The Sword in Japanese Martial Traditions, Vol. 1

preface

If the Way of the warrior is the soul of Japan, their magnificent swords were the tools utilized to form the nation and forge their spirit. You’ll find an abundance of information in this special two-part digital anthology in support of this thesis.

Kimberley Taylor wrote four chapters, the first being an interview with 7thdan Matsuo Haruna. Haruna offers great advice for practitioners based on his firsthand experience. Taylor’s two highly researched chapters give overviews of two major iaido schools. Excellent photos and descriptions of katas accompany the text. Taylor’s finale is a short piece describing two of his favorite techniques, while Deborah Klens-Bigman’s chapter deals with two of her favorite techniques.

Another top ranking swordsman, Nicklaus Suino, gets to the finicky details of sword-drawing techniques as performed by masters. From his two chapters, we learn how to watch for telltale signs of expertise and come to a greater appreciation of the art of drawing the sword.

Jonathan Seckler’s chapter translates and comments on an essay written by Chozanshi Shissai in 1729. He argues that Neo-Confucianism rather than Zen became the foundation of swordsmanship, and illustrates how the sword arts began to be appreciated for their use for self-development.

Andrew Bryant’s chapter focuses on poems passed down within the Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu School of Iaido. These poems correspond to techniques contained within the system created in the 17th century. The author presents each poem and offers provides textual descriptions of their corresponding applications with each sword technique illustrated.

Joseph Svinth’s research presents the earliest kendo clubs to form in Canada. The socio-cultural settings add much flavor to this chapter. Information is provided regarding notable instructors, training, and competitions. Another way to better understand a martial tradition of one country is to compare it with another. Matthew Galas compares and contrasts sword arts in Germany with the Japanese traditions. The focus is on general principles and combat philosophy.

Devotees to sword practice are well award that scabbards get damaged. Michael Babin’s chapter shows how to build a serviceable scabbard according talents of anyone moderately handy with tools.

The twelve chapters described above should inspire further research and practice in the Japanese sword arts, plus bring a greater appreciation for their unique place in world history and culture.

Michael A. DeMarco, Publisher

Santa Fe, New Mexico, December 2017

• 1 •

Swordsmanship and Neo-Confucianism: The Tengu’s Art

Commentary and Translation by Jonathan Seckler, B.A.

Having no means of crossing this life,

I make swordsmanship my hiding place,

Sadly relying on it.

•

Good to make it a hiding place —

Swordsmanship has no use for fighting over things.¹

These two doka by Yagyu Muneyoshi (1529-1606), the father of Yagyu Munenori, illustrate the attitudes of the samurai about swordsmanship in the Tokugawa period. Muneyoshi believed that swordsmanship need not be practical, an unusual idea prior to the seventeenth century. By the mid-eighteenth century, however, many samurai felt the same way. They began to view swordsmanship romantically, seeing it as a way to enlightenment and to enrich one’s life, like practicing the tea ceremony, calligraphy, or studying Noh dance or chanting.

Hiroaki Sato notes that the Fudochi Shinmyoroku, a letter to Munenori from the Zen priest, Takuan (1573-1645), was widely regarded as a bible by practitioners of the martial arts during the Tokugawa period.² The letter compares Zen to swordsmanship and claims that there are inexplicable links between the two.

Undeniably, many points of similarity can be found between Zen and swordsmanship. The same can be (and has been) said, however, of Zen and archery, Zen and the tea ceremony, and even Zen and writing! The fact is that Zen, with its emphasis on practice, concentration, and introspection, is compatible with an infinite number of activities. The link between Zen and swordsmanship is especially known in Japan, where many people are familiar with the saying, kenzen ichi (The sword and Zen are one). As G. Cameron Hurst points out, though, there is not necessarily a connection between the two. Indeed, few samurai warriors were believers in Zen.³

It is too simplistic to say that the purpose of swordsmanship was to teach Zen, as it provided a vehicle to teach Neo-Confucian ethics as well. During the Tokugawa period, military subjects were stressed as part of the traditional educational curriculum, to the extent that in some instances half the day was spent on drill and training. Swordsmanship in this case was used as part of the educational process. Zen, on the other hand, is anti-intellectual, downplaying the value of education.

Although swordsmanship is not connected only with Zen, it was a widespread belief as the popularity of the Fudochi Shinmyoroku indicates. To correct this, Chozanshi Shissai wrote the Tengu Geijutsu Ron (Essay on the Tengu’s Art) in 1729. In it he argues that Zen is not the foundation of swordsmanship, but rather Neo-Confucianism is. Reinhard Kammer suggests that the work was fairly well known, appearing in various anthologies dealing with the philosophy of martial arts.⁴ If so, then it seems that Shissai’s contention, that Confucianism is at the heart of swordsmanship, must have been accepted by many swordsmen during the Tokugawa era. It is an oversight of Western scholars to focus only on the superficially analogous aspects of swordsmanship and Zen and ignore the existence of Neo-Confucianism. Therefore, Shissai’s theories must be considered, as they illustrate some of the beliefs of the samurai regarding the uses and value of swordsmanship in Tokugawa Japan.

Chozanshi Shissai (1659-1741)

Not much is known about this writer. In the introduction to the Tengu Geijutsu Ron, the editor notes that he was active during the Kyoho era (1716-1735) in Osaka.⁵ He was a Daoist as well as a Confucian and Zen scholar. Besides the Tengu Geijutsu Ron, he wrote such works as a satire entitled Inaka soshi (The Provincial Zhuang-zi) and a moral work, the lkkyu mondo (A Dialogue with Ikkyu). The Tengu Geijutsu Ron is not his only treatise on martial arts. Before completing it, he also wrote a humorous essay entitled, Neko no Myojutsu (The Wondrous Art of the Cat), in which he interviews a cat that has succeeded in catching a particularly large rat.

It is interesting that Shissai was not a famous swordsman himself. In the Tengu Geijutsu Ron he states that his goal was to apply the principles of Confucianism not only to swordsmanship, where they are inherent, he claimed, but to other aspects of life as well.

The Tengu Geijutsu Ron

The Tengu Geijutsu Ron is an essay in four parts that discusses the philosophical ideas behind the art of swordsmanship. It was meant to be read only by practitioners of swordsmanship. As a result, it contains a great many technical and sometimes esoteric terms. It is organized as a dialogue between Shissai, a questioner, and a tengu, the respondent, a mythical creature reputed to be a master of swordsmanship. The famous hero of the Heike Monogatari, Minamoto Yoshitsune, so legend has it, was taught the arts of swordsmanship and strategy from a tengu on Mt. Kurama.

Shissai never discusses the technical aspects of swordsmanship, referring to them always as gokusoku or gokui, the secret essence or mystery of the art. Shissai’s major concerns are the ideas and results of the practice of swordsmanship rather than the technical aspects. Yoshida Yutaka has condensed the major tenants of Shissai into twelve main points in his collection, Budo Hiden Sho (Martial Arts’ Secret Writings).⁶ I have translated his edition here. Yoshida has added titles to his excerpts which I have sometimes condensed or changed as I saw fit. After many excerpts, I have elaborated on the main points to emphasize how Japanese swordsmanship was influenced both by Zen and Neo-Confucian ideas.

FIRST, ONE SHOULD UNIFY THE MIND AND BODY

When one gains fullness in his learning, one’s mind and body are unified as the principle contained in his learning becomes clear by itself. When his understanding becomes deep enough and all uncertainty is gone, principles (ri) and techniques will be totally united, resulting in the calming of the mental force (ki) and the complete stabilization of the spirit. Then one’s movements will become fluid and free. Since ancient times, this has been the process of learning any of the arts.⁷ Therefore, practice is essential for the arts. If one’s skill is not fully developed, one’s mental force will not be contained; if one’s mental force is not contained, then the mind and body will not be natural. The mind and body become two separate entities and their free fusion will not be accomplished.

Comment

In this first section, Shissai is declaring unequivocally the precedence of Neo-Confucianism within swordsmanship. By explicitly using the two terms ri and ki to denote universal principles and mental or spiritual force, he says that the practice of swordsmanship will aid one to become an enlightened human or, in the terminology of the Confucians, a sage. I have translated ri as principle. He uses ki to refer to mental and spiritual energy, so I have translated this term as mental force. The belief that techniques and principle are the two integral parts of swordsmanship is a distinctly Neo-Confucian idea. These two components are the equivalent of the Neo-Confucian components of the universe, ki and ri. The Neo-Confucian belief is that the universe in its entirety is composed of various combinations of mental force and principle. By making this point early in his essay, Shissai implies that the principles of swordsmanship are not based on Zen. This is in direct contrast with some modern scholars who believe that Zen and swordsmanship were intricately linked together.⁸

Shissai’s observation that, if techniques and principle are not unified, then the mind and body will be separate, is also similar to Yagyu Munenori’s belief that being conscious of one’s actions is detrimental. In the Heiho Kadensho, he states, If you are conscious of shooting an arrow . . . you will not be able to take aim properly. If you are conscious of using a sword . . . you will not be able to hold steady the tip of the word.⁹

LAMENTING THE TEMPERAMENT OF TODAY’S PRACTITIONER

In the past, those intent [on learning martial arts] were rich with passion and firm in determination. In their pursuit of mastery, they were industrious, were never defeated, and were never idle. They obeyed the teacher’s instructions unquestionably. Day and night