Living over 600km away from the epicenter I was far from danger. As you know, however, many many people were not so fortunate. I was able – via facebook mainly – to determine that all my kendo friends are ok (some are contributors to this site, and others are Eikenkai members). My thoughts are with those that were not so lucky… to those that lost family members, friends, colleagues, their livelihoods, and that went – and are still going through – this nightmare.

If you want to find out more information or to donate, please check out the Google critical response page: http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

If you are looking for someone, please use Google person finder (in Japanese): http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/

- George
Osaka

Please check out regular kenshi247.net contributor Richards great pics from this years Kyoto taikai. Kendo, iaido, jodo, koryu… something for everyone!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oroshi/collections/72157624000341357/

Yamato Kendojo

The second leg of my travels brought me to Montevideo. Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay. Uruguay is wedged between the two biggest countries of South America: Argentina and Brazil. It has a population of about 3 million. Their claim to fame is that they won the first football world championship in 1930 and a second time twenty years later. Which is quite a feat by a country which isn’t so densely populated. The first time they won the world cup they also invented the honorary round in the stadium to show of the world cup.

The main trade commodity of Uruguay is beef. It’s being exported all over the world. In Argentine restaurants in Europe it’s being served as Argentine but apparently only Uruguayan beef meets the strict quality demands of the European Union. If you’re a vegetarian you’ll be having a hard time although nowadays there is fish on the menu’s of the restaurants. Word of warning: the meals consisting of said beef are copious to put it mildly. I never have seen so much beef piled on a plate which was regarded as an after keiko snack…

After keiko snack

Yamato dojo is where I practiced during my stay in Montevideo. It’s a shared dojo with an Aikido club. So after the marble floor in Brasilia it was the other end of the spectrum in Uruguay. The dojo floor consists of mats and a (for want of a better word) sail covering it. Perfect for Aikido or Iaido kata on your knees. It’s a bit difficult for Kendo if you’re not used to it. It brought me back to the stone age time when I started Kendo also in a dojo where we had tatami mats like this. After a while you don’t know better and you get used to it. When practicing again at a regular floor it seems that you’re faster because you have been kicking yourself away with more strength than you’re used to.

The members of the Yamato dojo returned from vacation or other leisure activities just for a hastily scheduled keiko on Sunday morning with a guest from the Netherlands. I felt quite honored and burdened to spoil their Carnaval (Mardi Gras?) weekend.  Keiko was regular but differed that they start with kata every lesson. Even the very beginners are taught all the kata from one to ten. It’s an interesting concept and maybe they’re onto something.

When I was there I didn’t have a chance to meet the instructor in chief Kubo Sensei. Kubo Sensei is a retired school teacher and is living in Montevideo as part of a program to spread Japanese culture throughout the world. He stays in a foreign country for two years and then moves on to another place in the world. He was in Turkey before he went to Uruguay. I can’t imagine a better vehicle to promote Japanese culture than Kendo.

On Monday was a regular practice day and they gave me the honor to lead the class. I just did what we always do back home but I only did kata one to three to explain the theme’s of the kata’s as it has been explained to me. I ended with a vigorous uchi komi geiko for the beginners and ai kakari geiko for the advanced. After keiko this time the food and drink was not so heavy as the last time and even more fun. This due to the  fact that a woman ending her night painting the town red insisted that the “New Zealand”  master should show his “Aikido” moves privately to her. Since I’m not a master nor from New Zealand and have no clue about Aikido I respectfully declined. Luckily another member of the dojo who has practiced Aikido took it upon himself to guide the unsteadily walking lady from the pizzeria to the dojo to show her a thing or two about Aikido. I suppose it was a dirty job but someone had to do it. Thanks pal you saved my life, I’m forever in your debt…..

Kendo in Uruguay is not well known to be honest. In Europe it’s  on the fringe of the Martial Arts scene as well with Judo and Karate and such as the majority.  But then again most countries in Europe have more inhabitants than 3 million. Never the less the Asociacon de Kendo del Uruguay (AKU) boasts a membership of about 50. Which is relatively a lot. Last year they managed to organize a tai kai which was attended by lots of kenshi from the neighboring countries. They are planning to make it a yearly event. If they have enough members (I think it should be 100)  they can join the FIK which would allow them to participate at the World Championships and other events.

The Uruguayan kenshi are very dedicated and make the best of the situation which isn’t optimal. They have the good fortune with Kubo Sensei to guide them but when he leaves they’re on their own.

For anyone who is able to show Aikido moves to pretty Uruguayana’s and enjoys the easy Latin American life do visit Uruguay. The scenery and nature are vast and spacious and in fact reminded me of New Zealand(!). If you get tired from the easy life hop on the ferry to Buenos Aires to get back into the urban jungle life that you’re used to. Don’t forget to visit the Yamato Dojo for keiko and otherwise having a great time.

My sincere thanks to: Gonzalo Tihista, Leon Barboza, Daniel Velazquez and all the others who made my stay one to remember for a long time.

Muchas gracias y espero que nos encontremos otra vez pronto.

My profile states that I like to meet, greet and cross shinai with Kenshi all around the world. It’s about time that I share some of these experiences.

Lately I have been doing a lot of traveling for work. The common and accepted thing to do in your off duty time is to exploit the night life and other attractions of the cities where one stays. Since I’m not so much of an explorer but rather boring,  I always try to find a dojo where I can join for keiko. There was here an article where  the contributor wrote about feeling at home in a strange land. I would like to add that visiting another dojo for me is like coming home away from home.  I always meet people who share the same passion for Kendo which makes it very easy to make friendships and contact.

My business travels this year brought me to Latin America. My first stop was in Brasilia the capital of Brazil. Brasilia is located more or less in the heart of Brazil. It’s  a city that’s been developed and build from scratch in the middle of nowhere. Urban planning has started in 1956 and the city was inaugurated in 1960. It was not really finished by that time. The city plan resembles an airplane. In the cockpit are the various Ministries  and at the front end of the cockpit is the residential palace of the President. In the rest of the body are other Governmental buildings. In both the wings are all the buildings grouped together by their functions. All the hotels in one neighborhood and all the sporting clubs and such together.

When it was built in the fifties there were only construction workers and architects living there. They were working on the then state of the art buildings. There were also some indigenous people living there but when they were approached they fled into the jungle. The city landscape reminded me off the buildings from the 60’s TV series “the Thunderbirds”.

After some e-mail contact before I left for my trip with the sempai of the dojo I was settled for  practice on Wednesday evening.  The dojo is called “Miyako” as in Capital. The head instructor is Masuda Sensei. He has represented Brazil in the 5th  Kendo World Championships  in 1982.  (The young and eager Masuda san is here in the 12th photo)

Masuda Sensei

The dojo is conveniently located on  the shore of the (artificial) lake on the grounds of the Japanese Brazilian Club. When you practice you can get a nice view of the lake. Keiko was tropically hot and I was glad that I soaked my tenegui with water before practice. I think I would have died if I didn’t. (I left the Netherlands under arctic conditions).

Practice was tough and very Japanese but that was to be expected because there were many students of Japanese descent. At the end the Sensei asked me if I had any words for the students. I could only say that they were very tough under tough conditions and that it isn’t any wonder that Brazil has reached the 3^rd place at the last WKC. He also told the class that if someone from Holland could find the time to come to practice that some of them should also take the effort to come regularly to practice. Apparently a few of them had an irregular attendance rate and showed up just to clobber me over the head. Never thought that I would be a role model in any way.

Afterwards we went for drinks at the bar of the club where we exchanged stories . The latest WKC in Sao Paolo of course was the main object of many discussions.  I was only able to practice one evening and I hoped to practice one more time on Saturday morning. My flight to Montevideo left too early for this to be possible. It’s a pity because it would be nice to practice during the day with a clear view over the lake.

Second dojo

I would like to advise anyone who’s in the neighborhood to drop by and visit Miyako Kendo Kai. An experience with tough tropical Brazilian/Japanese  practice awaits you.

My sincere thanks to Carlos da Cruz Cunha and Masuda Sensei for making me feel at home and welcome. Muito Obrigado.

Ps. The dojo floor is marble so your fumi komi should be done with the full sole of your foot. (As it should be)

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).

Although this article is meant to be focusing on the shogo titles, I could not ignore the DANI (段位) system during my investigation. The dani system used by the Butokukai was obviously heavily influenced by the system used in Judo that was instigated by Kano and used at Kodokan. Amongst other things, Kano was the principal of Tokyo Higher Normal school between 1893 – 1920 and Takano Sasaburo began working there as a kendo teacher in 1908. Of-course Kano was influential in many circles (including governmental ones) but I don’t think its illogical to suppose that he had a large and a direct influence on Takano’s thought in this matter. Takano, of-course, went on to become a kendo leader in Japan, and a senior member of the Butokukai.

Also worthy of mention (and some details are included in the list below) is that Keishicho (the Tokyo Metropolitan police department) established their own dani system which ran separately from the Butokukai one. There was obviously some strong collaboration between Keishicho and the Butokukai (in fact, the government issued a writ expressly forbidding keishicho from meddling too much in Butokukai affairs).

Anyway, here is a breakdown of the most important events that went into the system that we have today. Items of particular interest are highlighted in bold.

At the end of the breakdown I have taken two or three key areas and expanded them a little bit more.

Significant events in the creation/history of the shogo (and dani) system rendered chronologically

Seirensho (精練証)

Of particular interest is the SEIRENSHO award. This was awarded for the first time at the 1st Kyoto Taikai in October 1895 to 15 highly experienced kenshi out of the 386 participants (the picture at the top of the article shows 12 of them). This award is the forerunner to the RENSHI title and would be continued to be used until 1934, when the former replaced it.

Since these were the first ever shogo awarded by the Butokukai (It would be a further 8 years until the titles of kyoshi and hanshi were created), its hard to guess exactly the worth of the title. My personal feeling is that it was an exceptional honour awarded to individuals with great prowess and who commanded respect within the Butokukai community.

The first people to receive the award were (name, style):

Ishiyama (Itto-ryu), Hagiwara (Jikishinkage-ryu), Hara (Tenji-ryu), Tokuno Sekishiro (Jikishinkage-ryu), Okamura Sakonta (Jikishinkage-ryu, shin nitto-ryu), Kagawa (Muto-ryu. The tallest guy in the back row in the picture above), Yoshida (Seitoku taishi-ryu), Negishi Shigoro (Shinto mumen-ryu, Nakayama Hakudo’s teacher. hanshi 1906), Umezaki (Shinkage-ryu), Matsuzaki Namishiro (Shinkage-ryu. Long white beard in the picture above), Takayama Minesaburo (Jikishinkage-ryu), Mamiya (Ono-ha itto-ryu. The picture above is his Seirensho), Kominami (Muto-ryu), Abe (Jikishinkage-ryu), Mitsuhashi (Musashi-ryu).

So you can get an idea about how many were issued in the early years, here is a quick breakdown of the numbers awarded over the first 6 years (still prior to the issuance of kyoshi, hanshi):

Year (number of Butokusai participants / number of seirensho awarded) :

1895 (386/15); 1896 (472/15); 1897 (482/6 including Naito Takaharu); 1899 (766/8); 1900 (493/7); 1901 (825/8).

Kyoshi, hanshi (教士・範士)

In 1903 four Kyoshi and seven Hanshi titles were awarded for the first time. The first ever hanshi were:

[name (style, prefecture, age)]

- Ishikawa (Itto-ryu, Kochi, 74)
- Takao (Tecchu-ryu, Nagasaki, 73)
- Shibue (Shinto munen-ryu, Nagasaki, 68)
- Sakabe (Kyoshin mechi-ryu, Aiichi, 66)
- Watanabe (Shinto munen-ryu, Tokyo, 66)
- Mitsuhashi (Musashi-ryu, Tokyo, 62)
- Tokuno (Jikishinkage-ryu, Tokyo, 61)

Hanshi became the top title you could get in the Butokukai and an age limit of 60 was set (that rule was broken in 1913 when kenshi including Naito Takaharu and Takano Sasaburo got it at an earlier age). Nowadays hanshi is still the highest title that can be achieved in kendo, with the very earliest you can get it being 54 years old.

Rokudan and above (六段〜十段)

Starting from 1937 the grades rokudan and above began to be used. There were 5 kyudans, 5 hachidans, and 20 nanadans appointed at this time. However it was still common to use the shogo-title above godan, and not the dan. The first ever kyudans were:

- Ogawa Kinnosuke
- Naito Takaharu
- Saimura Goro
- Shimatani Yasuhachi
- Mochida Moriji

In 1957 it was decided to award grades as far as judan, and the following people received the honour:

- Ogawa Kinnosuke
- Mochida Moriji
- Saimura Goro
- Nakano Sosuke

In 1962 a further – and last – judan was appointed: Oasa Yuji (pictured).

Although there are a number of kyudan sensei alive and practising in Japan today, the last living judan – Mochida Moriji – passed away in 1974. Nowadays, the highest obtainable level is hanshi hachidan.

This article started as a brief introduction into the development of the shogo system but kind of expanded into looking at how the dani system in kendo evolved as well. I pondered about talking more about the meaning behind the shogo system as I think its very misunderstood, but I have decided to leave that for another day. What I will say is that I do believe the shogo titles have an important role to play in the culture of kendo.

Nowadays in Japan you have to sit exams – both physical and on paper – to get renshi and kyoshi. Hanshi, however, is awarded by the ZNKR on recommendation by your local associations president and – I believe – this top award is not given automatically nor lightly. In that way, the difference between a kyoshi hachidan, and a hanshi hachidan is huge.

Note

Please remember I am not a professional translator, nor have studied Japanese at university nor in an institution. Any errors in fact, misunderstandings in the reading of the text, errors in translations, etc, are all my own. I can but apologise in advance.

Sources
全日本剣道演武大会のあゆみ：明治期にみる武徳際大演武会（通算100回大会記念出版）。全日本剣道連盟。2004年。
剣道を知る事典。日本武道学会剣道専門分科会。平成21年。
日本の武道（日本武道協会設立30周年記念）。日本武道館。平成19年。

It’s kind of odd at times how all of us are connected. We all remember our first time walking into a dojo. The odd sights, the sounds, the feeling. Many of us probably didn’t know exactly how to react to it at first.

Starting kendo in the states was a culture shock several hours a week at a time for me. At first it was fascinating, then later frustrating Then I believe it became the glove which I preferred to wear. My sempai told me once when he was teaching kendo in the states, ‘’I have to teach Japanese common sense. It is the most difficult thing’’. I didn’t really know what he meant by that till I started my own club.

People without any sort of Japanese cultural influence can be in for a surprise when they first get into a dojo. As an instructor at that point, I had to try to teach that Japanese common sense and then explain it at times. Why is there no talking during class? Why must you run everywhere? Why does the equipment need to be in a line when we line up? Why must I hear a reply when I speak? What is with the pseudo-military attitude?

For me, stepping into a dojo in the states was like stepping into a small piece of Japan.

Later in my life when I moved to Japan, I realized that stepping into a dojo was like stepping into a small piece of America.

I like many others moved to Japan to practice budo. Many times people will tell you this is a great thing, or I wish I did that when I was young, or you’ll have the time of your life. All these are both true and false. Coming here is full of sacrifices. The biggest one most people feel is the estrangement. A stranger in a strange land. No foreigners that come will ever be Japanese, and for me, I never want to be (Go Team U.S.A).

However, with all the misapprehensions that Japan and its people have about foreigners, there is one place where where you are from, what you look like, even what language you speak is of no consequence.

The only time I, and I’m sure a few others, ever feel like home in this country is when we are at practice.

Tsukahara Bokuden (1489/90-1571) is a renowned and well-known kenshi inside and outside of Japan, and is up there with the likes of Matsumoto bizen-no-kami, Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami, and Iisaza Chiosai in relation to his impact on systemising Japanese swordsmanship into the ryu-ha format.

He was born around 1489-1490 as the 2nd son of Urabe Akikata, one of the four retainers of Kashima shrine. As a young boy and teenager, Bokuden was taught the swordsmanship arts passed down within the shrine itself (Kashima Chuko-ryu) by his father, and later learned Tenshin Katori Shinto-ryu from his foster father (who was said to have studied under Iizasa Chiosai himself). It is also said that he learned Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami’s Shinkage-ryu as well, but whether that was from his foster father, or directly by himself is unknown. What is known, however, is that he fought his first duel with a live blade, and went on to fight many more during the duration of his three musha shugyo’s (around the ages of 20, 40, and 60). In total it was said that Bokuden took part in 39 battles and 19 duels with a live blade, never once being injured.

Bokuden lived a long life, and was a successful career swordsman, becoming a retainer of the then Ashikaga Shogunate. Although it is said he never gave a name to his own style (his students would go on to name it Kashima Shinto-ryu) he did pass on his full teachings to three students.

As part of my musha-shugyo this summer I made the trip to visit Bokudens grave. Based on the information I found on the internet, it was in Kashima city. After visiting Kashima shrine I looked at my map and decided – because it looked straight forward – decided to walk there.

Mistake.

It IS in the Kashima “city” precinct, but definitely not within the town itself. Its in a small village about 45mins-1 hours walk from the train station. After plodding through the Japanese summer heat, and without the aid of a single sign until you get within 5 mins of the area, I made it (I was determined not to give up!).

I am glad I battled my way to the site as there was not a single person to be seen and I could sit down and contemplate the mans life and journey (and my own) for a short while in silence.

Its a very inconvenient place to get to, but I do recommend that you give it ago, especially if you are in town to see Kashima shrine.

Getting there

Access: walk if you are stupid, get a taxi if you can afford it, or plan your trip in advance around the 3 or so buses a day that go to the area.
Open: All the time?
Cost: free.
English leaflet: no.

Its interesting to note that Kashima city is doing its best to promote Bokuden as a subject for NHK’s year long Taiga-drama series (when Musashi was the theme it had an impact on Musashi-related areas all over the country). If this happens, I assume the travelling situation to-and-from his grave will change!!

(p.s. I signed the petition to be sent to NHK!)

The Musashi-kai are a group of experienced kenshi based in Japan that seek to promote the systematic training of nito in modern kendo. Up until their creation nito practitioners often had to invent their own methods of fighting using two shinai, often resulting in haphazard, random, or just plain bad technique. They have changed this.

This is the 3rd year that Musashi-kai have taken a delegation abroad (all 3 times to the US) and attendance is guaranteed to be invaluable to people seeking to further their study of nito kendo.

All the information here is subject to change, so please be sure to bookmark the official event page on facebook to ensure up to date and accurate information.

Dates: from Thursday 29th April 2010 until Wednesday 5th May 2010
Location: Boise, Idaho, USA
Host: Idaho kendo club(facebook)

For information about last years seminar please check out: the article on kenshi247.net, the videos on youtube, and the great pictures by Adrian Jones

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.

The most noteworthy and influential swordsmen to come out of that area during the 16th century included Matsumoto Bizenokami Naokatsu, Kamiizumi Isenokami Nobutsuna, Tsukuhara Bokuden, and Iizasa Choisai Ienao. Starting with Iizasa, these men would go on to systemise the basis of almost all modern extant sword-based koryu

Iizasa was the first (historically verifiable) person to create a structured combat system (physically and psychologically). There were older systems at that time but there form is unknown.

Let’s have a brief look at each shrine individually.

Kashima Jingu

Kashima Jingu’s deity is Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto (武甕槌大神). He appears in both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, the two oldest books detailing early Japanese history and mythology. A short description:

A kami produced from the blood adhering to the sword when Izanagi killed the fire kami Kagutsuchi. Together with Amanotorifune (Kojiki) or Futsunushi no kami (Nihongi), Takemikazuchi descended to the land of Izumo and entreated Ōkuninushi to transfer the land (kuniyuzuri) to the heavenly kami.

Kojiki adds that he engaged in a test of strength with Takeminakata, the child of Ōkuninushi, who had opposed the heavenly forces. Subduing Takeminaka, he drove him away to Suwa in the province of Shinano (present-day Nagano). On the occasion of Emperor Jinmu’s eastern campaign, Takemikazuchi deferred from descending to aid Jinmu, but in his place sent his sword Futsunomitama, in this way aiding Jinmu’s forces in their successful pacification of the land. Takemikazuchi is worshiped at Kashima, Kasuga and other shrines.
-Kadoya Atsushi. From the Encyclopedia of Shinto.

Personal Impression

I had long wanted to visit Kashima shrine and it was a joy to do so on a hot August morning. It’s very close to the station and its impossible to get lost. En-route there is a big statue of Tsukuhara Bokuden, reminding us of the kenshi that went before us.

The shrine itself is relatively spacious, though small compared to places in Nara or Wakayama. The deer here are don’t run free as they do in places like Miyajima so you can safely sit and eat a bento or a sandwich without being harassed!

Wandering through the area I noticed that this years Iaido hachidan competition results were posted and that reminded me that there is a dojo on-site. However, there was no practise going on when I was there. Next time I come, I think I will try to combine it with some keiko.

I spend a peaceful hour or two here, just wandering about, listening to the cicadas, and drinking water, I bought myself a budo omamori and headed on towards Katori Shrine (I did both of these shrines on the same day).

Getting there

Address: Kyuchu 2306-1, Kashima-shi, Ibaraki-ken 314-0031
Phone: 0299-82-1209
Train: Kashima Jingu station (from here walk 10mins to the shrine)
Homepage: http://www.bokuden.or.jp/~kashimaj/
Cost: free

Katori Jingu’s deity is Futsunushi-no-okami (経津主大神). He appears in the Nihon Shoki, but not in the Kojiki. A short description:

A tutelary kami of swords, interpreted by some as the divine personification of the sacred sword Futsu no mitama, and revered as one of the ancestral kami (sojin) of the Fujiwara clan. Futsunushi’s activities frequently overlap with those of the kami Takemikazuchi, such as when the latter joins the former in descending from heaven to pacify the Central Land of Reed Plains (Ashihara no Nakatsukuni). But accounts found in Izumo no kuni fudoki and Izumo no kuni no miyatsuko kan’yogoto portray Futsunushi descending alone. As a result, it is believed that Futsunushi was a martial tutelary of the warrior clan Mononobe, but with the rise of the Nakatomi clan, his divine attributes were gradually appropriated by Takemikazuchi. Futsunushi is the central kami (saijin) at Katori Jingū and other shrines.
-Kadoya Atsushi. From the Encyclopedia of Shinto.

Personal Impression

Katori shrine is accessible from Kashima shrine (and vice-versa) via a small local train line. There is only 1 train per hour so if you intend to do both shrines on the same day, be sure and time things correctly.

Arriving at Sawara station I realised that the area was pretty much completely countryside. With very little signs (there are a few in Japanese though) I somehow managed to find the shrine after a 20 minute walk. The place was almost empty and that left me free reign to wander about, take pictures, and pay my respects at the shrine.

Its much smaller that Kashima shrine but my feeling is its a much more defined shrine area. Buildings are grouped a little less haphazard and are beautifully kept.

There was no information available in English anywhere, so if you want to visit the small dojo in the area or Iizasa Choisai’s grave, you might have to ask someone.

Trudging slowly back in the scorching afternoon August heat I arrived at the station 3 minutes after my train left… leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere for 57mins until the next train arrived!

Getting there

Train: Sawara station (from here walk 20mins to the shrine, or get a taxi)
Homepage: http://www.katori-jingu.or.jp/
Cost: free

This is just a small introductory article to introduce both shrines to those that either haven’t heard about them, or know little about them. If this spurs on your own personal research into these shrines or a pilgrimage of your own, then I will be very happy.

While I was in Kyoto for work at the end of July, I ended up swinging by a historical site that is associated with Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijoji.

Four years after Sekigahara the young Musashi came to the capital. Here he is said to have challenged the Yoshioka school to a duel. Musashi defeated the head of the school, then his successor. The Yoshioka – being one of the most famous schools in the city – could not stand the shame of defeat and asked for a rematch. This time his opponent would be the new head of the school – and the 3rd of three brothers (Musashi having defeated his two elder brothers). Leaving nothing to chance, the supporters of the school selected an isolated area on the outskirts of the town and prepared an ambush. The ambush of-course did not go as the Yoshioka group expected and Musashi not only survived unhurt, but defeated the last of the Yoshioka brothers as well. The shame of this defeat damaged the schools reputation so much that the school was effectively destroyed.

The place that this last ambush took place was – of course – Ichijoji.

As with almost everything associated with the life and times of Musashi, its often difficult to separate fact from fiction. At any rate, its a good romantic swordsmanship story!!

Nowadays Ichijoji temple doesn’t exist. There is a small area, however, dedicated to the dual and a pine tree grows under which it is said that the last battle fought. Of-course its not the exact same tree (its the 4th!), but a branch of the original tree is stored in Hachidai jinja, a short walk to the east.

Although the area is small and a little bit hard to get to, its a nice relaxing trip out of the always-tourist-swamped temples of Kyoto.

Getting there

Address: Kyoto Saikyoku Ichijojisagarimachi-cho
Bus: Its a 3 minute walk by City Bus from “Ichijojisagarimachi-cho.”
Train: Take the small Eizan train from Demachiyanagi station (its connected with the Keihan line) and get off at “Ichijoji” station. From there its about 6 minutes walk east.
Cost: free