(English translation follows)
⽇本泳法は、武道の⼀つとして伝えられてきた日本固有の伝統泳法です。古来より日本ではこれを海・湖・川で鍛錬してきました。

向井流水法は、江戸幕府で御船手頭(後の軍艦奉行)を務めた向井将監家を起源とします。「御船手流」とも呼ばれたその泳法は、幕末に会津藩、そして佐倉藩(現・千葉県)等に伝わりました。そして佐倉藩で水術師範を務めた元会津藩士が、廃藩とともに明治期の東京で普及させました。

北海道では、小樽在住の元会津藩士・大竹作右衛門が1895年から水泳教師を務め、とくに東京の岩本忠次郎師は1916年から小樽で門弟を育て、戦前・戦中・戦後を通じて向井流水法会の基礎を築きました。

向井流水法は、小樽に定着した1世紀を讃えられ、1991年には小樽市無形文化財に指定され、1995年には小樽かつない臨海公園に「水心一如の碑」が建てられました。

Japanese Classical Swimming is a unique swimming in Japan, passed down as one of the martial arts. Since ancient times, it has been practiced in the sea, lakes, and rivers.

Mukairyu Swimming originated from Mukai Shogen, who served as the head of the ship guard (the navy) for the Edo Shogunate. Also known as the "Ofunateryu," this swimming was passed on to the Aizu and the Sakura (actually Chiba) at the end of the Edo period. A former Aizu samurai who served as a swimming master in Sakura later spread this swimming in Tokyo during the Meiji era after all samurai, including martial arts masters, lose their status.

In Hokkaido, a former Aizu samurai, Sakuemon Ohtake, who resided in Otaru, worked as a swimming instructor from 1895. Especially notable was master Chujirou Iwamoto from Tokyo, who, starting in 1916, trained disciples in Otaru and laid the foundation for the Mukairyu Swimming Association through the pre-war, wartime, and post-war periods.

In recognition of Mukairyu Swimming’s century-long establishment in Otaru, it was designated as an intangible cultural asset by the city of Otaru in 1991. In 1995, the "Monument for the Unity of Water and Mind" was erected in Otaru Katsunai Coastal Park.