Hokushin Ittō-ryū
Little is known of Takeda Kanryūsai's life before joining the Shinsengumi, but he was likely involved in academics and medicine. His sword style was most likely "Hokushin Ittō-ryū", although he does not appear to have been very skilled. He was close to the influential loyalist Hirano Kuniomi. However, he was too outspoken an advocate of "sonnō jōi" and was arrested. He escaped imprisonment in 1863 and fled to Kyoto to join the Shinsengumi.