The tale “Neko no Myojutsu” is from an old budo fable written by the samurai Niwa Jurozaemon Tadaaki (pen name Issai Chozanshi, 1659-1741) in 1727. To quote William Scott Wilson: “Little is known about the man.. but he was clearly acquainted with swordsmanship, philosophy, and art, and had made an extensive study of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto, and seems to have been familiar with the works of Musashi and the priest Takuan” (see references).
The story is a staple for those that study kendo/kenjutsu, or budo in general for that matter. I am sure most kenshi247.net readers would have read Yagyu Munenori’s “Heiho Kadensho” and Miyamoto Musashi’s “Go rin no sho,” but I’m not sure if many have studied this.
The narrative features a swordsman called Shōken who is beset by a pesky rat. After the neighborhood cats fail to chase the rat away, the swordsman himself tries his hand at getting rid of the rat. Failing miserably himself, he calls on the help of a cat “widely known for her mysterious virtue as the most able rat-catcher.” This cat catches the rat with ease, and that evening all the cats get together to discuss the days events and the art of fighting rats.
It is not for me to attempt to spell out what the the short narrative seeks to illustrate, nor what lessons lie therein, I simple present it here as is, leaving the reader to make their own mind up. Grab yourself a cup of coffee/tea and enjoy!
Read More Post a comment (1)In this series of articles, I am attempting to translate and contextualise the dōka of Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. All articles in this series can be found here. This article covers the tanka for the sixth technique, Iwanami.
Roppon-me: Iwanami
Boat Navigating Rocks in Izu Province, by Hokkei
Iwanami is the sixth technique in Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. As with the previous two waza, it differs slightly between Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū and Musō Shinden-ryū. Again, however, the basics of the technique remain largely similar. Once more, I will cover the technique as it appears in both Jikiden and Shinden.
Iwanami (岩波 or 岩浪) literally means ‘rock wave.’ It refers to a wave that swells and breaks against rocks, and is a fairly common image in Japanese poetry. These waves are often depicted as being powerful or fast-moving, and caused by a strong current in a river. In the Eishin-ryū tanka, the image of one of these waves striking a boat is used to express overwhelming speed and power.
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Yushinkan was the dojo of Nakayama Hakudo (1873-1958) in Tokyo. Nakayama had a varied and rich budo life, achieving hanshi in all three arts promoted by the modern ZNKR as well as being a shindo munen-ryu swordsman amongst other things. Its impossible to do a full bio of the man here, so I will leave that for another time, instead concentrating on the content of this article.
Nakayama was highly influential in the Butokukai and therefore the kendo community at large. He practised around the country and many of his students went on to become kendo leaders in their own right. Quite a few of the innovations he came up with at Yushinkan (and promoted by him and his students) are currently taken for granted in the kendo community now, including parts of the reiho we use, and even the method many of us tie our men-himo. This article deals only with one such thing: the origin of the use of white dogi (hakama in particular). I’ve heard a lot of explanations for its use, from the ordinary to the mystical, with people sometimes even arbitrarily defining rules for wearing white. This occurs even in Japan. However, the reason for its initial introduction is as mundane as it can be, despite what connotations people may or may not give it now.
Since Nakayama was hanshi in kendo, iaido, and jodo, and due to his influence in the Butokukai, its obvious that what is said below – although it is aimed at kendo practise – follows on naturally to iaido and jodo as well. The following is what he had to say on the matter.
Read More Post a comment (17)In this series of articles, I am attempting to translate and contextualise the dōka of Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. All articles in this series can be found here. This article covers the tanka for the fifth technique, Oroshi.
Gohon-me: Oroshi
'Blowing Snow' - by Shreyans Bhansali on Flickr
Oroshi, or Yamaoroshi, is the fifth technique in Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. Like Ukigumo, this technique varies somewhat in execution between Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū and Musō Shinden-ryū. However the essential point of the waza remains the same.
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SHOGO (称号) in Japanese translates simply as “title” or “rank,” and the word can be used in many areas, for example formal titles of nobility, military ranks, scholarly ranks, etc, and informally in the sporting world, between friends, etc.
The use of the word that I will look at here is of-course that to do with the budo world, and specifically the usage promoted by the Dai Nippon Butokukai (1895-1946), and that continues today in one of its spiritual heirs, the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei (All Japan kendo federation). Please note that the Butokukai information presented here relates to Kendo (variously called gekkiken and kenjutsu) but that eventually all arts under the Butokukai ended up using the system (kyudo, jukendo, et al).
Read More Post a comment (17)In this series of articles, I am attempting to translate and contextualise the dōka of Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. All articles in this series can be found here. This article covers the tanka for the fourth technique, Ukigumo.
Yonhon-me: Ukigumo
'浮き雲 / a floating cloud' by furbychan on Flickr.
Ukigumo is the fourth technique in Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. The execution varies somewhat between Musō Shinden-ryū and Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū, but the movement and feeling involved are much the same.
It is well-known that Hasegawa Eishin was an expert yawara (jūjutsu) practitioner. There is even a Hasegawa-ryū yawarajutsu that claims descent from him. The Hasegawa Eishin-ryū contains a good deal of grappling techniques, or techniques that may be effectively adapted for use in grappling, and Ukigumo is a prime example of this. Even without adapting the basic ’situation’ usually used to describe the waza, there are several clear grappling elements. The nukitsuke here may be treated not so much as cutting through but as applying the sword to the opponent. The sword is then used to take the opponent to the ground, where they are killed with a cut to a vulnerable area of the body.
Ukigumo means ‘floating cloud’ or ‘drifting cloud.’ It is an enduring image in Japanese poetry, notably appearing in a famous passage in the Tale of Genji. The Chinese word fúyún (浮雲), adopted into Japanese as fuun, has approximately the same meaning. The floating cloud is a metaphor for being restless and changeable. As with other imagery we have seen, it can also mean something ethereal or ephemeral that is liable to move or vanish.
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Practise may ingrain bad habits
From “Living with ambiguity” by Sydney J. Harris. Published by Nan’Un-Do
You probably know the chestnut about the stranger in New York, carrying a violin case, who stops an old lady on the street, and asks, “Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” With a glance at his violin case, she replies, “Practise, practise, practise!”
One of the oldest maxims in the world is that “Practise makes perfect.” This, however, is a dangerous half-truth that has betrayed many novices in many fields of accomplishimnent.
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It’s a not uncommon sight on sword-related forums these days. An aspiring student of the Japanese sword arts, left-handed, joins the forum and asks about studying ken (be it kendo, iaido, or aiki-ken) with a left-handed grip. He is quickly informed that no, Japanese swordsmanship is a right-handed affair, that all Japanese swordsman were right-handed, saya were worn on the right and saya-ate avoided at all costs, and trying to learn it left-handed would be weird at best, uncouth and disrespectful at worst. Veteran lefties give him “Ganbare! I’ve been there, too!” encouragement. Righties tell him about all the things he’ll find easier because he’s lefty. Sometimes the lefty responds with resignation, and sometimes he rages against the system. The left-handed grip is natural for them! This adherence to right-handed grip only is outmoded, discriminatory, and stupid! This, predictably, turns just about everyone against him, lefty and righty alike.
This is the third in a series of articles in which I am attempting to translate and contextualise the dōka of Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. All articles in this series can be found here. This article covers the tanka for the third technique, Inazuma.
Sanbon-me: Inazuma
Thunderbolts in the Rain over Hashidate, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
The name of the third technique in the set, Inazuma, means “lightning.” The waza consists of stepping back and cutting into the wrist(s) of an opponent as they commit to a strike from jōdan. Like Tora no Issoku, this is followed by a kneeling kirioroshi.
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As part of my summer Musha Shugyo this year I visited the spiritual and historical center of budo in Japan: Kashima and Katori shrines, located in Ibaragi and Chiba prefectures respectively.
Their proximity to each other is very close, about 15 mins by train. Although 400 years ago there were no trains nor cars and travel was done by foot or horse, I can easily imagine kenshi of yore walking between these shrines as part of their musha shugyo.
From the aptly titled article “A bit of Background” please refer to this quote from Meik Skoss to understand the relationship between these shrines and budo culture:
The areas most famous for the development of the classical martial traditions (koryu) are located, as the saying goes, in the Kanto region, “Heiho wa Togoku kara”: heiho comes from the East, referring to the Kanto area surrounding Tokyo (heiho means martial or military arts; strategy). The Kashima and Katori Shrines lie on opposite sides of the Tone River in Ibaraki and Chiba Prefectures.
There are enshrined two of the most important Shinto martial deities: Takemikazuchi no Mikoto (Kashima Jingu) and Futsunushi no Kami (Katori Jingu). They, along with the Buddhist goddess, Marishiten, serve as the patron and protective deices for many of the martial traditions. Historical records show very clearly that young warriors gathered, or were sent by their masters, for advanced training at these shrines, which became centers for the martial arts after the end of the Heian era. Eventually this led to the foundation of the oldest known formal traditions in the martial arts, the Kashima Shinto-ryu and the Katori Shinto-ryu.
As this quote states, these shrines did not only serve as centers for religious and psychological development of warriors, but were also places they could study the more physical aspects as well. Kashima in particular was noted for its training of swordsmen.
Read More Post a comment (2)This is the second in a series of articles in which I am attempting to translate and contextualise the dōka of Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. All articles in this series can be found here. This article covers the tanka for the second technique, Tora no Issoku. Note: this translation was revised on 11 March 2010.
Nihon-me: Tora no Issoku
Tiger Amongst Bamboo by Kano Sansetsu
The name of the second technique in the set, Tora no Issoku, means “tiger’s step” or “tiger’s foot” – either could be applicable, I feel. The waza contains an element present in all three schools (or teaching levels) that make up Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū. This element is sunegakoi, a sweeping block to protect the knee from a horizontal cut. The outer forms of Tora no Issoku and its more advanced counterpart, simply called Sunegakoi, are almost identical. Although “sunegakoi” literally means “enclosing the shin,” in standard Japanese, in Tosa dialect the word “sune” means “knee,” not shin. Senior sensei have told me that this is an important distinction to be aware of.
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Of the three great private dojo in Japan (日本の３大私塾道場) – Honma Dojo (Chiba), Shubukan (Hyogo), and Tobukan (Ibaragi) – two remain extant at the time of writing this article: Shubukan and Tobukan. Having been to Shubukan, I decided to take sometime out of my schedule and go to practise at the infamous Tobukan in Mito city, Ibaragi prefecture, and learn more about this influential dojo.
Tobukan was founded on the 1st of January 1874, just three years after the abolition of the domain system in Japan and creation of the modern prefectural system. Mito-han had been an extremely influential domain and was the home of many radical thinkers centered around the domain school Kodokan.
The founder of Tobukan was one Ozawa Torakichi, a Mito-han clansman who had been a kenjutsu instructor at Kodokan along with Chiba Shusaku (the founder of Hokushin-itto-ryu, and an extremely influential figure in kendo’s history). Before taking the post he studied Hokushin itto-ryu at Chiba’s dojo in Edo – Genbukan.
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Background
The Mito-han was a highly influential domain during the entire Edo-period. As a senior branch of the Tokugawa clan their prestige was immense. Mito-han became one of the leading intellectual centers in Japan, and its daimyo and scholars became more and more vocal in challenging the central authority of the shogunate, eventually being instrumental in its dissolution. During the turbulent years leading up to civil war and the Emperors restoration, the domain school that produced these young intellectuals was Kodokan.
The following introductory text is taken from the English leaflet called “Kodokan” (I have slightly reworded sections of it). I will add my own thoughts at the end.
Kodokan: the biggest domain school in Japan
Kodokan was built by Tokugawa Nariaki (1800-1860), the ninth daimyo of the Mito-han in 1841. In those days the Mito-han was facing the fear of the baku-han system crumbling (centralised Shogunate relationship with the provincial clans/domains) and threat from foreign colonial powers. Nariaki initiated a reform of the han administration. As a part of this, he aimed at to introduce higher education for his clansmen. Kodokan was built to achieve this.
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Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū and Musō Shinden-ryū are the two most widely-studied schools of iaido in the world. Both were derived from Hasegawa Eishin-ryū, which was founded by Hasegawa Chikaranosuke Eishin during the Edo period. Two generations later, the ryūha moved to Tosa, where it was transmitted until the modern era. Eishin, the seventh-generation shihan of Hayashizaki Jinsuke’s Shinmei Musō-ryū, was responsible for adapting that school’s battō techniques for the uchigatana, as well as creating a number of waza himself. The waza he created are today collected in both Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū and Musō Shinden-ryū at the Chūden level, in the set of techniques known as Tatehiza no Bu. This set may also be referred to simply as ‘Eishin-ryū’ or ‘Hasegawa Eishin-ryū.’
Tatehiza no Bu today consists of ten waza, all but one of which is performed from the half-kneeling tatehiza position. In this position one kneels with one leg as in seiza, whilst the other is placed with the foot alongside the knee of the first. This seated position is said to come from the correct posture for kneeling in armour.
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Often when an individual thinks of influential characters in kendo, more likely than not, that individual will think of Japanese kenshi like Mochida Moriji or Takano Sasaburo, or even present day heroes like Eiga or Miyazaki (rightfully so as these people have left a tremendous mark). However, few would think of an American named Dr Gordon Warner. Little information is readily available about Dr Warner and therefore his contributions go unnoticed for the most part. Dr Warner was a pioneer and is largely responsible for bridging the western world to Japanese kendo. In the following post I want to share what I discovered about Dr Warner and encourage those with personal knowledge to contribute below (and please correct any mistakes I may have made!).
As a young boy growing up in Southern California Dr Gordon Warner enjoyed watching chambara movies with his nisei friends, which at that time was very rare due to the absence of cultural understanding. Dr Warner often believed the people in the community thought he may have wandered into the theaters by mistake. It was this early exposure to Japanese culture that sparked his interest in Japanese history and eventually budo.
Dr Warner, a social studies major at the University of Southern California, was a large athletic man. Standing at 6′4″Dr Warner was on the varsity swim team. During this time he also decided to pursue judo and kendo at a local dojo. After graduating in June 1936, Dr Warner entered the United States Marine Corps as a 2nd lieutenant. It was during his time in basic training that Dr Warner met two officers Colonel Biddle (at the time a renowned fencer and foremost hand-to-hand combat instructor) and Captain Puller, who both encouraged him to continue studying budo, noting that kendoist were adept at parrying attacks during bayonet drills.
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On Thursday May 23, 2009 two Japanese carpenters arrived, right on time, to install a pair of shoji at Ken Zen Dojo. It was not quite 3 weeks since my first appearance in the Kyoto Taikai.
When we moved into our new dojo location, in 2000, it never occurred to me that I might participate in Kyoto Taikai. But after I passed 6-dan in the summer of 2007, I knew it might be possible. When I applied for, and received Renshi, in the summer of 2008, the goal was nearly in sight.
As number 6 on the East side, I was in the very first group of Iaidoka. Luckily for me, I was in the back row. Waiting on the bench with the other members of the first group, I could hear the gentleman sitting next to me, who looked about my age, breathing deeply, just as I was. The younger members of the group were either not breathing at all, or hiding it better than the two of us.
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“I am doing some research on Iroha ryu and I am wondering if anyone can recommend any good books or websites….” Anyone who has spent some time on the various forums and mailing lists involved in traditional Japanese martial arts has seen comments such as these. Such requests are not surprising given the fact that traditional Japanese martial arts come from an outside culture where we have often little to no point of reference on which to base our initial assumptions (let’s not get into the whole Hollywood movie argument now). The desire to learn more about the activity we are putting so much time and effort into is natural and of course I would encourage all practitioners to find out as much as they can, especially concerning the ryu in which they are actively involved. One thing we can never have too much of is knowledge after all.
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The Japanese budo are upheld by many that practise them to be an aspect of traditional Japanese culture. That many budo have taken their current shape quite recently is not important, as many of the arts can easily be followed back to far earlier roots and can easily be shown to be heavily influenced by more “traditional” ideologies (sometimes even neo-traditional). When we – as non Japanese people (especially if we are living and studying these arts outside Japan) – take to seriously study these arts there is always the question of “how much of Japanese tradition do we adopt?”
This is an extremely complex subject (and one that i’ve touched on before) but I would like to take a very easy and uncomplicated example and look it it with the above question in mind:
Wearing an obi for kendo practise
Seems simple enough – almost nobody uses them, right? The odd iaido person will start using an obi for kendo practise because it feels more stable, or because they have one keiko after the other. I don’t think i’ve ever met a kendo practitioner outside Japan who started using them on their own steam (though i’m pretty certain they must exist). I have, however, noted that many older people use them here in Japan, and I have received (always positive) comments about the fact that I use an obi for kendo.
Why would we want to wear an obi anyway? There are a few reasons that I could write down here: increased stability for your back; it helps to keep your hakama/keikogi on straight; improves your posture; helps you concentrate on your tanden/hara areas and improves your breathing; etc etc.
There are of course reasons that people don’t like wearing them as well: they get a bit hot and uncomfy; they rub against the bone when moving; they seem complex to tie; etc etc.
So, do you need an obi? Thats completely up to yourself (of-course) and nobody will/can force you to use one. However, assuming that my opening statement is largely true – about studying budo as a part of a larger culture (kendo’s “Japaneseness” is unequivocable) – then perhaps the questions is not “do you need an obi?” but rather “why aren’t you wearing one?”
p.s. note that although I wear an obi I haven’t gone all the way to wearing a fundoshi. Yet.
p.p.s. and where does this fit into things?
When I hear the word “musha shugyo” it conjures up images of warriors of old traipsing around the Japanese countryside in search of rivals to test their martial prowess. This is of-course the normal definition of the word and a mostly accurate one. The usual suspects used to illustrate this type of activity are Tsukahara Bokuden and Miyamoto Musashi.
In modern day Japanese it still holds that meaning above, but has also expanded to include any study activities (usually academic or in the arts) and with a locale of anywhere other than your immediate area (foreign countries included).
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Like many, my first step into the world of iai and traditional Japanese sword arts was through the Zen Ken seitei-gata and for several years my experiences there strongly colored how I viewed iai, koryu arts and budo in general. Now anyone who has spent any amount of time on online forums or interacting with senior practitioners in various iai and sword related arts, both in Japan and abroad, will know that the seitei-gata “system” (for lack of a better word) can be and is controversial in some circles. The usual arguments typically being along the lines of the kata, being assembled from bits and pieces of various traditional ryuha lack something in technical coherency and depth, or that the technical fundamentals taught by the seitei have a strong tendency to “pollute” whatever koryu the practitioner happens to also practice. In either case, the seitei “system” is seen as being not “traditional” and having some sort of negative influence on more traditional iai arts and people’s views of budo.
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I speak pretty decent Japanese. I am not fluent, but I would say confidently that I am bilingual. Reading (and writing) it, of-course, is another matter. I struggle in these departments, but hopefully after a few more years of living here I can really get my Japanese skills up to par.
I live here so I need to use Japanese in my daily business (work, kendo, buying beer, etc), but for those of you that live outside Japan and practise kendo, what’s your take on whether learning Japanese for budo (kendo et al): is it a good or a bad thing? Actually, lets go one step further: is it a necessity or or is not?
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