When Chōi-sai returned home, he offered prayers to the deities of both Katori Shrine and Kashima Shrine, the latter being a famous local shrine in nearby Ibaraki Prefecture, where shrine officials themselves reputedly practised a form of swordsmanship, called 'Hitotsu no Tachi' (the solitary sword). Even today the Kashima Shrine training hall attracts Kendo practitioners from around the world, and the chief object of interest for visitors is the shrine's sacred sword. Supplementing his considerable skills with assorted weaponry, Chōi-sai was also an expert in Musō Jikiden ryū yawaragi, holding the position of seventh Headmaster in the history of that ryū.[citation needed] [notes 3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenshin_Shōden_Katori_Shintō-ryūThis legend is typical of martial arts Ryūha and other cultural forms as well. Ryūha founders often attributed their mastery to magical teachings transmitted by Shinto or Buddhist deities, by long-dead historical figures like Minamoto no Yoshitsune, or by legendary supernatural creatures such as the tengu, Japanese goblins commonly depicted with a long red nose.
Legend says at the age of 60 Chōi-sai spent 1000 days in Katori Shrine practising martial techniques day and night, until the kami of the shrine, Futsunushi (経津), appeared to him in a dream and handed down the secrets of martial strategy in a scroll named Mokuroku Heiho no Shinsho. He called his swordsmanship style derived from this miraculous dream the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, the "Heavenly True, Correctly Transmitted Style of the Way of the God of Katori".
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