Skip to main content

Common Types of Spear (Yari) in Japanese Arts & Their Ryuha

In keeping with a similar section I did on Kusarigama, it may be useful to define common types of spear.  It is interesting to me that those Ryuha who concentrate mainly on spear tend to use spears with some type of addition, such as a cross-piece, whereas the unadulterated spear is mostly seen in comprehensive styles.

Type 1 - Suyari a common spear.



Type 2 - Kamayari (Including Jumonjiyari) a spear with bladed (often curved) cross pieces.



Type 3 - Kagiyari a spear with hooking devices.


Type 4 - Kudayari a spear with a cylindrical handpiece through which the spear is thrust.

Type 5 - Tanken a bayonet (when mounted to a rifle).


















Schools That Once Contained Spear

The following is translated from a Japanese source by me, so it is not reliable and is probably not comprehensive, although the kanji will be more reliable than the translation.

素槍(直槍)を遣う流派  Ryuha using Suyari

        • 大島流 Oshima Ryu
種田流 Taneda Ryu (also Jumonjiyari & Kagiyari)
竹内流 Takenouchi Ryu
風伝流 Fuden Ryu
香取神道流 Katori Shinto Ryu(飯篠流 Izasa Ryu)
鹿島新当流 Kashima Shinto Ryu
新陰疋田流 Higo Shinkage Ryu (also Jumonjiyari & Kagiyari)
一貫流 Ikkan Ryu
天流 Ten Ryu
新天流 Shinten Ryu
本間流 Honma Ryu(本間新当流 Honma Shinto Ryu)
一端流 Titan Ryu?
五坪流 Gotsubo Ryu?
慶増流 Keizou Ryu?
以心流 Ishin Ryu
内蔵助流 Kurasuke Ryu?
船津流 Funatsu Ryu?
高木流 Takagi Ryu
無辺流 Muhen Ryu
自得院流 Jitoku In Ryu?
正智流 Masanori Ryu?

流派の表武器術以外に素槍があるもの Ryuha using Suyari in training against them
馬庭念流 Maniwa Nen Ryu
穴沢流 Anazawa Ryu
中条流 Chujo Ryu
富田流 Toda Ryu
戸田派武甲流 Toda Ha Buko Ryu
立身流 Tatsumi Ryu
鹿島神流 Kashima Shin Ryu

鎌槍(十文字槍)を遣う流派 Ryuha using Kamayari (including Jumonjiyari)

宝蔵院流 Hozoin Ryu(胤栄伝 In'ei-den)
宝蔵院流中村派 Hozoin Ryu Nakamura-ha
宝蔵院流高田派 Hozoin Ryu Takada-ha
宝蔵院流松崎派 Hozoin Ryu Matsuzaki-ha
加来流 Kaku Ryu
姉川流 Anegawa Ryu
法蔵院流 Houzouin Ryu(宝蔵院流長谷川派 Hozoin Ryu Hasegawa-ha)
胤舜伝 (Inshun-den)
宝蔵院流礒野派 Hozoin Ryu Isono-ha(宝蔵院流主馬派 Hozoin Ryu Shume-ha)
宝蔵院流下石派 Hozoin Ryu Oroshi-ha?
宝蔵院流旅川派 Hozoin Ryu Tabikawa-ha

鍵槍を遣う流派 Ryuha using Kagiyari

富田流 Toda Ryu
内海流 Uchiumi Ryu
佐分利流 Saburi Ryu
円智流 En Chi Ryu?
木下流 Kinoshita Ryu?
佐分流 Saburi Ryu
樫原流 Kashiwara Ryu
本心鏡智流 Honshin Kyochi Ryu?
天真正流 Tenshin Masa Ryu?
改撰流 Kaisen Ryu?
大内流 Ouchi Ryu?

管槍を遣う流派 Ryuha using Kudayari

伊東流 Ito Ryu (建孝流 Ken Ko Ryu?)
福沢流 Fukusawa Ryu
離相流 Riso Ryu
戸山流 Toyama Ryu
虎尾流 Torao Ryu
貫流 Kan Ryu (尾張貫流 Owari Kan Ryu)
打水流 Uchimizu Ryu?
天淵流 Ten Fuchi Ryu?
円元流 En Moto Ryu?
行覚流 Gyokaku Ryu?
日下一旨流 Kusaka Ichi Mune Ryu?
一旨流 Ichi Mune Ryu?
妙見自得流 Myoken Jitoku Ryu
自得記流 Jitoku Ki Ryu?
空玄流 Ku Gen Ryu?

流派の表武器術以外に管槍があるもの Ryuha using Kudayari in training against them?
當田流 Toda Ryu


Popular posts from this blog

Spear (Yari) in Owari Kan Ryu 尾張貫流 (Kudayari & others)

Owari Kan ryū is known for its use of the kuda-yari (tube spear). The e (shaft) is run through a kuda (metal pipe) that’s in the front hand of the practitioner.  Interestingly the school’s students start training by doing shiai (competition) and only after considerable training they learn the school's kata (forms). Most classical schools that practice shiai do so after learning kata. Thrusting using the kuda. Cross-stepping.                           Thrusting attack with kuda. Wide stance.   Shiai. Shiai using a spear with a cross piece. The original demonstration from which these stills were taken is here:

The Structure of the Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto Ryu Syllabus

It should be noted that the current head, Otake Risuke, has commented that not all of the parts of Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto Ryu survive.  I recall his comments in various documentaries that Archery was once a component, and only some of the spear survives. Through various sources, mostly Otake's book, I have put together this brief outline of their syllabus, however I have little idea of the exact stage each is taught except that I believe the students start with Omote no Tachi.  I will use this as the basis for further posts and may add to it over time. I believe their are important implications when Otake says that one of the main reasons for training all the weapons is to train the swordsman against them. Note in this section in brackets are my own comments and should therefore not be relied upon, those from the written work of Otake are clearly marked. Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto Ryu -Kenjutsu (Otake lists Tachi, Ryuto and Kodachi under Kenjustsu) --Tachi (Use of the singl

Australia’s Turning Point – Signals Intelligence leading to the Battle of the Coral Sea

Australian/American Signals cooperation was not only important in stopping the Japanese advance to Australian shores but marked the beginning of Australia embedding its forces with the United States rather than simply furnishing troops for the British.  Whilst the British, in my opinion , had a long history of using Commonwealth troops to either protect their colonial interests or to take on deployments with high expected rates of attrition, when Australia faced the real possibility of invasion with the vast majority of its troops and equipment deployed overseas, it was the Americans, whose interests in the Pacific aligned with our own, that were on hand to push the Japanese back from our shores. The Battle of the Coral Sea saw the beginnings of the deployment of Australian sea power under direct American command, a joint approach that would continue to the present time – it was, however, Signals Intelligence that led the way to the embedding of US/Australian forces and played a major