Learned the Art from Mr. Yataro Handa of Osaka,
Japan")info
"However, the early pioneers of British jujutsu credited with bringing
jujutsu to the U.K. such as Tani, Uyenishi, and Miyake, were students from the
dojo of Yataro Handa in Osaka, and were not from the Kodokan [Wolf 2016]."
— Brough, David; Bradić, Slaviša; Callan, Mike;
Gatling, Lance; Jones, Llyr. (2023). The British Ju-jitsu Society and the
influence of Kodokan Judo on early jujutsu in the U.K.linkinfo
-
Miyake Tarō
expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
4 sources
fact_check
Yataro Handa's Seibukan in Osaka named in the 1905 interview, EN Wikipedia
and the BJS paper. The BJS paper confirms Tani, Miyake and Uyenishi were all
Handa students. Handa's school is Daito-ryu jujutsu, distinct from the
Takeda Sokaku lineage; JA Wikipedia records Miyake as a 5th dan of that school.
"At Osaka I worked under another great teacher, Handa, and in this way I
mastered the secrets of three distinct schools of ju-jitsu."
— Miyake, Taro; Bartitsu Society. (1905). How I
Became a Ju-Jitsu Champion by Taro Miyake (1905). The Bartitsu Society
linkinfo
"as well as Osaka master Yataro Handa, head of the 2000+ member Seibukan
which had a very close connection to Tanabe's ground fighting newaza."
— Wikipedia contributors. (2026). Taro Miyake -
Wikipedia (English). Wikipedia (English)linkinfo
"the early pioneers of British jujutsu credited with bringing jujutsu to
the U.K. such as Tani, Uyenishi, and Miyake, were students from the dojo of
Yataro Handa in Osaka, and were not from the Kodokan [Wolf 2016]."
— Brough, David; Bradić, Slaviša; Callan, Mike;
Gatling, Lance; Jones, Llyr. (2023). The British Ju-jitsu Society and the
influence of Kodokan Judo on early jujutsu in the U.K.linkinfo
"海外に柔術を伝えた上西貞一（大東流二段）、三宅タロー（大東流五段）、谷幸雄（大東流二段）は半田弥太郎の門人であった。"
— 大東流柔術 - Wikipedia (Japanese). Wikipedia (Japanese)
linkinfo
Sources
"堂島 半田弥太郎の演武場 剣術教師として、同家に居住して門生を指導する。"
— 杉江 正敏. (1976). 近代武道の成立過程に関する研究―『日本武術名家伝』の年表的整理―
linkinfo
"福岡雅巳「大東流・半田彌太郎の肖像」『月刊秘伝』2021年5月号 (taken as-is; cited via JA
Wikipedia)"
— 福岡 雅巳. (2021). 大東流・半田彌太郎の肖像. Hiden (BAB Japan)
linkinfo
"Yataro Handa was also the sempai (senior) of Mataemon Tanabe... The Osaka
dojo that Handa opened in 1897, however, seems not to have been affiliated with
Tenshin Shin'yo-ryu, but rather a style called Daito-ryu."
— Wolf, Tony; Bartitsu Society. (2016). New
Discoveries and Speculations re. the Submission Grappling of British Jiu-Jitsu.
The Bartitsu Societylinkinfo
"Uyenishi learned the art from Mr. Yataro Handa of Osaka, Japan... Tani,
another famous jiujitsu man... was also a pupil of Yataro Handa's (March
1904 interview; as quoted in Wolf 2016)."
— Jewell, J. St. A.. (1904). Interview with Sadakazu
Uyenishi ("Uyenishi Learned the Art from Mr. Yataro Handa of Osaka,
Japan")info
"Uyenishi trained at the dojo of Yataro Handa in Osaka. In 1898 renowned
jujutsu teacher, Mataemon Tanabe, taught at Handa's dojo [Keegan
2019]."
— Brough, David. (2020). The Golden Square Dojo and
its place in British Jujutsu historylinkinfo
Linked data
https://martial.is/entity/01M0AZQ3TJAG1RBRXBQJCRRJX6