or — Toshiyoshi was the founder of the Owari mainline of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu

is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship . Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who added his own name to the school. Today, the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū remains...

 style of swordsmanship in the early Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

. He was a son of Yagyū Toshikatsu and a grandson of Yagyū Muneyoshi

Yagyu Muneyoshi

Yagyū Sekishūsai Taira-no-Munetoshi was a samurai in Japan’s Sengoku period famous for mastering the Shinkage-ryū school of combat, and introducing it to the Tokugawa clan.-Early life :...

 (Sekishūsai).

From 1603 to 1607, he served Kato Kiyomasa

Kato Kiyomasa

was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...

. Thereafter, he became an itinerant warrior. Beginning in 1615, he served Tokugawa Yoshinao

Tokugawa Yoshinao

was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.- Biography :Born as the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, his childhood name was Gorōtamaru. While still a young child, he was appointed leader of first the fief of Kofu in Kai Province and later the fief of Kiyosu in Owari Province...

, the founder of the Owari

Owari Province

was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of present day Aichi Prefecture, including much of modern Nagoya. Its abbreviation is Bishū .-History:The province was created in 646....

 branch of the Tokugawa clan

Tokugawa clan

The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...

. He directly instructed Yoshinao in the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.

In legend

While the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi

, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...

 had at one time stayed at Nagoya, Musashi had noticed a certain warrior walking in the street, in which is way of carrying himself was striking to Musashi. Musashi then approaced Hyogonosuke, and Hyogonosuke did the same. Musashi then asked, "Aren't you Lord Yagyu Hyogonosuke?" Hyogonosuke replied, "I am. Aren't you Lord Miyamoto Musashi?". Though the fact that Musashi and Hyogonosuke had never once met each other at any time in the past, because of the way that he had carried himself, along with the certain martial energy that he had been emanated, It couldn't have been anyone else but Hyogonosuke. So instead of measuring each other in combat, Hyogonosuke and Musashi had instead conversed like old friends within the house of Yagyu.