Minamoto no Yoshimitsu

Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (源 義光, 1045 – November 25, 1127), son of the Chinjufu-shōgun Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (988-1075), was a Minamoto clan Bushō (Military Commander) during Japan's Heian Period. His brother was the famous Minamoto no Yoshiie. Minamoto no Yoshimitsu is credited as the ancient progenitor of the Japanese martial art, Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu. Yoshimitsu is also known as Shinra Saburō (新羅 三郎). The nickname Shinra comes from the Shinra Zenjindo Hall of Mii-dera Temple, where he had his coming-of-age ceremony. His Dharma name was Senkōin Shuntoku Sonryō (先甲院峻徳尊了).

According to Daitō-ryū's initial history, Yoshimitsu dissected the corpses of men killed in battle, and studied them for the purpose of learning vital point striking (kyusho-jitsu) and joint lock techniques. Daitō-ryū takes its name from that of a mansion that Yoshimitsu lived in as a child, called "Daitō", in Ōmi Province (modern-day Shiga Prefecture).

For military service during the Later Three-Year War (1083–1089), Yoshimitsu was made Governor of Kai Province (modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture), where he settled. Yoshimitsu's son, Minamoto no Yoshikiyo, took the surname "Takeda" and is also known as Takeda Yoshikiyo, and the techniques Yoshimitsu discovered would be secretly passed down within the Takeda clan until the late 19th century, when Takeda Sokaku began teaching them to the public.