Risuke Otake

Risuke Ōtake (大竹利典, Otake Risuke) (10 March 1926 – 7 June 2021)^[1] full name Ōtake Risuke Minamoto no Takeyuki (大竹利典源健之, Ōtake Risuke Minamoto no Takeyuki), was a Japanese martial artist. He was a long time shihan (Teaching Master) of Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū bujutsu,^[2][3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] He lived and taught in rural location near Narita city, in Chiba Prefecture of Japan. 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.^[6]

Risuke Otake
Risuke Ōtake
Born	(1926-03-10)10 March 1926
Died	7 June 2021(2021-06-07) (aged 95)
Style	Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū

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.^{[citation needed]} 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. ISBN 0-87040-378-8 (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. ISBN 0-87040-405-9
• Ōtake, Risuke (1977). The Deity and the Sword - Katori Shinto-ryu Vol. 3, Japan, Japan Publications Trading Co. ISBN 0-87040-406-7
• Ōtake, Risuke (2007). Katori Shinto-ryu: Warrior Tradition, Koryu Books. ISBN 978-1-890536-20-6 (A total revamp of the earlier The Deity and the Sword book)
• Ōtake, Risuke. Le Sabre et le Divin, ISBN 978-2-908580-82-2
• 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, (ISBN 4-05-605068-6)
• "REAL SAMURAI" NHK World TV22 June 2014

• Eat Your Enemy (Scarabeefilms, 2005)

Further reading

The following books also mention Katori Shinto-ryū and Ōtake-sensei:

• Draeger, Donn F. (1973): Classical Bujutsu : The Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol. 1, Weatherhill. New York. USA.
• Draeger, Donn F. (1973): Classical Budo: The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan, Vol. 2, Weatherhill. New York. USA.