Toshitsugu Takamatsu was born on 10 March 1887 in Akashi town, Hyogo province, by the name of Hisatsugu Takamatsu.
Later he changed his name into Toshitsugu, which is written with the same Kanji, but is pronounced differently.
His father was Yasaburo (also known as Gishin) Takamatsu. He owned a match factory in city of Kobe.
The name of his mother was Fushi.
The most time he spend at with his grandparents who also took care of him. His grandfather was Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu.
Toda was a chiropractor and had a clinic in Kobe. He also had a Budo-Dojo in Kobe and was the Soke of Shinden Fudo ryu.
His family had a Samurau rank but his ancestors were Ninja. That was of course a great secret,
which became public after Takamatsu died. He was the last member of Toda family, who inhereted their Ninja tradition.
Takamatsu was also called Jutaro. His father thought it would be good for him to join the army. He was very shy and that is
why his father wanted him to try Budo as it would strengthen him and give him selfcounsionceness. At that time he was 9 years
old and started practicing the Shinden Fudo Ryu. It wasn't wuch training. Toda and his students used him to throw him around
in the dojo. After a year passed the first technique was tought to him. From that point on Toda himself started to train
Takamatsu. When he was 13 he got Menkyo Kaiden for Shinden Fudo ryu from his grandfather.
After Shinden Fudo ryu, Toda tought him also Koto ryu, Gyokko ryu, Gyokushin ryu, Kumogakure ryu and Togakure ryu.
But Takamatsu wasn't really interested in Ninjutsu. Around that time Takamatsu met Mizuta Yoshitaru Tadafusa,
who tought Takagi Yoshin ryu. Takamatsu used to train regulary with him too and had received Menkyo Kaiden from Mizuta
when he was 17 years old. In those times, teachers used to give Menkyo Kaiden even if their student wasn't ready yet.
That forced student to train even harder. That custom was called Sakizuke.
Also around that period of time he met Ishitani Matsutaro Takekage who was an employer of his father.
Ishitani Matsutaro Takekage was well known in Japan because of his excelence in Martial Arts.
He tought Takamatsu Kuki Happo Biken no jutsu. He was also tought various forms of Ninjutsu. Hon Tai Yoshin ryu,
Gikan ryu and Shinden Muso ryu. Ishitani was Soke of all of them.
At the age of 20 Takamatsu quit from his job at his fathers factory and took of to China to test what he had learned so far.
In Korea he met someone named Kim Kei-mei-a. He was a teacher and tought Takamatsu.
In that time he was gone he learned 18 Korean and Chinese Martial Arts. Then he got ill.
He went back home and was cured by Yamabushi (mountain priest). After he was cured, he went back to China.
He got in lots of fights. He got the nickname Moku no Tora, which means Mongolian tiger.
He fought in nineteen fights, out of which only seven were competitions. Mortal combats were a consequence of teasing
other Martial Artists, who heard for his fame. In one of those fights Takamatsu lost an eye. It was replaced by one made of glass.
He then got into teaching others. The tought over 80 people a day. He tought Japanese, Chinese, French and American people.
When he came back to Japan he became the head of the Nippon Minkoku Seinen Botoku Kai (Japanese Martial Arts organization).
All of this happened before he was 30 years old.
In 1919 he came back to Japan and went into the Tendai monastery on Hiei mountain near Kyoto and became a monk.
Later he became one of the representatives of the monastery. That way he tried to make up for the sins of his youth.
He was married to Tane Takamatsu, who was born in 1896 in Hirakata region.
Her maiden name was Uno. They did not have any children of themselves so they adobted 2 girls.
Takamatsu also tought a lot of students in Japan, although he was mostly known as master of Ju Jutsu and Bo Jutsu.
He was almost only known for Kukishinden ryu. His first Dojo was Sukisha Dojo (place for people, who enjoy Martial Arts).
He trained Koba Koshiro, Sato Kimbei, Hanaoka Nangaku, Ueno Takashi, Takeuchi Kikakusai, Kimura Masaharu, Fukumoto, Akimoto Fumio
and others.
His last and most know student was Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, who also became his only student for the rest of his life.
He also learned all Takamatsu's traditions.
Hatsumi started to train when Takamatsu was already in his 50's. Takamatsu tought him things, he had never tought anyone before.
Takamatsu did not train anymore when he was over his 80's, but still watched Hatsumi's development.
One year before his death, he said to Hatsumi, that he has tought him everything he knows and that he has repaid Toda Sensei,
Ishuitani Sensei in Mizuta Sensei for their kindnes. Hatsumi has already been given the title Soke, but he still stayed and
trained with his teacher.
Toshitsugu Takamatsu died on the 2nd of April, 1972 at the age of 85.
He is burried on Kumedra cemetery near the city of Nara, which was the last place, where he lived.
He was a great man and a living example of a true Martial Artist. He was the last of the real Ninja warriors,
who were involved in a real combat. Members of Bujinkan are very proud, that we can be a part of the tradition,
which was successed from this great man.
