[1][2] While young compared to other koryu jujutsu, Fusen-ryū is well known in martial arts circles due to one of its masters, Mataemon Tanabe, and its rivalry with the Kodokan school.
After receiving his menkyo kaiden, he travelled around many parts of Japan in a form of musha shugyo, learning in the schools of Yoshin-ryū, Takenouchi-ryū, Sekiguchi-ryū, Kito-ryū and Shibukawa-ryū, as well as the armed styles of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, Hōzōin-ryū, Otsubo-ryū and Yamada-ryū.
At the time, most jujutsu schools in Tokyo were losing place to the growing Kodokan, and the victory was shocking not only for coming from one of them, but also for how easily it happened thanks to Tanabe's personal advantage at newaza.
[6] He taught his art at the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai and at Yataro Handa's Daito-ryū dojo, which went to specialize in newaza,[7] and also shared his knowledge with judokas Yuji Hirooka and Soji Kimotsuki.
[6] Despite this, the Fusen-ryū school itself never grew to significant levels (although its lineage survives in Bob, Clarke's WJJF Jiu Jitsu syllabus), with Tanabe remaining as its only renowned exponent.