Also known as
Yataro Handa · 半田彌太郎
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)
-
person
Sekiguchi Ujitane
sports_martial_artsSekiguchi Shinshin-ryū
Probable
(1860)
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
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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。”
-
person
Yamana Shinkurō
sports_martial_artsTenjin Shin'yō-ryū
Probable
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
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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。”
-
person
Takenaka Isamu
sports_martial_artsShibukawa-ryū
Probable
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
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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。”
Students (4)
-
person
Yamamoto Seizō
sports_martial_artsDaitō-ryū Jūjutsu
Confirmed
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
2 sources
expand_more
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.
“半田弥太郎は大阪で多くの門人を育てた。[...]山本清蔵（大東流四段）”
alt_routeIndirect
“Yukio Tani, Sadakazu Uyenishi, Seizo Yamamoto and Taro Miyake were all
associated with the ne-waza innovations of Mataemon Tanabe and the Handa dojo
[...] Yamamoto and Uyenishi also via training at the Handa dojo.”
— Wolf, Tony; Bartitsu Society. (2016). New
Discoveries and Speculations re. the Submission Grappling of British Jiu-Jitsu.
The Bartitsu Societylink
history
info
-
Uyenishi Sadakazu
sports_martial_artsDaitō-ryū Jūjutsu
Confirmed
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
7 sources
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fact_check
Attested in the peer-reviewed Brough (2020) article and en/ja/es Wikipedia; the
Bartitsu Society confirms the Handa school. Dojo location and period not
precisely dated.
“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 Societylink
history
info
visibilityFirst-hand
“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 historylink
history
info
“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)link
history
info
“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。”
“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。”
“His unarmed combat training had been with sensei Yataro Handa in Osaka.”
-
Tani Yukio
sports_martial_artsDaitō-ryū Jūjutsu
Possible
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
5 sources
expand_more
fact_check
Tani's training with Handa rests on the 1904 Jewell interview and the JA
Wikipedia listing of Tani among Handa's Daito-ryu students, and is repeated
by the peer-reviewed BJS paper. 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; hence
possible.
“There is also some evidence he trained in Yataro Handa's jujutsu school
called the Seibukan in Osaka.”
“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。”
“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. 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 Societylink
history
info
visibilityFirst-hand
“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.link
history
info
-
Miyake Tarō
sports_martial_artsDaitō-ryū Jūjutsu
Confirmed
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
4 sources
expand_more
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.
visibilityFirst-hand
“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
link
history
info
“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)link
history
info
“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.link
history
info
“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。”
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。”
“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 Societylink
history
info
visibilityFirst-hand
“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 historylink
history
info
Cite and reuse
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Plain text
Muñoz, Frederico (YEAR_PLACEHOLDER). Handa Yatarō. In Martialis: Martial Arts
Lineage Database. https://martial.is/entity/01M0AZQ3TJAG1RBRXBQJCRRJX6 - CC
BY-SA 4.0. Accessed ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER.
BibTeX
@incollection{martialis_01M0AZQ3TJAG1RBRXBQJCRRJX6, author = {Muñoz, Frederico},
title = {Handa Yatarō}, booktitle = {Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database},
year = {YEAR_PLACEHOLDER}, url =
{https://martial.is/entity/01M0AZQ3TJAG1RBRXBQJCRRJX6}, urldate =
{ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }
https://martial.is/entity/01M0AZQ3TJAG1RBRXBQJCRRJX6
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