Back in the `70's the combative sword arts we  practiced was simply known as "Shinto Ryu Kenjutsu".  The name had been lost to history but was roughly analgous to the name "smith" in that it was a very common catch all name. Shimizu Sensei himself when asked about the art's name and origins could not provide much additional detail. 

Research in the '90's spearheaded by Mr. Kaminoda and authenticated by the Imperial Household's Historical Archives Division revealed that the original name very well might'be been "Kasumi Shinto Ryu" although most Jodo exponents today still refer to it as Shinto Ryu. The densho or scrolls handed down from generation to generation and recently found in family archives lists 12 kata that reasonably reflect the same 12 kata previously known as Shinto Ryu.

The study of the ken (sword) within Jodo was historically learned only after achieving some mastery with the stick. Appearing deceptively simply the ken as practiced with a bokuto (wooden sword for contact training) is quite challenging to learn and master. It is interesting to compare movements when looking at how the ken is used for both tanjo and jutte as well.