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Toshishiro Obata
Obata_Toshishiro
BornObata Toshiji (小幡 利二)
(1948-10-20)October 20, 1948
Gunma Prefecture, Japan
Native name小幡 利城
NationalityJapanese
StyleShinkendō, Aikidō, Aikibujutsu, Toyama-ryū Battōdō, Bōjutsu, Ryūkyū Kobudō
Teacher(s)Shioda Gōzō, Yagyū Nobuharu, Uchida Tesshinsai, Inoue Motokatsu, Tanaka Shigeho [ja], Nawa Yumio [ja], Nakamura Taizaburō [ja]
Occupation
  • Martial artist
  • swordsman
  • actor
  • stunt coordinator
  • author
  • researcher
Spouse
Obata Michiyo
​
(m. 1976)​
Children
  • Obata Yukishiro
  • Obata Michishiro
  • Obata Yōko
Websitewww.shinkendo.com

Toshishiro Obata (小幡 利城, Obata Toshishiro; born Obata Toshiji, 小幡 利二; October 20, 1948) is a Japanese swordsman, martial artist, actor, stunt coordinator and fight choreographer, author, and researcher.[1] He is the founder and head instructor of the Japanese swordsmanship style Shinkendō and Japanese martial art Aikibujutsu.[1][2] Obata is recognized for his film and television roles in Japan and the United States, including Hollywood martial arts action films such as Showdown in Little Tokyo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[1][3]

Obata studied aikidō for seven years as a live-in disciple of Shioda Gōzō, a pre-war student of aikidō founder Ueshiba Morihei.[4] He trained in various modern and classical martial arts and styles of swordsmanship, including Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, Kashima Shinryū, Ryūkyū Kobudō, and Toyama-ryū, and earned a total of 75 dan (black belt) ranks, as well as shihan and menkyo kaiden licenses.[1][5] Obata is noted for winning seven tameshigiri (test-cutting) championships in Japan,[6] as well as introducing the now widespread use of rolled tatami-omote mats as a test-cutting medium.[7] Earning a livelihood as a professional martial artist, Obata worked in the Japanese film and television industry as a member of the stunt and martial artist troupe Wakakoma Pro [ja], where he trained actors, performed stunts, and acted in various on-screen roles in a number of films and programs, including the annual NHK taiga drama series.[1][2] His role as martial arts instructor to actors and fight choreographers led to the popularization of aikidō techniques in the Japanese film industry.[4][8]

After moving to the United States to pursue a career in Hollywood, Obata synthesized his martial arts research and founded the Shinkendō school of swordsmanship (眞劍道) and the Japanese martial art Aikibujutsu (合気武術).[1][6] He has collaborated with swordsmiths in Japan and the United States as a professional sword-tester,[9] and he holds the world record for kabutowari (兜割), a traditional test of cutting a samurai helmet with a sword.[2] Obata has published a number of books on the martial arts, as well as Modern Bushidō, a modern adaptation of samurai philosophy, and a translation of Heihō Okugisho, one of the earliest Japanese martial arts treatises, compiled by one of his samurai ancestors.[1][10] In parallel to his martial arts career, Obata has also found success in Hollywood, appearing in nearly twenty Hollywood films opposite actors such as Michael Douglas, Dolph Lundgren, and Brandon Lee, including his breakout role as Master Tatsu in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[1][11]

Early life

Shirasawa-jinja in Numata, Gunma

Obata was born on October 20, 1948 in Shirasawa-mura (present-day Numata) in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, the second son of Obata Kaneyoshi and Obata Tama.[2][12] Obata's father served in the Japanese military as a combat medic, turning to a career as a carpenter after discharge, and Obata’s mother was employed for a time at a munitions factory.[13]

Obata’s family is of samurai lineage, which he traces back to the fifth century.[1][6]An offshoot of the Heike clan[14], the Obata clan included several prominent samurai who were vassals of the Takeda clan during the Warring States Period, among them Obata Nichijō [ja] (d. 1514), who served Takeda Nobutora and was later appointed Ashigaru Daishō [ja] (Infantry General).[15][16] Nichijō's son, Obata Toramori (1491-1561), was one of the Five Retainers of the Takeda [ja] as well as one of the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen, serving both Takeda Nobutora and Takeda Shingen, and like his father was appointed Ashigaru Daishō.[17] Toramori eventually became lord of Kaizu Castle in Shinshū Province (present-day Nagano Prefecture).[5] Toramori's son, Obata Masamori (1534-1582), who also served as one of the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen, fought in the Battle of Nagashino and succeeded his father as lord of Kaizu Castle.[18][19] Masamori's third son, Obata Kagenori (1572–1663), served Tokugawa Ieyasu, and between 1615 and 1632 compiled the Kōyō Gunkan, a highly influential military treatise recording Takeda clan exploits as well as military strategy and martial arts techniques promulgated under Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori.[15][20] The Kōyō Gunkan was read widely and became a fixture in early modern samurai education, even circulating among non-samurai,[21] and contains the first notable use of the term bushidō.[20][22] Its text also became the basis for Heihō Okugisho (兵法奥義書), one of Japan's earliest treatises on martial arts. Based upon his battlefield experience and the teachings of the Kōyō Gunkan, Kagenori founded the Kōshū-ryū [ja] school of military science (also called Takeda-ryū or Shingen-ryū), which became widely adopted and practiced under the Tokugawa shogunate, and was recorded in the early 18th-century Honchō Bugei Shōden [ja] as the foundation for all subsequent military science styles.[21][23]

From a young age, Obata was inspired to study martial arts and swordsmanship by the examples of his samurai forebears, as well as chanbara films he enjoyed watching as a child and radio dramas like Akadō Suzunosuke [ja].[24][25] He also cites the examples of Miyamoto Musashi and Yagyū Munenori as sources of inspiration for pursuing martial arts training and the study of samurai warfare and strategy[4], as well as Kamiizumi Nobutsuna and Nitta Yoshisada, who, like Obata, hailed from Gunma prefecture.[14][26] As a young child, Obata gained early exposure to swordsmanship through his father, who studied Maniwa Nen-ryū at the local dōjō in nearby Maniwa under the tutelage of the Higuchi family.[25][27] Obata decided to study jūdō or kendō at his elementary school, but school martial arts practice halted when the gymnasium burned down while he was in fifth or sixth grade.[13] His family lacking monetary means in post-war Japan, Obata recalls spending his childhood exploring the Akagi mountains around his village and "playing" martial arts with other children.[13][28] Obata credits his weapon proficiency in part to his use of tools and farming implements while doing field and farm work as he grew up.[28][29] He recalls cutting and fashioning tree branches to make practice swords, and trying out throwing and sweeping techniques he had learned from his father.[13] In addition to a strong interest in martial arts, as a youth he developed a love for films and, in part inspired by the popular Shōwa-era comedian Ōmiya Toshimitsu [ja], a desire to pursue acting.[24][10]

Career and Education

1966–1973: Yōshinkan Era

Young Obata holding sword in the seigan-no-kamae (正眼の構え) posture
Above: Young Obata holding sword in the seigan-no-kamae (正眼の構え) posture
Obata seated with a sword in hand
Obata at age 21 wearing dōgi and geta at Meiji-jingū in Tōkyō

After graduating high school in 1966, Obata left Gunma prefecture to pursue martial arts training in Tōkyō at the age of eighteen.[6][10] Obata considered studying karate or Shōrin-ji kempō until his roommate showed him a book about aikidō, which piqued his curiosity.[13] He visited the instructors class at the Yōshinkan Honbu Dōjō in Yoyogi led by Shioda Gōzō, a top disciple of aikidō founder Ueshiba Morihei who trained with him before the war.[30] Obata was impressed by the rigor and technique, and joined immediately.[13] A few days after his enrollment, confident that he would pursue martial arts as a vocation, he applied for membership in the full-time instructors class as an uchi-deshi (live-in disciple) under Shioda, and was accepted.[13][31]

Obata spent seven years at the Yōshinkan as an uchi-deshi of Shioda.[2][6] The Yōshinkan style was renowned for its toughness and efficiency, and Obata has described the apprenticeship as “military-style training.”[9][10]

Six o'clock in the morning, like Army style – make breakfast and straight into training... after lunch, again training, then four o'clock training, six o'clock training, eight o'clock training – every day. Monday off – but even Monday sometimes some dōjō members would come, so... training![10]

As an uchi-deshi, Obata trained from early morning until late at night, routinely performing thousands of ukemi (falls) a day.[5][30] Obata recollects that although Shioda was small in stature and only reached up to Obata's shoulder, he was in his physical prime as a teacher, and that the age difference between him and Shioda was the same as the age difference between Shioda and Ueshiba, which he suggests was likely conducive to their fruitful student-teacher relationship.[32] Due to his aptitude, Obata soon became a Yōshinkan instructor, and he earned a small stipend and was able to support himself, though this left little for spending money during this period.[24] Obata also assisted with the editing of Shioda's books on aikidō, and appears in technical demonstration photographs in Shioda's Dynamic Aikidō.[33][34]

As part of his teaching duties, Obata was selected to train police officers during annual training sessions at the Yōshinkan.[6][35]　The officers all had prior training in martial arts, having been awarded at least third dan in jūdō or kendō, and as a result the training was brisk and intensive; Obata recalls that out of a group of twelve officers, as many as ten would be vomiting by the end of a lesson.[13] Upon reaching shodan level, Obata was loaned out regularly by Shioda as an instructor to the Tōkyō Metropolitan Police, the Riot Police, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).[13][36] Obata's contact with law enforcement proved helpful when he sometimes had a few too many to drink and ended up sparring with fellow uchi-deshi in town.[1] Obata was also sent out to teach students at Nippon University and Obirin University.[5][28]

Despite his full-time commitment to training and teaching aikidō at the Yōshinkan, Obata's interest in swordsmanship and classical martial arts grew during this period.[13] Obata practiced sword techniques with a bokken (wooden sword) as part of aikidō training, and he would closely observe other sword schools performing techniques when he participated in martial arts demonstrations at the Nippon Budōkan.[13] Shioda encouraged Obata to gain exposure to and study other martial arts, including Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.[5][28] At the time, the Yagyūkai was renting space at the Yōshinkan Dōjō for their practice sessions,[37] and Obata was encouraged to join, thereafter training for several years under headmaster Yagyū Nobuharu.[2][5] Obata also studied Zen Buddhism with the Shiyūkai [ja], which rented space from the Yōshinkan at this time as well.[10][38]

While performing aikidō at a martial arts demonstration, Obata witnessed a sword demonstration by Nakamura Taizaburō [ja], a student of the Meiji-era swordsman Nakayama Hakudō.[39] Nakamura had been a sword instructor to the Japanese army, and was an instructor of Toyama-ryū and Nakamura-ryū swordsmanship.[30][7] Although Nakamura was already in his fifties at the time, the power and focus of his cuts impressed Obata.[7] At demonstrations, Obata observed that whereas some schools only cut thin reeds of bamboo, Toyama-ryū practitioners would regularly cut thick bundles of straw wrapped around a heavy piece of bamboo, intended to simulate flesh and bone.[13][40] Obata volunteered to assist Nakamura, who had been setting up and cleaning up cutting targets by himself, and decided that he would like to study with him if he had the chance.[7] This encounter with Nakamura and his experience training in Yagyū Shinkage-ryū solidified Obata's resolve to further his study of swordsmanship.[30] However, as a full-time uchi-deshi, Obata was not able to pursue other martial arts seriously, so he made the decision to conclude his seven-year apprenticeship at the Yōshinkan in 1973.[28][41]

1973-1980: Wakakoma Era

Obata in an episode of Drift Daibakushō [ja]
Theatrical poster for Lady Snowblood (1973)

Although licensed by Shioda to open his own aikidō school and teach independently, Obata chose to broaden his martial arts training and focus on swordsmanship, as well as begin to pursue his ambition of acting in film and television.[24] In 1973, Obata joined Wakakoma Pro [ja], a troupe of martial artists specializing in stunts and martial arts training for Japanese film and television, led by action coordinator Hayashi Kunishirō.[2][4] At the time, the Wakakoma was enjoying prominence due to its ongoing work for the prestigious annual NHK taiga dramas and its recent involvement in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, much of which was filmed in Japan using Wakakoma martial artists.[13]

Obata was introduced to Hayashi through Nakamura, and the two quickly formed a good rapport, with Hayashi soliciting Obata's advice on martial arts matters.[7] Hayashi eventually invited Obata to join him at the Wakakoma as bujutsu shihan (武術師範; Chief Instructor of Martial Arts), specializing in aikidō.[5][7] Obata accepted, and became Hayashi's pupil at his Tate Dōjō, where he studied action coordination and Japanese film swordplay [ja].[24][4] Obata recalls that Hayashi's goal was to ensure that Japanese martial arts techniques were accurately and realistically represented in his film projects for the NHK, which aligned with Obata's desire to research and study classical Japanese martial arts.[7] Obata continued to enjoy a good rapport with Hayashi throughout his apprenticeship, and recalls leveraging that rapport on one occasion to convince Hayashi to quit smoking, threatening to quit if he refused. To Obata's surprise, Hayashi agreed, and quit smoking immediately.[7]

After three years of training under Hayashi, Obata advanced to the role of assistant tateshi (action coordinator), and occasionally led training sessions by himself.[42] Obata trained in and later taught historically accurate methods for wearing armor and traditional dress, as well as mounted archery and battlefield techniques of the spear and naginata (glaive).[5][10] Obata recalls that portrayal of a samurai in keeping with the NHK's exacting standards necessitated exhaustive research and immersive knowledge of samurai life in great detail, to the effect that one became "in every respect a samurai persona."[11] Wakakoma members were expected to be well-versed in samurai etiquette, and be able to handle all manner of weapons skillfully while wearing full armor and on horseback.[13] Stunt work involved falling from horseback safely and performing acrobatics while fully armed.[42] Obata was required to develop action coordination expertise by studying historical records of samurai warfare and treatises on battlefield strategy such that clashes between armies and small-scale skirmishes and ambushes could be reproduced faithfully on screen.[30][43] Drawing on his Yōshinkan background, Obata also taught and disseminated aikidō techniques among the Wakakoma members and NHK actors.[4] Whereas jūdō techniques had heretofore been a staple in hand-to-hand combat scenes, Obata introduced aikidō to the film industry, and is credited with popularizing aikidō techniques in Japanese film and television.[14][8]

Obata worked for the Wakakoma and trained under Hayashi for seven years.[1][44] During this time, Obata was involved in eight annual NHK taiga dramas (11th-18th), in which he performed stunts, choreographed fight scenes, trained actors in martial arts and samurai deportment, and acted in various on-screen roles.[36][45] Actors he trained included Takita Sakae [ja], Fujioka Hiroshi, Ishizaka Kōji, Ogata Ken, Katō Tsuyoshi, Yamaguchi Takashi, Hamahata Kenkichi [ja], Sekiguchi Hiroshi, Katsuno Hiroshi, Nishida Toshiyuki, Tanaka Ken, and Nagashima Toshiyuki.[46] Obata worked on other NHK productions as well, such as Meiji no Gunzō: Umi ni Hi Wa wo [ja] and On'yado Kawasemi.[45] In addition to historical dramas and NHK productions, Obata coordinated action and played roles in popular variety shows, such as Hachiji da yo! Zen'in Shūgō [ja], as well as contemporary police and detective dramas, including Taiyō ni Hoero! and Oretachi wa Tenshi da!.[45] Obata also worked on Lady Snowblood (1973) and its sequel, Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance (1974),[45] the former of which served as a major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films (2003–2004).[47][48]

See § Filmography for films.

Martial arts training and research

Despite his ascendance as a film industry professional, martial arts remained Obata's primary focus.[42] Obata's tenure at the Wakakoma allowed him, like other professional martial artists, the opportunity to earn a livelihood working for film and television production companies while advancing his martial arts training.[13][5] Hayashi sent him to research and learn authentic martial arts techniques from the foremost experts practicing at the time so that Japanese martial arts would be portrayed accurately on screen.[4] This afforded Obata the opportunity to train with many prominent martial artists, and he states that during this time he "lived and breathed the martial arts."[11] Obata researched and learned martial arts techniques from kendō, jūdō, karate, and various sword styles, such as Jigen-ryū, and incorporated these techniques into his film work.[14][49]

Obata entered into formal training relationships with several noted martial arts instructors during this time.[2][42] In furtherance of his pursuit of sword instruction, he enrolled at the Shiseikan Dōjō (至誠館) at Meiji Shrine to study Kashima Shinryū under Tanaka Shigeho [ja].[30][50] Obata also became a pupil of the swordsman Uchida Tesshinsai (内田鉄心斎), from whom he learned Ioriken battōjutsu (庵剣抜刀術).[5][4] Due in part to growing audience interest in seeing Japanese weapon techniques in film, Obata branched out into other weapon arts.[13] Obata received instruction in the various weapons of Ryūkyū Kobudō from Inoue Motokatsu, renowned for his efforts at preserving Okinawan weapon martial arts, including sai, bō, tonfa, nunchaku, and kama.[13][51] Obata also studied ninpō, weapons techniques, and Edo-period arresting methods under Nawa Yumio [ja], ninpō researcher and headmaster of Masaki-ryū [ja] manrikigusari-jutsu (正木流万力鎖術) and Edo-machikata jutte torinawa atsukai (江戸町方十手捕縄扱).[38][52]

Having concluded his apprenticeship at the Yōshinkan, Obata was now free to study with the swordsman Nakamura Taizaburō, whose technique he had admired as an uchi-deshi.[30][52] Obata enrolled as Nakamura's pupil, and studied Toyama-ryū under him, as well as Nakamura's own sword style, Nakamura-ryū.[6][10] In addition to receiving direct instruction, Obata regularly assisted Nakamura at sword seminars, and used the opportunity to closely observe his technique.[42] Obata also assisted with Nakamura's regular television appearances and extracurricular projects, appearing in Nakamura's books[53][54] as well as squaring off against Nakamura in a sword duel in the last scene of the 1979 documentary film Budō: The Art of Killing.[34][55]

Despite the rigors of learning several martial arts while attending to his film production duties at the Wakakoma, Obata "took to martial arts like a fish in water," and maintained his Yōshinkan-era discipline of training several hours each day.[42] Obata went on to earn numerous dan rankings in the various arts he studied, amounting to 75 dan in total, as well as high-level licenses, including shihan (師範), keishō denju (継承伝授), and menkyo kaiden (免許皆伝).[5][36] During this time, Obata also participated in and won seven national tameshigiri (test-cutting) competitions, setting speed records for cutting targets.[6][8]

Obata recalls that he was "more or less penniless" for the seven years he worked for the Wakakoma and studied martial arts, but that it was "still one of the most enjoyable times in my life."[42] His opportunity at the Wakakoma to concentrate fully on researching and practicing various Japanese martial arts later became the basis for establishing his own school of swordsmanship and martial arts.[42][56] By the end of his seven-year tenure at the Wakakoma, Obata was qualified to operate independently as an action coordinator in the Japanese film and television industry.[24] However, Obata decided to leave the Wakakoma and elected instead to move to the United States and pursue a career as an actor and action coordinator in Hollywood.[16][10]

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  37. ^ Amdur, Ellis (November 2, 2013). "It Ain't Necessarily So: Banquo's Ghost". Guillaume Erard. Retrieved October 15, 2022. 'The Yagyukai regularly rented space from the Yoshinkan, arranged by Furuta-san.'
  38. ^ a b Quick, Howard (June 2004). "Jojutsu: The Samurai Arts of Obata Kaiso". Blitz Martial Arts Magazine. Vol. 18, no. 6 (Print ed.). Blitz Publications. pp. 42–46. ISSN 0818-9595.
  39. ^ Bolling, Tom (2004). "Remembering Nakamura Taizaburo Sensei". Classical Fightings Arts (Print ed.). Dragon Associates Inc. pp. 44–46.
  40. ^ Nakamura 2013, p. 32
  41. ^ "Spotlight on Budo: Toshishiro Obata – Shinkendo". E-Budo. August 22, 2000. Retrieved November 12, 2022. [Thread title:] Yoshinkai affiliation
  42. ^ a b c d e f g h Obata, Toshishiro (1994). "Shinkendo is My Life". Aikido Journal. Vol. 21, no. 4 (#101) (Print ed.). Aiki News. pp. 58–64. ISSN 1340-5624.
  43. ^ "Spotlight on Budo: Toshishiro Obata – Shinkendo". E-Budo. August 25, 2000. Retrieved November 12, 2022. [Thread title:] Questions about Shin Choku-Giri & Purpose of Shinkendo
  44. ^ "ハリウッドではサイン攻め – 映画「忍者亀」にも出演してウハウハの小幡利城の人気" [A Barrage of Autographs at Hollywood — The popularity of the all-smiles actor Obata Toshishiro, who appeared in the movie Ninja Turtles]. Focus (in Japanese) (Print ed.). March 8, 1991.
  45. ^ a b c d "What is the Wakakoma? – Achievements". Wakakoma Pro. 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  46. ^ "米国抜刀道連盟・戸山流 初の有段者誕生 小幡利城師範の指導で3人" [Battōdō Federation of America, Toyama-ryū; Birth of the first rank holder; 3 people under the guidance of Obata Toshishiro-shihan]. Rafu Shimpo (in Japanese). No. 24880 (Print ed.). L.A. News Publishing Co. May 17, 1986. p. 10.
  47. ^ "The Complete Lady Snowblood". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  48. ^ Shinsuke Kasai (interviewer), Meiko Kaji (interviewee) (2012). Nihon Eiga Retorosupekutibu (in Japanese). Nihon Eiga Senmon Channeru.
  49. ^ Obata 2020, p. xx
  50. ^ "Defence technique workshop with Obata Toshishiro". Blitz Instructors Special: Blitz Presents Instructors’ Fighting Techniques (Print ed.). Blitz Publications. 2008–2009. pp. 102–103. ISSN 0818-9595.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  51. ^ Chambers, David (April–May 1991). "OBATA!". Australasian Fighting Arts. Vol. 14, no. 4 (Print ed.). Australasian Fighting Arts Publishing Co. pp. 12–16. ISSN 0729-0306.
  52. ^ a b Hauenstein, Gene (March 1993). "Kabutowari: Helmet Test Cutting". Terry Oneill's Fighting Arts International. No. 92 (Print ed.). pp. 3–6. ISSN 0961-9380.
  53. ^ Nakamura 2013, p. 17, 301
  54. ^ Nakamura, Taizaburo (1987). 抜刀道 [Battōdō]. 叢文社 (Sōbunsha). pp. 80–81. ISBN 4794701543.
  55. ^ "Budō: The Art of Killing at Internet Movie Database (IMDb)". Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  56. ^ Katsumata (August 27, 2003). "真剣に人生を生きる 日常生活の礼儀作法も" [Living Life Earnestly — The Etiquette of Daily Life]. Rafu Shimpo (in Japanese). No. 29, 985 (Print ed.). L.A. News Publishing Co. p. 13.
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