Shindō Yōshin-ryū

Shindō Yōshin-ryū (新道楊心流)
Katsunosuke Matsuoka, Shindo Yoshin ryu founder
Founder	Katsunosuke Matsuoka (1836–1898)
Date founded	1864
Period founded	Late Edo Period (1603–1868)
Current headmaster	Ryozo Fujiwara – mainline; Tobin E. Threadgill – Takamura-ha
Current headquarters	Tokyo, Japan – mainline; Evergreen, Colorado – Takamura-ha
Art	Description
Jūjutsu	Grappling art
Kenjutsu	Sword art
Hokushin Ittō-ryū • Hōzōin-ryū • Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū • Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū (Akiyama Yōshin-ryū) • Totsuka-ha Yōshin ryu (Nakamura Yōshin Koryū)
Wadō-ryū

Shindō Yōshin-ryū (新道楊心流^?), meaning "New Willow School" is a traditional school (koryū) of Japanese martial arts, teaching primarily the art of jūjutsu. The first kanji of the name originally translated into "新=New", but in the mainline branch the kanji for "new" was eventually changed into the homophonic "神=sacred". The name of the school may also be transliterated as Shintō Yōshin-ryū, but the koryu tradition should not be confused with the modern school of Shintōyōshin-ryū which is unconnected.

The Shindō Yōshin-ryū tradition was founded late in the Edo period by a Kuroda clan retainer named Katsunosuke Matsuoka (1836–1898) Katsunosuke was born in Edo-Hantei, the Edo headquarters of the Kuroda clan in 1836. Katsunosuke opened his first dōjō in 1858 in the Asakusa district of Edo where he taught Tenjin Shinyō-ryū jūjutsu. He also stood in for his teacher Sakakibara Kenkichi, fourteenth headmaster of the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū school of kenjutsu, during Sakakibara's service to the shogun Tokugawa Iemochi. Over the years Katsunosuke became convinced that the contemporary jūjutsu systems of the late Edo period had lost much of their military usefulness, evolving into systems driven more by individual challenge matches than effective military engagement. For this reason in 1864 he decided to combine his expertise in kenjutsu and jūjutsu by formulating a new system of his own creation called Shindō Yōshin-ryū, meaning "new willow school." Katsunosuke intended this new system embrace a curriculum reflecting that of a sōgō bujutsu or integrated martial system in order that it be militarily applicable. By 1868, Katsunosuke had witnessed the Meiji Restoration and fought on the losing side of the Boshin War. Following the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate Katsunosuke relocated to Ueno Village, north of Edo, eventually constructing a new dojo there. Following Katsunosuke’s relocation to Ueno, the dojo in Asakusa became a branch dojo under the direction of licensed instructor, Inose Matakichi.