In researching the Kōbusho, one complexity came up that was important to distinguish: kenshi with the same last name who were otherwise unrelated figures. There are several Amano and Matsuoka who each led different lives
Shadow Amano
There are two Amano who are prominently figured in narratives, both of which practiced Jikishinkage-ryū:
- Amano Shōshō (天野将曹) was a well-known student of Odani who fared well in matches against famous swordsmen such as Ōishi Susumu of Yanagawa and later wound up defeated by Sakakibara’s two-handed thrust at Nijō castle when he would not yield.
- Amano Hachirō (天野八郎) was the famous leader of Shōgitai (彰義隊) who undertook intense mountain training and died in prison after the battle at Ueno.
Shadow Matsuoka
There are two Matsuoka who are also featured in narratives:
- Matsuoka Yorozu (松岡万) was a shogunal retainer (幕臣), a member of Kiyokawa Hachirō’s Torao-no-kai (虎尾の会), one of the rōshigumi (浪士組) torishimari, member of the Kōbusho administration, and later commander of the Seieitai (精鋭隊). He studied several styles of kenjutsu and after wartime became a tea farmer with other Seieitai members.
- Matsuoka Katsunosuke (松岡克之助) was a bone-setter and doctor in Hitachi, who founded Shindō Yōshin-ryū (神道楊心流) jūjutsu. He is said to have taught his jūjutsu alongside Jikishinkage-ryū kenjutsu and sent his most promising kenjutsu student to another teacher for further instruction.
War histories such as the Shōgitai Senshi and Tōkyō Shishi Gaihen yield two more Matsuoka of note: 松岡平九郎 (Heikurō), named in the assassination of the Shosei-in abbot (frames 52–53), and a Mito man, 松岡彦郎 (Hikorō) (frames 243–244). It is important to keep these men separate.
Types of Conflation
Family Name
Name collision is a common challenge faced in historical research. For example, in the 1843 Gekiken Sōdan, the famous vendetta swordsman Araki Matauemon Shigekatsu (荒木又右衛門), who assisted Watanabe Kazuma at the Kagiya-no-tsuji / Iga-Ueno katakiuchi (鍵屋の辻, 1634) is related to have been a high disciple of Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi. That is a different person entirely from Araki Mujinsai Minamoto no Hidetsuna (荒木無人斎源秀縄), the founder of Araki-ryū (荒 木流). Amano and Araki are both name-collision cases — two distinct men merged by a shared name, whereas we will see
Status Adoption
The case of Matsuoka Katsunosuke is a different axis entirely. There’s no exact name-collision; he and Matsuoka Yorozu are easily disambiguated if you look closely. In that case, the mechanism is inflation of a documented status — the Kōbusho shugyōnin (jūjutsu trainee) rank retold as an appointment “to teach kenjutsu and sōjutsu” — compounded by details adopted from a more famous individual back to a person in one’s own lineage.
Generational Names
There is another distinct case of generational succession names, where multiple individuals adopt the same name as the head of an art. We see this in bakumatsu-period Edo with the various Momoi (Momonoi) Shunzō who lead Ky=oshin Meichi-ryū. This also occures earlier in Kyoto regarding Yoshioka-ryū (吉岡流), whose lead adopts the succession name Kenpō (憲法). Anecdotes about Kenpō get conflated into what people wind up thinking are a single person’s life.
In Kenpō’s case, “the Kenpō who fought Musashi,” “the Kenpō of the 1612 brawl,” and “the founder Kenpō” get fused in popular telling into a single super-swordsman, which are pulled apart clearly in the 1843 Gekiken Sōdan of Mikami Motoryū.
