Kage-ryū (Aizu)

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Kage-ryū (陰流), also known as Aizu Kage-ryū, is a traditional kenjutsu school founded around 1490 by Aizu Hyūga-no-Kami Iko (c.1452–1538). It flourished in the Sengoku period (mid-15th to mid-17th century). The founder, sometimes called Aizu Ikōsai Hisatada (surname sometimes written Aisu), had two main students: his son Aizu Koshichiro and Kamiizumi Hidetsugu (Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna), founder of Shinkage-ryū, which Yagyū Sekishūsai Muneyoshi later renamed Yagyū Shinkage-ryū. Today Kage-ryū survives mainly through its influence on later schools, especially Yagyū Shinkage-ryū and Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū, and the many lineages they inspired. There is no current headmaster or headquarters. The art taught was kenjutsu (sword art). Descendant schools include Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū, and Oishi Shinkage-ryū.