Shintō Musō-ryū, jōdō, (formerly Shintōo Musō-ryū jōjutsu), is reputed to have been invented by the great swordsman Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (夢想權之助 勝吉, fl. c.1605, date of death unknown) about 400 years ago, after a bout won by the legendary Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武立, 1584–1645). According to this tradition, Gonnosuke challenged Musashi using a bō , or long staff, a weapon he was said to wield with great skill. Although there are no records of the duel outside of the oral tradition of the Shintō Musō-ryū, it is believed that Musashi caught Gonnosuke's bō in a two sword "X" block (jūji-dome). Once in this position, Gonnosuke could not prevent Musashi from delivering a counterattack, and Musashi elected to spare his life.

Gonnosuke then withdrew to a Shinto shrine to meditate. After a period of purification, meditation, and training, Gonnosuke claimed to have received a divine vision. By shortening the length of the bō staff from roughly 185 cm to 128 cm (or, in the Japanese measurements, four shaku, two sun and one bu), he could increase the versatility of the weapon, giving him the ability to use techniques created for the long staff, spear fighting and swordsmanship. The length of the new weapon was longer than the tachi (long sword) of the period, but short enough to allow the reversal of the striking end of the jō in much tighter quarters than the longer bō. Gonnosuke could alter the techniques he used with the jō stick, depending on the opponent he faced, to provide himself with many different options of attack. He named his style Shintō Musō-ryū and challenged Musashi again. This time, when Musashi attempted to use the jūji-dome block on the jō staff, Gonnosuke was able to wheel around the other end of the staff (because of the reduced length), forcing Musashi into a position where he had to concede defeat. Returning the courtesy he received during their previous duel, Gonnosuke spared Musashi's life.

This may be a fabricated origin of the creation of jōjutsu, as the oral tradition of the Shintō Musō-ryū is the only mention of this duel, or for that matter, a person defeating Musashi in combat. Witness accounts of Musashi's life, as well as his own writings, insist he retired from duelling undefeated. What is known, however, is that Gonnosuke eventually became the martial arts instructor for the Kuroda clan of northern Kyushu, where jōjutsu remained an exclusive art of the clan until the early 1900s, when the art form was taught to the general public.

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