THE COUP BY YUI SYOSETSU OF 1651Yui Syosetsu’s name appears on a makimono (scroll) for the Isshin Ryu Kusarigamajutsu (sickle & chain art) incorporated into the Shindo Muso Ryu (SMRJ) as the 5th Menkyo (master license) holder.

However, it is his successor Isshin Tano for whom the art is named.  The Tokugawa purged Yui Syoetsu'sname from history. Indeed his tragic story follows along the same lines as the story of the 47 Ronin - Akoroshi.

Many folks pursue grades, ranks, certificates. At the most common level, ranks encourage people to continue training and serve as goal posts with which to measure their “growth”.

​Today, there is a commercial aspect as well.  Political organizations wish to standardize performance that can be graded to provide consistency amongst diverse groups.  The standardization in a broad sense is designed to maintain quality control.

Within SMRJ today, the Jodo section of the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF) offers testing and "dan grades.  The classical makimono (scroll licensing) system is retained as well by surviving Menkyo Kaiden offering the “Koryu” aspects of Jodo training.

Looking at a surviving ancient scroll (densho) is a powerful thing.  It is sad to see that today that these items can actually be found and purchased on internet auction sites.  It is also the way of the world I guess to see teachers treat makimono as income makers, offered on a whim and for reasons other than mastery of the self and of the curriculum.

Personally I doubt that any system of recognition will ever be perfect.  I try to remember and also to remind my dojo mates that a grade is arbitrary.  It is a fruitless waste of time to judge the skill sets of others.  Those that do are missing the point about what training is all about. We train for ourselves and not the approval of others.

For those studying Jodo in Tokyo when Shimizu Sensei died a  Diaspora type of event took place. In-fighting and petty politics between Shimizu's senior students created factions. Westerners had to make painful choices as to which dojo and teacher they would associate with.

Two of us, my sempai  (senior in Jodo) Bruce Brown and I chose Kaminoda Sensei and his colleague Osato Sensei.  We continued to train at the Zoshyukan, a rented space across the way from where Shimizu Sensei had lived. The dojo space had a very nice feeling to it, even for a contemporary structure.

The original Rembukan Dojo existed in a delightful suburb of Tokyo and backed up to a green-way.  The walk to the dojo from the bus was always a respite from the hard concrete walls that is the big city of Tokyo.
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It was an austere place that generated a wonderful feeling for those of us who got the opportunity to train there. The Rembukan was a portal in which Westerners gained access to Japan's authentic kobudo (older martial practice).

Today with ease of travel, softened cultural barriers and even the internet it is probably hard to imagine that permission was granted to train in Japan only after an interview process and after someone vouched for your character. Shimizu Sensei worked closely with Donn Draeger, the senior ranking Westerner responsible for approving non-Japanese students interested in studying Shindo Muso Ryu. Draeger Sensei also helped open other dojo doors for many of us to expand our budo training experiences. I don't believe that anyone would've taken for granted the privilege of training at the Rembukan.  The Dojo itself would last only about a decade.