靜流薙刀術 (最後宗家)

Suzuka-ryu, The last headmaster Sakurada.


http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=95788

Sakurada Tomi was the last headmistress of Suzuka-ryu. Her husband was a very high-ranking member of some line of Itto-ryu (can't remember which). As Meik wrote, her last student was - - unsuitable - - so she let the ryu die. I tried to arrange through some contacts for some young Japanese martial arts students to help her in her old age - and hopefully learn from her as well. Sadly, she was far too old and frail.
The ryu itself was dynamic and powerful. I remember naginata vs. sword and kusarigama vs. ???? The Naginatado Renmei has what was a jealously guarded film of sixteen different naginata ryu (or ryu with naginata). It was a 16 mm reel - huge - locked in a safe. The heads of the office did NOT want to release it into my hands, but were ordered to by Higashi Tomoko of Jikishin Kage-ryu, a wonderfully kind and strong woman. When I got it home (I had it for the weekend), I found, to my horror, that the film was folded over in many places on the reel. And covered with dust. It probably had been viewed once, trashily stored and locked in the safe. I unspooled the entire reel, and unfolded the doubled over sections, and rewound it. Took half a day.
The film - to my knowledge - the only copy, was viewable.
There was Anazawa-ryu, with women in tightly bound kimono and no hakama so it really was a fujin naginata - mincing little steps and sweeping movements. Hard to imagine it was much like that of the founder who died in battle in a mass fight in the Osaka no Ran. There were other, still extant schools: Tendo-ryu, Jikishin Kage-ryu, Buko-ryu, Yoshin-ryu konaginata, Katori, Kashima, Araki, Suio, Higo Ko-ryu. There was also a very interesting, very linear school - I can't remember the name, from Kyushu, I believe, that was dead, but revived by a couple of Tendo-ryu people under the supervision of the elderly survivors of the school.
I'm forgetting a couple.
Anyway, Suzuka-ryu stood out in my mind as the best, most powerful and dynamic of the naginata-ryu (the sogo bujutsu such as Kashima, Katori, Araki apart). In some respects, it reminded me of Buko-ryu, but it was more "brawny." Albeit, this is memory from 30 years ago.
A close associate of mine wanted to copy the film, and that, in retrospect, might have been the "right" thing to do, but I felt honor bound to return it uncopied. The old biddies in the office just about snatched it back out of my hands and locked it in the safe.
For all I know, there's been a change of weather and the film has been copied on DVD.
If not, those reading who have contacts within the Naginata Renmei (is that what it's still called?). - contact them, ask them about the film and find out what happened to it. It still may be buried away - and it's the last record of a few of those ryu, and in others, a great record of what was done in the 1960's.