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ISSUE 3 – NOVEMBER 2013
A PUBLICATION FOR ALL THINGS RELATED TO IAIDO, IAIJUTSU AND KENJUTSU
www.at-the-cutting-edge.com
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A PUBLICATION FOR ALL THINGS RELATED TO IAIDO, IAIJUTSU AND KENJUTSU ISSUE THREE – NOVEMBER 2013
Editor:Stephen Nixey
Editor & Creative Director:Fraser Biscomb
This issue contributors:Raul Acevedo, Prof. Dr. Thomas Christaller, Steve Coniaris, Rob Dillon, Adrian Jones, Nigel Kettle, Paul Araki-Metcalfe, Justin McKay, David Passmore, Clive Sinclaire, Gary Williamson.
Email: [email protected]
Design and production: FARM – [email protected]
Cover photo:Public domain
Advertising: Contact us at our email address and request a rate card, or go to our website and download information directly from there.
DeadlinesCopy and imagery:Please submit copy and imagery at anytime by email. We CAN NOT accept copy by post. Imagery should ideally be sent as 300dpi jpegs or psd files and labelled appropriately. Image files larger than 10mbs should be sent as compressed files via www.yousendit.com or similar to: [email protected]
Advertising:Please submit advertising as per the specifications outlined on the rate card by the end of the second week of every “even” month. The Cutting Edge is published bi-monthly on “odd” number months, therefore submission must be by the 30th day of even number months, i.e., February, April, June, August, October and December.
CopyrightThe magazine follows international copyright and Fair Use law. Images taken by Cutting Edge photographers remains the magazine’s property and are stored electronically in our photolibrary. Re-usage of this imagery without permission is forbidden. Imagery taken from the public domain is not credited, as the original owner can not always be verified. Imagery supplied by external sources must either be labelled with source details or have permission (accreditation) given for re-use. In these circumstances, Cutting Edge cannot be held responsible for copyright breaches, and if required, the source will be named if requested by the authorities.The copyright of all written text remains the property of the author. Reproduction in any way or by any means requires the authors permission.
Diary datesNews, events and updates. 5
Profile
8 Akira Kurosawa Trading guns for swords.
In depth
26 Kuroda-Han Alive and kicking.
30 Yagyu Shinkage Ryu A brief history.
16 Shinsengumi Famed Police of Kyoto.
The mind behind
34 Zendo An introduction to Zen and it’s association with budo.
The sword
50 Japanese polearms Yari and naginata
Insight
46 Ki Esoteric or Scientific?
Articles
36 Talent in the sword Is it a learning process?
14 Chonmage Not by Vidal Sassoon!
42 The Philosopher Swordsman Bringing a shinai to a battle of wits.
58 My own dojo How I did it by Raul Acevedo
Hijikata Toshizō
Bori Sensei from Kuroda-han Shinkage-Ryu
FUROSHIKI AND TENUGUI
All furoshki and tenugui are direct from Japan. Contact us for details and
the current price list and availability
We still need your help. We want to make this the go-to publication for all your questions and curiosities. So therefore, we would like info on your teacher(s), their teacher(s), dojo stories and experiences, your thoughts on the arts, philosophy, concepts, the whys and wherefores, trivial or not so trivial; your feedback and questions, so they can be addressed in one place for the good of our community.
For this publication to work, it needs to be current for the student of the arts, from the students of the arts. So, if you have something to say, please say it via email to:
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Welcome to the third issue of Cutting Edge. Winter is upon us, except those of you who live in the Southern hemisphere. The magazine is gradually finding it’s feet,
and whilst the last issue was a paid-for-issue, I am hoping that this will change in time. The cost was in order to improve the quality of the reading experience, and whilst cost was a neccessity, it is something that will be addressed as issues roll-out. We are currently looking at new publishing methods and cheaper alternatives, but still delivering an appealing magazine. This issue is in effect our Christmas issue, though you won’t see any Santa’s among its pages – or holly, but it doesn’t mean we are scrooges! It just means Santa and his helpers don’t have a place. I digress. Amongst the pages of this issue are a number of excellent articles: Continuing our look at the Samurai on the big screen; historical articles from lineage to policing; esoteric or scientific – an article by Prof. Dr. Thomas Christaller is indeed thought provoking, as is the article on “Talent in the sword”; The Philosopher Swordsman should inspire thought?
Lastly, as the magazine continues, the need for articles continues. As the New Year approaches, there should be plenty to write about, so please submit your views. Season Greetings to everyone, wether it be hot of cold, and see you in Issue four.
www.at-the-cutting-edge.com
© Copyright Cutting Edge 2013
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TOKUSHIKAI IAIDO EMBU
Next issue . . .When in Japan...
56 ...visit Chuson-Ji at Festival time?
Injury issuesShoulder injuries. 60
WorldwideOrganisations around the world – make sure your organisation is listed. 62
Sugino SenseiTenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu
Toyama Ryu – Pt. 2A continuation from Issue 2
YoroiArmour revealed
Saigo TakamoriThe real last samurai
and more . . .Chuson-Ji
The Chonmage The Mind Behind
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Effective treatment available for all types of musculo-skeletal problems including:
Back and neck painSports injuriesHeadachesSciatica and nerve painFrozen shoulderMuscle or joint pain
Arthritic painTennis/golfers elbowWhiplashPostural problemsWork strain and tension
www.jointandback.com
Nigel Kettle BSc(Hons)OstGOsC Registered Osteopath
+44 (0)7939 129626For an appointment, call now on
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This issue’s Gallery images are supplied by Adrian Jones who took part and photographed the Tokushikai Iaido embu in Tokyo earlier this month, and was present at the Hachiman-Gu, Kamakura, Yabusame display.
Right: Hatanaka Sensei, 8th dan
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FOR YOUR DIARY
If you have an event coming up and it is not here, or if it is and there are mistakes, changes or updates, please let us now.
Events, seminars, taikai or gradings
European Kendo Federation (EKF) www.ekf-eu.com
BelgiumABKF Winter Seminar 2013December 18-22www.abkf.be
GermanySummer Seminar of the DIaiBBad Homburg, GermanyOctober 24 - 27, 2014www.iaido.de
Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation (PNKF) AUSKF Iaido Education Tourand a Jodo SeminarBellevue, WA 98005Second weekend of February 2014. Keep checking for detailswww.musoshinden.org
Eikoku Roshukai www.eikoku-roshukai.com
Greece7th All Greece Iaido Championships / 2nd Intl Soryu Iaido CupAthensApril 4-6, 2014www.eokin.gr
Italy13th European Jodo Championships - EJC - 2014Torino, ItalySeptember 13-14http://www.kendo-cik.it/
PLEASE NOTE: We advise you to check all dates before planning any trips, as dates and venues may change, and therefore may be different to details listed here.
All United States Kendo Federation (AUSKF)www.auskf.info
Canadian Kendo Federation www.kendo-canada.com
Australian Kendo Renmei
kendoaustralia.asn.au
Iaido & Jodo Seminar &
Championships 2014
Brisbane, Queensland
20-26 January 2014
http://iaidojodo2014.kendoaustralia.asn.au
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We are offering two models of Iaito (blunt alloy training weapons).
The Tokusei retailing at£219.17 + VAT The Higo Koshirae retailing at £298.33 + VAT, which also features a Wakizashi version for those looking for a matching Daisho set.
Available in lengths from 2.20-2.60 Shaku, both models feature a lightweight zinc/aluminium alloy blade, with a chromed finish and etchedHamon in the style typical to Iaito manufactured in Japan.
The Tokusei model features plain, good quality fittings in accordance with its budgetprice, whilst the Higo model comes complete with upgraded Tsuba and hiltfittings, which offset the sword beautifully.
Nine Circles are proud to present our new range of lightweight Iaito from the famous Japanese sword manufacturer Minosaka.
If you are in the market for a new Iaito and are particularly looking for a lightweight or budget piece to start you on your Iaido path, then look no further than these great value models. Like all of our swords, these Iaito are subject to our usual one year warranty and a lifetime of support for service and advice where requested.www.ninecircles.co.uk
“Aaagh, where is my contact lens?”
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AKIRA KUROSAWA
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Yojimbo and trading guns for swords By Justin McKay
Akira Kurosawa is synonymous with the samurai feature. Western audiences are most
familiar with films such as Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961) or simply because of his film The Hidden Fortress (1958) which played a pivotal role in influencing Star Wars (1977) – he is a familiar name even to audiences who have not viewed his work.
The man himself is often referred to as one of the greatest directors of his time, if not one of the greatest ever. Two of his films, Seven Samurai and Rashomon, made it into the British Film Institute’s ‘The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time’. Many important directors of today acknowledge his influence in their own works – most notably, western directors.
Whilst his audience in Japan has steadily grown over the years, it is his integration of the lonesome gunman model of the Wild West mixed with the chivalrous samurai of the Far East that really inspired his western fans. Amongst those fans, directors such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Peckinpah and Quentin Tarantino just to name a few.
Akira Kurosawa is synonymous with the samurai feature. Western audiences are most familiar with films such as Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961) or simply because of his film The Hidden Fortress (1958) which played a pivotal role in influencing Star Wars (1977) – he is a familiar name even to audiences who have not viewed his work.
A Brief History of Kurosawa; Origins, Motives, Influences Akira Kurosawa, born 1910, grew up in a martial arts background, initially studying Judo, then moving onto Kendo. He could trace his lineage back to a famous samurai family to which both he and his father were very proud. His father was from the era where he wore a topknot as a child.
Towards the end of the Taishō period (1912-1926), Kendo was introduced into elementary schools in Japan. Following a request by Kurosawa for his father to enroll him in the Ochiai Kendo school, not only did his father enroll him to the school, but also into calligraphy classes and by Kurosawa’s own admissions, was told to pay his respects to a local shrine daily in order to ‘develop the proper spirit’. The young Kurosawa embraced this and applied these principles to both his life and his works.
It was Kurosawa’s brother Heigo, whom he was deeply fond of, that introduced him to western literature and films. His brother was a benshi, that is, a narrator for silent films. He had access to the latest foreign films and would frequently recommend them to his younger brother. Without his
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influence, perhaps he would never have gone the route of the film director.
Without a doubt, Kurosawa was highly influenced by the western genre. John Ford was often cited as influencing his works. Kurosawa often played down the comparison. In his often insightful autobiography he considers himself a “chick” in comparison to Ford. One such film that has been both influenced by the west (High Noon, 1952) and then in turn influenced future western directors (A Fistful of Dollars, 1964 and Last Man Standing, 1996) was Yojimbo – or sometimes known by western audiences as The Bodyguard.
The Story of Yojimbo An outsider by the name of Sanjuro (played by Toshiro Mifune) strolls into town.
The town is currently undergoing a gang war between a silk merchant and a sake merchant. Both rivals have their equivalent numbers of mercenaries to protect one another’s interests whilst plotting to control the entire town by any means necessary.
Sanjuro’s role in this is to manipulate the situation and release the town from both gangs’ rule by ‘cleaning up’. Though someone who speaks with his sword, he is unable to do it alone so he infiltrates both gangs, playing one against the other, then allows for them to fight it out while he devilishly watches on. This of course backfires, he is captured and beaten but manages to escape only to later return for a final showdown.
The Way of the Warrior The samurai both in fiction and in history, has been depicted as chivalrous, following a dedicated path that is pure and righteous protecting the weak and as well as seeking justice. As recorded in the superb ‘The Emperor and The Wolf’ by Stuart Galbraith IV, it was Kurosawa’s own need to address the common chambara (a sword fighting/swashbuckler sub genre of the period drama) that was being churned out by studios such as Daei and how they addressed the way of the warrior, or bushido.
Yojimbo is a parody that challenges some of the conventions that were being depicted in these films. They were not necessarily representative of what Kurosawa considered to be the behaviour of the samurai, or in this case, the ronin.
Taking into consideration his status as ronin, Sanjuro does not live by the ideal bushido code. He willingly asks for payment for his services, uses the sword from a corpse and even threatens to kill potential disciples should they ponder following him. This is a man clearly living a path tailored to his isolation from society – perhaps his disconnectedness with the class hierarchy or dealing with his emotions as a vagabond.
He even contradicts his own words of enlightenment by saying “...really good swords stay in their scabbards” when comparing his rival. He later ignores this statement when he engages with the enemy in the final
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AKIRA KUROSAWA
battle. When he removes the sword from a cadaver, he not only defies the moral code of the way of the warrior, but, as Stephen Prince points out in his book ‘The Warriors Camera’, insinuating that he is a corpse, in the context of his place in the world.
His rival, Unosuke (played by Tatsuya Nakadai – who would later go on to take the lead roles in both Kagemusha, 1980 and Ran, 1985), is a flamboyant pistol wielding, scarf wearing thug. While the pistol is symbolic to the western, Kurosawa had said (about the scarf) “Isn’t this good? Foreigners wear this, [the scarf] is a good effect and helps explains Unosuke’s yakuza personality”. As with most westerns, the hero needs a rival that either matches or exceeds their own skills. In this case, Unosuke literally represents
Kurosawa and his leading actor Toshiro Mifune in conversation on set.
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AKIRA KUROSAWA
a foreign power – the unknown and a threat to the ronin.
It is worth pointing out that in the earlier film Seven Samurai, the four samurai who are killed are all shot by guns. The guns depicted in these films represent the corruption that western culture brought to the bushido code. Evidently, they destroyed a belief system in one shot.
Kurosawa addressed the influence of guns on the samurai yet again in Kagemusha during the Battle of Nagashino, Takeda Shingen, one of the most famous feudal lords during the Sengoku period who suffered a catastrophic defeat by his opponents’ armies through the use of matchlocks imported from overseas.
Differences to the Wild West It is important to note that culturally the Wild West and feudal Japan were very different – notably the class system. Yojimbo was set around the end of the Edo period (1600-1868) when the class system was in jeopardy. The samurai were no longer the ruling class as the merchant became stronger. Samurai were finding themselves redundant, often contracted as thugs for hire to make ends meet. Some pursued their fame as swordsmen, some bandits and others turned to organised crime with the yakuza.
As a ronin, Sanjuro would have been classed as a chori (outcast) or kinin (non-man). There is an ongoing reference to Sanjuro being a stray dog – often seen as an outlaw or outcast that even fellow classless types would close the door on him.
There is a clear distinction of the four main classes in feudal Japan (samurai, artisan, merchant, farmer), whereas in the Western genre, the outlaw, sheriff, farmers et al are of the same social rank; equals to some extent.
The gunslinger is free (such as The Man With No Name – Sergio Leone’s unofficial remake of Yojimbo), answer to themselves rather than society and are mostly considered heroic, or simply ‘the good guys’. There is a slight romanticism towards this type of outsider. Another difference in storytelling is that the gunslinger’s path is usually a more transparent one: opposite forces. Be it good versus evil, settlers versus natives, traditionally, there was always a clear narrative from the outset.
Through the gunslingers actions, they are able to progress, whereas the samurai becomes further detached from society. Seven Samurai and Yojimbo are excellent examples of this. Sanjuro restores peace to the town but perhaps not with himself as his status remains the same. He’s a wanderer on the outskirts of society. The same applies to The Man With No Name, albeit, his personal journey continues on in a new chapter and in a more socially accepted light.
Similarities Between the Gunslinger and Swordsman Mifune was often referred to as the ‘John Wayne of the East’, except trading his guns for a sword. This comparison can also refer to Mifune’s acting style. In Japan the acting style of the time was known as aragoto which comes from the word aramushogato. A loose translation means a rough or even reckless protagonist – easily comparable to John Wayne – even Gary Cooper. The opposite style was known as wagato – a refined style. This role is more in line with the villain of Yojimbo, Unosuke.
Similar to the Wild West being governed by bullets, the tavern keeper tells Sanjuro that only swords settle things in town. This is no different than the local saloon barkeeper warning the stranger from out of town of bandits or wrongdoers. They are men of violence who are defined by their killing instruments – whether it be a pistol or the sword.
More trivial, but still related, both Sanjuro and The Man With No Name are made up names. The latter being quite apparent, but Sanjuro simply makes up his name on the spot. Sanjuro means ‘30 year old’ and Kuwabatake translates as ‘mulberry field’. In the sequel, Sanjuro (1962), he gives himself the name of Tsubaki – ‘camellia’. In westerns such as High Plains Drifter (1973), Clint Eastwood’s character simply goes by the name of ‘The Stranger’.
Such are the similarities with the film A Fistful of Dollars, that it was almost a shot for shot reworking of Yojimbo. Even the famous score by Ennio Morricone is comparable to composer Masaru Sato’s original theme. While Kuros Leone’s version, permission to use the story or likeness was not sought, consequently, Kurosawa and Toho Company Ltd successfully sued Leone and Jolly Films, who produced it. It is interesting to note that some consider Yojimbo a reworking of Dashiell Hammet’s 1929 novel, Red Harvest.
After Thoughts Akira Kurosawa was a highly influential director. Not only was he able to take his inspiration from western cinema, but he redeveloped characters and scenarios and placed them within an environment that the Japanese could initially associate with.
Unfortunately for him this backfired and he was often overlooked in his homeland as being too western. Kurosawa’s films were more accessible for western audiences and his film contemporaries than his Japanese counterparts.
In exchanging the gun for the sword, the protagonists of Kurosawa’s narratives and those of the Western genre had a common ground: they were warriors defined by their actions, their weapons and the often hostile environments that they occupied.
Bibliography
The Emperor and the Wolf – The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, Stuart Galbraith IV, Faber
Something Like an Autobiography, Akira Kurosawa, Vintage Books
The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa, Stephen Prince, Princeton University Press
Selected Filmographies
High Noon (1952)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Yojimbo (1961)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Kagemusha (1980)
Last Man Standing (1996)
Websites
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/50-greatest-films-all-time British Film Institute’s top 50 Greatest Films of all time
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173CAF2CA5494CC0B7799E8D6896 – New York Times review by Bosley Crowther
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-12-25/news/9712250164_1_japanesefilm-world-drunken-angel-seven-samurai Chicago Times – Mifune passes
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-yojimbo-1961 – Roger Ebert’s review of Yojimbo
http://www.imdb.com/ – IMDb for release dates
Toshiro Mifune on the watchtower in Yojimbo. The stray dog from Yojimbo.
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chonmage
The word chonmage is a combination of two words, chon and mage. There are various theories on the origin
of the Chonmage hairstyle. One is a style of folded hair that thin-haired old men wore as it resembled the kanji character chon. Another reasonable theory is that the hairstyle derived from the hondamage, which is a hairstyle spread among samurai under Honda Tadakatsu, a Japanese general and later a daimyo. The hondamage was especially popular from 1772 to 1781, of which there were eight variations worn accordingly for status, ranking and fashion.
Which ever theory is right, the Samurai took great care styling their hair. For battle, they would shave the tops of their heads, which reduced the heat under their helmets, and wore their hair straight at the sides. When not wearing helmets, the hair was pulled up at the sides and back into the topknot.
It is said that this hairstyle respects age, as it camouflages age-related, and male-pattern baldness. Not only samurai wore the chonmage, but tradesmen and artisans also wore the hairstyle.
In modern times, the only remaining wearers of the chonmage are sumo wrestlers. This style of chonmage is slightly different, in that the pate is no longer shaved, although the hair may be thinned in this region to allow the topknot to sit more neatly.
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The chonmage is a traditional hairstyle worn by men. It is most commonly associated with the samurai, featuring a shaved pate, with the remaining hair, which was long, being oiled and tied into a small queue which was folded onto the top of the head in to the characteristic topknot.
CHONMAGE
Sumo wrestlers with sekitori status are required on certain occasions to wear their hair in a more elaborate form of topknot called an oicho or ginkgo leaf style, where the end of the topknot is splayed out to form a semicircle, resembling a fan. Given the uniqueness of the style in modern Japan, the Sumo Association employs specialist hairdressers called tokoyama to cut and prepare the wrestlers’ hair.
The chonmage is of such symbolic importance in sumo that snipping it off is the centerpiece of a wrestler’s retirement ceremony. Dignitaries and other important people in a wrestler’s life are invited to take one snip, with the final one taken by his trainer.
Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/enteredo_8.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chonmage
Chon written in kanji resembles the hair style.
Hairdressers of old Japan
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The history of Shinsengumi is one riddled with secrecy, intrigue and violence. Run according to strict guidelines which saw the demise of many of it’s members and
eventually the group. The article that follows starts at the very beginning explaining the origin, its values and its end; looking at the key figures and their roles not only in the group but their part in the history of a changing Japan on the brink of the Restoration.
Roshigumi
In 1863 the Bakufu* began recruiting unemployed samurai (ronin) to guard Shogun Iemochi whilst he visited Kyoto to meet Emperor Komei. Not since the third Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, had a shogun travelled to Kyoto. Japan was a country in turmoil, violently struggling to deal with the threat of American and European naval aggresion. Tokugawa Iemochi, as head of the military government, was being summoned to discuss how to execute the recent imperial edict calling for the expulsion of all foreigners, backed up by the use of possible force.
Matsudaira Katamori, daimyo of the Aizu han, was granted Protector of Kyoto and charged with it’s policing as well as guaranteeing the Shogun’s safety during his stay, considering the Sonno Joi (revere the Emperor; expel the foreigners) movement by pro-imperial ronin, was becoming an ever-increasing problem. The plan was to gather ronin and form them into a security group: the Roshigumi – credited to Matsudaira Chikaranosuke, kenjutsu instructor at the military academy Kobusho.
Kiyokawa Hachirô of Shonai han, was charged with the responsibility of recruitment, while Yamaoka Tesshu, Kiyokawa’s longtime friend, provided support and additional leadership.
In actual fact, Kiyokawa had anti-Tokugawa sentiments and was a strong supporter of the principles of Sonno Joi and proceeded to recruit like-minded ronin to fill the Roshigumi’s ranks. Additionally,
*Bakufu: The military government of Japan from 1192 to 1868, and headed by the shogun. The bakufu was originally responsible only for warfare and policing, and was subordinate to the imperial court. But, over the centuries, the bakufu’s powers expanded while the emperors became reduced, turning them into mere figureheads. In 1868, it all changed, the Meiji Restoration extinguished the bakufu’s authority and returned political power to the emperor. Bakufu literally means “tent government” – harking back to the military camps where the early bakufu were based.
Matsudaira Katamori Kiyokawa Hachiro
SHINSENGUMI
Right: Umanosuke Kashio, kenjutsu master from the Shinsengumi.
Left: Possibly Sukegoro Miyagawa. A most unlikely pair associated with such a violent group.
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SHINSENGUMI
Kiyokawa secretly intended to turn the Roshigumi into a pro-Sonno Joi group upon arrival in Kyoto, abandoning their mission to protect Iemochi. With this in mind, Kiyokawa marched out of Edo with 250 men on the 8th February, 1863, as the vanguard of Shogun Iemochi’s procession to Kyoto.
Not long after arriving in Kyoto, Kiyokawa’s intentions became clear. Though this did not come as a surprise to some of the senior Bakufu, who had regarded Kiyokawa as a dangerous subversive for a long time. Keen to get Kiyokawa and his men out of Kyoto, orders were given telling Kiyokawa to bring the Roshigumi back to Edo and make preparations to expel the foreigners.
Finally arriving in Kyoto on the 23rd February, 1863, Serizawa and his group took up lodgings in Yagi Gennojo’s estate, while Kondo’s group were to stay at Maekawa Shouji’s estate (both in Mibu). The next day, Kiyokawa asked them all to assemble at the Shintokuji Temple. Kiyokawa, a shrewd individual, gathered the troupe of ronin together in the name of the Bakufu, wanting to train them all to be Ishin Shishi, professing Sonno Joi. A few days later, Kiyokawa then commanded the Roshigumi to go back to Edo and serve the Emperor. But Serizawa, Kondo and a group of 13 men refused to go. Following a stand-off and a furious argument, the Roshigumi departed from Kyoto heading back to Edo, but without Serizawa, Kondo and their men. (Though Aizu records state there were 24 men that stayed in Kyoto).
Out of interest, the reason that Serizawa and Kondo could oppose Kiyokawa was down to a secret alliance between Matsudaira Katamori and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (The
Military Commissioner of Kyoto). The Kyoto Shugoshoku and Matsudaira Katamori, came to an agreement that the group would be taken care of whilst in Kyoto, calling the group Mibumura Roshigumi.
The remaining ex-Roshigumi members were later strengthened by the arrival of new recruits. Matsudaira Katamori, after careful consideration, felt it was nessesary to change the Mibumura Roshigumi’s mission, from protecting the Shogun to one of patrolling the streets of Kyoto and restoring it to order, which is exactly what happened.
When the Shogun went back to Edo, the Choushu aides worked harder to end the regime of the Bakufu, and reinstall the Emperor as the true governor of Japan.
Meanwhile, Kiyokawa had planned for his new Roshigumi, now called Shinchogumi, to attack the foriegn settlement at Yokohama; set fire to the buildings and kill the foreigners, so that the Bakufu’s foreign policy, as well as their image, would be forever tarnished and plummet to new low. The Bakufu though had been informed of the plans, and so sent assassins to intercept him. Kiyokawa was killed on April 13th by Sasaki Tadasaburo, a kodachi master (who would be the
chief of the Kyoto Mimawarigumi, Shinsengumi’s stable mates) before his plan could be carried out.
When the Shogun went back to Edo, the Choushu aides worked harder to end the regime of the Bakufu, and reinstall the Emperor as the true governor of Japan. The Choushu Ishin Shishi, led by Katsura Kogorou, Takasugi Shinsaku and Kusaka Genzui, were able to infiltrate the Imperial Palace so establishing loyal aides, the most prominent being Sanjo Sanetomi. Choushu still had the duty of guarding the Imperial Palace gates, so getting in and out of the Palace was not an issue, enabling them to plot unhindered against the Bakufu.
On August 13th it was announced that the Emperor would visit the tomb of the Emperor Jinbu, and then go on to the Ise Palace. It was actually a diversion aimed at the Choushu men, who had virtually imprisoned the Emperor by burning the city, whilst also marching their armies to Edo with a view to end the Bakufu. This information quickly reached the ears of Matsudaira Katamori. He met with a confident of the Emperor, and they realised that if they were to face the Choushu army they were going to need a larger force. To do this they had to join their forces with the Satsuma province men, which was governed by Shimazu Hisamitsu, who weren’t against the Bakufu. The Emperor had to be told of the true purpose of the visit to Kyoto. The Emperor, although against the foreigners, wasn’t considering going against the Bakufu.
In early hours of 18th August, there was an Imperial order postponing the visit. At the same time, several provinces led by the Aizu and Satsuma contingent who were defending the
palace, and the seven Sonno Joi aides who had devised the plan, were expelled from the palace and banned from re-entering.
The expelling of the men had implications on the Choushu province, and from that moment on were forbidden to protect the gates of Kyoto, and were ordered to take all their men back to Choushu. This became known as the Kinmon no Seihen (The Political Upheaval of the Forbidden Gates) or the Hachigatsu Juhachinichi no Seihen (The Political Upheaval of August 18th). When the Choushu Army had learnt about what had happened, they hurried to the gates of the palace, but they faced heavy defenses around them. They finally retreated to the east and eventually went back to Choushu, protecting the seven aides, in what is famed as Shichigyou Ochi (The Flight of the Seven Aides).
During the attempted coup, representatives of the Public Office of Aizu went to Mibu and requested the presence of the Mibumura Roshigumi to ask their aid in protecting the gates of the palace. It would be the first time for the Mibumura Roshigumi to fight as a real army. Serizawa would lead the Mibumura Roshigumi into two rows of 40 men each, sporting a big red flag measuring 6ft square and everybody wearing yellow haori, the colour of Aizu. All the members were excited to finally see battle for the cause they belived in, dieing happily if need-be. It was on this day that the Mibumura Roshigumi were officially renamed “Shinsengumi”, with the permission of the Emperor.
Serizawa Kamo led the Shinsengumi, in the middle was Kondo Isami and at the rear, Niimi Nishiki. When they arrived at the Hamaguri gate, there were already Aizu soldiers
there. Threateningly, they pointed their swords and spears at the Shinsengumi, shouting, “Who are you?” Serizawa drew his iron fan, and laughed, as he fanned the spears. “We are the Shinsengumi, working under orders of the Aizu province. Don’t misunderstand our purpose, or you’ll face the consequences.” The soldiers were surprised by the daring of Serizawa, and it is said that the Aizu men, from this moment, changed their opinion of the Shinsengumi. The Aizu men, were at first stunnned, but soon recovered and threatened again. Unfortunately for the Shinsengumi though, there was no battle, and the first official confrontation for the Shinsengumi ended in nothing. But it wouldn’t always be that way.
ShinsengumiFrom the remnants of the Roshigumi, did the Shinsengumi emerge. Matsudaira Katamori named it’s three commanders: Kondo Isami, leader of the eight-man Shieikan faction; Serizawa Kamo (famous for his association with the Tengu Party) was leader of a five man Mito faction; and Niimi Nishiki, another member of the Mito faction, who was actually just a nominal commander and held no real power. These two Mito groups formed the Tengu Faction. Kondo and Serizawa were intense rivals and the
Shieikan factionThe Shieikan is the Tennen Rishin Ryu Dojo, situated in Ichigaya, Tokyo. It was established by Kondo Shusuke in 1839.
After Kondo Isami joined the Roshigumi, Sato Hikogoro maintained it until 1867. The Shieikan was known as the place where the prominent Shinsengumi members gathered: Hijikata Toshizo, Okita Soji, Inoue Genzaburo, Yamanami Keisuke, Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke and Todo Heisuke.
Founded by Kondo Kuranosuke Nagahiro in about 1789. The style was popularised by Kondo Shusuke (1792-1867), the third generation master of the style, who, together with Sato Hikogoro, spread its fame and practice throughout the Tama district.
Since the first and the second generation masters adopted a student with superb skills to be the next master, so did Kondo Shusuke. So in 1849 the childless Kondo decided to adopt a sixteen-year-old student named Miyagawa Katsugoro, later known as Kondo Isami.
The style – like other koryu, teaches kenjutsu, bujutsu, and jujutsu. Eventually, in 1861, Kondo Isami became the fourth head master of the style, spreading its fame during his time with the Shinsengumi. Noted practitioners were Hijikata Toshizo, Inoue Genzaburo, and the famous prodigy Okita Soji (who mastered all the techniques of the school and attained Menkyo Kaiden status at eighteen.) Tennen Rishin-ryu is still practiced today, among other koryu.
Mibumura Roshigumi’s flag
Hamaguri gate
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tension between them was reaching a critical point. This tension goes back to the initial formation of the Roshigumi.
Initially, Kondo Isami was purely an ordinary member of the 6th unit of the Roshigumi. Three days out of Edo, Kondo was helping Ikeda Tokutaro find lodging in a post town, when Kondo accidentally forgot all about Serizawa. Though Ikeda and Kondo apologised, Serizawa didn’t listen, and in protest and spite, he set a huge fire at the very center of their lodgings. Eventually, Kondo convinced Serizawa to put out the fire, but Serizawa had by now become uncontrolable, and had already knocked down a
government officer with his famous iron fan (weighing over 1kg). So from the very outset, Serizawa was a problem, and an-accident-waiting-to-happen. This was the start of the tension between Kondo and Serizawa.
Kondo and his Vice-Commander Hijikata Toshizo, began to plan the demise of the Mito faction. Their opportunity came in early September 1863, when Niimi was found guilty of extorting money and was forced to commit Seppuku. Serizawa’s violent and unruly behavior gave Kondo the chance he needed to finish the job and seize power of the Shinsengumi. It was felt that Serizawa was damaging the group’s
reputation, so Matsudaira Katamori, ordered Serizawa’s assassination and his closest cohorts. Around the 16th September, Hijikata along with the talented swordsman Okita Soji and two others loyal to Kondo, assassinated Serizawa and Hirayama Goro. A third assassination target, Hirama Jusuke, escaped. With the Mito faction broken, Kondo and Hijikata had absolute control over the Shinsengumi.
The group grew to over 140 men, and included farmers and merchants whose livelihood would be threatened if the Shogunate was overthrown. The regulations set up by Shinsengumi were strict and it was Hijikata who enforced them earning the nickname “The Demon of the Shinsengumi”. Deserters and traitors were forced to commit seppuku; as happened to Yamanami, one of Hijikata’s oldest friends, when tried to leave the Shinsengumi in 1865.
In 1867, all the Shinsengumi were granted the status of hatamoto.
The Ikedaya Incident 8th July, 1864.Kyoto was attracting many unemployed samurai (ronin) from various provinces and allegiances. Some of southern provinces – namely Choshu and Tosa – were heavily influenced by the rise of the Sonno Joi philosophy, supporting the removal of all western influences in Japan. The Emperor and the Aizu and Satsuma clans supported the unification of the Bakufu and the Imperial court. The Bakufu tried to maintain their rule, though difficult, as ronin from the various groups began to attack and kill each other. Hence, the Bakufu organised and backed groups, including Shinsengumi, and issued orders for them to arrest or kill the Sonno Joi Shishi (antagonisers).
The Shinsengumi had suspicions about some of Kyoto’s inhabitant’s. So they sent spies to watch their activities, and activated the city patrols. The spies followed the followers of Miyabe Teizo, one of Ishin Shishi’s leaders, and from this discovered a storehouse which was a secret liaison place of the Shishi. When they entered the store, they found guns and ammunition. The owner, Kiemon, who was actually a Choushu Shishi named Furutaka Shuntaro, who was caught the day before.
Following the arrest of Furutaka, he was interrogated by a brutual method:
At first, Kondo himself began to interrogate Furutaka, but he kept quiet. He endured the punishment though, his back had been crushed from the torture. Frustrated, Kondo resorted to letting Hijikata take charge – the man who was known
Kondo Isami
Entrance to the Yagi residence in Mibu where Serizawa Kamo and his group lodged
Serizawa Kamo
Niimi Nishiki
The rules of the ShinsengumiFirst: It’s not allowed to deviate from the path of a proper man.
Second: It’s not allowed to leave the Shinsengumi.
Third: It’s not allowed to raise money privately.
Fourth: It’s not allowed to take part in other’s litigation.
Fifth: It’s not allowed to engage in private fights.
There were more rules that were read to every Shinsengumi members, here are some of the most famous ones:If the leader of a unit is mortally wounded, all the members of the unit must fight and die on the spot.
Even in a fight where the death toll is high, it is not allowed to retrieve the bodies of the dead, except the corpse of the leader.
And the most dreaded one was: “If a Shinsengumi member engages in a fight with a stranger, be it on duty or not, if he is wounded and can’t kill the enemy, allowing him to run away, even in the case of a wound in the back (meaning a treacherous attack), seppuku is ordered.”
as ‘The Demon of the Shinsengumi’. He suspended him by his ankles, restraining his wrists, and drove five-inch spikes into the heels of his feet. Then, placing lit candles upon the holes, allowed hot wax to drip deep into his calves. From the information he gave, Hijikata found that the Shishi were planning to set fire to Kyoto, capture Matsudaira Katamori, the daimyo of the Aizu, and kidnap the Emperor. The urgency of the situation thus revealed, Kondo Isami led a group of Shinsengumi troops into action. Furukata, by-the-way, eventually died, but not of his injuries. He was killed in jail during the Kinmon Incident.
The Shinsengumi didn’t know exactly where the Shishi held their meetings, so Shinsengumi’s troops were divided into two so they cold search all over the inn and the teahouse in Kyoto. The first group led by Kondo included Okita, Todo, Nagakura and six others, and they moved to the Ikedaya Inn,
Shuntaro FurutakaIkedaya Inn (Taisho era)
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while the second group led by Hijikata, consisting of Inoue, Harada, Saito and 20 others took positions at the Shikokuya Inn. Hijikata’s group found nothing, but Kondo’s group found the opposite.
At about at 22:00, Kondo entered through the rear door of the Ikedaya Inn, and asked for the guest book to checked it out. Unexpectedly, a guard ran upstairs giving a warning. Quickly, Kondo went up to the second floor, and broke into a room through the shoji screen and found himself amongst 30 shishi. One of them blew out the light – suddenly they were alone in the dark. Though completely dark, Kondo didn’t hesitate, and started cutting out at the seated Shishi. Other members of the Shinsengumi ran upstairs to help, whilst the rest waited downstairs to catch any Shishi who tried to escape. There were casualties on both sides: Shinsengumi: 1 dead, 2 wounded (one died the next day). The Shishi: 16 dead, 20 were arrested that night and the next day.
It was a victory for the Shinsengumi who were outnumbered 3:1. Though the Kyoto’s inhabitants never could accept the Shinsengumi, it was undeniable that they had done such a noble deed for them and their city.
This incident made it clear to all that the Shinsengumi were a powerful force in Kyoto, and to be feared by the Sonno Joi ronin.
Kondo IsamiIsami was first known as Katsugoro and was born to Miyagawa Hisajiro, a farmer residing in Kami-Ishihara village in Musashi Province, now in the city of Chofu in Western Tokyo. He had two older brothers, Otojiro and Kumezo. Katsugoro began training at the Shieikan (the main dojo of the Tennen Rishin-ryu) in 1848.
As a young man he was said to be an avid reader, and especially liked the stories of the Forty-seven Ronin.
His renown as a scholar and his fame at having defeated a group of thieves who tried to break into his family home caught the attention of Kondo Shusuke, the third generation master of the Tennen Rishin-ryu. Shusuke wasted no time in adopting the young Katsugoro in 1849.
Kondo and his wife, Otsune, were married in 1860. This was an advantageous match for Kondo; Otsune was the daughter of Matsui Yasogoro, a retainer to the Shimizu-Tokugawa clan. On September 30, 1861, Isami became the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryu, assuming the name Kondo Isami and taking charge of the Shieikan.
A year later, his daughter Tamako (1862–1886) was born. Kondo’s only grandson, Kondo Hisataro, was killed in action in the Russo-Japanese War.
Although he was never employed by the Shogunate before his Shinsengumi days, Kondo was a candidate for a teaching position at the Kobusho in 1862. The Kobusho was an exclusive military training school, primarily for the use of the shogunal retainers, set up by the Shogunate in 1855 in order to reform the military system after the arrival of Perry’s Black Ships.
Serizawa KamoThe Serizawa family were Goshi from the Seizawa village in Hitachi province. Serizawa Mitsumoto was adopted into the Shimomura family and his name was changed to Shimomura Tsuguji. Tsuguji was jailed for involvement in the Tamatsukurigumi which was a Sonno Joi group within the Mito han, however he was released in 1862 and changed his name to Serizawa Kamo.
Niimi NishikiNiimi was born in 1836, and rose to the rank of commander in the Mibu Roshigumi around 1864, having joined with Serizawa Kamo. He was later demoted to vice commander because of his poor conduct and raucus behaviour, and was ordered to commit Seppuku due to breaking regulations.
Strangely, Niimi Nishiki is enshrined in Ryozen Gokoku Shrine by Katsura Kogoro. It is rumoured that he may have been a spy from the Choshu han.
Hijikata ToshizoHijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of Shinsengumi, was a great swordsman and a talented Japanese military leader who resisted the Meiji Restoration.
His full name was Hijikata Toshizo Yoshitoyo, and was born on 31st May, 1835 in present-day Hino, a suburb of Tokyo. He was the youngest of six children, and his father, a well-to-do farmer, died shortly before his birth. Hijikata’s mother also died when he was a young boy, and he was therefore raised by his older brother and sister-in-law.
He was apparently tall compared to the average Japanese man of the period, and was said to have been spoiled at an early age and was alleged to be mean to all but his friends and family. This changed
when a 21-year-old swordsman from the Aizu clan known for opposing the Reformists was forced to commit seppuku. When Hijikata attended the man’s funeral, he apparently cried in public.
Hijikata spent his youth selling his family’s Ishida Sanyaku (medicine for treating injuries such as bruises and broken bones) while practicing his self-taught kenjutsu. His brother-in-law, Sato Hikogoro, managed a Tennen Rishin-ryu dojo in Hino. It was through Sato that Hijikata later met Kondo Isami and was formally enrolled at the Tennen Rishin-ryu’s Shieikan in 1859. Although Hijikata himself never fully mastered the Tennen Rishin-ryu, it is said that he managed to develop the Shinsengumi-Kenjutsu fighting style from the Tennen Rishin-ryu.
Hijikata Toshizo
Nagakura Shinpachi Okita Soji
Hijikata’s death poem reads:
Though my body may decay on the island of Ezo, My spirit guards my lord in the east.
Katana scars at the Sumiya where the Shinsengumi partied, and held a party for Serizawa Kamo just before his assasination. Many scars exist at the now restaurant as proof of Serizawa’s temper and actions.
The Sumiya’s courtyard
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Nagakura Shinpachi Nagakura Shinpachi was captain of the second unit of the Shinsengumi. He was born in the Matsumae clan’s upper residence in Edo in 1839. His father, Nagakura Kanji, was a retainer of the Matsumae clan. Like Okita Soji, Nagakura was a true product of the Edo period, being the son of a retainer of a domain he had never seen, and had lived in Edo for his entire life.
At eight, Nagakura entered Okada Jusuke Toshisada’s Shindo Munen-ryu dojo, and by eighteen he received the menkyo kaiden certification. At age nineteen he left the service of the Matsumae clan in order to travel and improve his technique. He spent some time at Yurimoto Shuzou’s Shinto Munen Ryu dojo, and also at Tsubouchi Shume’s Shingyoto Ryu dojo, where he met Shimada Kai, the future vice-captain of the Shinsengumi second unit. Around 1861, he started “taking his meals” at Kondo Isami’s Shieikan.
Nagakura became assistant vice commander in 1863, then became the captain of the second unit in 1865.
Right after the Battle of Kishi in April 1868, Nagukura left the old Shinsengumi with Harada Sanosuke and formed the Seiheitai (after disagreements with long-time comrades, Kondo and Hijikata.)
Nagakura kept memoirs that testify first hand to the bloody lifetime of the Shinsengumi. These memoirs were lost for decades before being found and published in book form in 1998.
Sources:http://asianhistory.about.com/od/glossaryae/g/bakufuglos.htm
http://www.flickr.com/groups/shinsengumi/
http://inukoproject.tripod.com/Hunter/shinsen2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikedaya_Incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsengumi
Okita Soji Captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, and one of the best swordsmen along with Saito Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi.
He was born to a samurai family in the Shirakawa domain’s Edo mansion. Okita proved to be a prodigy of kenjutsu, and he mastered all the techniques and attained the menkyo kaiden scroll in the Tennen Rishin-ryu at the age of eighteen.
It was often said that he was honest, polite, and good-natured by those around him, but he was also known to be a strict and quick-tempered teacher to his students at the Shieikan.
Okita changed his name to Okita Soji some time before his departure to Kyoto in 1863. He soon became a founding member of the Shinsengumi. Okita was the second youngest among the Shieikan members, most likely with Todo Heisuke being the youngest. He was one of the Shieikan members involved in the Serizawa Kamo and the Uchiyama Hikojiro assassinations in 1863.
Equally skilled with shinai, bokuto, and katana. His signature technique was named the Mumyo-ken (which roughly translates as “unenlightened blade”) or Sandantsuki which translates as “Three piece thrust”, a technique that could attack one’s neck, left shoulder, and right shoulder with one strike. (The Mumyo-ken supposedly could hit all three points simultaneously, but this is an embellishment). The Mumyo-ken was his own invention and may have been derived from an invention of Hijikata’s, the Hiratsuki.
In 1865, Okita became the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi and later that year, he was appointed by Kondo Isami to be the fifth master of the Tennen Rishin-ryu after him.
Saito Hajime Captain of the third unit of the Shinsengumi. He was one of the few core members who survived the numerous wars of the Bakumatsu period.
Saito was born in Musashi Province Edo. Very little is known about his early life. He was born to Yamaguchi Yosuke, an ashigaru of the Akashi domain, who had bought the rank of gokenin, a low-ranking retainer directly serving the Tokugawa shogun. According to the published records, Saito left Edo in 1862, after accidentally killing a hatamoto. His style of kenjutsu comes apparently from Itto-ryu or Mugai Ryu.
As a member of the Shinsengumi, Saito was said to be an introvert and a mysterious person. His duties included being a kenjutsu instructor. Saito was considered to be on the same level of swordsmanship as the first unit captain Okita Soji and the second unit captain Nagakura Shinpachi. In fact, it is rumoured that Okita feared his swordskill.
Saito’s heavy drinking is believed to have contributed to his death from a stomach ulcer. He died in 1915 at age 72, sitting in seiza in his living room.
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Members of the Shinsengumi’s graves at the Mibu temple in Kyoto. One of the more famous graves is that of Serizawa Kamo.
SHINSENGUMI
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KURODA HAN, YAGYU SHINKAGE-RYU
Bori Sensei is the Head of our sword school
Written by Paul Araki-Metcalfe Shihan
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I was fortunate enough to have had the unique opportunity to move to Japan with my Japanese wife and children, where we lived for over 9 years. I was fortunate enough to have studied this particular sword style for over 9 years whilst we were living in Fukuoka, Japan.
This all came about as my mother in law was blessing her business, as Japanese business owners frequently do, and instead of a Shinto priest performing the service she brought in a sword Sensei, a Yamamoto Sensei. The sword can be used in this capacity also to drive away evil spirits, and to purify the company and people working within it.
After the purifying ceremony Yamamoto Sensei allowed people attending the opportunity to hold a real live sword, and feel what it was like to cut with it. Yamamoto Sensei kept asking me to come forward to have a try with the sword. As I was the only foreigner present, who did not wish to bring attention upon himself in that auspicious occasion,
A 600-year-old traditional Japanese sword style, with a well-documented and very distinguished history.
This particular school was sent to serve, protect and advise Lord Kuroda, Lord of Kyushu. On the schools website there is a document written in Japanese by the Soke of Kage-Ryu (The shadow sword school), attesting to the fact of a direct 600-year-old link from Kage-Ryu to our particular sword style through Kamachi Genzaburo Shigenami, the 13th Dai Soke of our school for 56 years, from 1942-1998. The format of the waza and the grading syllabus is directly attributed to his efforts in organising the old scrolls.
therefore I kept politely declining. Finally, after the others had all had a go, I was finally persuaded to come forward. Yamamoto Sensei offered me the sword and showed me a few moves, which I copied. He commented that I had certain ability with the sword, and was told by my wife in Japanese that I had studied Aikido since the 1970’s.
Yamamoto Sensei asked me if I would like to study the sword, and offered to introduce me to his Soke (Headmaster of the sword school) the old-fashioned way. This involved Yamamoto Sensei taking full responsibility for introducing me as a student, to the point that he would be punished for anything I did wrong. This was the way it was done back in the old days whenever someone new wished to study. They had to have a sponsor who would vouch for them to the headmaster of the school that they wished to study under. This was a great honour to have Yamamoto Sensei do this for me, especially since I was a foreigner.
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KURODA HAN, YAGYU SHINKAGE-RYU
In the old days they were extremely cautious when it came to letting new students in to study. They used to even shut the windows and doors when practising, to ensure no person outside the sword school would be able to spy on and perhaps try to steal their waza (techniques).
I highly recommend studying a traditional Japanese sword style. The study of this will improve your balance, body movement, maximised output with minimal input (less is more), and increased co-ordination and flow of movement. For the sword to be effective and efficient it requires you to have full control of your body and mind, and be able to use all of that as one cohesive unit working in total unison. Once this has become second nature, over the years of study, it will automatically and seamlessly flow into whatever you do in life. Sports, martial arts, work, play, and life in general will become a little easier. If your body learns to utilise all of your body working as one cohesive unit, there will be a decrease of fatigue and tiredness. Think about it. We spend our lives overexerting ourselves by creating opposing forces in our bodies that resist what we are trying to achieve.
Relax, let go, and allow the body to do what the body does. We do not need to control every movement, as the body has an innate sense of what to do, almost auto-pilot-like. Somehow, we think that the mind should control and guide everything we do every second of every day, but this way of
thinking only gets in the way, causes resistance and increases fatigue. Let the body go, let the body flow like a river.
When it came time for us to finally return to Australia (2011), my two master sword teachers (Bori Sensei and Takaoka Sensei) summoned me to the Terumo Jinja (Lord Kuroda’s Shrine. Lord of Kyushu).
I was officially presented with the Kaiden Menkyo (traditional sword teaching license), 5th Dan black belt ranking, and the official title of Shihan.
I will forever be in the debt of my two sword teachers and mentors, Bori Sensei and Takaoka Sensei.
I am currently the only person, Japanese or foreigner, teaching this particular sword style outside of Japan.
I actively seek interested students worldwide; to study and keep this wonderful art alive for future generations. I have also introduced a long-distance DVD sword study course, for interested students who cannot attend my classes personally due to other commitments or their location.
Therefore any interested person worldwide, no matter where they are, can freely and sincerely study this traditional Japanese sword style through my long-distance DVD sword study course, which is assisted via the Internet, Skype video-conferencing facilities, emails, phone, texts and personal visits/seminars from myself.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to my two great Japanese sword teachers/mentors and guides:
Bori Sensei and Takaoka Sensei.
Bori Sensei is the Head of our sword school, and Takaoka Sensei is his second in charge.
They took me in as a student, and subsequently treated me as part of the family. Their patience and care towards me, taking extra time to ensure that this foreigner fully understood what was being imparted to him over the years that I studied the sword under their guidance and tutelage, has made me the man that I am today.
I am very grateful for all that they did for me throughout my years of sword study in Fukuoka, Japan.
I hope to repay their trust in me by spreading this wonderful sword art outside of Japan throughout the world, hopefully ensuring that it will be preserved as a “living museum” for future generations. The methods of teaching and the sword waza (techniques) are taught exactly the same way as it was done 600-years-ago. This ensures that a slice of Japanese history, culture and tradition, and the unique and rare opportunity to study “hands-on” the sword techniques and movements just as the Samurai did all those centuries ago, is still available.
Domo arigatoo gozaimasu Sensei.
Kuroda Han, Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu, Heiho, Aratsu-Kai
Based in Perth, Western Australia Email: [email protected]
http://www.yagyushinkage-ryu.com
Translation of the sword styles name: Kuroda Han: Attests to our sword school’s direct link/connection/association with Lord Kuroda.
Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu: Yagyu clan new shadow sword.
Heiho: Tried/tested/from the battlefield.
Aratsu-Kai: Pure heart/pure of heart.
My deepest gratitude, devotion and appreciation goes out to my immediate family.
My wife Naoko Araki-Metcalfe. My eldest daughter Shinjyu Araki-Metcalfe. My son Gojyu Araki-Metcalfe, and last but not least, my youngest daughter Lunjyu Araki-Metcalfe.
For without their understanding, kindness, patience and sacrifice in allowing me to spent so much time away from them all instructing students in both the sword and Aikido, I would not have be able to do so.
Kamachi Genzaburo Shigenami was Soke (Headmaster of our sword school) for 56 years, from 1942-1998
Araki-Metcalfe Sensei, performing Kumi-tachi at Terumo Jinja.
Araki-Metcalfe Sensei, demonstrating tameshigiri with long and short swords.
Bori Sensei, Takaoka Sensei and Araki-Metcalfe Sensei
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The Yagyu clan were based in the hills above Nara, and were renowned for their sword prowess throughout the prefecture, and beyond. Their leader, Yagyu Sekishusai Muneyoshi was considered to be one of the finest swordsmen in the country. Sekishusai’s wife, Shunto Gozen, was a daughter of the Okuhara family, a powerful clan in the nearby area of Iga, famous for the warriors trained in the arts of espionage and assassination – the ninja.
A SHORT HISTORY
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YAGYU SHINKAGE-RYU
In 1559, a swordsman by the name of Kamiizumi Ise no Kami Hidetsuna was travelling with his two closest disciples, his son Hidetani and nephew Hikita Kagekani through the countryside around the old capital of Nara. Kamiizumi was also considered one of the most accomplished swordsmen of his day. His instructors included Matsumoto Masunobu (d. 1543?), who was himself said to be a student of the shadowy figure Iizasa Yamashiro no Kami Choisai. Kamiizumi
is also thought to have studied under the legendary Aisu Ikosai (1452-1538) who based his sword techniques on animal behaviour and the rhythm of waves. Although the names of styles are often accredited to a number
of different personages, Ikosai seems to have been the swordsman who actually developed the Kage-Ryu (Shadow sword). Kamiizumi developed what he had learnt from his various instructors into what he called the Shinkage-Ryu (new Shadow sword).
Kamiizumi was the inspiration for a scene in one of Kurosawa’s famous movies. Where a travelling swordsman shaves his head and pretends to be a monk to rescue a young boy taken hostage by a desperate criminal.
In 1559 Kamiizumi whilst travelling through Nara, he was introduced to a Buddhist priest called In’ei of the Hozoin Temple in Nara. In’ei was also a friend of the famous swordsman Yagyu Sekishusai Muneyoshi. In’ei arranged for a match between the two swordsmen to be held on the same grounds where Miyamoto
Musashi would defeat In’ei’s disciples some 40 years later. Muneyoshi grasped a Bokken (wooden sword). His opponent in the first match, Kamiizumi’s nephew Hikita Kagekane, held a sword-like weapon that Sekishusai had likely never seen before: the fukuro shinai (a split length of bamboo covered with a leather sheath. Similar to a shinai used in Kendo practice today).
Sekishusai was an accomplished swordsman of both the Tomita and Shinto styles, and had a reputation in the Nara-Kyoto area as being quite formidable. At 35 he had experienced a number of battles and had justifiable self-confidence. Thus he was taken aback, as he was quickly defeated twice, not by the master himself, but by the master’s disciple Kagekane. Sekishusai and In’ei both requested instruction from Kamiizumi, and were granted it. Sekishusai led Kamiizumi and his two disciples to his villa at Yagyu-mura, where they stayed for the next two years imparting the techniques, philosophy, and mysteries of the Shinkage-Ryu to students. The further result of Sekishusai’s request, however, was the development of the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu (The Yagyu clan new shadow sword), the style that years later Munenori would bring to perfection and establish as the preeminent school of swordsmanship in Japan. And it was at that moment, some twelve years before he was born, that Munenori’s life would be defined. (Yagyu Mataemon Munenori was born in 1571).
Yagyu-mura seems to have been inhabited since A.D. 645 and has always been noted for producing excellent swordsmen. The Yagyu clan traces its ancestors there back
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YAGYU SHINKAGE-RYU
to the eleventh century. They appear to have taken the family name sometime during the Kamakura period (1192-1333), and soon took on the responsibility for supervising the village, which eventually became their private fief.
Sekishusai, then 66-years-old and his son Munenori (22-years-old then) were summoned to perform a sword demonstration by Ieyasu (53-years-old at the time, and just before he became the next Shogun (warlord) of Japan). Ieyasu was so impressed by the demonstration that he asked Sekishusai to become his sword instructor. Sekishusai, using his age as a reason, persuaded the Shogun to take his son Munenori as his sword instructor.
Munenori taught Ieyasu the Shinkage-Ryu school of swordsmanship fast becoming known as a “living master of the sword”.Munenori taught Ieyasu the Shinkage-Ryu school of swordsmanship fast becoming known as a “living master of the sword”. For his service over the years Munenori was awarded three thousand Koku fief, and in addition Munenori was appointed the position of hatamoto, or direct vassal to the Shogun. When Ieyasu Shogun died, his son Hidetada became the second Tokogawa Shogun (1605), and the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu was established as the new Shogun’s official school of swordsmanship, and was considered the true art of the sword that would rule the country in peace. Hidetada’s son became the next Shogun in 1623, thus becoming the third Shogun that the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu served.
In 1633 Munenori was promoted to the rank of Daimyo, with a fief of 10,000 koku. Eventually he would reach a position that brought him 12,500 koku, a stipend unimaginable for a sword instructor. In 1630 Munenori issued a document to the Shogun, certifying that he had been initiated into the secrets of the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu of swordsmanship; in return he was promoted in rank and presented with a sword made by the renowned sword smith Masumune.
The Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu system was recorded by Munenori in Heiho kadensho in 1632, or soon thereafter. The work is in part a catalogue of the Yagyu clan’s techniques and in part an explanation of the underlying principles of those techniques. So it is at once a prompt or reference guide, a book of carefully worded instructions for practice, a meditative source for eliminating psychological problems, and a philosophical basis for using the sword as an instrument of life rather than death. Finally, it was in the teaching of Takuan Soho (1573-1645. Zen monk, confidant, friend and advisor to Munenori) that Munenori was able to introduce Zen philosophy into the martial arts and confirm the concept of kenzen ichinyo, or the “sameness of sword and Zen”.
The Heiho kadensho is divided into three chapters. “The Shoe-Presenting Bridge”, which is basically a catalogue of techniques that was presented to the student as certification that he/she had vigorously studied those techniques. “The death-dealing Sword”, which goes into some depth about techniques and begins to explain the psychology of the school: and “The Life-Giving Sword”, which continues to discuss both technique and psychology and which ends with a section on the central technique of Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu, the no-sword.
Data, dates and information taken from the book titled:
The Life-Giving Sword, Secret Teachings from the House of the Shogun. Written by Yagyu Munenori, and translated by William Scott Wilson
Munenori hoped to keep this essential book within the guardianship of his own school, in part so that misunderstandings would not arise about its content. But this was not to be. Circulation of the work seems to have extended beyond his school relatively early; judging from the introduction to The Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi had access to it in faraway Kyushu less than 15 years after its writing. It has rightly been considered a treasure of the martial art world ever since Munenori passed away on the 26th March 1646. Munenori had been preceded in death by the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, who died on 19 May 1645, and by his great Zen teacher Takuan Soho, who passed away in December the same year. Iemitsu (Shogun) who after Munenori’s passing was heard to say “If only Munenori was here, I could ask him about this”, lived on until 20 April 1651.
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Dear Cutting Edge Reader,
Just a short note to wish all you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
It is with great enthusiasm I wish each of you a hardy Thanksgiving. It is time of year when we are reminded to take a moment and give thanks for all we have – for being appreciative. Each year I attempt make a rather exhaustive list that always falls way short. But it is good training and I always feel better for it.
When you take time to appreciate all that we have from an earth that is very livable – not the Ice Age and not too hot either – life is a little bite sweeter. When you think of what we have to be thankful for – from our freedom to food to safety to lifestyle. Then moving on to things that I personally have – from my wife to dojo to enjoyable work to health to friends, etc. Then you think of all the not so good stuff, but even that we need to be thankful for – keeps us from being spoiled. There is so much we have to be thankful for and by being appreciative we gain some awareness of our surrounds and our situation.
In being aware and appreciative of what we have, we gain inner contentment – not that we have everything – in fact most often we realize that much of what we thought we needed – we don’t. Much of what we had to have – we don’t. And if we are aware of what we have we also review what we don’t and often find it isn’t that important. Much like the billionaire who commits suicide after losing 80% of his net worth – what he was afraid he would be forced to live on $200 million. He lost track of what mattered and what he really needed (let alone family and friends). A loss or set back doesn’t mean we can’t again succeed or that we are failures. The fact that Mother Teresa was a terrible martial artist doesn’t detract from what she accomplished.
Our lives are not about comparisons, competitions, races to see who has the most toys or coolest car. It is not about getting rank before someone else or being the “Badest man on the Planet”. It seems that the more we appreciate what have been given, the happier we are. The more we appreciate the journey we are on, the happier we are. Doing kata, running thru goshinjutsu – is tremendous when we appreciate the moves, the feeling of efficient effortless movement, the moving toward mushin. So too when we serve others – we feel good about ourselves – and perhaps make the world a bit better place.
So please take some time to be appreciate your Art and all it has done for you. Think of the people who have helped you along the way, most of them quite selflessly. Think of your sensei, your sempai and smile as your remember all the gifts you have been given.
In a world of corruption, self-serving motives and merchant minded individuals – we have a group of earnest practitioners who strive for much more. Appreciate them all. Appreciate what you do and what you give of yourself. If you find it lacking then you can give more of yourself next year – but realize the good where you are.
So please enjoy your the Thanksgiving Season and be appreciative of what you have – physically, mentally, and spiritually. You are all blessed more than you know. You are all closer to perfection than you know as well. Opening your heart to being appreciative is one step on the path.
Enjoy the Journey & Peace,Steve Coniaris
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A regular column on the influence of Zen on Japanese Budo.
Most of the readers of this magazine will probably have an active interest in Traditional Japanese Budo and will regularly train in or practise their chosen disciplines.
The objective of this regular column is to introduce readers to the role that Zen Buddhism has played in the history of Japanese Budo and the shaping of its moral philosophy through Zazen – seated meditation.
You are sitting in the seiza position ready to perform your chosen Iaido kata, having
completed your opening Torei.
You begin to move and perform an array of skilled techniques such as Nukitsuke and Kirioroshi observing Metsuke, along with Chiburi and Noto observing Zanshin, until, from a standing position, you slowly settle down back into seiza.
The whole action took no longer than 30 seconds – a short time during which you could easily hold your breath. Which is what many people, especially Mudansha – non holders of a Dan Grade – and even some Yudansha would do.
Yet Kokyu (breath), and especially Kokyu Rokyu (breath power) plays an enormously important part in all Japanese Budo and which is an essential element of providing the body with the ability to perform feats of strength, many of which famously occupy their place in the legend, myth and reality of Japanese history.
In the case of this basic Iaido form – Mae in Seitei – the first inward breath takes place immediately the knees and the hands come together in preparation for the Nukitsuke, the performance of which is accompanied by a smooth and short outward breath. Moving forward on one knee, this is followed by a deep inhalation, whilst raising the arms above the head for the Kirioroshi and the strong outward breath that goes with it, that gives it its power.
The Ochiburi follows, with an inhalation as the arm is raised and an exhalation as it is completed, with a downward movement of the arm.
As the foot placements are changed, an inward breath takes place that brings the feet together followed by a slow outward breath, as the right foot is settled in a long stance behind.
A sharp intake of breath precedes the Noto, which should be smooth, accompanied by a measured outward breath, whilst dropping slowly to the kneeling position. Breathe in on the way up to the standing position and out again until seiza is complete.
That makes 12 breaths of varying lengths and depths in 30+ seconds.
Iaido has often been referred to as ‘moving zazen’, because of its grace and observed simplicity in its movement coupled with its high degree of mental concentration and focus, which can only be brought about and experienced with conscious breathing.
And conscious breathing lies at the core of the practise of Zazen – seated meditation.
Haruna Matsuo Kyoshi has said that Iai is taken from the phrase Tsune ne itte, kyu ni awasu – the meaning of which is ‘whatever we are doing, or wherever we may be, we must be prepared for any eventuality’.
This type of heightened awareness can only be achieved when you are conscious of the manner in which you are breathing.
Katsuki Sekida, the author of the much acclaimed book Zen Training, published in 1975, provides, for the first time a detailed view of the essence of Zen Buddhism from the perspective of the physiology of breathing, which for me, brings to life the idea that conscious breathing is key to many of the things we do in the performing arts and Japanese Budo in particular.
Performing Iai is one thing but the practise of Iaido, induces us to follow a path in which Iai helps to forge the will and the spirit, whilst the Do gives us expression to the experience of what we are doing, which, in turn, helps us to become mindful of its meaning.
ZENDO
By David Passmore
David Passmore has been teaching traditional Aikido, Iaido, Karatedo and Zazen (seated meditation) for over 35 years. He practises Shikantaza every day, in the tradition of the Soto Sect of Zen Buddhism, as an integral and important part of his study of Japanese Budo and Philosophy.
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TALENT IN THE SWORD ARTS
By Stephen Coniaris
That iai can be in one’s blood or that one can be talented in iai – is a point that many people seem unsure about. However current literature suggests that inborn talent, as we think of it, likely doesn’t really exist. Hopefully I can pass on some of the current thinking and perhaps give a little insight and motivation to raising your level of skill.
From the time of Homer, some 2,600 years ago, writings about the gods giving gifts of various character to specific men have helped shaped our view of talent. These gift from the gods or natural gifts seemed to explain the extraordinarily talented individual. It also allows the masses to believe that since they didn’t have the gift then the pressure is off to excel and they have a convenient explanation of why “I” personally don’t excel. Many people when seeing someone who excels with the ken (sword) tend to believe it is some special talent they possess that allows them such skill rather than seeing it as a culmination of 10,000 hours of training and study to move towards the exceptional physical and
mental skills required. The media has encouraged this belief with various stories supporting the special talent or amazing gifts some folks are said to have. Why? Because they sold papers or magazines or books or make for a good story.
‘The major factor in whether a person achieves expertise is not some fixed ability but rather purposeful engagement’There have been many new findings on great performances as researchers study the top performers in a wide array of fields including swimming, chess, management, surgery, piloting jets, playing the violin, sales, accounting and many more. The general consensus is that the best performances are not the results of innate gifts but rather of years, usually at least 10 years of focused training. Many of our most famous performers where considered average as children: Darwin, Einstein and Tolstoy were average students. Ben Hogan, the great golfer, was uncoordinated as
a child. Of course there are others who are said to have excelled at a very young age. Is it in our blood? Is it in our genes? We might keep in mind that Gilbert Gottlieb, an eminent neuroscientist states that ‘genes require the interaction with the environment to work properly’. Robert Sternberg, a modern day intelligence guru writes ‘The major factor in whether a person achieves expertise is not some fixed ability but rather purposeful engagement’. And there is a growing amount of data suggesting that there is some rough amount of training required to excel. The numbers 10 years or 10,000 hours of intense practice are currently being considered.
Consider music. It is something most people think of as a skill you are born with, a talent. Lets look at just a bit of history and some recent research on the exceptional musician.
Consider Mozart who was said to have been composing at age six, not alive long enough to have trained ten years. However, when historians looked closer they found that his
The gatherings after a gasshuku at Sensei’s house were always pleasant occasions. Great food and
interesting conversation – a chance to ask more questions, a chance to learn more about the history of the koryu and the implications of various training methods. It was my second year training in Japan and a few of the mid-level students from Tokyo and Fukui were chatting with me, giving me their views of iai and how difficult it was. They said that iai was very hard and I would never be very good
since I was not Japanese; the sword wasn’t in my blood. I smiled and when asked what I thought said “Iai is easy, I just can’t do it yet.” I looked over and noticed Sensei had been listening in – he had a big smile on his face and he nodded his approval. Sensei always felt that skill came from dedicated practice, at least 30 minutes a day. Skill was not something we are born with – Japanese or Westerner; we are all just human beings who lives could be changed by practicing the Art.
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TALENT IN THE SWORD ARTS
father, a leading composer of the day and author of a book on how to teach music, always transcribed Mozart’s compositions for him until he was 16 years old. This was likely a business ploy and it worked well – Mozart was known as a child prodigy and much sought after. Mozart was to have started his musical training from age 2 and spent most of his time each day under his father’s focused teachings, but it still took him at least 10 years to produce a piece that was not transcribed by his father. Mozart’s first great work, Piano Concerto No. 9 as published when he was 21. He was not the child prodigy we read about but rather the results of a very good teacher being given almost unlimited time with his student and a good marketing agent.
If we attempt to understand what it takes to make a talented performer, we might consider the study by British researchers who looked at 12 years old violin players. It showed those who practiced more did better – not surprising but suggest that perhaps it isn’t inborn musical talent that allows one to excel. A study of American pianists found that after 6 years of intense study – the greats still didn’t stand out from their peers. Another nice study looked at university violin students and found that the ones who went on to play full time in orchestras and compare them to those who became music teachers. Both put in about 51 hours per week of violin related activities: lessons, practice, classes, chamber groups, etc. The key ingredient was how much time they put in as ‘focused practice’ on their own; the group that would go on to play in orchestras trained about 24 hours per week on their own and those who became music teachers trained about 9 hours per week! Focused practice seems to require time spent alone training. These types of results are being found more and more and suggest focused practice leads to excellence.
Chess masters can give us some more
insight into how the mind works. Miguel Najdorf, in 1947, played 45 different games simultaneously while blindfolded – surely he had a great memory and was very smart. Actually, when away from the chessboard he was as forgetful as anyone else. When chess masters were shown a board with 25 pieces of a game on it for about 8 seconds – they remembered nearly all of them each time while a group of non-players could remember only 5 pieces. What is interesting is when the 25 pieces were placed randomly on the board – the chess masters could remember only 7. The key wasn’t their memory per say but their understanding of chess patterns. It is not a gift of a great memory but rather long hours studying the patterns of chess games that made remembering chess games easier.
The key wasn’t their memory per say but their understanding of chess patterns. It is not a gift of a great memory but rather long hours studying the patterns of chess games that made remembering chess games easier.So we get some idea that talent is not something we are born with but we accomplish through years of focused practice. So what can we do to help with this focused practice? Is there some mindset that can help us succeed in our pursuit of excellence in the sword arts (kenjutsu, iai, or kendo)?
Consider two basic mindsets: fixed mindset = ‘things are carved into stone’ and learning mindset = ‘your basic qualities are cultivated through your efforts’. Studies have shown in college students with a fixed mindset who get a C+ on midterm exams tend not to put as much effort into the next test. Since their concept of intelligence is as a fixed trait
(either you were or you weren’t). They wanted to have an explanation of why they didn’t do well… they didn’t study, not that they weren’t smart. This type of not wanting to perform after they have done well is often characteristic of the fixed mindset. The growth mindset group said they would study more and coped with disappointment by taking some positive action. “This is a lot tougher than I thought, but it only makes me more determined.” It is then not surprising that people with learning mindsets are generally more successful then those who have fixed mindsets.
Another interesting outcome of the studies on mindset is if you praise someone or yourself with such lines as ‘you are so talented’ or ‘you must be smart because you did so well’ – this reinforces the fixed mindset and increases the likelihood of not facing challenges well because they are seen as one’s talent being measured. And since you are already perceived as being smart, why risk it?
On the other hand if you are praised for your effort, determination, etc., this tends to reinforce the learning mindset and one sees more success down the road and a joy in rising to new challenges.
So simply we should adopt a learning mindset and be willing to spend time in focused practiced – much of it by ourselves, to refine and elevate the level our skill with the sword.
Stanley Drucker, the NY Philharmonic principal clarinetist retired in 2009 after 61 years. How was he able to do this? Studies over a variety of domains shows that excellent performers suffer the same age related declines in speed and general cognitive functions as everyone else – except in their field of expertise. The key was again focused practice. Those who had the belief and desire to continue to do focused practice – no excuses – were able to maintain their skill level to a very late age. Rationalizing
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ones reasons not to practice seems commonplace among older practitioners, especially in the west.
In Japan people regularly practice iai into their 70’s. It is often said that in koryu practitioners should continue to improve until they are 55 years old. If they take care of their bodies and keep good practice habits this can be pushed to 65 years old. Koryu practitioners in their 80’s are fairly common and those in their 90’s exist. Hosokawa Sensei, in Kochi, Japan – trained until he was 88 years old and Iwata Sensei in Osaka trained into his 90’s, both of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. Otsubo Sensei of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu was training well into his late 80’s. In Katori Shinto Ryu; Otake Sensei was training into his late 80’s. Expectation of what one is capable of helps explain much of the longevity of Japanese swordman.
So daily focused practice, with lots of individual training time, supported by a growth mindset is most likely to achieve excellence in the sword arts. If we consider the Japanese sayings below, they seem to encourage this type of focused practice as well.
“Seven times down, eight times up” speaks to us of determination and perseverance.
“Practice 1,000 hours and you learn self discipline. Practice 10,000 hours and learn yourself.” Musashi
The story of martial resolve and the rainstorm, from Hagakure, encourages us to be unmoved by distraction as we focus on our goals.
“The bushi when missing the target looks for the answer within.” Focus on one’s own practice/person and encourages focused practice.
The concept of fudoshin, immovable mind.
“By what I did yesterday, I win today. This is the virtue of practice.” Hozoin Ryu, 1600
“Empty your cup” by Nan-in. A zen story that emphasizes the learning mindset.
“Progress comes to those who train and train; reliance on secret techniques will get you nowhere.” Ueshiba Morihei.
“Iai is a lifetime Art.” Takeshima Toshio.
Hopefully, we are all a bit more educated in our approach to training. Hopefully, we realize we need to spend quality, focused time in practicing our art regularly in order to achieve some measure of expertise. If that has been done then the purpose of this article has been achieved. I don’t think this article is much different from what most good koryu sensei offer but it does present it in a different manner. Please let go of age as an excuse for not keeping your focused practice alive. Forget the secrets, special talent or god given gifts, let go of comparisons. Put the quality effort in under the direction of a good teacher and you will be rewarded with excellence in your art.
However only you can put this into practice by training with focus and with a learning mindset. I look forward to seeing the change. Enjoy the journey.
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TALENT IN THE SWORD ARTS
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This is a column about the love of knowledge and the use of reason in courting it. That’s something like a literal translation
of the Greek word “philosophy.” This column is also about budo; it exploits reason in the name of the love of budo-knowledge. It has brought a shinai to a singles party; it has come to a battle of wits with a shinai.
While this effort to philosophize “for its own sake” in a budo magazine may be my first and only claim to anything approaching fame, I am not alone in wanting to bring philosophy to budo discourse. Serious budo philosophers – well, seriously academic budo philosophers – exist and make their living seriously “doing” budo philosophy. I know this because I’ve been to their convention and talked philosophy with them. There is, in fact, a thriving division of the American Philosophical Association devoted to martial arts philosophy. Dauntingly named the Society for the Study of Philosophy and the Martial Arts, the Society is featured at APA’s Pacific Division annual convention. This column aspires to exemplify, at least a little, the SSPMA.
Martial art does attract debate. It might even be said that it thrives on debate. “Martial” does, after all, suggest “combat” and, just perhaps, “debate” is “combat” disguised as discourse. In any case, budo has emphatically not been subjected to very much in the way of philosophical dialectic.
THE PHILOSOPHER SWORDSMANBringing a shinai to a battle of wits
By Robert W. Dillon, Jr., Ph.D.
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THE PHILOSOPHER SWORDSMAN
Debate is rhetoric designed to “win” formal or informal arguments. It uses appeals of all sorts with the goal of winning. In a debate both sides are committed to their viewpoint in advance, and only wish to win the debate. They seek to do so by the rhetoric of persuasion or by proving themselves right or the other side wrong. Thus, an arbiter, adjudicator, referee, judge, jury, or, when written, The Reader, decides which side wins. Claims-making of all sorts – debating a position to promote a given martial theory or practice or denounce some other one – falls within the territory I’m here writing about.
Dialectic (also called dialectics or the dialectical method) is a method of argument, which has been central to both Eastern and Western philosophy since ancient times. Dialectic is based on a dialogue between two or more people who may hold differing views, yet wish to seek the truth of the matter through the exchange of their viewpoints while applying reason. The appeals used in a debate are often themselves “debatable” in dialectics: authority, antiquity, novelty, morality, emotion, and so forth may win in verbal kumite or shiai but they do not stand up well in the deeper efforts involved in Truth Seeking.
There are little stabs towards dialectic here and there in budo-martial arts literature of course, but I’ve never
come across any example of martial arts discussion expressed in formal logic – syllogisms and so forth – but, to stab a little harder at a budo dialectic – it certainly won’t hurt to use formal logic to check arguments, well, formally. (Not as much as your Logic 101 class hurt, I hope; I don’t think logic has killed anyone, yet; my limp, I assure you is an old hamstring injury.) This means the challenging task of parsing out a given “argument” or claim in some variation of the form of a syllogism – from constructing actual syllogisms to just asking, “Is this reasonable?” The process is challenging since writers (and talkers) on martial arts commonly weigh discourse with flourishes of rhetoric which can hide truth claims. But with so many demanding so much of our attention it only seems the responsible thing – responsible use of our freedom to think creatively and critically leads, mountains of empirical evidence show, to more choice and more choice means more freedom. I think most of us want that.
Wants notwithstanding, the koryu have not been subjected to much more than appeals to authority, antiquity, morality, emotion, historical authenticity and so forth. Much of this “debate,” I think, runs back to Donn Draeger. Draeger’s work came at a time when the whole subject was new in the West. His work reflects
a desire to foster serious, even academic, treatment of the subject, especially the distinctions he argues for between modern and “classical” budo. Well, his work was seminal and is fundamental but the times they are a-changing: Otake Nobutoshi is touring the world now – since circa 2005, actually – and his brother and he are “inviting” people who are already taking instruction, sanctioned or not, to take the blood oath of Katori Shinto ryu. Optional keppan is not something Draeger may have envisioned but such changes, this sort of “a-changing,” whether any one of us may like it or not, has been a fact since the first ryu were forming. Koryu are not stable in time much as some proponents might like them to be.
And the “debates” (or what passes for debate in these matters) reflect that.
So, a first step or two beyond such fundamental and significant groundwork: It is useful to grasp that arguments may be either sound, valid, or both. The “best” arguments will be both sound and valid. A sound argument is (1) valid and (2) all of its premises are true.
All men are mortal. Musashi is a man. Therefore, Musashi is mortal.
This is, of course, a famous example of deductive reasoning. Notice how the proposal goes from a general premise, so far observed to be true, to specific observations of individual examples, to a specific and individual conclusion. This argument is valid since the conclusion does follow the premises as stated. It is also sound since the premises are in fact true.
Try this one on for size:
All samurai were brave. Musashi was a samurai. Therefore, Musashi was brave.
This argument is valid because the conclusion follows the premises as stated. It is not sound since it begins with a false premise.
Check out a bit of induction:
Musashi died. Musashi was a man. Therefore, all men are mortal.
This argument is not sound because it makes a fatal error in induction. That is, the conclusion, though true, is not warranted by the premises, though they are also true.
Fallacies that appear when these sorts of argument are stated in informal language are, wonder of wonders, called informal fallacies. A logician, even a very good one, has to work pretty hard to cut through to the structure and content of a complicated literary or journalistic pitch to see the informal logic at play. In any case, where martial rhetoric – popular, scholarly, or whatever – seems to lead to conclusions of fact or value not warranted by the evidence offered, one or more of the “fallacies of relevance” are likely to be in evidence. Attempts to prove – or sell an idea – or product – need the support of relevant evidence in order to succeed. Irrelevant informal logical fallacies often occur in the form of appeals – to authority, antiquity, novelty, or emotion. These are fallacies, again, of rhetoric-argument that are not based on the formal rules of logic; they are semantic, linguistic, and journalistic in nature.
Now, consider this argument:
A person has the authority to teach or practice a koryu discipline if and only if the soke, iemoto, or shihan of that koryu discipline has issued a formal and explicit permission for her to do so.
Therefore, anyone practicing or teaching a koryu discipline without such permission should refrain from claiming formal, nominative, or affiliative authority.
There is a question for another column here in the hasty generalization apparent in stating definitively a general principle about all koryu (an historical construct-idea conservatively
said to cover the 15th through the latter 19th Centuries, and more loosely said to go back to the 8th Century, but which includes hold overs into the 20th and early 21st Centuries!) based in specific knowledge of a few examples of koryu – no matter how deep our koryu knowledge or experience might be it surely cannot be broad enough to cover those many thousands of koryu through 1300 years.
These all too rampant fallacies of generalization – found not just in koryu circles either – are worthy of another column. Meantime:
There are two fundamentally different types of statement: statements of fact which describe the way that the world is, and statements of value which describe the way that the world ought to be. The naturalistic fallacy attempts to infer a statement of the latter kind from a statement of the former kind.
Arguments whose premises merely describe the way that the world is, but whose conclusion describes the way that the world ought to be, introduce a new term in the conclusion that does not appear in the premises. If the premises merely describe the way that the world is then they say nothing about the way that the world ought to be. Such factual premises cannot establish any value judgment; you can’t get an ‘ought’ from an ‘is’.
It might also be said here, but will be explored further in other columns, that concerns with lineage, status, and prestige are endemic to human nature and not the special province of the koryu. Even if we avoid hasty generalization and focus on the facts of say, Yagyu Shinkage ryu, our arguments still should not try to arrive at value conclusions based on those facts, nor can we claim any exclusivity in terms of values as special to Yagyu Shinkage ryu. Certainly, lineage and authority and general governance matters are way more complex where the gendai budo associations are concerned than they are with
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the highly localized, circumscribed, and limited governance of, say, Katori Shinto ryu. Meanwhile, even that stalwart of conservative budo stalwarts is “a-changing” – and has been changing all along.
Well. There is nothing wrong with moralizing, per se. It may even do us some good by reminding us about all the issues and problems inherent in valuing anything. But being informed trumps moralizing as an aid to valuing. Nothing wrong with dogma – ko or gendai or shin or whatever – as far as it goes, but information that is tested and weighed is by far more useful in the larger view.
These arguments have been around since Westerners first discovered the koryu through the very efforts of the folks who first presented Westerners with the koryu. Those very same folks, oddly enough, seem to regret they ever did so at the same time they continue to publicize and publish. Still, you cannot get to “ought” from “is.” Not easily, at least. That difficulty may be why these arguments – like the proverbial dead horse – continue to be pounded and pounded; they are just not very effective; list as many facts as you like and they still don’t add up to any value statements.
Also, these arguments present no recourse, no consequence with which to threaten their malefactors. They are feckless. In fact, the arguer will often go on to own that it doesn’t really matter, in the final analysis, as long as folks don’t make false claims. It is as if they want it both ways; to sell a firearm and try, by talking, to keep that firearm from ever hurting anyone. Can’t be done. No matter whether my moral high ground is solid under my feet or not, I still will not be able to control people’s actions.
Incidentally, if there is indeed a “these folks” behind these arguments, they certainly do not grant themselves any sort of by in these matters. I personally think their overt, “we don’t care about you wannabes” is a little overstated – they must need and
want students to teach and help pay the dojo bills – but they certainly do manage to keep control of what they do or don’t do. Since no rights are available without responsibilities, it seems obvious that they feel that their system of valuing needs expression and they do express it. I’m glad they do and glad of the freedom that allows them to do so.
The genie is well out of the bottle, though, and they themselves opened it – through Japanese Festival demonstrations, books, essays, and web sites – and, consciously or unconsciously, they themselves capitalize upon it.
Well.
Consider the following:
Martial arts are evolving – along with everything else. Koryu are forms of martial art. Therefore, koryu (like it or not) are evolving.
Like it or not the presence of Westerners “in” koryu suggests something of this evolution. Like it or not the granting of authority of any sort to any Westerner points to the change that marks koryu and must have always marked any koryu that has survived into the 20th Century.
In honor of these arguers, though, and with a mind to suggest that the good that they have done in informing and educating those of us too poor or too cowardly to commit to their path, in fact, far outweighs the bad done by any perceived wrongdoer. Pareto’s Law, named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, might be here invoked. It might say that 20% of people account for 80% of interest in martial arts and 20% of those people account for 80% of interest in Japanese martial arts and 20% of those people account for 80% of interest in koryu and 20% of those people account for 80% of the fakery, confusion, or stupidity in their actual working out of that interest. We could also just follow Theodore Sturgeon and say that if 90% of Western koryu
is crud, so what? “90% of everything is crud.”
Speaking of stupidity: I’d just finish out this first shiai – the shinpan cho seems to be waiting for a final score – by referring to Hanlon’s Razor and asking budoka and budo commentator alike to: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. I’d add a Dillon aphorism: Americans have no monopoly on stupidity; there are just more of us.
Abayo!
Robert W. Dillon, Jr., Ph.D. Sometime late in the Pleistocene Epoch, Rob Dillon took Bruce Tegner’s Complete Book of Karate from Kinderhook Regional Library in Lebanon, Missouri, and, inspired by James West, tutored by the redoubtable Mr. Tegner, and dressed in a white terrycloth bathrobe, he posed and punched around his parents basement in clandestine joy for hours on end. And that was, as they say, that. College in Springfield, Missouri, saw Rob become president of that institution’s first taekwondo club. There he met Dave Lowry – then-English major and judoka with the Southeast Missouri State College Judo Club. Then came the books of Donn Draeger . . . and that, as they say, was, again, that. While teaching Language Arts to grades 7 through 12 in tiny Verona, Missouri – back in the Miocene Epoch – Rob, inspired by Dave Lowry whose wife also taught there, began writing occasional articles for Karate Illustrated, Black Belt, and Inside Karate. Grad school followed. In poking around the library stacks at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Rob found actual copies of Judo Illustrated, the SCHOLARLY journal which famously set the tone for Draeger’s later work. Rob continued to write, academic and popular, more and more focused on Japanese martial arts and stage combat, as he survived 25 years of professing theatre arts at Southeast Missouri State University. Rob studied many years with Sugawara Tetsutaka, Mark Jones, and Pat Nichols in the Sugawara Budo interpretation of Katori Shinto ryu technique, “Never had the wherewithal to go to Japan, never found the direct connection in my rural, pre-internet, mid-westerner’s life, but always, always wanted to know what Draeger was on about with Otake sensei.” Since then Rob has moved with Ellen Dickey-Dillon, formerly of Buffalo, Wyoming, to Alliance, Nebraska, population 8,491, where he practices Muso Shinden ryu Iaido under the direction of Scott Tullis of Cheyenne, Wyoming, in an handball court at the local YMCA, and, says Rob, “That is that and that is just fine with me!” At 60 years of age Rob only hopes his knees will last as long as his pleasure in budo.
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There are no apparent, specific exercises for “Ai” or “Do” in Aikido. But there are many exercises for “Ki”. Quite a few teachers, during their lessons give instructions to “Let your Ki flow” or “You have to blend your Ki with the Ki of your partner.” Many discussions, and even disputes, exist within Aikido, whether in a particular “style” or an interpretation of “Ki”, as to whether it plays an important role in the art or not!
But what is this “Ki”, this “energy”? It is assumed that in East Asian cultures, it is “universal”, existing in all animate and inanimate objects, and some say that “Ki” is the universe. For the Aikido practitioner, developing the sensitivity to feel, not only the presence of “Ki” but also its strength or intensity is an important aspect of the art. Some speak of “good” and “bad Ki”, but you can also use “Ki”, and pass it on to other people in the case of Aikido technique that deflects an attack.
Why is “Ki” intangible, can you physically feel it?, and how can we train through exercise to receive and and give “Ki”?
How can you demonstrate “Ki”?
At the time when the concept of Ki was being developed in Asia, little was known in Europe about the brain and it’s function.
Aristotle believed that the brain is an organ for cooling the blood, and that the mind and the immortal soul were located in various other organs. It was much later in Europe, that the first serious observations and experiments were made from which modern neuroscience emerged. It took many decades until the realisation that the brain is a wonderfully complex organ, capable of incredible processes such as; thought, feeling, perception, memory, language, action, conscience, problem solving, plan and so much more. All of these are the only abilities people associate with
the brain, based on electrochemical processes of this incredibly complex neural network. Much of what was previously inexplicable was explained by neural models, such as memory ability or language acquisition. For the martial arts, it is perhaps even more interesting. Quite simply, it seems to be that our sense organs (eyes, ears, taste, touch and “self-perception”; where are my limbs, with regards to my position in the room; The so-called Proprioceptors) are neither complete or able to perceive accurately. It goes only so far. The brain, at any given time, has the expectation of what it will perceive from a particular sense organ. This ensures that the brains processing speed is increased dramatically, but the system will show and error, as there are many fallacies. This is the point where magicians, martial artists and scammers will exercise their craft and take advantage of the “spaces”.
It also seems that we only act on our first instinct, notice any changes in our perception of the world, and then think about it in a second step and draw our conclusions. Mostly, we correct once we’ve started moving and adapt to any changes in environmental conditions and to our own expectations of them. In short we can say that we see, hear and feel what we want, and the events in the real environment dictate our prejudices and expectations until we are comfortable and can confirm them.
So our memory turns out to be a very subjective sieve, in which only the memories of those events are held at that particular moment. Every time we remember, we change its content while remembering. The technical term for this is confabulation. How many judges find it painful to ask witnesses, whose memories can be influenced by using little tricks.
There is only one sense organ that can not deceive, and that is smell. But it plays no role in the martial arts. But that’s is another topic.
Based on our body movements, the following still remains the most important: If we learn a new unknown movement, then we perform it slowly, exaggerating the angular movements. The traditional teaching method gives the “right” movements for the students to mimic, and through endless repetition of the same movements can the student develop the smooth circular movements typical of Aikido.
At the beginning of the learning process, many neurons are involved in the many different areas of the brain. Therefore, beginners can perform movements neither fast nor smooth. The processing paths are long and many neurons spark between each movement. During this learning process, then fewer and fewer neurons are required in order to control and perform the movement. In the end, only a single neuron may be enough to put a execute a movement from the premotor cortex.
KI
A movement expert such as O-Sensei, may require only a few neurons to make a movement, with no hesitation from certain small changes in his perception of complex movements, and so can initiate technique with incredible precision predicting of a partner or Uke.
Therefore, such an expert, in a defensive situation, would completely overwhelm a novice or an uninitiated with only a fraction of their brain in order cope with such a situation.
The beginner, however, is overwhelmed by the amount of incoming sensations and stimulus, and is unable to trigger the appropriate movement patterns in the brain and is therefore helpless. The expert, however, has plenty of free brain capacity that is not required for the movement control. Free brain capacity does not mean that the neurons are at“rest” or “off”. Instead, they take care of other tasks. For example they can take an observer role of the execution of movement without actually having to take any part in the action. This phenomenon gives the impression that the movements take place in slow motion. We know exactly what happens next, and deliberate change is not usually necessary.
When new people attend an Aikido class, first of all I give a brief demonstration without
words, followed by a few explanatory sentences about the history of Aikido and an explanation of the term “Aikido” itself. Guided by the kanji an explanation of “Aikido” can be given. The first syllable “Ai” means “harmony” or “love”, like a family living under one roof – the first strokes symbolising a house. The second syllable “ki” means life energy or spirit, the part symbolising a rice field. Finally, “Do” which means road, way or a path of life, symbolised by the stylised river in the third part.
This observervation portion of the non-busy brain plays a very important role in the learning process. In traditional training, instruction is repeated again and again, beginning and ending a movement, not really noticing if it is right or wrong. From a neuronal point of view, it is more important to drastically reduce the number of neurons involved in the action as quickly as possible, and only in the second phase, to get get rid of the unnecessary neurons. Therefore, one can conclude that a movement is never definitively learned completely, as there is always room for improvement, resulting in possible improvements or changes over a life long study.
Through my own experience and observations of other martial arts practitioners, the sense organs become very sensitive when they are not distracted by muscle tensions, intricate movements and effort. If I firmly grab the forearm of another, then I no longer feel the movement of my partners arm as well as I would by not grabing firmly. This is the reason why we require the uke in Aikido, to grasp firmly. If we do not succumb to a strong reflex action once grabbed, the Uke will respond and continue to use tension, making it is quite easy to remove his grip. So much so, that the Uke, initially, does not realise that the situation is changing and turning against him, the result being that he is unable to prevent our break out from this grip.
If we move in a relaxed, or more to the point, natural and calm way, our sense organs can work at their best. This includes, for example, a relaxing the face and even non-directional hearing, etc. From this, our brain can accurately recognise the patterns and movements through self-observation, resulting in a successful movement! The discovery of such patterns that our brain has created, improves performance through natural movements. These patterns don’t just include imagery, audio, etc but are based on the populations of neurons in which all the relevant
By Prof. Dr. Thomas Christaller (Translated from German)
First part
Second part
Third part
(Left) Koichi Tohei Sensei, of the Ki Society, with the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba Sensei.
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KI
sensory, memory contents, emotional reviews, muscle control and the idea about tension, joint angle, spatial orientation, etc are available. For the brain, it is irrelevant whether content or objective is correct, complete physical description or modeling of the movement sequence are apparent, for example, the same used in computer game simulations. After all, it is the brain as a whole that dictates how a movement must feel and whether there are relevant differences that need to be taken into account in order to adapt.
So, back to the concept of Ki. Probably all living things have a sense or feeling to optimise movement, this is expressed in humans as our aesthetic sense – “This is a nice move”. If we look at the movements of the great teachers in Aikido, we can say, in most cases, that it is “beautiful movement”; not just “efficient”,”effective” or “strong”. We see the movement and are emotionally touched by it.
My hypothesis is that “Ki” is an abbreviation for this very complex process and a very complex subjective internal experience of beautiful movements. “Feel the Ki of others” means nothing more than to move in a relaxed and natural manner as possible, to make out the slightest hint in the changes of motion, posture and to make correct predictions; which way he wants to move, and which intentions he follows. Do not wait until a movement is significant before reacting, the is clear in the case of a beginner, but act accordingly through the senses and making use of prediction.
As in the time of the European Enlightenment (17th and 18th century), realisation was spreading that the sun does not rotate around the earth, that the earth is not flat and that Jerusalem is not the centre of the universe; people had lived with these beliefs for 100 of years. In the 19th Century, discoveries and realisations continued, that electromagnetic waves propagate in a vacuum and it
doesn’t need a special ether to be transmitted, light from our sun and other stars reaches us by crossing matter-free space. This also changed our view of the world and today we find nothing special that all radio and television programs constantly pass through our bodies without changing the quality of reception. The metaphors we use to describe our current knowledge are sometimes still rooted in the old world view, e.g. when we say “Look this beautiful sunrise!” We can enjoy the beauty of this moment in which our world is providing us in this way or another. It is important that we use for various purposes, the appropriate models or world views. In a poem we expect sunrises and sunsets. If we fly a plane, we would do well to describe the same phenomenon as the Earth’s rotation.
So it may as well be a similar story with the concept of “Ki”. Maybe we speak in an abbreviated form when teaching “Ki”, that is perfectly fine. But when it comes to understand why this “works” it is more appropriate to use other means of description. The beauty of the phenomenon is not thereby diminished. Possibly even our admiration rises in the second case, because we do not have to rely on a diffused concept from another culture, but actually get an idea of the complexity that goes into such a simple movement pattern as Irimi-nage.
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Tainan is the most historic city in Taiwan, Republic of China. Created
by the Dutch East India Company as a trading post until the colonists were defeated by Koxinga in 1661. The Japanese took control and created the Republic of Formosa in Tainan in 1895. The picture above shows the Old Tainan Martial Arts Academy, built by the Japanese in 1936 it is an exact copy of the original, which had been built about 25 years before. The academy is part of a cultural area and lies next to the Confucian Temple (Left). It is not open to the public. There are five such academies in Tainan. This is the most famous. The Old Martial Arts Academy is in the grounds of the Zhong Yi Elementary School. Known as Dasi Wude Hall, it was used for training in Kendo and Judo. It also served to promote Japanese culture in Taiwan.
Photography and words by Gary Williamson ©
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Clive Sinclaire lives near London in the UK, where he worked in the advertising business until his retirement. His long term experience as a serious student of Kendo and Iaido has greatly influenced his views on Japanese swords. He sees the practise of these arts, as the practical and reverse side of the same coin that is the artistic appreciation of Nihonto. Clive is the chairman of the To-ken Society of Great Britain, one of the first Western study and appreciation groups focusing on the Japanese sword and has written two books on the subject.His special interest is in Hizen-to, swords made in Hizen province (present day Saga Prefecture) in the Edo period.
Japanese PolearmsBy Clive Sinclaire
Elsewhere, the spear is one of the oldest weapons in the world, dating back to cave men that both hunted and made war with it. For centuries it was the main weapon of the warrior, from darkest Africa to the legionaries of Rome. There were obvious advantages in having a long pole between you and the target, but, of course, the Japanese version was peculiarly Japanese and a reflection of the fighting techniques of those ancient times. By the early 9th century, the tactics of massed spearman had been perfected in the battles against the Ainu, the aboriginal inhabitants of the Japanese islands. As sword making techniques from continental Asia had by now been completely absorbed and improved upon, they
were easily modified in the production of yari (spears). Principally, the blades of these yari were straight (su-yari) and of course they had a sharp point, but both of the parallel sides were also sharpened. This indicates that as well as stabbing or thrusting, the sharpened sides could be employed for cutting or slashing, adding a further range of techniques to the spearman’s repertoire.
The quenched and hardened edge that we are familiar with on Japanese swords, known as the hamon, was incorporated in the manufacture of yari. It ill be remembered that the hamon is present in order that the cutting-edge is able to take and retain a hard and sharpened edge, which
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When the earth was still very young, the heavenly deity Izanagi, one day
took his spear and approached the primeval soup that formed the world. He dipped his spear into the soup and several droplets coagulated on its blade. These were the same droplets that when they fell to earth, formed the islands of Japan. It is said that the Japanese people that came to inhabit these islands, realised from this, that the spear was a holy weapon of great importance to them, as they owed to it the very formation of their homeland.
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has less of a risk of chipping and breaking. The forging also mimicked that of the swords, but significantly the grain of the body of the yari (the jihada) is usually masame or straight grained. I say significantly, as this is considered a characteristic of the swordsmiths of Yamato province and as the 8th century capital of the country was at Nara in Yamato province, it is clear from where the original yari-makers came.
The yari, in ancient times, was the weapon of the lower class foot soldier and only rarely the favoured weapon of the more noble samurai. However, in these early days, approximately from 800 to 1200 AD, another significant military body was a force to reckon with. The importation of Buddhism between 600 and 750 AD attracted many militant warrior monks, known as Sohei. The ancient imperial capital of Nara, followed by Kyoto, was the centre of this religious movement and many monasteries were built there. As the frontier was moved back, further monasteries were built in the newly acquired territories and needed defending. All such establishments enjoyed tax free status enshrined in an Imperial mandate and such privileges often required spirited defence.
The warrior monks were highly skilled at the martial arts and were frequently to be found wearing swords and full armour. They employed and retained skilled swordsmiths and virtually all those of Yamato-den (one of the five main schools or traditions of swordmaking) were retained by these monastic organisations. Such was their prowess at warfare, that the samurai lords of the time would employ these fearsome warriors. Certainly in the legendary wars fought in the late 12th century between the opposing clans,
JAPANESE POLEARMS
the Minamoto and the Taira, (the Gempei Wars) both sides employed many warrior monks. Probably the most famous was chief retainer of the Minamoto hero Yoshitsune, who was the warrior monk, Saito-Musashi-bo-Benkei.
The favoured weapon of these gentlemen, including Benkei, was called the naginata. This was a halberd with a large curved blade and a single cutting edge, mounted on poles of varying lengths. Actually the naginata was developed from an agricultural implement called a “nata” and the addition of the adjective “Nagi” simply means “long”. Of course, these were also made by the sword and yari makers of the Yamato-den tradition, as well as those of Bizen province. A certain technique, whereby a figure of 8 was described in a whirling action, was apparently almost impossible to counter at close quarters and gave the users a sense of invulnerability. The famous story of a monk named Gochima-no-Tajima illustrates this well. The Minamoto warriors were under immense pressure at a river named Ujigawa,
Jumonji yari by Hiromitsu, with saya
Naginata signed Hizen Kuni Tadayoshi
Kato Kiyomasa killing a tiger in Korea with his yari
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which was close to Kyoto and Tajima was ordered to defend the bridge and prevent the enemy’s advance. According to the Heike Monogatari (The Tales of the Heike or Taira), “Gochima-no-Tajima, throwing away the sheath of his long naginata, strode onto the bridge, whereupon the Heike shot at him fast and furious. Tajima, not at all perturbed, ducking to avoid the higher ones and leaping over those that flew low, cut through those that flew straight with his whirling halberd, so that even the enemy looked upon him with admiration. Thus it was he was dubbed “Tajima the arrow cutter.” The hero Tajima was subsequently represented in many art forms including prints and ivory carvings.
Also around in the Nambokucho period, were nagimaki. Essentially the same as the naginata, the nagimaki tended to have less of an exaggerated curve and owed more in shape to the sword. The blades were, therefore, longer and straighter and the pole tended to be shorter. In my own collection, there is a 19th century copy of an early nagimaki that is made
in the Bizen style. This has a 51 cm blade and a nakago or tang of equal length. The pole is relatively short and bound like a sword handle for the last part and it also has a tsuba. The nagimaki was said to have been most effective when used to cut a horse’s legs and dismount the rider!
The naginata and the warrior monks became less important as we enter the Muromachi period, and the prominence of the yari, re-asserted itself. The monks themselves seem to have quietened down over the first part of this era, but were known to have caused many problems to Oda Nobunaga in the latter half of the 16th century.
All poles were of a similar design. At the base an iron harumaki is found which, as well as acting as a counterweight to the blade and indeed may be used offensively, protects the base of the pole when grounding it. Some yari poles will also have a cross piece known as a hadome. This would be used for parrying swords or other spears or tripping an adversary. Towards the blade end of the pole may be found a hand stop made of whipped rattan or hemp cord.
“The naginata is inferior to the yari on the battlefield. With the yari you can take the initiative; the naginata is defensive. In the hands of one of two men of equal ability, the yari gives a little extra strength. Yari and naginata both have their uses but neither is very beneficial in confined spaces. They cannot be used for taking a prisoner. They are essentially for the field”. In this way the famous swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, described the essential strategic differences between naginata and yari in his definitive book, Go Rin no Sho.
A very common design of yari in the later part of the Muromachi period is popularly known as the Jumonji yari, named after the Japanese character for 10 which is JU and is a cross. The romantic story of its invention was that a master of the so-jitsu (spear fighting) was holding his su-yari and gazing at the reflection of the crescent moon in a pond. His su-yari bisected the moon’s reflection and he was then inspired to commission the local swordsmith to make a Jumonji yari.
Actually, in the latter part of the Muromachi period, the yari seems to have become socially accepted by the higher class of samurai. There were even seven “famous spearmen of Japan”. Kato Kiyomasa, a renowned general from Higo province in Kyushu, was part of Hideyoshi’s invasion of Korea in the late 1500’s and was well known for his expertise with his Jumonji style yari that had uneven lengths to both sides of the cross-section. This style variation is known as Katakamayari and, complete with its mother-of-pear shaft, is still preserved in the Tokyo National Museum. It was a popular story that Kato Kiyomasa actually killed a tiger with this yari in Korea during Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasion (1592-98).
Tajima at Ujigawa
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Another famous extant yari is known as Nippongo. It is 79 cm in length and was owned by the Kuroda family. It is a long su-yari with an elaborate horimono and was said to he been won by the samurai of the Kuroda clan in a sake drinking competition and is still in the pride of place in the Kuroda collection! Like Nippongo, Tombogiri (Dragon-fly Cutter) is considered as one of the eminent “Three Spears of Japan” and was the favourite weapon of Honda Hachiro Tadakatsu (1548-1610) a leading general of Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is of the Sasaho-zukuri shape and made by Fujiwara Masazane, it is 43.8 cm in length and part of a private collection in Japan
During the Edo period, both naginata and yari continued to be made by swordsmiths. And although there were a few specialists makers, most swordsmiths occasionally turned their hands to their manufacture. However, as the Edo period was one of peace, the necessity for functional weapons diminished and most naginata lost their relatively strong shape from the previous periods, although some
special order pieces were very good. This may also be seen in the mounts of the polearms, which were required more for ceremonial use. Of special interest were the saya (scabbards) of yari. These were many and varied in design and the material in which they were made. Often they were ornately lacquered and I have one that is covered in black bear fur. The custom of regular attendance
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at Edo, imposed on the feudal lords by the Tokugawa shoguns, was an opportunity for the provincial daimyo to demonstrate their importance on the procession to Edo. Here, a position of great importance in the procession and a reflection of the lord’s favour, was the position of yari-mochi or yari carrier who would be proudly carrying a yari displaying the clan’s mon or device. Also many poles from the later Edo period are ornamented with aogai or mother-of-pearl. Unfortunately, this is rather frail and tends to flake off when handled now.
The naginata generally became a much lighter weapon and often the degree of curvature at the point was very pronounced. Although, like the yari, these naginata might be carried in the daimyo processions to Edo, they became associated with women from the samurai class. Indeed, even today, the martial art of naginata-do is largely practised by women and I have experienced the amazing power and dexterity with which a relatively small Japanese lady, can overcome a much larger opponent with her naginata.
The main route for travel in old Japan was the highway between Kyoto and Edo, known as the Tokaido. Daimyo processions from the provinces, as well as many assorted civilians were constantly going back and forth along the Tokaido and the other main roads of Japan. However, the shogunate was constantly on the look out for those who might oppose their autocratic rule or were simply common criminals and so, along the length of the Tokaido were spaced 53 checkpoints or customs barriers. These were immortalised in Hiroshige’s series of woodblock prints. Here the Tokugawa police monitored everyone moving along the road, especially those entering or leaving the capital. At each of the 53 stations, these police had a collection of weapons which were essentially restraining implements,
rather than killing weapons, although they did have their fair share of swords and guns. Every station had a number of polearms known as sode-garami, literally “sleeve entanglers. Comprising of a series of spikes and hooks mounted on a long pole, some looking like garden rakes, these were made to entangle the loose sleeves common on the dress of those days. These implements would be kept on racks where they were immediately ready for use and today may be seen at places such as the Tokaido checkpoint at Hakone.
As Musashi stated earlier in this essay, yari and naginata were weapons of the field and not much good in confined spaces. As there were no battles to be fought after the siege at Osaka castle in 1614, their use was mainly ceremonial as discussed earlier. However, another piece in my collection demonstrates a variation of the yari, specifically made to be used in a confined area. Mainly it is simply of smaller proportions overall and is known as a makura-yari (pillow yari) and kept by the bed. This has a red lacquered ribbed pole with an iron harumaki at the base. The small straight blade has a socket rather than a tang to secure it to the pole, which is actually a feature of very early yari but was occasionally made at other times. It is 1 meter 19cm overall of which the blade and socket account for 20.5 cm The swordsmith’s signature is inscribed on the outside of the socket and reads: “Minamoto Nobukuni Kanetsugu” (about 1670).
Another Edo period variation on an old theme is the hokko. Ancient hokko usually have a small vertical blade and another that extends out at the side. This is of a hook like shape with the cutting edge on the lower Kawachi no Kami
Kunisuke naginataDeep sori in a later example by Choshu Fujiwara Kiyoshige
Naginata Naoshi with signature of Norinaga reinserted in the new nakago
Yari owned by Kato Kiyomasa
Tombogiri
part but there are many variations on this theme. Mine has a blade which although actually has a tang, appears to be socketed for effect. Further, the blade has no sharp edge at all and is lacquered completely black. On the pole there are two iron loops which appear to accommodate a banner of some description. I believe this to be a late Edo period fire-fighter’s hokko, the function of which was to pull down the burning timbers of a house.
From the beginning of the Edo period, many naginata were shortened and converted to swords, loosing any signatures that may have been on the original nakago. Such blades are known as naginata-naoshi. Some swords were actually made to look like naginata-naoshi. Usually during the conversion, much of the curvature at the point must be reduced along the back edge and this would remove any kaeri or “turn-back” of the boshi or hamon at the point. The boshi left, therefore, will go straight off the back edge with no kaeri and so should be relatively easy to spot.
Today, there are only a very few naginata or yari of exceptional quality available to the Western collector. Generally speaking, polearms are not rated to the same degree as sword blades, even when made by the same maker. In the past, this was understandable as it may have been very difficult to transport a weapon on an 8 foot pole right across the world, but this is hardly an insurmountable problem today. Of course, when considering the jumonji-yari has no less than six different cutting edges, they become a real problem for polishers, a significant number of whom refuse to polish them altogether. The difficulty in restoration and the premium price demanded for it, therefore, may be another negative factor. Whatever the reason, when compared with swords, polearms may be obtained at a healthy discount!
The sode-garami or sleeve entangler
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Chūson-ji is built on Kanzan Mountain and was situated in the centre of the Ōshū territory during the northern Fujiwara’s reign of a century. Aside
from strategically placing Chūson-ji near the roads that lead to Kyoto, the location also applied to the Fujiwara’s Buddhist ideals known as Buddhist Pure Land or Amidism.
The pathway to Chūson-ji is a trek to some extent and the paths around the forest cover quite a distance. In particular the path known as the Tsukimizaka Slope is very steep and is surrounded by cryptomeria trees planted during the Edo period when the area was controlled by the Date clan.
When the Fujiwara family fell to the Minamoto clan (a retaliation to the Fujiwara family for providing sanctuary to Minamoto Yoshitsune), their leader Yoritomo ordered the destruction of the Fujiwara estate. As a result, the majority of the temple was destroyed by fire. Fortunately, two of the buildings remained. The first being the Konjikidō, the Golden Hall, built around 1124 A.D.
The hall itself is made of wood. Excluding the roof, each area of the hall is intricately covered in gold leaf – a reflection of the wealth of the Fujiwara’s at the height of their prime and their dedication to the Buddhah of Infinite Light (Amida Nyorai).
Within the hall lies the mummified remains of four generations of the Fujiwara: The first generation Kiyohira, second generation Motohira, then third generation Hidehira. It was Hidehira’s action to protect Yoshitsune that was arguably the catalyst for the Fujiwara’s downfall. In a casket alongside Hidehira is his son Yasuhira – noted as the one responsible for Yoshitsune’s inevitable death.
In the past, Konjikidō was exposed to the elements and openly visible to the public. Since then it has been placed within it’s own purpose built structure and now visitors can only see the front side of the temple behind glass.
…be sure to visit the Chūson-ji Temple, a Buddhist temple located in Hiraizumi, Iwate. It is the head Tendai Buddhist sect temple in the Tōhoku region and the Tendai sect claim the temple was built around the middle of the 9th century. Historians, however, credit the Ōshū Fujiwara family as building the temple. Records show that Fujiwara Kiyohira founded Chūson-ji at the beginning of the 12th century.
Tohoku Paths: Chuson-ji Templeby Justin McKay
Another building that has survived to a degree is the Kyōzō Hall – a repository for the Buddhist sutras. The building is even older than Konjikidō but is often overlooked by visitors when compared with the beauty and elegance of Konjikidō. Fire destroyed the upper part of the building but it was somewhat restored. The artefacts that were enclosed within the structure have since been relocated to the onsite museum – protecting them from any further damage.
To complement the Spring Fujiwara Festival hosted at Chūson-ji the first week in May each year, there is the Autumn Fujiwara Festival where the resident monks perform Noh on the stage.
In the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, Chūson-ji received damage to it’s structures, including the Konjikidō. In June that year, it was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site after applying to the list in 2000. Chūson-ji is one of five historic sites in Hiraizumi including the Mōtsū-ji and Muryōkō-in Ato, all of which are attributed with the Fujiwara’s brief legacy.
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Chuson-ji konjikido Chuson-ji repositoryChuson-ji noh stage
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SEMINAR AND EVENT REVIEW
It all started when I was in elementary school. My
Dad sent me to learn Tae Kwon Do because I was very skinny and other kids would pick on me and I did not have the self confidence back then to stand up to them. During our training sessions, I remember one day in particular, where the brother of our Master came to do a sword demonstration and I was amazed by what I saw. I remember thinking that one day I would be able to have a sword like that and know how to use it.
Growing up I always tuned in to Samurai related shows or movies and I would always watch Japanese dramas, even though I did not know what they were saying. Little by little I started matching words with the subtitles and learned how to say some things in Japanese, but that did not give me the feeling that I was looking for. Then one day, when I was 17 years old, a girlfriend and her Mom presented me with a gift. It was a wooden samurai sword (Bokken). I was stunned and in awe. I quickly began imitating moves I had seen in movies but still felt like I did not know what I was doing. By now I was learning different martial arts. Always trying to find the one that would make me feel like I had found what I was looking for, but it never came to fruition.
In college I decided to study Japanese formally and did very well with the classes. I had organized a club called, “The Daimyo Society” in college and I had made several Japanese friends who had gone back to Japan after college so I had people in Japan who could show me around. I did so well that when I graduated my Dad awarded me with his credit
How I became the owner of my own sword dojoBy Raul G Acevedo
card and told me that I had earned a trip to Japan. I got the plane ticket and took off. Boy oh boy what a treat awaited me. A friend of mine in Tokyo allowed me to stay with him and his family and his (a former secretary for the Japanese Diet) loaned us his car so we could travel down to Fukuoka. During our trip we visited castles and museums. I was always looking for Samurai and Ninja related things, and I saw plenty. I saw uniforms, swords, scrolls, different weapons, a ninja house in Koga etc… I even visited the cave where Miyamoto Musashi lived in his last days. I was so happy but still, something was missing. I knew I wanted to learn about the sword but no one near me could teach me.
I was so happy but still, something was missing. I knew I wanted to learn about the sword but no one near me could teach me.
After getting married and working full time, I figured I will probably never be able to learn the sword, so I gave up looking and simply watched Samurai dramas until one day when my wife and I moved to a new community. I was surprised to meet one of my neighbors. He was Japanese. We became very good friends. He called himself Toko. Toko and I became very good friends and one night while having some sake and snacks, he was surprised that my wife had bought me a very beautiful samurai sword from a company called Bugei as a gift for my birthday. The sword was the dragonfly sword and it was the most beautiful sword I had ever seen. Toko wondered why I would want such a gift. I explained that all my life, I wanted to learn how to handle
the katana but never found a teacher. You can imagine my shock when Toko confessed to me that in Japan, he grew up learning Kendo (Japanese Fencing or The Way of The Sword) in his junior high school days. I asked him if he would be willing to teach me, and so the lessons began.
A year went by and Toko and I practiced kendo from time to time. His lessons usually included different ways to attack and defend in Kendo but still, something inside me was not quite satisfied. Well the lessons ended when Toko had to relocate to Virginia because of his employment and I was lost as to what to do next. But where there is a will, there is a way.
My wife and I had a discussion over this matter and I assured her that if I found a place to learn the sword, it would probably be only for a few months to learn a little. You see by now I was 42 years old and I could not even think of fighting in tournaments especially being out of shape and having a bit of Psoriatic Arthritis. She agreed that I am no “spring chicken” and that it would be a good thing for me to learn how to correctly handle my newly acquired gift, so off I went to finding a dojo to learn at. Little did I know what was awaiting me.
I met my instructor and after asking me about my martial arts experience, he told me that I would be able to get my first dan rank after about 2 years. I asked what was required to reach that level and he told me everything I would need to know. Nothing he talked to me about was too difficult to do in my mind, except for one. Hayasuburi or, “quick steps”. You see Hayasuburi is a back and forth motion you do with your feet while swinging the Shinai (bamboo sword) over your
head. He said in our school we do 1000 of these quick movements that look like jumps. It was the signature mark of our school and everyone had to build up endurance over time to get there. I laughed and told him it would be impossible for me to get there at my age and with my poor health. He assured me I was wrong and told me that he could get me there. He also told me that our school also holds classes in using the real sword. The style taught is called “Siljun Dobup”. It’s Korean for real sword training. Our Grand Master is the former kendo champion from Korea and he learned sword forms when he studied in Japan. You can’t imagine the excitement I felt to learn this. So I joined. I stayed year after year learning both Kendo, or Kumdo as the Koreans call it, and I learned how to use the real katana.
You know, it’s funny how you think you know yourself, and then you find out you don’t really know who you are until things happen in your life that show you that you are wrong. I had intended to stay at this dojo for a short while, just so I could learn a little about the sword and it’s usage but noooooooo! I was not anticipating how much in love I would become with kendo and real sword training. I got pretty good at it too. For two years my team ranked first place in kendo for the northeast in tournaments with the KKA (Korean Kumdo association) and this year we ranked second place. I am now a 2nd dan in both kendo and Siljun Dobup. I recently opened up a small program in a martial arts school where I teach both. My program is called, “Hudson Valley Sword Academy” and is moving along slowly but surely. My wife shakes her head when she remembers
I only wanted to do this for a short while, and we laugh. I still train at the dojo (dojang) where I hope to test for 3rd dan soon and teach twice a week while still having my full time job in New York City as a school counselor for a high school. I finally feel completely satisfied that I found what I was looking for so very long ago. I feel complete and I have many people to thank for that. I guess I am a very lucky guy but I think anyone can do what I have done if you want it bad enough. I tell people to embrace whatever dream it is they have and just go for it. You never know what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it. I wonder what my next goal will be? Hmmm, maybe jumping from a plane? We will see. Thanks for reading my story. Feel free to get in touch.
www.hvswordacademy.com
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In 1999, after studying for four years full-time at the British School of Osteopathy – the country’s oldest osteopathic school – Nigel qualified as a registered osteopath with a 2.1 Bachelor of Science Honours degree.
In addition to having his own clinic in East Sussex, he works in private practices in Kent, Reigate and Epsom in Surrey. As a teacher, he is currently principle lecturer in Osteopathic Technique at Surrey Institute of Osteopathic Medicine, a Recognised Qualification (RQ) Osteopathic Degree Course based in North East Surrey College in Ewell.
By Nigel Kettle BSc(Hons)OstGOsC Registered Osteopath
This can induce neck and back symptoms, but it is also a common cause of shoulder problems because the upper girdle (shoulder blades, collar bones and arms) is sitting onto the upper thorax and is held in position by the muscles. This means that when the posture rolls forward, the shoulders slump, the position of the shoulders is affected and they are far more likely to become dysfunctional and inflamed.
A lot of the time problems occur in the smaller muscles of the shoulder which help control the position of the shoulder, called the ‘rotator cuff muscles’ but more serious conditions can also arise such as:
Impingement The area where the rotator cuff moves is protected by special soft tissue called the bursa (a bit like a fluid filled sac or cushion). The rotator cuff and the bursa can rub on, or get squeezed by, the collar bone or shoulder blade. Over time this can gradually weaken your shoulder and cause pain when you raise your arm above shoulder height or lie down on the shoulder.
The shoulder is a common area for injury and the cause of a great deal of distress in patients of all
ages. In older people as they naturally become a little more flexed forward in their spine and in younger people especially those who sit at desks and PC’s all day; their posture becomes compromised.
Shoulders and the problems they cause
Rotator-cuff tear This is often caused by a fall or lifting something heavy. You will often feel sudden pain and have weakness in your shoulder immediately. This can lead to (in very serious cases) surgery.
Surgery to the Shoulder When shoulder surgery is necessary, the surgical procedures used by doctors are designed to make more room for the tendons of the rotator cuff. This is accomplished by removing bone spurs that the tendon rubs on in order to make more room for the tendon to glide normally. This type of surgery is called an “acromioplasty”. At the same time the bursa between the rotator cuff and the underside of the acromion (tip of the shoulder blade) that is inflamed by the impingement process is also removed. The surgery for shoulder impingement is known as ‘subacromial decompression’.
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Organisations and governing bodies from around the world
AFRICA
South Africa SAKF – South Africa Kendo Federation www.kendo.org.za
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia Australian Kendo Renmei www.kendoaustralia.asn.au
Kuroda Han-Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu, Heiho www.yagyushinkage-ryu.com
Hawaii Hawaii Kendo Federation www.hawaiikendo.com
Hong Kong Hong Kong Iaido Kenjutsu Club www.iaidohk.com
India The Nippon Budo Sogo International India www.samuraiindia.com
Japan All Japan Kendo Federation/ International Kendo Federation www.kendo-fik.org
Dai Nippon Butoku Kai www.dnbk.org
International Battodo Federation Toyama Ryu & Nakamura Ryu Hombu dojo www.ibf-kakuseikai.jp
Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iaido Renmei toyamaryuiaido.jp/index_en.html
New Zealand New Zealand Kendo Federation www.kendo.org.nz
Vietnam Vietnam Kendo Club www.kendo.vn
AMERICAS
Argentina Federación Argentina de Kendo www.kendoargentina.org
Bolivia Asociación Boliviana de Kendo www.facebook.com/kendobol
Brazil CBK – Confederação Brasileira de Kendo www.cbk.esp.br
Kendo Brasilia www.kendo.org.br
Instituto Niten www.niten.org.br
Canada Canadian Iaido Association www.iaido.ca
Equador Asociación Ecuatoriano-Japonesa de Kendo kendoecuador.org
Mexico Federación Mexicana de Kendo www.kendo.mx
United States of America AUSKF – All United States Kendo Federation www.auskf.info
Peru Asociacion Peruana de Iaido www.facebook.com/IaidoEnElPeru
ORGANISATIONS
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EUROPE
European Iaido Association www.europeaniaidoassociation.com
European Kendo Federation www.ekf-eu.com
Andorra FADKEN – Federació Andorrana de Kendo www.kendo-andorra.org
Austria AKA – Austrian Kendo Association www.kendo-austria.at
Belgium ABKF – All Belgium Kendo Federation www.abkf.be
Bulgaria BKF – Bulgarian Kendo Federation www.kendo.bg
Croatia CKA – Croatian Kendo Association www.kendo.hr
Czech Republic CKF – Czech Kendo Federation www.czech-kendo.cz
Denmark DKF – Danish Kendo Federation www.kendo-dkf.dk
Estonia EsKF – Estonian Kendo Federation www.kendo.ee
Finland FKA – Finnish Kendo Association www.kendoliitto.net
Iaido Federation of Finland www.iaido.fi
Muso Shinden Ryu Association of Finland www.musoshindenryu.fi/index_en.html
France CNK – FFJDA. Comite National Kendo www.cnkendo-da.com
Georgia GNKF – Georgian National Kendo Federation NNLE www.kendo.ge/new
Germany DKenB – Deutscher Kendo Bund e.V. www.dkenb.de
Deutscher Iaido Bund e.V. www.iaido.de
Greece HKINF – Hellenic Kendo Iaido Naginata Federation www.eokin.gr
Hungary HKF – Hungarian Kendo Iaido and Jodo Federation www.iaido.hu www.jodo.hu
Ireland The Iaido Association of Ireland www.iaido.ie
Israel IKBF – Israel Kendo & Budo Federation www.ikbf.co.il
Italy CIK – Confederazione Italiana Kendo www.kendo-cik.it
LatviaLKF – Latvian Kendo Federation www.kendo.lv
LithuaniaLKA – Lithuanian Kendo Association www.kendo-lka.lt
LuxembourgLKA – Lithuanian Kendo Association www.kendo-lka.lt
MaltaClassical Budo Malta www.classicalbudomalta.org/iaido.html
NorwayNKK – Norges Kendo Komitee www.kendo.no
PolandPZK – Polski Zwiazek Kendo www.kendo.pl
Portugal APK – Associação Portuguesa de Kendo www.kendo.pt
Republic of Macedonia MKIF – Macedonian Kendo - Iaido Federation www.kendo.org.mk
Russia RKF – Russian Kendo Federation www.kendo-russia.ru
Serbia SKF – Serbian Kendo Federation www.kendo.rs
Slovakia SKF – Slovak Kendo Federation www.kendo.sk
Slovenia KFSLO – Kendo Federation of Slovenia www.kendo-zveza.si
Sweden SB&K – Svenska Kendoförbundet www.kendoforbundet.se
Switzerland SKI – Swiss Kendo + Iaido SJV / FSJ www.kendo.ch
The Netherlands NKR – Nederlandse Kendo Renmei www.nkr.nl
Turkey TKC – Turkish Kendo Association www.kendo-tr.com
Ukraine UKF – Ukraine Kendo Federation ukf.org.ua/?lang=en
United Kingdom BKA – British Kendo Association www.kendo.org.uk
MIDDLE EAST
Jordan JKC – Jordan Kendo Committee www.jkcjo.com
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