The history of the Jo staff traces back to Muso Gonnosuke Katsukichi in the 17th century, who, after being defeated by Miyamoto Musashi while using a long staff, had a vision that led him to create the Shindo Muso ryu jojutsu school with a shorter staff. The teaching of this art primarily remained within the Kuroda clan for much of its history. Shimizu Takaji played a crucial role in popularizing the Jo staff, introducing it to the Kodokan Judo dojo and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in the late 1920s and 1930s, and later refining its teaching with 12 kihon waza and 12 seitei kata in 1968, approved by the ZNKR in 1969.