considered systematized teachings, it was only in the Sengoku and early
Tokugawa (seventeenth-century) periods that these experts formed clearly
defined schools, with written records, sets of techniques, and established
genealogies.
The formation of schools was possible because warriors who partici-
pated in battles and were able to achieve high skills in swordsmanship as a
result of their extensive battlefield experience could rely on the name they
created for themselves to attract the attention of potential patrons and fol-
lowers. Indeed, patronage by prominent warriors was not hard to find be-
cause of the demand for such teachers. Ultimately, the cause for a new em-
phasis on sword fighting was the result of the new firearm technology,
which rendered mounted archery especially inferior and vulnerable, thus
making foot soldiers carrying swords replace the mounted warrior. In ad-
dition, a culture of specialized schools of art, theater performance, and
craftsmanship was already in place and operating long before the forma-
tion of distinct schools of swordsmanship. Consequently, when Sengoku
and early Tokugawa warriors sought to establish swordsmanship tradi-
tions, they relied on those existing schools for a model.
Two more factors contributed to the formation of specialized schools
of swordsmanship. First, social mobility during the Sengoku period pro-
vided almost anybody with an opportunity to achieve recognition and ad-
vance to a higher social status. For many, swordsmanship was the way to
realize their ambition. Those who mastered swordsmanship and made
names for themselves on the battlefield or in challenge duels, even those of
peasant origin who served as low-ranking foot soldiers, could look for re-
Swordsmanship, Japanese 593A color woodblock print of a duel between Ario Maru and Karieo Maru created by Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi. (Victoria &
Albert Museum, London/Art Resource, NY)