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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)
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SeSekiguchi Ujitane(1860)
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1 sourceFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkHanda 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.assessed by FSMverifiedFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialis -
YaYamana Shinkurō
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1 sourceFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkJA 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.assessed by FSMverifiedFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialis -
Ta
Students (4)
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YaYamamoto Seizōsports_kabaddiSeibukan badge
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2 sourcesFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkJA 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.assessed by FSMverifiedFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialis -
Uyenishi Sadakazusports_kabaddiSeibukan badgeexpand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
7 sourcesFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkAttested 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.assessed by FSMverifiedFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialis"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."
"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)."
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Tani Yukiosports_kabaddiSeibukan badgeexpand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
5 sourcesFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkTani'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.assessed by FSMverifiedFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialis"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"."
"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)."
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Miyake Tarōsports_kabaddiSeibukan badgeexpand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
4 sourcesFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkYataro 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.assessed by FSMverifiedFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialis
Sources
"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)."