(10 March 1926 – 7 June 2021) full name , was a Japanese

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

. He was a long time ''

shihan is a Japanese term that is used in many Japanese martial arts as an honorific title for expert or senior instructors. It can be translated as "master instructor". The use of the term is specific to a school or organization, as is the process o ...

'' (Teaching Master) of

Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū Written as 天眞正傳香取神道流 before adoption (1946) of Tōyō kanji. is one of the oldest extant Japanese martial arts and an exemplar of ''bujutsu''. It was founded by Iizasa Ienao, who lived near Katori Shrine (Sawara, Chiba, Sawara ...

bujutsu, which he learned as a disciple of the previous teaching master Hayashi Yazaemon (1892-1964) from the time he entered the school in 1942 at the age of 16. In 1967, when Otake-sensei was 42 years old, he received ''gokui kaiden'', the highest level of attainment in the tradition, and at the same time became the school's teaching master. He lived and taught in rural location near Narita city, in

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The teachings of Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū were designated an Intangible Cultural Asset of Chiba Prefecture in 1960, with Ōtake designated as guardian of the tradition.''Katori Shinto-ryu: Warrior Tradition'', Koryu Books. p. 22-23. He authored ''Strategy and the Art of Peace'', as well as an earlier three-volume set of books on the tradition entitled ''The Deity and the Sword: Katori Shinto-ryu''. He was a member of the Chiba Prefecture Board of Registrars and Appraisers for Muskets and Swords; a position he held since 1979. Ōtake shihan died on 7 June 2021.

Books by Risuke Ōtake

* Ōtake, Risuke (1977). ''The Deity and the Sword - Katori Shinto-ryu Vol. 1'', Japan, Japan Publications Trading Co. (Original Japanese title for all three volumes in this series is ''Mukei Bunkazai Katori Shinto-ryu'') * Ōtake, Risuke (1977). ''The Deity and the Sword - Katori Shinto-ryu Vol. 2'', Japan, Japan Publications Trading Co. * Ōtake, Risuke (1977). ''The Deity and the Sword - Katori Shinto-ryu Vol. 3'', Japan, Japan Publications Trading Co. * Ōtake, Risuke (2007). ''Katori Shinto-ryu: Warrior Tradition'', Koryu Books. (A total revamp of the earlier ''The Deity and the Sword'' book) * Ōtake, Risuke. ''Le Sabre et le Divin'', * Ōtake, Risuke. (2016) ''Strategy and the Art of Peace, Tenshinshō-den Katori Shintō-ryū'', Nippon Budokan, ISBN 978-4-583-10984-8 C0075

Documentaries

* BBC Documentary, ''The Way of the Warrior'', BBC, 29 June 1983 * John Wate, ''Le katana, sabre de samouraï'', Arte Doc, 2005 * ''Nihon No Ken Jutsu'', Gakken, 30 January 2008, () * "REAL SAMURAI"

NHK World TV NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-service broadcasters, ...

22 June 2014 * Eat Your Enemy (Scarabeefilms, 2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otake, Risuke 1926 births 2021 deaths Japanese swordfighters Martial artists from Chiba Prefecture

Books by Risuke Ōtake

Documentaries

Further reading

References