Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (天真正伝香取神道流)[notes 1] is one of the oldest extant Japanese martial arts and an exemplar of bujutsu.

[3] On 6 March 1960, the school received the first ever "Intangible Cultural Asset" designation given to a martial art by the Japanese government, naming Hayashi Yazaemon, Ōtake Risuke, and Iizasa Yasusada as its guardians.

The designation of Cultural Asset status shifted to the Chiba Prefectural Government in 1985 and the art was recertified, again naming Ōtake Risuke and Iizasa Yasusada as guardians.

[9] The primary curriculum includes:[10] The Gogyo and Gokui kata are only taught to advanced practitioners after years of fundamental practice.

The honbu dojo is located at Iizasa Yasusada's home near the Katori shrine and is used by branches in good standing on special occasions.

The Kyōsō Shibu regularly trains out of the Shisui Town Community Plaza and the Matsuyamashita Koen Sports Gymnasium in Inzai City.

[12] Several branches have existed alongside or split from the mainline with varying ties to the Iizasa family, such as Noda, Yoseikan, Shinbukan, Sugino, Hatakeyama, Sugawara.

Finding his style incompatible with Hayashi's, Noda Seizan quietly withdrew to private teaching, referring to his branch as Noda-ha Katori Shintō-ryū.

He incorporates Katori Shintō-ryū as part of the curriculum of his Ichigidō organization and maintains a positive relationship with the Iizasa family.

Mochizuki Minoru, a judoka from the Kodokan who trained alongside Sugino Yoshio, has incorporated Katori Shintō-ryū into the curriculum of Yoseikan Budo.