2 Cutting Edge Sept13

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ISSUE 2 – SEPTEMBER 2013

www.at-the-cutting-edge.com

A PUBLICATION FOR ALL THINGS RELATED TO IAIDO, IAIJUTSU AND KENJUTSU

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A PUBLICATION FOR ALL THINGS RELATED TO IAIDO, IAIJUTSU AND KENJUTSU ISSUE TWO – SEPTEMBER 2013

Editor:Stephen Nixey

Editor & Creative Director:Fraser Biscomb

This issue contributors:Raul Acevedo, Steve Coniaris, John Maki Evans, Phil Henderson, Jock Hopson, Nigel Kettle, Richard Munn, David Passmore, Stuart Sherriff, Clive Sinclaire, Billy Smart, Gary Williamson.

Email: [email protected]

Design and production: FARM – [email protected]

Cover photo:Cutting Edge Archive

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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 Mifune Toshiro Kurosawa’s go-to samurai.

20 Jock Hopson Sensei 50 years and counting!

In depth

50 Yoshioka ...and then they were gone!

52 Muso Shinden Ryu A brief history.

Face-to-face

36 Nakayama Hakudo Sensei A reknowned swordsman of the 20th Century.

The mind behind

42 Zendo An introduction to Zen and it’s association with budo.

The sword

44 Koshirae: The furniture of a Japanese Sword

Insight

58 Fudoshin Just be your self.

Articles

18 Happogiri from the Nakamura Ryu.

34 Tomoe Gozen Onna Bugeisha.

68 Shodo The art of calligraphy.

Mifune on the set of Sanjuro

Nakayama Sensei

FUROSHIKI AND TENUGUI

All furoshki and tenugui are direct from Japan. Contact us for details and

the current price list and availability

[email protected]

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:

[email protected]

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Welcome to the second issue of Cutting Edge. Thank you to everybody who visited the website and downloaded the magazine, liked us on Facebook, followed us on

Twitter and gave us great and encouraging feedback through email. We were overwhelmed by the reception the magazine received, and it just shows how large the budo community is. Within 5 days of launching, the website had received so many hits that it prompted a call from the hosting company. So it means that a lot of people, like me, are interested in the same things and previously no-where to get the info from. So fingers-crossed, the magazine can develop into something we all need and becomes the vehicle for linking like minded individuals around the world – English speaking or not. So, please keep the feedback coming, and interesting ideas and thoughts for articles that could appear within the magazine. Also, following the seminars of the Summer, there must be lots of pictures, so send them in for the Gallery

This issue is looking at the typical samurai in the form of Toshiro Mifune, the go-to actor for Akira Kurosawa; Muso Shinden Ryu and Hakudo Nakayama Sensei; the Yoshioka School made famous by Musashi Miyamoto; a great profile looking back over 50 years; Gallery images from Richard Munn; and new book and film reviews, and a list of coming events, plus, a few more bits and pieces.

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© Copyright Cutting Edge 2013

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Next issue . . .When in Japan...

56 ...visit Sakuradamon What did happend there?

Injury issuesCartilage injuries in the knee. 70

Reviews & Seminar reportsCinema, DVDs and books are reviewed, plus, what you’ve missed on the event scene! 72

WorldwideOrganisations around the world – make sure your organisation is listed. 80

Sugino SenseiTenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu

ShinsengumiThe political bully boys of Kyoto

Kuroda Han, Yagyu Shinkage-RyuAlive and kicking in Perth, Australia

Akira KurosawaThe man behind the movies

and more . . .

Onna bugeisha – Female amurai

The Sakuradamon Incident Jock Hopson Sensei

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A 600-year-old traditional Japanese sword style, with a well-documented and very distinguished history. This particular sword group was sent to serve, protect and advise Lord Kuroda, Lord of Kyushu.

Kamachi Genzaburo Shigenami was the 13th Dai Soke (Headmaster) for 56 years, from 1942-1998.

Paul Araki-Metcalfe, Shihan, heads the school in Perth, Western Australia. In the next issue of Cutting Edge, Paul outlines the school and gives some insight into the background to this slowly disappearing style of swordmanship.

http://www.yagyushinkage-ryu.com

Kuroda Han Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu Heiho, Aratsu-kai

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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

France20th European Iaido Championships 2013Montpellier/MezeOctober 31 - November 3www.cnkendo-dr.com

Iaido SeminarBrest, FranceOctober 12 - 13

BelgiumABKF Winter Seminar 2013December 18-22www.abkf.be

Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation (PNKF) North America PNKF 2013 Iaido Seminar and TournamentBellevue, WA 98005September 27 - 29www.musoshinden.org

Eikoku Roshukai Summer Seminar, Nottingham September 27 – 30, 2013Nottingham Seminar November 16, 2013www.eikoku-roshukai.com

SerbiaBelgrade Iaido SeminarMontpellier/MezeOctober 4 - 5

Greece11th AkiGasshukuAthensOctober 18 - 20Grading – October 20

GermanyGradingBad HomburgOctober 26

PortugalIaido international SeminarLisboaNovember 23 - 24

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

It’s a tough job being a samurai, but someone’s gotta do it!

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TOSHIRO MIFUNE

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The good, the bad and the samurai

He was born on 1st April 1920, in Tsingtao, China (now Qingdao, Shandong, China),

to Japanese parents and grew up in Dalian. He did not set foot in Japan until he was 21. A tall man for his era, standing at 5’9” (1.75m), with an appearance of being much taller. His father was an importer and a commercial photographer, and young Toshiro worked in his father’s studio for a time after graduating from Dalian

If you ask anyone, what their favourite and memorable Japanese samurai films are, they will nearly always star Toshiro Mifune – Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro and all the others. Whilst these are Akira Kurosawa masterpieces, Mifune always took the starring roles. Whether he’s the lone, scruffy ronin serving justice for the underdog, taking the high ground as someone akin to Robin Hood or simply the loyal retainer looking after his master or mistress, Mifune stands out for many as the archetypal samurai, the doer of good; the server of justice; the killer of foes. His fame was, and still is, worldwide. The guttural tones, his swagger and posture marked his arrival on screen, giving him the presence of a master of his art.

Cutting Edge wanted to find out more about Mifune, so we started doing a bit of research.

Middle School. He was automatically drafted into the Japanese army when he turned 20, and enlisted in the Air Force where he was attached to the Aerial Photography Unit for the duration of the World War II.

It was his goal to become a camera man after serving during the war, but after winning a talent contest for Toho, his planned career took a diversion to being in front of the camera instead of behind it.

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In 1947 he took a test for Kajirô Yamamoto, who recommended him to director Senkichi Taniguchi, which led to Mifune’s first film role in Shin baka jidai [Go] (1947). A year or so later, Mifune then met and bonded with director Akira Kurosawa, and the two joined to become the most prominent actor-director pairing in all Japanese cinema. Beginning with Drunken Angel (1948), Mifune appeared in 16 of Kurosawa’s films, most of which have become world-renowned classics.

In later interviews, Kurosawa said that, although he worried about the untrained Mifune’s lack of artistic discipline, he “did not want to smother that vitality.”

The director eventually came to realise that Mifune’s willingness to do and try anything before the camera was, for him at least, was preferable to the introspection and motivation-searching practiced by other Japanese actors. Mifune’s raw, unbridled masculinity was ideal for such Kurosawa films as Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954).

In Kurosawa’s pictures, especially Rashomon, Mifune would become the most famous Japanese actor in the world. A dynamic and ferocious actor, he excelled in action roles, but also had the depth to plumb intricate and subtle dramatic parts. As he matured artistically, the actor proved he was no one-trick pony, as demonstrated by his low-key, carefully crafted performance as a tormented business executive in High and Low (1963).

The first internationally popular Japanese film star since Sessue Hayakawa, and he was twice named Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival (for Yojimbo and Akahige (1961)).

As he matured artistically, the actor proved he was no one-trick pony

In 1963 he formed his own production company, directing one film and producing several others. Mifune’s ability to shift from macho to subtle sensitivity was very similar to the work of Clint Eastwood, who, ironically, played the Mifune-character role in A Fistful of Dollars, the 1964 remake of Yojimbo. In addition to his work for Kurosawa, Mifune starred in Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai Trilogy, and was occasionally seen in English-language productions (often dubbed by his favorite voice-over artist, Paul Frees). A personal rift during the filming of Red Beard (1965) ended the Mifune-Kurosawa collaboration, but Mifune continued to perform leading roles in major films both in Japan and in foreign countries. The actor’s non-Japanese efforts included John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix (1966) and Steven Spielberg’s 1941 (1979); he also played Admiral Yamamoto in The Battle of the Midway (1976) and was teamed with another major male action star, Charles Bronson, in Red Sun (1971). In his later years he gained new fame in the title role of the American TV miniseries Shogun (1980), and appeared infrequently in cameo roles after that.

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...There I was, a naive young man just turned twenty, the age when everyone went into the army, called up for active duty with one of those formal conscription notices inscribed on red paper. I left home and family reluctantly, not knowing if I would ever see my parents again and anxious at the thought of going off to kill people. Amid the stifling stench of leather, sweat, grease, and that pungent odor peculiar to men, I and the other bewildered young recruits were stirred up to blood lust. What a nightmare! Shuffled back and forth, first north then south, I lived that desperate soldier’s life for six years. These big rough laborer’s hands of mine are my unwanted souvenirs of that time.From Eiga Sutaa jijoden-shu (Autobiographies of Movie Stars)Movie poster for Yojimbo

Movie poster for Sanjuro

TOSHIRO MIFUNE

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TOSHIRO MIFUNE

Toshiro Mifune also came to epitomize a certain type of actor with deep roots in classical Japanese performance, the tateyaku, the heroic leading man who had stepped onto the stage directly from the pages of epic military romances and samurai mythology. Critic Tadao Sato has written extensively about the tateyaku personality in films and its derivation from the Kabuki stage. Through his descriptions of the Japanese manly ideal as represented by the tateyaku – strongwilled, brave, ascetic, and self-sacrificing – the reader can envision Toshiro Mifune.

In contrast was the nimaime-type, the softer, gentler romantic heroes of domestic love-dramas. Mifune stands firmly in the tateyaku camp, and as a result has played almost no love scenes in his long career. Still, he has managed to invest the tateyaku stereotype with far greater complexity and depth of feeling than any of its more rigid exponents. Or, as Donald Richie puts it, “Mifune always looks as though he would rather sleep with something other than his sword.”

Toshiro Mifune also came to epitomize a certain type of actor with deep roots in classical Japanese performance, the tateyaku, the heroic leading man who had stepped onto the stage directly from the pages of epic military romances and samurai mythology

Mifune was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Japanese government in 1993. Sadly, in his last years he was plagued with Alzheimer’s Syndrome and he died of organ failure on the 24th December 1997, in Mitaka city, Tokyo, just a few months before the death of the director with whose name he will forever be linked, Akira Kurosawa.

Marriage One of Mifune’s fellow performers, one of the 32 women chosen during the new faces contest, was Sachiko Yoshimine. Eight years Mifune’s junior, she came from a respected Tokyo family. They fell in love and Mifune soon proposed marriage.

Yoshimine’s parents were strongly opposed to the union because Mifune was a non-Buddhist as well as a native Manchurian; his choice of profession also made him undesirable, as actors were generally assumed to be irresponsible and financially incapable of supporting a family.

Director Senkichi Taniguchi, with the help of Akira Kurosawa, convinced the Yoshimine family to allow the marriage. It took place in February 1950. In November of the same year, their first son, Shiro was born. In 1955, they had a second son, Takeshi. Mifune’s daughter Mika was born to his mistress, actress Mika Kitagawa, in 1982.

The sword style Kurosawa had already made a number of films including Drunken Angel, Rashomon, and To Live that were already regarded as masterpieces. His next project was to be a samurai drama in which the stiff martial arts choreography typically used in such films would be replaced by something closer to the real thing. He had contacted the Ministry of Education for an introduction to a suitable instructor. The Ministry relayed the request to the Society for the Promotion of Classical Japanese Martial Arts who suggested Yoshio Sugino Sensei of the Katori Shinto-ryu and Junzo Sasamori Sensei of the Ono-ha Itto-ryu. The title of the film was to be the Seven Samurai.

Sugino and Sasamori met Kurosawa in May 1953, at a gathering held at an upscale restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo, and they were joined by many of the actors who were to play the samurai in the film.

Above, at home in Mitaka, and below left, on set in his favoured car during shooting; a distinct juxtaposition from the shot below!

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One by one they introduced themselves: “Takashi Shimura, at your service… I am Toshiro Mifune…Minoru Chiaki. I am only an actor, so please go easy on me!. . Seiji Miyaguchi… .Yoshio Inaba… Daisuke Kato… Isao Kimura…”

When the introductions were complete, Kurosawa outlined his vision for the film. “The plot is simple,” he said. “The residents of a small farming village hire seven samurai to protect them from marauding bandits. But I hope to make the film enjoyable in new ways, one of which will be to make the martial arts scenes more exciting and realistic. To help us achieve authenticity, I have enlisted the cooperation of these two masters.” With that he turned to Sugino and Sasamori, his face glowing with enthusiasm and anticipation, and they all began an animated discussion of the film and budo in general.

Preparations for the shooting began the very next day. The actors tried on their costumes while the rest of the staff busied themselves with other preparations. Sasamori appeared on

the set one day looking glum: “The Ministry of Education has just asked me to go off to teach in Europe. I don’t know how long I will have to be away, but I doubt if I’ll be able to continue working on the film.”

However he told Kurosawa, “Even though I have to bow out there’s really nothing to worry about since Sugino Sensei here can teach everything from spear to iai and even aikido. I leave you in good hands.”

When it came time to take commemorative photos of the cast and crew, Sasamori refused to join in since he was no longer part of the production. Sugino and the rest were impressed with his sense of honor and personal integrity. Kurosawa, though undoubtedly disappointed, took Sasamori’s words to heart and did not hire a replacement, leaving Sugino as the sole martial arts instructor on the set of what was to be one of the director’s most important films.

The filming was fraught with difficulties from the beginning. An unexpectedly long time had been spent finding suitable locations. The horses kept refusing to perform according to their riders’ commands. And poor weather began to throw much of the shooting off schedule. Spirits were low. But Sugino remained patient and bent his undivided attention to instructing the cast, beginning with basic Katori Shinto-ryu sword movements, correct posture and the proper handling of weapons.

Kurosawa asked Sugino to instruct the actors in techniques that were as authentic as possible from a martial arts perspective. Fight choreography in such dramas had previously been

influenced by the largely decorative style of the kabuki theater, but in making Seven Samurai, Kurosawa intended to address the question, “What should a sword fight really look like on film?”

He had already begun exploring this question in one of his earlier films, Rashomon, notably in the fierce confrontation between the bandit played by Toshiro Mifune and the traveller played by Masayuki Mori. This scene featured some of the ugliest fighting the genre had ever seen, as Kurosawa sought a new filmic language that included combatants trembling violently with fear and leaping back in terror whenever their swords came even slightly in contact. It was an unusual piece of work for the period but earned high acclaim from critics and audiences around the world as the first realistic-looking sword battle ever to emerge from the Japanese cinema.

Sugino, too, was interested in pursuing authenticity. Assisted by his student Sumie Ishibashi, he demonstrated the sword and iai of Katori Shinto-ryu in a way that gave both Kurosawa and his cast a strong sense of what bujutsu was about. Something that caught Kurosawa’s attention was Sugino’s solid, well-balanced personal deportment, and he ordered the actors to emulate this as best they could including the way he walked, the way he kneeled down and any other aspects of his everyday manner they might notice. Kurosawa saw that there was a significant difference in stability between ordinary people and the samurai of old who spent their days with heavy swords at their waists.

“I am proud of nothing I have done, other than with him.”Mifune on his work with his then-estranged friend, Akira Kurosawa.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001536/bio http://www.toshiromifune.org/biography/biopage2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiro_Mifune

“All you need is one look at Toshiro Mifune to know that he’s serious. He’s coarse, he’s gruff, he’s confident, he doesn’t take any s**t from anyone and he’s got the sort of commanding presence that forces you to respect the fact that he could kick your ass fifteen ways and not even break a sweat.”

Sugino Sensei (Right) overseeing instruction on set

Mifune (Below left) and Sugino Sensei (Right)

Kurosawa, Mifune and other cast members of the Seven Samurai taking time-out on set.

TOSHIRO MIFUNE

SEVEN SAMU. . ! EVERY DOJO HAS AT LEAST ONE !

THE PURISTTHE HIPPY THE BUSHITHE SOCIALISER THE ABSENTEE THE ODD ONETHE COLLECTOR

Gets as much, from as many styles as possible, and then starts to make up his own.Jack-of-all-styles, master-of-none!

Looks odd and is odd! Has done many martial arts and can be a bit strange. Always goes to the extreme. Listens to instruction but doesn’t follow it!

One style only, clean cut, never diverges from the path. Accepts instruction only from his or her teacher. Anything else just isn’t right.

Could be very good, but rarely turns up, but still expects to progress. Gets frustrated very quickly and very easily.

A very talented and serious person, open to change, but will principally follow one style. Wears the same training equipment throughout the seasons, and has a vat full of knowledge. Not always the most approachable, but they come in varying degrees.

Not particularly talented but keeps going, listening and trying and a regular. Helps out others, though usually wrongly. Very likeable, but a bit anal! Likes human interaction and being part of the group.

Sometimes a bit scruffy, with a slight odour. Eats brown rice and drives a camper van. Style is whatever he can find, whenever he can find it and seeks the esoteric. Everything is amazing – we all know one!

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NAKAMURA RYU HAPPO GIRI

The densho scroll of the Nakamura Ryu begins with a diagram of the kanji for shin – mind/heart contained in a circle divided by 4 lines. These lines designate eight directions – the 4 cardinal directions and the 4 diagonals. At the eight points on the perimeter are written the 8 basic cuts, the straight vertical cut (suichoku giri), the diagonal downward cuts to left and right (kesagiri), the diagonal upward cuts to left and right (gyakukesa or naname-johogiri), the horizontal cuts to left and right (mayokogiri) and the straight thrust (morote-tsuki). Nakamura added eight kamae (guard positions) and eight noto (sheathing variations) to complete his syllabus of kihon waza. Nakamura Sensei explained how this idea came to him.

While teaching kenjutsu in northern China I was inspired with the thought that eiji happo, the eight rules of calligraphy, could be applied to swordsmanship. As I practiced the ei character (this is to calligraphy what do-re-me is to music) I saw in my mind that these eight strokes of the brush traced the trajectories of the sword when cutting. The first brush stroke, soku, is the thrust of the sword tip; the second stroke, roku, is the left and right horizontal cut; the third stroke, do, is the vertical cut; and so on.

When I gazed at the finished ei calligraphy, I could actually see the

eight cuts of the sword. Through my years of learning and teaching fencing I had sensed that there were few cuts in swordsmanship. When I contemplated the ei character, I was made to realise that there are only eight distinct cuts possible; any other technique, whatever artistic name it may have, is only a variation of the theme. (1).

A similar linking of the eight directions with eight basic techniques is found in the Chinese martial arts system Ba Gua. In Ba Gua the eight elements are represented by the basic eight trigrams from which the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching are composed. The circular movements, which form the heart of that

system, are mirrored in the spiralling movements that arise naturally from the cutting trajectories in Nakamura Ryu.

The number of theoretical combinations of techniques and directions possible is infinite but the achievement of them depends on the ability of the practitioner.

This realisation was the beginning of my deeper understanding of swordsmanship. Eiji happo transformed to happo giri, which is auspicious since the Chinese character ei means eternal. Also, the number eight is both a lucky and auspicious symbol in Chinese numerology, indicating prosperity and implying myriad. Therefore, the eight ways of cutting are myriad and eternal. (2)

The locating of the character shin in the centre implies that the mind

is centred and comprehends all directions and can be expressed freely in any direction through the basic vocabulary of eight techniques. Nakamura termed this state jiyujizai, which means literally ‘freely free’, implying that both awareness and ability to respond are without restriction. This combination is of utmost importance in defence against multiple opponents and marks this system out as a practical and effective combat system. The similar structure of Ba Gua is widely viewed in China as the reason why its exponents were so effective both in individual combat and on the battlefield.

The principles of movement and sword handling that Nakamura considered essential to the free combining of the eight techniques in combat were as follows:

1. Circular trajectory (enkeisen)

2. Correct grip (tenouchi)

3. Natural footwork

4. Ability to stop the sword securely and transfer energy from one technique to another.

When successfully applied these principles result in a minimalist and deceptively simple appearance. However this apparent ease requires a tremendous level of psycho-physical cultivation. In a succeeding article we will examine each of these principles, the intimate relationship between them and the nature of this cultivation.

(1) and (2) are quoted from Guy Powers translation of ‘Essential Principles of Nakamura Ryu Iaido’.

John Maki Evans has been practising budo and internal arts for 45 years. After university and 5 years in a monastery he spent 11 years in Japan studying Mikkyo (esoteric Buddhism) and kenjutsu with a yamabushi (mountain ascetic). This teacher introduced him to Nakamura Taizaburo 10th Dan of Toyama Ryu and Nakamura Ryu Battodo and Danzaki Tomoaki 9th Dan of Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido. While training with these teachers he also studied at the Kashima Shinto Ryu school under Yoshikawa Koichiro. In 1987 his training regime of swordsmanship and shugendo was profiled in a NTV programme in Japan entitled “An Englishman’s Warrior Discipline”. In 1992 he published ‘Trog’ – a book of poems about shugendo. On his return to England in 1993 he founded the Fudokan dojo in London. He teaches Nakamura Ryu Battodo and Kurikara Ryu Heiho and received his 7th Dan in 2008 from the International Battodo Federation. His book ‘Kurikara – The Sword and the Serpent*’ was published in 2010 by Blue Snake Books.

Nakamura Ryu Battodo was founded in 1952 by Taisaburo Nakamura, a master instructor of the military swordsmanship of the Toyama Academy, and evolved from his experiences as a combat instructor,

his study of koryu and kendo and his research into tameshigiri – test cutting. The most original feature of Nakamura Ryu is that although it does utilise kata they are not viewed as the repository of the knowledge of the school but rather as examples of the application of its core teachings. The core is a set of basic techniques and a series of principles that elucidate how these basic techniques can be effectively executed and freely combined.

By John Maki Evans

Taisaburo Nakamura Sensei

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Recalling over 50 years of budo is never going to be a brief synopsis; but then again, Jock Hopson Sensei has got a lot to cover. In his own words, “since my recollections are

based on self-appraisal and often half-remembered events, it’s also pretty unlikely that I can do the job with any semblance of accuracy or of modesty either – but here goes”.

Cutting Edge asked Hopson Sensei if he’d be happy to share his memories; so what follows is an essay that plunges us back to the early sixties, and paints a picture of kendo in it’s infancy in the UK, and the ups and downs of a novice armed with little knowledge, but a lot of enthusiasm.

British Kendo Association’sJOCK HOPSON

Sensei

As a teenager I had developed an unhealthy interest in swords and

bayonets which could be bought at the time for just a couple of pounds from just about every junk shop and house clearance. Among my collection were a couple of wakizashi, a shin-gunto and a rusty old katana which I innocently polished up with emery cloth and Duraglit! My earliest attempts at tameshigiri were spent in my parent’s garden throwing spuds in the air, drawing and cutting them before they hit the ground, much to the amusement of the neighbours.

I first discovered the world of budo at the age of 17, during my final year at secondary school, when I came across a Judo Club which had just

opened in Streatham, South London which is where I became acquainted with weird words such as tomoe nage, o-soto gari, “Jesus that hurt”, and the like. Judo certainly paid off when I was made a school prefect and put into the school football team as a striker; the striking mostly coming into effect during the after match punch-up with the opposing team.

On leaving school I got my first (legal) motorbike and started work in a photographic lab in Farringdon Street in the City of London which was convenient for judo and aikido training at the London Judo Society (LJS) in Vauxhall under the marvellous Senta Yamada Sensei.

By great co-incidence, Charles Lidstone and Roald Knutsen were

Jock Hopson Sensei’s budo experience spans over 50 years. From London, he is one of two Europeans holding nanadan in iaido, kendo and jodo.Still very active on the teaching circuit in both Europe and non-European countries.

JOCK HOPSON SENSEI

The S.S.Viet Nam

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teaching kendo at the Shinto Ryu Dojo which was held in the hall adjacent to the LJS and as soon as I saw them training I was hooked. The moment I could afford a shinai I switched over to kendo and, using a ratty old shinken with a split saya from my collection, started some extremely rudimentary iaido (the rule of thumb in the 60’s was, “never pay more than a fiver for any sword, and twenty pounds tops for a complete suit of samurai armour). At that time the British Kendo Association (BKA) was in it’s infancy and was competing for members, and influence, with the British Kendo Council, run by one of the Otani brothers, Tommy, under the guidance of the extremely scary Abe Sensei. Vic Cook and Victor Harris

were also training at the Shinto Ryu Dojo in Vauxhall over the same period in Autumn 1961 – Spring 1962. I remember in my nightmares, one of Tommy’s students who reputedly trained without armour, as being “too nancy”. If we spotted him getting off the bus in the Vauxhall area, we locked the dojo door, put the lights out, and sat quietly till he’d finished hammering on the door and went away.

After watching Seven Samurai about 49,000 times, I reckoned I had the makings of a pretty good ronin, but

without advanced instruction in kendo my path to daimyo was going to be pretty slow in the UK. Consequently we often resorted to asking any Japanese tourists or businessmen we saw in the street if they had any experience of kendo. We were extremely fortunate to receive visits from Koshikawa Hidenosuke Sensei 9th dan Hanshi, Takizawa Kozo Sensei

and Oura Yoshihiko Sensei, both 7th dan Kyoshi at that time. Takizawa Sensei kindly agreed to join Sir Frank Bowden and Charles de Beaumont OBE as one of the Vice Presidents of the BKA; Field Marshall Sir Frances Festing acting as President until 1969, followed by Sir Frank Bowden until 2004 and John Howell until 2009.

Oura Sensei, an All Japan Champion, ran his own dojo in Japan, and very generously made the offer of free training and accommodation to anyone who could get themselves over to Kyushu. So, on the principal of “if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” So I wrote to Oura Sensei and received a fantastic invitation to train at his dojo, the Yubukan, in Fukuoka, Kyushu. After hastily organising a gap-year from Goldsmiths College, ostensibly to conduct research into “The Development and Manufacture of Japanese Armour”, followed by three months labouring on a building site in Battersea and a generous subsidy from Babs Lord of Pan’s People (the lovely blonde one seen on Top of the Pops) I had the money for a single passage to Japan.

The adventure starts Getting on the train from Liverpool Street; the cross channel ferry; and a train through France to Marseilles; I eventually boarded the S.S ‘Viet-Nam’ just a few days before Christmas 1964. Thirty two days later, having docked at Aden, Port Said, Karachi, Bombay, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Saigon (where in my innocence I thought they were setting off fireworks from the river bank as we came up the Mekong Delta) and finally Hong Kong; the boat finally arrived in Kobe on January

22nd 1965. Luckily, Oura Sensei and an English speaking journalist friend came to meet me in Kobe as I had only £5 sterling in the world and no return ticket, or any idea where Fukuoka was!

The training regime at the dojo was actually quite normal for Japan, but to say it came as a shock to the system would be an understatement. My inability to speak Japanese, a general lack of kendo fitness, the culture shock and general home-sickness made my stay in Fukuoka perhaps the most gruelling period of my life, both physically and mentally. Added to this, of course, was the fact that I had no return ticket and no money, so

making a Magwitch style escape over the mud flats was out of the question. But, the training was fantastic and Oura Sensei and his wife, and sons, couldn’t have been kinder or more insistent on correct technique in the dojo and behaviour outside.

The training regime at the dojo was actually quite normal for Japan, but to say it came as a shock to the system would be an understatement.

At the time, foreigners were still quite a rarity in rural Fukuoka and it was quite a shock as a ‘sophisticated’ Londoner, to have a trail of kids following me down the road remarking on; a) my big nose; b) my weird coloured eyes and hair, and; c) my enormous feet (actually a petite size eight ). But I managed to get my kendo nidan in Fukuoka and made a right fool of myself at the Zen Nippon Tozai Taiko Taikai in April where, billed as “the blue eyed kenshi”, I did an exhibition of kakari geiko. The first 15 seconds of which was absolutely brilliant, after which quickly disintegrated into an exhibition of a sobbing heap of humanity gasping for air.

Oura Sensei making grip corrections at the Yubukan dojo in Fukuoka

The original article from the Mainichi Shinbun, 1965, and the English translation.

My home stay with Oura Sensei and his family

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JOCK HOPSON SENSEI

After a stay of seven months, my time was up in Fukuoka and I met up again with Jim Matthie and Etsuko Horriie from the Shinto Ryu Dojo while I was waiting in Tokyo for a flight back to the UK. Jim had just arrived in Japan that summer and was living in Tokyo and training under Takizawa Sensei at the Saineikan, the dojo for the Imperial Palace Police Force which was actually within the Imperial Palace grounds. If anything, Jim had a much harder time of it than me – as the Imperial Palace Police are not known for their empathy and understanding. Jim was forced to hobble around the dojo on feet that looked like a pound of mince-meat wrapped in dirty bandages.

Unfortunately, I managed to contract amoebic dysentery and finished up being nursed in a privately run obstetrics clinic owned by Dr. Ohmura – a wonderful man who was to have a great influence on my life. In rooms either side of mine were women groaning and yelling in the final stages of labour, and in the middle, a very slim Hopson groaning and screaming out for more loo rolls, preferably from the fridge.

On my return to the UK in September 1965, I resolved to run the London Kendo Club (above), which was now at the Henry Fawcett School in Bowling Green Lane, Kennington, South London, along the same lines as the Yubukan dojo in Fukuoka. Within two weeks of getting back and introducing the ‘new regime’, club numbers had shrunk from fifteen to

six ‘walking-wounded’, and I had to radically re-think my teaching style.

I eventually qualified as a teacher from Goldsmiths College in 1967, and having been put off the idea of secondary school teaching after my teaching practice in Deptford, I talked my way into a job as a model-maker in the Engineering Department at the Science Museum. After ruining a perfectly innocent, and pretty expensive screw-cutting lathe, I moved swiftly on to the London College of Furniture in Shoreditch, where I managed an un-funded post graduate year in Furniture Design. It was a fantastic intake, full of bright, extremely competitive design students, and with the £25 from the Horatio Meyer Design Prize and the last of my savings, I swopped my tired old BSA Gold Star for the first of my many Velocette motorcycles.

Having not ruined anything expensive for a while, I was taken on as Manager of a newly-formed flat-pack furniture company in Maida Vale. During this period, my kendo training was divided between the Nenriki dojo, Hagakure dojo and the London Kendo Club.

After leaving the BKA in 1966 while I was In Japan, November 1968 saw the London Kendo Club was once again back in the soft, enfolding,

bosom of the BKA. We missed the inaugural Japan Airlines Trophy Taikai in 1968 but were able to participate in the second JAL in September 1969, where Deb and I were placed equal third. This was a much bigger event than it might seem as it was attended by an AJKF delegation comprising Takizawa Kozo, Nakakura Kyoshi, Ueda Hajime, Sakuma Saburo, Ito Kiyotsugu, and Sato Shiro Sensei who were on a kendo tour of Europe.

The presence of foreign kendoka excited a lot of Press interest, and although technically overwhelmed, we gave the contests our best shot. I was fortunate enough to gain one of the Fighting Spirit prizes at the Championship by beating two 6th dan opponents

The next big personal event was that Deb and I married in November 1969 in the Brixton Registry Office on a cold day in November. Thanks to several generous wedding presents, we had the finances to attend the first World Kendo Championships in Tokyo in April 1970. Although Fujii Okimitsu Sensei had organised the trip, he was unfortunately unable to accompany the squad to Japan. As I remember there were just nineteen countries represented, two of these being Okinawa and Hawaii, both technically American at the time with many countries being unable to field more than a couple of competitors.

The presence of foreign kendoka excited a lot of Press interest, and although technically overwhelmed, we gave the contests our best shot. I was fortunate enough to gain one of the Fighting Spirit prizes at the Championship by beating two 6th dan opponents, mostly by some sneaky evasive footwork on the edge of the shiai-jo. The squad was housed in the Takara Hotel in Ueno and we were introduced to Fukumoto

Shigehiko Sensei who ran a small budo equipment shop on the far side of Ueno Park.

The squad then transferred to Osaka, where we took part in a mass kendo demonstration at the Osaka Expo, in what was billed as the Osaka Individual Taikai, where Deb and Mike Finn (an ex-Shinto Ryu member who was then living in Japan) joined the UK representation. Within a packed few days I took part in the Meiji Mura Red/White match in Nagoya, the Osaka Expo Kendo Exhibition and the First World Kendo Kojin Senshuken Taikai where I was spectacularly unimpressive, losing to a constantly smiling, extremely whippety chap from Taiwan. After the Championships I took Deb to meet Dr Omura, and he and his wife liked her so much that he kindly offered to act as legal sponsors for us if we wanted to return to Japan for further kendo study.

Following the collapse of the furniture design company, I went to work at Wilson’s Grammar School in Camberwell. Like other schools I have worked at, craft teachers weren’t made too welcome in the staffroom. We had to ride in the back of the bus, had separate drinking fountains and so forth, and so I was pretty desperate to leave. We had already got our Cultural Visas for Japan and so as soon as Deb finished her course at Camberwell

School of Art in August 1971 we took the long, long journey by train across Europe and Siberia to Khabarovsk and Nahodka where we boarded the boat to Yokohama for the final part of the journey.

Safely installed in Dr Ohmura’s house in the western suburbs of Tokyo, Deb enrolled in the Joshibi Art School, bought a small motorbike to get to college, and I signed up for a Japanese Language course at Waseda University. This was at the time of the riots caused by the Japanese Government’s forcible purchase of farming land on which to build Narita Airport. The classes at Waseda were frequently drowned out by the sound of megaphones and when the riot police actually came onto the campus a pitched battle broke out with the students using scaffold poles, iai-to etc, and the police bringing the edges of their riot shields down smartly on the student’s trainers, followed by a swift clip round the head with their batons.

By this time we had both picked up several private language students

and some evening work at a language school in Todoroki run by a wonderfully disorganised lady who was so frequently “tired and emotional” that we were often paid twice, in used notes, and at the end of each working day. With so much excess cash-in-hand, a new bogu each was a priority and we once again made contact with Fukumoto Shigehiko Sensei – who had kept the British team supplied with shinai and other goodies during the First World Kendo Championships.

In April 1973 I was invited by Oura Sensei to the Sixth Kokusai Shakaijin (International World Citizens) Taikai which was being held in Fukuoka that year. With my flashy new bogu I flew down to Kyushu but, sorry to

say, the armour didn’t really have the magic qualities I had been promised, and I was back to Tokyo on the first plane with my tare between my legs.

Fukumoto Sensei kindly introduced us to a machi-dojo in down-town Tokyo, run for the benefit of local kids and blue collar workers. The dojo was run by Konishi Shiro Sensei who, as I remember, repaired blowlamps for a living

(surely the niche market to end all niche markets). The dojo was warmly supported by lots of local parents who sent their kids along to learn good manners and discipline. The dojo was strict but the teachers were patient and enthusiastic.

One drawback was the changing room which was the size of a large wardrobe. The parents frequently bought along crates of beer and gallons of sake for the teachers

Attracting a lot of Press while in Japan Relaxing with Omura Sensei, his wife and Deb

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JOCK HOPSON SENSEI

which had to be stored in the ever decreasing changing room space. Consequently, after every practice it was the duty of everyone over the age of eighteen to drink as much of the donations as possible to free up some space. Several glasses of cold sake on an empty stomach after training, followed by a trip to the local public bath to sit in water just short of boiling, is something everyone should experience – but not too often.

A frequent visitor to the dojo was Yamaguchi Yuichiro Sensei who, to this day, embodies everything I think a hanshi should be. Despite holding hachidan in both iaido and kendo he remained always a modest, self effacing and kind teacher who was a true example of ki-shu-bu-shin; a demons skill with a saint’s heart. He lived simply, rode a squeaky old bicycle to the dojo, and used a do that was worn through to the bamboo and taught hundreds and hundreds of children and adults the most straightforward and orthodox kendo that I have ever seen.

All good things come to an end though, especially visas, and in June 1973 Deb and I packed our things and made our way back to the UK on an extended holiday via Taipei, Hong Kong and Bangkok, finally arriving back to the UK in the middle of July.

January 1974 saw us back in Japan where I was working for the Ginza

American-English Centre. After my first week, the owner asked me to “try to speak proper American as the students can’t understand you“. As the other teachers included a couple of Poles, a guy from Turkey and an Australian who had got in on the strength of a swimming certificate which he claimed was a degree from Melbourne University and which the school owner couldn’t read because of the Gothic lettering, I thought the request was a bit bloody rich! However, thanks to the help from the mother of our kendo friend, Isao Nagai, we had a small 2DK (two small tatami rooms with a dining/kitchen area) in a heavily yakuza controlled ‘downtown’ area of Tokyo – not too far from Asakusa – and handy for the Makoto Dojo and Konishi Sensei. It was thanks to the hard work and encouragement by Konishi and Yamaguchi Sensei and other instructors at the dojo that I got my kendo yondan in 1974 at a grading in Taito-ku, Tokyo.

A frequent visitor to the dojo was Yamaguchi Yuichiro Sensei who, to this day, embodies everything I think a hanshi should be.

During the spring school holidays the whole dojo went on a kendo camp out of the City. The idea was to get the kids so exhausted that they fell asleep at eight, leaving the instructors to drink the rest of the night away. A great idea until, that is, the morning run at six o’clock. Groaning and holding their heads, the instructors set off with a swarm of kids bouncing around while Deb and I, using the old excuse of “I don’t understand the Japanese for ‘get out of bed we’re going for a run”, stayed in bed for a couple more hours rest. When we finally crawled out of bed we saw Yamaguchi Sensei, hachidan hanshi, going quietly about

the business of tidying away the empty beer bottles, clearing away the overflowing ashtrays and folding away the children’s bedding – all forty five of them. There was no fuss, no bother, no big deal, just a wonderful example of how the best, most modest people behave.

Work was really busy at this time, with Deb and I both doing seven-hour teaching days, so kendo practice was pushed to the weekend, and mostly doing local shiai, as the dojo was pretty keen on everyone competing at every opportunity. It was amazing how the twelve year olds would be given the train fare and lunch money for half a dozen of the dojo’s five and six year olds, an address, the starting time of the Taikai and instructions to get the little ones there by bus or train, with their bogu, get them fed during the day and get them back safely in the evening.

Finally we decided to return to the UK in time for Christmas 1974, and with money saved in Japan, planned to buy a derelict property to renovate. With central London being a bit too pricey, we started to look further afield and eventually found a derelict shoe factory in the north of Buckinghamshire which was in use as a refuge for several rusty combine harvesters.

The next three years was spent with Deb; digging drains, putting in windows, installing floors, electricity, gas, bricklaying, concrete mixing and the like. The best stage was when

the drains and water were connected, mening we didn’t have to sprint half-a-mile to the town square and the public loos after a fiery curry the night before. Of course to keep the cement and slates coming in, I had to take some supply work locally in Wolverton and Dunstable. Deb of course had it easy while I was at work fending off stroppy teenagers. Re-pointing the chimney, fixing new roof slates, installing the electrics – not a problem for Deb.

The Spring of 1979 saw me once again back in Japan, ostensibly to prepare the ground for the British Kendo Squad to attend the 4th World Kendo Championship in Sapporo later that year. Very luckily, I had the free use of an apartment owned by a Japanese doctor who had been on holiday in the UK for a ‘fact finding tour’ of European kendo and iaido.

As the hot and sticky summer temperature rose, my enthusiasm for kendo keiko fell. Encouraged by Dr. Hatakeyama I enrolled at the dojo of

Sasamori Sensei to learn the rudiments of Ono-ha Itto Ryu, the knowledge of which, Dr. Hatakeyama

assured me, would lead me to ‘fear no man’. The big crunch came though, one day in June, when Dr. Hatakeyama invited me for a “nice friendly keiko” at the local police dojo who were doing their shochu geiko or hot weather training, and I could think of no way to wriggle out of it. Then came the blessed sentence “well, if you don’t want to do kendo, we could always go to an iai dojo, its air conditioned“ – what an offer!

Now from the time with Roald Knutsen doing iai in the early ‘60’s, I had looked on the practice of iaido as a bit like self abuse – “something best

done in the dark and on your own.“ But when we got to the Shinbukan Ishido Dojo in Kawasaki and I saw Ishido Shizufumi Sensei’s iaido and experienced his clear, concise and logical method of teaching, I thought “yes, this is for me.”

For the first time, under Ishido Sensei’s tutelage, the cuts and thrusts of iai made sense, and having already spent eighteen years doing kendo at that stage, it was fairly straightforward to pick up. I worried about how training and teaching English in the evenings would work but sensei explained that, having paid my dojo fee for the month, the dojo was there for me to use and that if he were free when I turned up in the daytime then I’d get a one to one lesson – an unbelievable bargain. Along with just about everyone else in the Shinbukan dojo I was entered for the Kanagawa Ken Summer Taikai and, to my amazement, went home with a first in the mudan division. Mind you, I don’t think there are ever more than a handful of people in Kanagawa who are mudan at any one time, but nevertheless, it was nice.

Konishi Sensei and Yamaguchi Sensei

An early picture Ishido Sensei

I had looked on the practice of iaido as a bit like self abuse – “something best done in the dark and on your own.“

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After returning from the WKC in Sapporo, and once back in Kawasaki, I put it to Ishido Sensei that he might like to come back to the UK with me for a visit as I knew Vic Cook, Sam McKay, Loi Lee and Chris Mansfield had all been doing a bit of iai and didn’t have a high grade teacher. Len Bean had already been training kendo and iaido with Fujii Sensei in London and had already taken his kendo yondan and his iaido nidan at the Summer Budo Seminar in Kitamoto in August 1976.

Our first visit was to Glasgow to see Sam’s group and Sensei asked them to show him their iai. Then, very quietly, he asked me in Japanese, if he should tell them what he really thought or should he be polite. When they asked for his real opinion he was pretty uncompromising, but that set the standard for all his subsequent teaching in Europe – never “oh that was really wonderful – you are all so talented“ but absolutely honest opinion. We next went down to Brighton to see Vic Cook, and while we were waiting for Vic to finish work. So I decided to introduced Ishido Sensei to a great English custom – filling up on fish and chips, mushy

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peas, gherkins and pickled onions and sleeping it off in the park.

A word about Ishido Sensei: For nearly all of my time studying Japanese budo, I had been told over and over again “you won’t understand you aren’t Japanese,“ the sub-text being “so we won’t really expect too much of you, or get too upset if you get it wrong or do something stupid.” Over the years I had read lots of books on many aspects of Japanese history and culture, expertly written by learned Westerners and it dawned on me that “you won’t understand because you aren’t Japanese“ was actually pretty close to insulting or, at the very least, going to restrict any understanding of budo to the study of technique alone.

. . . how modern budo fits into, and reflects, a very particular aspect of “old style“ Japanese thought and social interaction that is in danger of being lost in modern times.

Along with Doctor Omura – who always tried to explain the why, as well as the how we should act in a social situation while living in Japan – Ishido Sensei was the first, and only budo sensei who ever made the effort

to explain the very particular do’s and don’ts associated with the more traditional budo arts and the proper relationship between shisho and deshi. For many years, I felt there has been the dichotomy between “sports budo” on one hand, and “traditional budo” favoured by those who somehow feel that competitiveness in budo is wrong or somehow impure. Thanks to Ishido Sensei’s hours of painstaking and careful explanation, a whole new fascinating area of study was opened up to me; specifically how modern budo fits into, and reflects, a very particular aspect of “old style“ Japanese thought and social interaction that is in danger of being lost in modern times.

In the autumn of 1979, I was taken on, straight from the City and Guilds Art School, as a carver and gilder in the picture Framing Department at the National Gallery. Although it sounded like a great job, it turned out to be less than ideal. On my first day I was advised to always carry a hammer because certain workmates sometimes had “funny turns.“ The workshops were in a basement with no natural light, so we were bought to the surface twice a day to stop our skin from going white and our eyes

JOCK HOPSON SENSEI

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from going pink. Still, with a baby now on the way, it was at least work and a steady income. For the next eight years I lived from Monday to Friday with Debs parents in Kennington, and just got home at weekends after thrashing up and down the M1 on a smart new BMW. Working in London was good for plenty of kendo and iai, but not so good for family life.

The London Kendo Club had disbanded in 1971 when Deb and I went to Japan, and it was only when we were back and working in London again that the need to have a dojo specifically for iaido and jodo training that led to the foundation of the Eishinkan dojo in 1981 at St. Francis of Chichester School in Camden Town. Ishido Sensei visited the UK again in August 1980 and the first Iaido Summer Seminar was held at Whitstone School in Shepton Mallet thanks to the generosity and help of Ric Schofield.

To say that Hiroi Sensei was “difficult” would be putting it kindly; irascible and short tempered, he would however persevere time after time with anyone who was genuinely trying.

The Summer Seminar in 1982 was with Haruna Matsuo, Ide Katsuhiko and Ishido Shizufumi Sensei. It was held at the Elephant and Castle, London and covered all three disciplines. We were also extremely fortunate to be instructed by Hiroi Tsunetsugu Sensei, a direct student of Shimizu Takaji Sensei, founder of modern jodo. Like many professional budo teachers, Hiroi Sensei held nanadan in iaido and kendo but his truly amazing skill was with the jo, and his knowledge of all the accompanying koryu systems associated with Shindo Muso Ryu. We were fortunate to have Louis Vitalis with us as well, Louis had been

studying Japanese language as well as kendo and jodo at Kanazawa University and his help as interpreter was absolutely essential.

To say that Hiroi Sensei was “difficult” would be putting it kindly; irascible and short tempered, he would however persevere time after time with anyone who was genuinely trying. He hated questions and would usually reply “don’t talk about it, just do it, learn with your body not your ears“. The full jojutsu syllabus includes hojo jutsu – restraining techniques with thin rope. Hiroi Sensei was incredibly quick at tying people up, a technique used apparently before the last war before handcuffs were readily available – great to be shown, especially if it’s not you that resembles a Christmas turkey and with everyone else falling around in stitches.

By this time the eyes and reflexes were no longer up to kendo refereeing and it was time to hang up the grey flannels and blue blazer, drape the red tie over the bedpost and do something far more sedentary, like refereeing iaido competitions, which have the particular advantage of a good long sit down whilst the competition goes on.

The BKA Summer iaido and jodo Seminar in 1990 was made particularly memorable by the attendance of Ishido Sadataro Sensei, Ishido Sensei’s father. His breadth of knowledge of several koryu schools was absolutely astonishing and in his haste to show us as much as he could in the time available we galloped at breakneck speed through all the Muso Shinden Ryu kata, with demonstrations of equivalent

techniques from other Ryu-ha, in an afternoon.

The evening was spent in a Chinese restaurant. After the meal, the owner and Kancho Sensei had a “battle of the brushes“ where they demonstrated their brushwork skills until all the tables tops in the place were covered with sheet after sheet of the most amazing calligraphy in every conceivable style from the extremely formal kaisho to the “which way up does it go“ sosho style.

In January 1996 I arrived in Johannesburg after a ten hour flight from Brussels, feeling “tired and emotional“ but surprisingly not jet lagged, as the plane was travelling South with only a two hour time difference. After relaxing at the home of Peter Furness the day was rounded off with a meal at a speciality restaurant serving ostrich, elephant, giraffe, kudu, crocodile etc and the dreaded mopane grubs – “How would

you like your caterpillars cooked Sir?” “The following evening was spent teaching jodo in Pretoria to a very mixed group with assorted martial arts backgrounds. But my lasting memory of Pretoria however, was surreptitiously trying to unpick the Union Jack from my track suit top in a packed pub full of cricket-crazed Afrikaners joyously watching wide screen TV while our lads were getting pasted in the final test – “well it’s only a game.“ The trip also included a trip with Buster Sefor, over two kilometres down a gold mine. I thought it was going to the “keep the white boiler suit clean chaps, see you in ten minutes for a cold beer” executive tour, but it turned into the “oh please God, get me out of this and I’ll never sin again” tour. I will never, ever, complain about the price of gold leaf again; those miners earn every penny.

Next was a trip to the far south east, to Pietermaritzburg, where we had a two hour basic jodo Seminar that evening. In hindsight I should have realised that while all the participants were white, English wasn’t always

On an interesting and historical note, the sale of my lovely Velocette Thruxton gave me the necessary quick cash to get back to Japan in September 1987 where, as a rokudan, I managed to take my kendo kyoshi just before the AJKF raised the bar to 7th dan. An very interesting process. We were all numbered up and herded into a large dojo and told to get practicing. While we all thrashed about for what seemed ages, the great and the good wandered between the participants making notes on their clipboards. At the end of the session we were informed that we were all bloody useless but, feeling kind, we had all passed and were now officially kyoshi and not to forget to pay on the way out and the menjo would be in the post.

their first language and while “just give it some welly me old son“ makes sense in the UK, it doesn’t mean a great deal to someone who speaks Afrikaans at home.

Anyway, back in the UK, things went along in a fairly smooth manner with jodo, iaido and kendo taking up about the same amount of my life as work on various BKA committees, including a long stint as Technical Director covering all three disciplines.

I eventually had to write a letter of apology to the Osaka Police Force for “impugning their honesty” when I asked the senior Police Officer to give me a receipt and his card when he went off with about a hundred grand’s worth of swords.

The following year the iaido Committee invited me to be iaido Team Manager when I took the UK Team to Kyoto for the 1st World Iaido Embu Taikai which took place in the grounds of the Heian Shrine. Drawing a sword is obviously a no-no in a shrine anywhere in the world – apart

perhaps from Canterbury Cathedral, and under orders from the King – so the whole international contingent had to attend a “service of absolution” beforehand by a Shinto priest and be issued with a very snazzy pair of white zori to keep the shrine grounds pure.

It was a pretty neat trip apart from getting the squad’s swords through the airport at Osaka. We had been assured that the Osaka police had been forewarned and “everything had been arranged” – nudge, nudge, wink, wink. What actually happened was that about thirty extremely precious shinken were confiscated on entry by a trainee who hadn’t been informed of the “arrangement”. I eventually had to write a letter of apology to the Osaka Police Force for “impugning their honesty” when I asked the senior Police Officer to give me a receipt and his card when he went off with about a hundred grand’s worth of swords.

More fun and games ensued at the training afterwards in the dojo of Morita Sensei in Tanabe, just outside Kyoto. We were asked to do

JOCK HOPSON SENSEI

Iaido at the Heian Shrine

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JOCK HOPSON SENSEI

a cutting exercise whilst walking in a large circle around the perimeter of the dojo. The instructor suddenly shouted – in Japanese – “OK chaps, now round the other way”. The Japanese – speakers immediately reversed direction and started walking and cutting, whilst the non Japanese speakers carried on, oblivious to the shouted instructions – we were knee deep in ear lobes in a couple of minutes.

Iaido was really starting to take off in Europe, and the French organised a large international seminar in Versailles in 1998. The Brits went over mob-handed by Eurostar, the crazy British Rail rules at the time meant having to send the swords the day before and pick them up from the Unaccompanied Luggage Department when we arrived at the Gard de Nord. No such problem when I went to Japan in the June to try iaido nanadan. Getting shinken in and out of Japan is pretty difficult and time consuming and, as the use of a shinken is mandatory for 6th and 7th dan exams, I was kindly loaned Ishido Sensei’s “lucky” sword. Anyway, it must have had special qualities as Louis Vitalis and I were both fortunate enough to slip under the radar on the day.

I went to Japan in the June to try iaido nanadan. Getting shinken in and out of Japan is pretty difficult and time consuming and, as the use of a shinken is mandatory for 6th and 7th dan exams, I was kindly loaned Ishido Sensei’s “lucky” sword.

Louis and Jolanda organised the very successful EIC/EJC in the small southern Dutch town of Sittard a couple of years later, and I made yet another journey to Japan, this time to try for jodo nanadan in Tokyo. I was kindly partnered in the grading

by Rene van Amersfoort for this one. Anyone who knows Rene will be aware that the term shinken ni (In real earnest) was added to the Japanese language with him in mind. The grading went past in a blur, just trying to stay alive, and the adrenaline rush left me trembling like a teenager at his first strip show! Louis and Rene passed jodo nanadan a year later and now Louis and I are, I believe, the only Europeans to hold nanadan in all three disciplines.

In 2002 I was invited to accompany Rene to the first of three seminars in Amman, Jordan. An extremely interesting and thought provoking visit which was organised initially for the students of Sarah Kabariti, but to which many police and army karate and taekwondo instructors also attended. At the end of the seminar we held a kyu/dan grading attended by one of Jordan’s Princesses and Senior Military brass. Among the participants was Prince Talal, a karateka, who caused a minor problem before the grading. We explained, as diplomatically as possible, that being a Prince couldn’t guarantee a pass for ikkyu. He said that as a Prince, his duty was to show his willingness

to everyone that he would try, even though he wouldn’t pass, and not to worry about it.

We held the grading and he, and another from the military, were unsuccessful – as we had expected. Next practice saw the guy from the military in tears and Sarah explained that he had just lost his job, not for failing, but for taking paid leave and not taking the training seriously. A real dilemma. We explained to Prince Talal that we couldn’t ever do a grading again if the price for failure meant the end of someone’s career and livelihood. Being a Prince must have some advantages I guess, as a General was summoned, backsides kicked and the poor guy re-instated.

The combined iaido and jodo Championships were held in Bologna in 2005 with the top -notch delegation from the AJKF in attendance. At the end of the Championships Ishido and Namitome Sensei put on an iaido embu. Namitome Sensei, as well as being hanshi in jodo is also hachidan in iaido, and an All Japan Iaido Champion. But due to a broken achilles tendon and severe arthritis in his knees, it was more comfortable performing standing iaido. When it

Jodo with Sarah in Jordan

was suggested to him before the embu that he should do standing forms to Ishido Sensei’s sitting embu, he replied that since everyone had made an effort to be there and participate, it was only right that he matched their effort with his own. Accordingly he did all his forms in the extremely difficult tatehiza sitting position, despite the obvious pain that it caused him. It made a real impression on me as to the great strength and nobility of his character.

At the end of the event he made a wonderful speech in which he told us that as a young man he had thought that true budo sprit could only be understood by Japanese. Over the years he saw the understanding gradually weaken and start to slip away amongst the younger Japanese generations. It took a visit to the European Championships to see that budo sprit was kept alive and well in Europe, and that he was profoundly grateful. What a compliment! Unfortunately, the official translator was, by this time, so tired and exhausted, that the poor guy simply translated Namitome Sensei’s speech as “Sensei had a great time, you all did very well, thank you all very much“ such a shame.

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1962 19741988

. . . 50 years and counting

2002 2012

1994

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Tomoe Gozen

Some question whether she truly lived, or was she merely a fictional figure invented in the

Heike Monogatari. While countless other women were at times forced to take up arms, Tomoe is described as a consummate warrior and credited with some formidable skill.

She is described by some as the daughter of Nakahara no Kanetô, and sister to Imai Kanehira, alongside whom she fights at the Battle of Awazu.

The same sources say, she was married to Kiso (Minamoto) Yoshinaka (though the Heike Monogatari describes her as a female attendant, and other sources describe her as a consort, or even a prostitute), who rose against the Taira, and in 1184, took Kyoto, after winning the Battle of Kurikara. With the Taira forced into the western provinces, Yoshinaka began insinuating that it was he who should carry the mantle of leadership of the Minamoto clan.

His cousin Yoritomo was prompted to crush Yoshinaka, and sent his brothers Yoshitsune and Noriyori to kill him. Yoshinaka fought Yoritomo’s forces at the Battle of Awazu on February 21, 1184, but was defeated, with only a few of his soldiers left standing. Yoshinaka, along with Tomoe, faced the warriors allied with Yoritomo at Awazu, and a desperate fight commenced in which Tomoe took at least one head, that of Onda Hachirô Moroshige. She is said to have killed many samurai warriors that day, one after another in single combat, and

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Tomoe Gozen (Gozen was not her name, but a title, often translated as “Lady”) provides one of the few examples of a true female warrior – onna bugeisha – from early Japanese history from around 1157 to around 1247.

Source: http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Tomoe_Gozen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomoe_Gozen http://www.historyoffighting.com/tomoe-gozen.php

TOMOE GOZEN

The Heike Monogatari describes Tomoe accordingly:

Heike Monogatari“...Tomoe was especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors.”

killing their leader, Uchida Iyeyoshi whilst he attempted to drag her from her horse. Uchida so infuriated Tomoe, that she promptly decapitated him and delivered his head as a trophy to Yoshinaka. Following defeat, Yoshinaka to the only option left for him. So he insisted that Tomoe flee as he wanted to die with his foster brother Imai no Shiro Kanehira, stating that he would be ashamed if he died with a woman.

After the battle, according to the Heike Monogatari, she gave up the sword. It is also said that she was defeated by Wada Yoshimori and then became his wife. After Wada died, she was said to have become a nun in Echizen.

These different stories are what give the story of Tomoe Gozen its mystery and intrigue. However, the grave of Yoshinaka’s other female attendant Yamabuki Gozen, does exist and most of the incidents in The Tale of the Heike are believed, by historians, to be true.

Tomoe Gozen is among the most popular and widely known female figures in Japanese history/legend, and even appears as the lead in at least one kabuki play, Onna Shibaraku.

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Very few martial artists in history have been able to influence and inspire an entire generation, leaving a legacy embraced

by millions. A close friend of aikido’s founder Ueshiba Morihei, and one of the most influential martial artists of modern day history.

Nakayama Otsuyoshi was born in Imae, Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture in 1873. He was the eighth son of a former Maeda clansman, Nakayama Gennosho. At five years of age, his family moved to Nakacho in Toyama, where they opened a small yakitori restaurant. By the age of eight, he started work in a local ryokan located quite close to his family’s yakitori shop*. He’d also developed a great interest in Go and studied religiously.

He worked in the kitchen of the ryokan, where the manager of the

Japan’s Renaissance Man

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NAKAYAMA HAKUDO

inn, Takazawa Toyoshi encouraged him to pursue swordsmanship after seeing the eight year old playing with a bokken fashioned from the branch of a tree.

It wasn’t until eleven years old that he gained entrance to Saito Michinori’s dojo of the Yamaguchi Ha Itto Ryu school of swordsmanship in Hoshiicho. The young Nakayama would also travel to Nishi-jubucho where he learned to read and write at the Ada Kanji Academy in the mornings, and in the afternoon, after school, he would go to

Michinori’s dojo where he trained in swordmanship. After his training, he would go straight from the dojo to work at the ryokan*. On top of his daily busy schedule, Nakayama found time to practice Go, and by the age of 14 had become quite an expert.

Nakayama progressed under various teachers until a swordsman called Hosoda Kenzo, from Tokyo, took up residence at the ryokan. Hosoda, had just been transferred to Toyama by The Ministry of Education and was a member of the Yushinkan Dojo, a Shindo Munen Ryu school (a derivative of the Shinkage Ryu) run by Negishi Shingoro. Impressed, Nakayama would talk to Hosoda for hours, listening to his stories and insights into swordsmanship. This left a great impression on Nakayama, and would prove to ultimately shape his entire life.

In 1890 Hosoda Kenzo handed his resignation to the Toyama school and returned to Toyko. His departure left Nakayama with many unanswered questions. He dwelt on this dilema,

and eventually came to the decision that it was time he moved on. So gaining permission from his family, and employer, he travelled to Tokyo in the pursuit of kenjutsu.

Nakayama made his way to Iwasehama, a small port in Toyama Prefecture where he boarded a ship, and via Niigata, arrived in Tokyo. It was whilst on the ship, that Nakayama remembered the words his employer, Takazawa had said to him:

“Otsuyoshi, you’ll be a man whom other men will fall in love with.“

These words stuck with Nakayama well into his adulthood*.

He arrived in Tokyo in 1891, and armed with a letter of introduction from Hosoda, was successfully admitted into Negishi Shingoro’s Yushinkan at the tender age of eighteen. He trained hard, and at nineteen years old changed his name to Hakudo. Shingoro encouraged him to study other schools, so he experimented with various other ryu,

Do not cut. Do not be cut. Step out of the way, and attain a blissful victory.

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NAKAYAMA HAKUDO

sleeping but a few hours in order to attend five or six practice sessions a day.

Hakudo traveled extensively throughout Japan studying various schools

His dedication eventually paid off however, and he quickly advanced through the ranks. In 1895, he received his first mokuroku from Shingoro, and four years later received the second, jun-menkyo. By 1904 he had received the highest certificate menkyo, from Shingoro. During the following couple of years, he fought in many bouts against highly skilled swordsman, which came to define his early career as an individual of exceptional skill.

Such was Nakayama’s skill, even corporate Japan were asking for his patronage. In 1912, Koyata Iwasaki, the then President of the Mitsubishi Limited Partnership Corporation, constructed a kendojo at his Surugadai estate, and invited Nakayama to be the head of the dojo, leading the kendo practice for company members.

By the age of twenty-eight, he was named Daihan or “Acting Headmaster”, had married Shingoro’s daughter and was adopted into the Negishi family*.

Nakayama traveled extensively throughout Japan studying various schools. In his search he found two in particular that would set the course of his life – Shinto Muso Ryu (jo) and Muso Shinden Eishin Ryu (iai).

He began training in Shinto Muso Ryu Jojutsu and shodo (calligraphy) under

Uchida Ryogoro and with Takeda Kohachi in Tokyo. He trained hard, finding his study of the jo to be among the most interesting and valuable of his pursuits. Nakayama later wrote:

“As a youth I was taught Shinto Muso Ryu by Uchida Ryogoro Shihan. It was through this training that I came to understand the inner principals and methods of kendo. I learned the ins and the outs of handling the jo, the placement of the feet, body mechanics, and other fundamentals. Even in my kendo practice, I was able to utilise and cultivate these jo techniques. Thanks to this practice I gained a lot of knowledge. In the world of martial arts there are no kata as thoroughly developed as the Shinto Muso Ryu Jojutsu’s. I believe the Shinto Muso Ryu jojutsu is one of our national treasures.”*

Itagaki Taisuke confided in Nakayama, that, without study, research and intensive practice in the province of Tosa, his techniques would always be incomplete and open for further perfection.

Following a demonstration in 1916, the famous Shindo Munen Ryu instructor Itagaki Taisuke (1837-1919), confided in Nakayama, that, without study, research and intensive practice in the province of Tosa, his techniques would always be incomplete and open for further perfection. Nakayama was keen to gain an insight into the real iai, so after Nakayama’s persistence, Itagaki Taisuke agreed to introduce him to a Sensei from Tosa. The

recommendation was to Yukimune Sadayoshi of Tosa, but he refused to take him on as a student, since he wasn’t originally from Tosa.

“Dejected”, Nakayama was about to return to Tokyo, when Oe Masamichi, the future 17th soke of the Tanimura-ha, made a suggestion. “Starting tomorrow, I will have 4 or 5 days of public demonstrations, and even though our Sempai has forbid us to show you the real way of the sword, you can still come and watch my demonstrations, take notes and learn by watching.”

Oe Masamichi had given Nakayama the opportunity he so desperately

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Nakayama demonstrating kendo kata at the Noma dojo

wanted, to witness the real iai of Tosa. Nakayama, of course, gratefully accepted, and the years following the demonstrations, Nakayama worked hard and progressed in his study of sword technique, and commuted to Shikoku once a year. In time, he was introduced to the famous sword master Hosokawa Yoshimasa of the Muso Shinden Eishin Ryu or Shimomura Ha (the future 15th soke of the Shimomura Ha), and Morimoto Tokumi of the Goto Ha Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu or Tanimura Ha.

Nakayama was accepted as a student of both teachers and continued to study following the signing of a confidentiality contract, sealed with his blood. But Hosokawa respected the spirit of Tosa and would only award Nakayama the menkyo level. Hakudo would have to wait for a number of years, and was awarded the menkyo kaiden by Morimoto Tokumi, and only in the Tanimura Ha.

Nakayama continued to train hard, and was granted Hanshi in both kendo and iaido in 1920 by the Nippon Butokukai. It was said that he also received menkyo kaiden in jojutsu from Uchida Ryogoro prior to his death in 1921, though this is debatable. After receiving his certification, Nakayama did something unexpected: he took what he had learnt and developed his own version of Shinto Muso Ryu, commonly referred to as Nakayama-no-Jo, along with a set of five kihon (basic drills). Shimizu Takaji was said to have later incorporated these five kihon into his own set of twelve some years later*.

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Oe Masamichi gave Hakudo the opportunity he wanted to witness the real iai of Tosa, giving him something to think about. Hakudo of course, gratefully accepted.

In 1925 Nakayama was invited to instruct fencing at the Rikugun Toyama Academy (a military school), and in 1927, at the age of fifty-five, he received the rank of Hanshi in Jodo from the Butokukai.

In 1928, Nakayama gave a demonstration of Muso Shinden Eishin Ryu at the Butokukai for the first time in history. There was a problem though: he had never recieved menkyo kaiden in the Ryu. So he presented it as ”Muso Shinden Ryu Battojutsu”, so avoiding any issues that could arise from using the school’s name.

In 1933, Nakayama restructured all he had learnt whilst in Tosa into a new school, the Muso Shinden Ryu. Managing to avoid breaking the blood sealed contract by changing the manner by which he did the techniques.

Kendo gained popularity, and Nakayama, along with Takano Sasaburo, became among the most sought after teachers in Japan, travelling the country, teaching at various instituions, and even the Imperial Palace. Nakayama’s students now ran into the tens of thousands, in fact over two thirds of those who held the rank of kyoshi with the Butokukai had studied with him at some time*.

But the dark cloud of war was to fall over Japan and ultimately budo. World War II was a desperate time for Japan and it’s inhabitants. The Military were being dominated by the Allies, and Japan had now become a target for fierce American firebombing. Cities like Tokyo were decimated, and later compounded by the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bringing Japan to it’s knees. A formal surrender followed on September 2nd, 1945. Nakayama though, was quick to use his influence, quoting an ancient Japanese idiom “a samurai never talks about what is finished”. He simply asked the Japanese people to meet their American occupiers with dignity*:

“In fencing we call ‘ohen‘ the spirit, or the ability, to adapt one’s self to change. What this means is, in a condition where after understanding and acknowledging the natural tide of affairs, all past ambitions must be given up. In doing so one can reach the state of nothingness. This requires a noble heart – the ultimate goal of fencing. We must meet the Allied Army with such a spirit. Yesterday they were our enemies, but today they are not. If we fail not to think of them as enemies, then it cannot be said that we truly understand Bushido. If there is even the smallest feeling of ill will remaining in our hearts and if we cannot take a broader outlook, it will show in our faces and our attitude, giving reason for them (the Allied Forces) to think of us as cowardly. I am of the personal belief that the greatness of our nation lies in its open-mindedness.”

The end of the war brought more hardships for Japan, and in an effort to pacify the Japanese people, the

Occupying Forces banned the practice of the martial arts. This act alone united practitioners of the arts to fight for the right to practice their traditional fighting arts. In 1946, Nakayama was arrested and imprisoned in Yokosuga for teaching the martial arts, and was later released. But, through the help of Sasamori Junzo, Kuroda Yasuji, and Kunii Zenya, the ban on the martial arts was eventually lifted.

“In fencing we call ‘ohen‘ the spirit, or the ability, to adapt one’s self to change. What this means is, in a condition where after understanding and acknowledging the natural tide of affairs, all past ambitions must be given up...”

This moral victory brought about some harsh realities for the martial arts community. For most of Nakayama’s dedicated students had died in the war, with even fewer of the surviving students returning to train. So Budo fell into decline, which forced Nakayama to set about restructuring his Muso Shinden Ryu to emphasise its spiritual side appeal to the general populous, becoming the style we know today.

Nakayama died at the age of eighty five in 1958. All of his knowledge was passed on to his only son and heir, Nakayama Zendo.

Hosokawa Yoshimasa Sensei

Hakudo and Zendo Nakayama

1913 – Surugadai dojo – The forerunner to the Mitsubishi sports club. Koyata Iwasaki is centre top, and Nakayama is centre bottom.Ukigumo. Note the fully inverted saya, common to the Shimomura-ha

Nakayama’s nukitsuke

* Extracts taken from “A lineage all but forgotten: The Yushinkan (Nakayama Hakudo)” by Jeffrey Karinja, taken from kenshi247.net.

Other sources: http://www.kensei.org/Iaido/MSRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakayama_Hakudo

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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.

The majority of readers will not have made a study of this fascinating subject, except perhaps, for an introduction to the seven virtues of Japanese Budo and the idea here is to introduce you, in a light and informative style, to the world of Zen and the spiritual meaning it gives to Japanese Budo.

Subject material in future articles will include, for example:

• Zazen and its influence on Japanese Budo

• Japanese Buddhism and Shinto – a Budo perspective

• The physiology of Zazen using conscious breathing

• The practice of the virtue ethics of Japanese Budo and its moral philosophy

• Zazen – the benefits

• Zazen – does it have a role in Modern Budo?

Just to establish the mindset for this column, I would like you to read one of the best, and most beautiful descriptions of Zen I have come across – from “Zen Flesh Zen Bones.”

Try to linger a little on the highlighted sections and let the meaning of the words and phrases have their effect on you.

Zen and Zazen (seated meditation) has been described as a special teaching without scriptures, beyond words and letters, pointing to the mind essence of man (woman), seeing directly into one’s nature, attaining enlightenment.

Zen is not a sect, but an experience.

Zen is the practice of self-searching through meditation to realise one’s true nature, with disregard of formalism, with insistence on self-discipline and simplicity of living.

The Zen spirit has come to mean not only peace and understanding, but devotion to art and work, the rich unfolding of contentment, opening the door to insight, the expression of innate beauty and the intangible charm of incompleteness.

It has been said, that if you have Zen in your life, you have no fear, no doubt, no unnecessary craving and no extreme emotion.

Neither illiberal attitudes nor egotistical actions trouble you.

You serve humanity humbly, fulfilling your presence in this world with loving-kindness and observing your passing as a petal falling from a flower.

Serene, you enjoy life in blissful tranquillity.

Such is the spirit of Zen.

To study Zen, the flowering of ones nature, is no easy task.

No easy task indeed, but then, as we have all discovered through our practise of our chosen Budo – in order to reach the levels of skill we all aspire to, takes time, patience, courage, diligence, respect, resilience, humility, tolerance and simplicity – just to mention some of the characteristics we need to make progress; and some of you will recognise a few of the well known martial virtues, I mentioned earlier.

Please try to find some time to take a look at the Word Picture of the Zen description on the left, or make your own and put it up somewhere easily accessible.

The words make you think and ask a question –

How do I provide meaning to my chosen Budo?

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.

[email protected]

KOSHIRAE: THE FURNITURE OF A JAPANESE SWORD

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.

Koshirae: The furniture of a Japanese SwordBy Clive Sinclaire

More easily appreciated are the other parts that constitute the furniture of a fully mounted Japanese sword. The mounting or furniture covers everything except the blade and is known as the sword’s “koshirae”. The koshirae, although a single entity, is a collaboration between a number of artisans including, scabbard and handle makers, lacquerers, hilt binders and metal-artists. There are great efforts in Japan to preserve the art of koshirae design and manufacture, as like many such traditional things, there is a danger of it being lost in this modern age. Today, all this work is co-ordinated by the polisher of the blade, or sometimes the swordsmith himself. The purely visual art employed in koshirae, is easy for

most to appreciate at a certain level, although some of the metal mounts may get into the highly aesthetic areas of metal texture and abstract designs.

However, here we are looking at the various different types of mountings that may be encountered by the collector at arms fairs or auction houses. Japanese swords are initially defined by length, that is to say, katana or tachi (long swords) wakizashi (short swords) or tanto (daggers or knives). There are other names, but for the sake of simplicity, we will stay with these. Alternatively, they may also be defined by the type of koshirae in which they are mounted, e.g. “a han-dachi katana”.

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The appreciation of Japanese swords may take on a number of different aspects. It

has always been the blade that is considered as the main area of study and appreciation, for reasonably obvious reasons. However, it is a difficult area of study for most non-Japanese and takes many years to fully understand, if indeed it is possible for a foreigner to fully understand this peculiarly Japanese cultural subject.

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Tachi The tachi koshirae is designed to be worn suspended from the waist on the left hand side. This means that the cutting edge of the blade is towards the ground and this effects the way it may be drawn for use. Originally the tachi was made for combat whilst mounted on horseback and the draw is from “ground to sky”.

In ancient times the top 12 inches of the scabbard was wrapped in the same man he handle and this is known as an Ito-maki-tachi (lit thread wrapped tachi). The thread wrapping on the scabbard prevented chaffing against the armour as well as providing a convenient grip, if required. The metal mounts on both the scabbard and handle are usually en-suite, as is the tsuba or hand-guard. Usually the decoration of the entire piece, both lacquer and metal work, would be decorated with family Mon (heraldic devices).

KOSHIRAE: THE FURNITURE OF A JAPANESE SWORD

There are other tachi, which apart from lacking the thread wrapped scabbard, are of the same basic design as ito-maki-tachi. Other variations, such as the Efu-no-tachi, a formal koshirae made for Imperial courtiers, are seldom encountered and those that are, usually are of 20th century manufacture. The one above has a Tiger tale cover and was probably worn when hunting.

With the change from mounted to foot combat, the ito-maki-tachi became somewhat obsolete, but was retained by high ranking generals and the like. It became popular in the Edo period (1603-1868) where it was used more as a parade sword and was also worn with certain formal clothing. Most examples encountered today are of the late Edo period, and earlier examples are both rare and expensive.

Katana and wakizashi Unlike the tachi, the katana is worn with the cutting edge uppermost and is more suited to combat on foot. Here the draw is from “sky to ground” and an attacking cut may be made with the draw. As a generalisation, early katana koshirae was rather plain in design, with black lacquered scabbards and iron tsuba, reflecting the lower rank of many of the wearers. The scabbards of all katana have a small retaining hook, about a foot from the top, which helps keep the sword secure in the belt or sash. The handle is wrapped in the traditional manner and a metal pommel and

Han-dachi This literally means “half tachi” and takes properties from both tachi and katana koshirae. The scabbard mounts of the tachi, are to a large extent present, but the sword is worn and used in the style of a katana. Such mounts may also be found on wakizashi or short swords and vary greatly in quality.

Han-dachi were particularly popular at the end of the Edo period and into the early Meiji period (1868-1877). This was a period of great unrest that eventually saw the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the Emperor to full ruling powers. Those that supported the Imperial cause often sported very long swords in han-dachi koshirae and they became known as Kinno-to or “emperor supporting swords”.

collar, often very decorative and known as Fuchi and Kashira, are found at the handle’s extremities. Under the wrapping are menuki which are metal hilt ornaments, said to felicitate the grip.

The katana koshirae of the Edo period became more decorative and the metal mounts were increasingly flamboyant, reflecting the taste of moneyed merchant class rather than the more austere taste of the ideal samurai. Also, as this was a time of peace, with no wars for some 250 years, the severe practical mounts of earlier times were less favoured.

Wakizashi or short swords, are most commonly found in this type of koshirae, the obvious difference being in the length. On the top end of the scabbard of wakizashi, are often slots inset that accommodate either ko-gatana or kogai. These are auxiliary tools rather than weapons, the former being a small knife with a decorative handle and the latter being a skewer type of implement. Often these are very skilfully decorated and may be en-suite with the other metal mounts of the sword. Occasionally these may also be found in better quality katana koshirae.

Katana koshirae

Ito-maki tachi koshirae

Han-dachi mounted wakizashi, in the Mino-Goto

style of kodogu.

Daisho Koshirae During the Edo period, it became mandatory and the badge of rank, for the samurai to wear two swords, one long one and one short. These are called Daisho (a contraction of Daito-long sword and Shoto-short sword). The daisho koshirae has both swords mounted in complimentary koshirae. Most often the daisho comprises of a katana and a wakizashi. These may be in the manner of either the katana koshirae or han-dachi koshirae mentioned above. Rarely, instead of the wakizashi (or companion sword) the shorter sword may be a tanto or dagger. This is said to be an indication that the pair were owned by a samurai of Hatamoto rank (direct vassal to the shogun)

It is said that the long sword was there to defend and fight for the reputation and name of the clan or feudal lord, whilst the short sword was to defend one’s own honour and used for seppuku (hara-kiri) if necessary. Whatever the truth of this, it is certain that when fighting in a confined area or indoors, it was more convenient to use a wakizashi than a long katana.

Tanto Koshirae Amongst the tanto or dagger koshirae, may be found some of the highest quality workmanship. This may be due to the fact that many of the Edo period artists in metalwork, were patronised by the rich merchant class, who were allowed to own tanto but not long swords. Many have fittings fashioned out of gold, silver and other soft metals, with designs that are unbelievable in their detail and quality. The blades may vary greatly in both age and quality, but tanto are generally rated in the market place, at higher prices than wakizashi.

There are several styles of tanto koshirae including one that follows that of the katana koshirae. In other words, it is complete with a tsuba and fuchi-kashira and a wrapped hilt, in fact identical to a katana or wakizashi, but on a smaller scale. The ko-gatana and kogai may also be found on some tanto koshirae. Often the lacquer work

and other decorative pieces are both ornate and beautifully executed works of art.

The presence and the style of the tsuba are the defining points in the naming of tanto koshirae. A tanto that completely lacks a tsuba and so the handle is a flush fit into the top of the scabbard, is know as an Aikuchi (close-fitting mouth) koshirae.

Sometimes the handle of an aikuchi has no thread wrapping at all and instead it has the samé (ray-skin) completely exposed. Originally it is thought that such tanto were designed for wearing with armour, where they could not be easily caught up in the armour lacing. In such cases only a pair of menuki will grace the samé and these would often be in the form of the clan mon or heraldic devise. As they were worn in the centre of the sash it was quite easy for a proud Edo period samurai, to show and boast of his clan affiliation, by clearly showing the Mon on his tanto’s handle.

One further style was known as the hamidashi tanto. In some ways I suppose it comes mid-way between the ordinary tanto (with tsuba) and the aikuchi (with no tsuba). The hamidashi tanto has a small tsuba with most of one side cut away, usually to accommodate the top of the kodzuka. Possibly, in later examples, this was mainly the property of women of the samurai class, and might be kept concealed in the sleeve of her kimono.

Many swords of all shapes and sizes were hastily mounted up in the mid 19th century. Often with old unsigned blades, these were often quite well made, but tend to have garish, ornate lacquer scabbards depicting dragons and the like, in

Top is a conventional daisho, whilst the bottom is with a tanto, this is a daisho of the Oda family who were Hatamoto

These are from left to right, aikuchi, hamadashi and regular tanto koshirae with a full tsuba

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what the Japanese thought was the western idea of Japanese design. Thousands of swords were mounted in this manner and almost literally, dumped on the docks at Yokohama or Kobe, for export to the west. They became known as Hama-mono or “dock things” and are still often encountered.

Shin-Gunto From the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century, Japan imported, amongst many other things, military technology from the more advanced western countries. This included varieties of sword mounts, often with D-shaped guards and silvered metal scabbards, which had both machine-made and sometimes, old traditionally made blades. Such swords were used by police, diplomats and a whole raft of officialdom, as well as the armed services, but bore no resemblance to the traditional katana or tachi koshirae. However, the type of koshirae encountered most often I would say, certainly at arms and militaria fairs, is the mount used by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy in the Pacific War period (1941-45). This sword was designed by a politician and major patron of swordmaking in the 1930’s, named Kurihara Hikosaburo. His design was modelled on the old tachi, complete with metal fittings on the scabbard, and is known as the Shin-gunto (new army) mount. All commissioned officers were required to wear a sword as this was seen to boost there nationalistic spirit and reinforce their sense of Bushido.

There is some variation and customisation in these mounts, but they are readily identifiable and most have a brown metal scabbard, a brass tsuba and a brown thread wrapped hilt. The metal mounts are decorated with cherry blossom designs. Some may be found with leather foul-weather covers on the scabbards and occasionally also on the handles.

Unfortunately the majority (maybe 85%) have machine made blades, which are of little interest to the Japanese sword collector. A minority contain old family blades, or contemporary blades made with traditional techniques, and are of fine quality.

In order to avoid having to plough through hundreds of such swords without finding anything of interest, I have an “initial cull” hint which may be useful. Swords with a small silver mon on the pommel end of the hilt, the kabuto-gane, or that have pierced tsuba, are usually worth looking at, as they often have hand-made blades. The mon may even give some idea of the original owner’s family name, but it was sometimes disfigured to prevent this identification and the associated shame of surrender.

The Imperial Naval Sword was similar to the shin-gunto but usually has black samé under the hilt wrapping. It also has two ring hangers, rather than the one on the IJA sword. Occasionally they may also be found with polished samé scabbards which are rather attractive, whilst others might have the leather foul-weather cover. Such naval swords are called Kyu-gunto and are vastly outnumbered by the Shin-gunto.

Shira-Saya Whilst not strictly a koshirae, many swords are found in shira-saya (lit. white scabbards). These plain wood scabbards and handles are storage mounts, rather than the practical mounts previously discussed. Often the blades have been separated from their koshirae, which have become lost over the years, and so the shira- The To-ken Society of Great Britain

www.to-ken.com

saya has served as an important preservation mount.

Today, when a sword is polished, halfway through the process, when the shape has been set and will not be altered, the polisher will have the shira-saya made. Even if the koshirae is present, we do not risk putting the blade back into its old koshirae, as it is almost impossible to clean the inside of an old scabbard without damaging it. This is especially true if it has a good lacquer finish and obviously we do not want to risk damage to the new polish. Should the original koshirae be present, therefore, we have a wooden replica of the blade (called a tsunagi) made and inserted in the koshirae. This allows it to be preserved and displayed alongside the blade in shira-saya.

...when a sword is polished, halfway through the process, when the shape has been set and will not be altered, the polisher will have the shira-saya made.

Sometimes on the outside of the shira-saya, Japanese brushed ink writing is found. This is called saya-gaki and is often highly esteemed and written by famous appraisers. It will sometimes be an attribution to an unsigned blade or comments on a signed blade by a recognised sword appraiser. This is still done today, but recently I have encountered fake saya-gaki where the signature of a very famous appraiser has been forged. Often, for those that can appreciate Japanese calligraphy, genuine saya-gaki are an added attraction to a sword.

Naginata and Yari Both naginata and yari are pole arms and blades are generally made by swordsmiths. There are some very old ones, dating back to the 11th century still in existence.

The naginata is a curved, glaive like weapon and is more like a sword than most yari. They were the favoured weapon of warrior monks in the early days and lighter, smaller ones were used by women in the Edo period. (today the martial art of naginata-do is still mainly practised by women). Mounted on poles with metal fittings, polished naginata may also be found in shira-saya. They are also sometimes shortened and reshaped to be mounted as a sword.

Yari are spears and may be found in several different shapes and sizes. Interestingly, Japanese spears are designed for cutting as well as the more common thrusting action associated with spears of other cultures. Again they are mounted on wooden poles, some as long as 8 or 9 feet and, as with the naginata, they should have wooden scabbards. One in my own collection has the scabbard covered in black bear fur and this is not as uncommon as one might think. Metal cross-shaped protrusions are seen on some yari poles and these act a “sword catchers” or deflectors in combat.

The most common decoration on the mounts of naginata and yari are family mon in lacquer. These may be found on both the poles and scabbards. The majority of spears extant today, were carried by the retainers of the great samurai lords in formal processions. The Mon on their pole arms announced to all which clan they came from and so the yari carrier (yari-moche) was an important position in the hierarchy.

Shira-saya with saya-gaki and tachi koshirae

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KOSHIRAE: THE FURNITURE OF A JAPANESE SWORD

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TSUKAHARA BOKUDEN

Left:A picture by Utagawa Kuniyoshi of Yoshioka Kanefusa.The name Kanefusa is also the name given, by some accounts, to Seijūrō, who fought Musashi.

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The school became famous during the latter half of the 16th century when the founder, Yoshioka Kenbo Naomoto was assigned to be the sword instructor of the Ashikaga shoguns in Kyoto.

Yoshioka Kenbo Naomoto was originally a dyer and his family were famous for a special method of producing a dark blue colour which could be produced uniformally each time. The tone was named after Kenbo – Kenpo-zome. Kenbo mastered his swordsmanship and developed his own fighting style which led back to Kiichi Hogen’s style and teachings. (Kiichi Hogen was a legendary character from the Heiki Monogatari and a teacher of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He was also reputed to have been an expert in Onmyodo, or Inyodo – “The Way of In and Yo”). Kenbo was renowned for his skills with the sword in and around the Osaka/Kyoto area, and became the official instructor of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu (who reigned from 1521–1545) in Kyoto.

Alas, Yoshioka Kenbo did not die in an honourable fashion. He was initially injured by a stick used by an actor during a Noh play performed at the Shogun’s palace. Kenbo left the scene injured and humiliated – for the Shogun’s sword master to be injured and not able to defend himself was too much to bear. So Kenbo returned to scene of the accident, smuggled his sword into the Shogun’s castle and killed the actor in public.

Since the use of weapons of any kind were forbidden at the court of

Dating back to the Tenmon period (1532-1554), Yoshioka-ryu is an ancient school of kenjutsu

and one of the Kyohachi-ryū (or Eight Traditions of the Capital, which originated in Kyoto at the end of 12th century), gaining noteriety through a series of unsuccessful challenges with the legendary Miyamoto Musashi.

the Shogun, Kenbo was declared a criminal and so hunted down. He was eventually caught and killed, but in the process killed many of his pursuers.

Yoshioka Kenbo built the foundation for one of the most famous kenjutsu schools, but the school did not last longer than four generations.

The Yoshioka-ryu downfall started following a contest instigated by the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru. The Yoshioka were matched with one called Shinmen Munisai – Shinmen won the contest 2-1, but the bouts created a family feud, that only one generation later, in 1604, would lead to the demise of the Yoshiokas. Shinmen Munisai was the father of Miyamoto Musashi, and the story that followed at the Ichijoji Temple is legendary. But like all great stories, fact gets mixed up with fiction, and story telling prevails. Research shows that the demise of the Yoshioka-ryu was not just the work of one man, but a number of other circumstances, and that the demise was perhaps out of choice.

One train of thought states that they gave up the martial path and returned to specialised dying, building up their fortune through their kenpo-zome; another, that the Yoshioka-ryu continued, as according to one account, there were records of a swordsman by the name of Yoshioka Kahei showing some of the secrets of the Yoshioka-ryu to the Lord of Owari.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshioka-ryūhttp://ichijoji.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/last-of-yoshiokas-ii.html

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In the previous issue of Cutting Edge, we outlined the Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu style and it’s adoption by the Tosa samurai

This issue explains how Muso Shinden Ryu was developed and its popularity throughout the iai community through the efforts of one individual – Nakayama Hakudo Sensei.

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MUSO JIKIDEN EISHIN RYU

Following the death of the 10th headmaster of Tosa Eishin Ryu – Hayashi Yasudayo – the Ryu split into two ha or factions. These were named after two highly skilled students who developed their own styles. The first was Tanimura Kamenojo Takakatsu, one of the regular retainers, or goshi (Tanimura ha); his style was more closely associated with the Tosa Iai and eventually developed into the Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. The other was known as Shimomura Shigeichi (Muso Shinden Eishin Ryu or the Shimomura ha), a classical warrior, which gave his style more prestige. He introduced considerable changes. Notable headmasters followed: 12th Headmaster Hayashi Masunojo Masamori, 13th Headmaster Yoda Manzai Yorikatsu, 14th Headmaster Hayashi Yadayu Masayori, 15th Headmaster Tanimura Kamenojo Takakatsu (d. 1862) – he is responsible for the development of the Tanimura ha – and the 16th Headmaster Goto Mogobei Masasuke (d. 1898), who further developed the Tanimura ha.

It was around this time that a young and determined – and skilled – swordsman moved to Tokyo to

embark on a path that would eventually changed the face of swordmanship and swiftly bring it into the modern era.

Nakayama Hakudo was a student at the dojo of Negishi Shingoro of the Shindo Munen Ryu.Following an iai demonstration in 1916, the famous Shindo Munen Ryu instructor Itagaki Taisuke (1837-1919), remarked to Nakayama, that, without study, research and intensive practice in the province of Tosa, his techniques would always be incomplete and open for further perfection. This laid the seed that would gradually take Nakayama to Tosa. So a persistant Nakayama pursuaded Itagaki Taisuke to introduce him to a Sensei from Tosa. The introduction was to Yukimune Sadayoshi of Tosa iai. But Yukimune refused to take him as a student, since he wasn’t originally from the province.

On receiving this news, Nakayama could do nothing but return to Tokyo, when Oe Masamichi, the future 17th soke of the Tanimura ha, made a suggestion. “Starting tomorrow, I will have four or five days of public demonstrations, and even though our

Left: Nakayama Hakudo. Right: Oe Masamichi

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MUSO JIKIDEN EISHIN RYU

Sempai has forbid us to show you the real way of the sword, you can still come and watch my demonstrations, take notes and learn by watching.”

Oe Masamichi gave Nakayama the opportunity he wanted, to witness the real iai he was so desperately seeking. Nakayama, of course, gratefully accepted, and following the demonstrations, Nakayama worked hard and progressed in his study of sword technique, commuting to Shikoku once a year for a 4 month stay. He did this for some 30 years before he was fully licenced in Muso Shinden Eishin Ryu. Itagaki Taisuke must have seen Nakayama’s determination to absorb the Tosa iai, so, on a return trip to Shikoku, he was introduced to the famous sword master Hosokawa Yoshimasa of the Muso Shinden Eishin Ryu or Shimomura ha Hasegawa Eishin Ryu (the future 15th soke), and Morimoto Tokumi of the Goto Ha Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu or Tanimura ha Hasegawa Eishin Ryu.

Nakayama, with a view to bolster budo’s dwindling numbers, he set about restructuring his Muso Shinden Ryu

Nakayama was eventually accepted as a student of both teachers, on the basis that he would not teach what he was being taught, making him the first outsider to learn Tosa Eishin Ryu. To this end he had to agree via a contract sealed with his own blood – Keppan. (He was later able to get around the contract by creating his own Ryu ha containing techniques that were similar, but just a little different than those he had been taught). But Hosokawa, respecting the spirit of Tosa, would only award Nakayama the menkyo level. He would have to wait for a number of years, until after the death of the 15th soke, before he

was awarded the menkyo kaiden of the Tanimura ha by Morimoto Tokumi. (Though according to some research, there was actually no contact between Nakayama and Hosokawa Yoshimasa, so only being recognised as a student of Morimoto Tokumi).

In 1928, Nakayama was asked by the Butokukai to demonstrate Muso Shinden Eishin Ryu publicly (and outside of Tosa) for the first time in history. There was a problem though: he had never recieved menkyo kaiden in the Shimomura ha, only in the Tanimura-ha! Therefore, during the demonstration, he had to present the art as ”Muso Shinden Ryu Battojutsu”, so avoiding any future issues that might arise.

In 1933, Nakayama restructured all he had learnt whilst in Tosa into a new school, the Muso Shinden Ryu.

Following the war, and all the problems that entailed for the Japanese population and budo, Nakayama, with a view to bolster budo’s dwindling numbers, he set about restructuring his Muso Shinden Ryu to appeal to the general populous. The attempt was to reduce the aggressive nature of the kata and emphasize the more spiritual side of the school. This would be the style that was thrust onto the modern era of swordmanship.

So was the scene set for Muso Shinden Ryu iaido to be unleashed on Japan and ultimately worldwide. It’s roots firmly in the iai of Tosa, but a style made for the modern practitioner.

Richard Munn is a photographer and artist, who’s work focuses on the natural world and the body. Richard’s work is informed by a background in psychology, Buddhism, and being a student of Nakamura-Ryu and Kurikara-ryu Heiho at the Fudokan Dojo, London.

Richard practices stills photography, photocollage photography, and life drawing so that each discipline can enrich the other. Stills photography challenges the practitioner to see and respond to the overall design or ‘rightness’ of a given moment. Photocollage work emphasizes the principle of ma-ai by including multiple interactive elements within a space, over a period of time. Life drawing integrates both ongoing looking, design, spatial awareness, and acting freely on the spot.

Richard is available for commission work.

https://www.facebook.com/richardmunnvisualart

the art of richard munn

sources: http://www.kensei.org/Iaido/MSRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakayama_Hakudo

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Naosuke was a proponent for the reopening of Japan after more than 250 years of seclusion, widely criticised for signing the 1858 Treaty of Amity

and Commerce with the United States Consul Townsend Harris. Not only was he critised for signing the treaty, but also for reinforcing the authority of the Shogunate against regional Daimyo through the Ansei Purge.

Naosuke made strong enemies, forcing retirement on his opponents, specifically the retainers of the Mito, Hizen, Owari, Tosa, Satsuma and Uwajima domains.

The actual assassination took place outside the Shogun’s Castle (Tokyo’s Royal Palace), just as Naosuke was approaching the gate. Naosuke had been warned, and advised that he should take precautions, many suggested that he should retire, but he refused, replying that “My own safety is nothing when I see the danger threatening the future of the country”.

On the fateful day, 17 Mito ronin, together with Arimura Jisaemon, a samurai from Satsuma, ambushed his palanquin. It was Arimura who delivered the cut to Naosuke’s neck killing him, promting Arimura to commit seppuku.

The consequences of the assassination forced the Bakufu to adopt a compromise policy of Kobu Gattai (Union of the Emperor and the Shogun). Both parties jostled for political power in the years to follow, which ultimately led to the violent Sonno Joi (Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians) movement.

Until the fall of Bakufu in 1868, the streets of Japan would remain hazardous for Bakufu officials and foreigners alike, as the Sonno Joi movement gained influence. Sir Ernest Satow summoned up the aftermath of the assassination, “A bloody revenge was taken on the individual (Ii Naosuke), but the hostility to the system only increased with time, and in the end brought about its complete ruin”.

The conflict reached a conclusion in 1868, with the military defeat of the Shogunate in the Boshin war, and the installation of the Meiji Emperor.

…be sure to visit the Palace in Tokyo, and make your way to Sakuradamon. It was here on 24th March, 1860 that the Chief Minister (Tairo) and leading figure of the Bakumatsu, Ii Naosuke was assassinated by ronin samurai from Mito.

Sakuradamon IncidentSakuradamon no Hen

Arimura Jisaemon, about to commit the assassination.

A very early image of Naosuke, naturally before the assassinationSource:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakuradamon_Incident_(1860)

Sakuradamon as it is today

Naosuke’s attackers were well organised, and carried their own manifesto as to their reason for the attack. It read as follows:While fully aware of the necessity for some change in policy since the coming of the Americans at Uraga, it is entirely against the interest of the country and a stain on the national honour to open up commercial relations with foreigners, to admit foreigners into the Castle, to conclude treaties with them, to abolish the established practice of trampling on the picture of Christ, to allow foreigners to build places of worship for the evil religion, and to allow the three Foreign Ministers to reside in the land (...) Therefore, we have consecrated ourselves to be the instruments of Heaven to punish this wicked man, and we have taken on ourselves the duty of ending a serious evil, by killing this atrocious autocrat.– The Sakuradamon conspirators.

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FUDOSHIN

An insight from Stephen Coniaris

Fudoshin may be translated as immovable mind or body or spirit. Fu is a negative prefix and Do means to move thus, Fudo means unmovable. Shin is the pronunciation of the kanji kokoro when used in a compound word. Kokoro is often translated as mind or heart but is more likely something akin to mind/heart/spirit all in one.

Fudoshin has also been translated to mean ‘immovable heart’ or ‘immovable mind’ or the state of imperturbability. It is a mind that is not captured by attachment, but is free to put its intent into effect. It is a mind that is not moved by fear or greed or lust or desire. When the bushi (warrior in Japanese tradition) is attacked and the sword of the opponent is flashing – the immovable mind remains unmoved by fear and thus does not freeze. The immovable mind is unattached to winning or losing

and so moves naturally without undue tension, and is able to flow freely from motion to motion. The mind that wields the sword successfully needs to be immovable when faced with challenges, and yet, always free to move anywhere and everywhere effortlessly, thus acquiring fudoshin has been a much sought after skill.

It is a mind that is not captured by attachment, but is free to put its intent into effect. It is a mind that is not moved by fear or greed or lust or desire.Fudoshin can be considered a philosophical or a mental dimension of Japanese martial arts that helps the

advanced practitioner achieve greater effectiveness and raise their level of skill. It is not done to be stylish or trendy. It a skill pursued by advanced practitioners who seek to take their skill to a higher level and more fully unleash their potential. The concept of fudoshin was adopted from Zen and Shingon (esoteric) Buddhism, both of which played a role in the training and outlook of the bushi and classical Japanese martial artists.

The Zen priest Takuan (1573-1645), who influenced many samurai, in letter to the swordmaster Yagyu Munenori (1571-1646), speaks of fudoshin far better than this article. Takuan’s letter has been passed down as Fudoshin Shinmyoroku (The Wondrous Record of Immovable Wisdom) and is a highly recommended read. Takuan states that ‘the sword and zen are one’ – that the warrior and monk have much in common in terms of the skills

It was a cold November evening in the Kochi Budokan. The windows were open and you could see your breath

as we trained iai in the kendojo. It was my seventh month training in Kochi under the guidance of Takeshima Sensei. He had been most generous with his time and his efforts on my behalf. However, on this day he was correcting everyone else. He had not corrected me once and we were 45 minutes into the class! Why wasn’t he helping me, giving me corrections? These thoughts passed through my mind. Eventually Sensei did come over and gave me a correction, and then another and 20 or so more. Despite the cold I was

bathed in sweat and I was thinking, “Why doesn’t he go and correct someone else?” “Why is he picking on me?” In time class ended and Sensei gave a small talk on fudoshin, and his words struck to my core. When Sensei was not teaching me, I was unhappy. When he was teaching me, I was unhappy. My mind was distracting me from learning and doing. I told myself, I would strive to be where I am – getting no corrections or 50 corrections. I would learn how to take in and make a part of me, each correction Sensei offered, no matter the number or his approach. No judging, just learning and training. So I began my study of fudoshin.

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FUDOSHIN

they need to be successful at their professions. Fudoshin Shinmyoroku says that emotions and thoughts clutter the mind and curtail the skill of the swordsman. Takuan encourages Munenori, the kenjutsu instructor to the third shogun, to train intensely and clear his mind of clutter to attain this state of unfettered mind that is the core of true mastery of swordsmanship.

If the bushi sees a sword coming at him and puts his mind there, then the sword captures his mind and it is no longer free to move. If the bushi is trying to understand his opponent’s mind, then his own mind is captured and can be carried off. If the bushi is concerned about distance or looking good or winning or being injured, then his mind is captured by these things and is no longer free to move effectively. Rather, the bushi seeks to free the mind in order to move without hesitation. The bushi moves just as sound moves instantly from the clapping hands – there is no hesitating, no considering, no thinking about should or shouldn’t – it just springs forth. Similarly, the attack comes and the mind/body responds appropriately without hesitation, within the boundaries of intent and the situation at hand. If the bushi’s cut misses it continues onward to a new target without stopping or noticing. There is no thought ‘I have missed’ and a frozen moment where one’s mind tries to comprehend what is next. Thinking is slow. Consider walking – if you think about each and every motion as you walk – you will move very awkwardly if at all. ‘Swing left hand as right leg goes forward while pushing off left leg and right hand is moving backwards with eyes forward making sure not to trip on anything and the center of mass slightly forward to allow motion but not too far forward to pitch over, etc.’ Thus the mind freed of doubts and conscious thought is able to efficiently use the tools (skills, technique) that the practitioner possess – being free to solve the problem presented in

creative ways that are not limited to just waza (technique) but allows variations on it that have never been practiced. The entire kinesthetic sense of the practitioner is utilised without being limited or slowed by conscious thought.

Some westerners have a difficult time with the concept of mental training or a warrior without rage or anger. Early samurai were much the same. However, as they trained and trained more, they eventually hit a plateau. ‘How do we now get to a higher skill level? The body can do no more.’ It was then that they came upon the idea of mental training, noting how calmly the monks faced adversity. In this way the samurai could face death without fear, face battle with calmness that allowed greater skill – surely these were skills worth having. Hence, so many samurai embraced mental training.

Some westerners have a difficult time with the concept of mental training or a warrior without rage or anger. Early samurai were much the same.It is worthwhile noting that when the body is stressed it produces adrenaline. This has many effects; most of which are not helpful to the skilled bushi. Pupils are dilated to let more light into the eye, but one looses depth perception, and peripheral vision is greatly reduced (tunnel vision). Auditory input may be impaired. Fine motor skills are lost. The body’s first response with an adrenaline rush is to freeze, the more commonly noted features of ‘fight or flight’ occurs later. The mind has difficulty staying on task and often focuses on inappropriate thoughts that seem very important at the time. As one SWAT commander put it ‘The bullets started flying and all I could

think about was what gift I should get my child for her birthday. It seemed of vital importance at the time.’ All of these items are not helpful and severely impair the bushi from effectively dealing with the matters at hand. Mental training, like fudoshin, can allow the practitioner to use much more of the skills he has attained, in part by lessening the adrenaline dump.

There is a story of a warlord who faced the chief of a Buddhist temple. “I am the kind of general who can cut off a monk’s head without blinking an eye.” The warlord wanted to show he was unafraid of the gods or this priest’s religion. The monk answered, “Well, I am the kind of monk who can have his head cut off without blinking an eye”. The warlord did not kill the monk, respecting his fearlessness, his fudoshin.

Training toward Fudoshin The deshi (a student who seeks more than just technique) who wishes to undertake the journey to fudoshin is often said to have to face great challenges and make great sacrifices. This refers to the practice of shugyo or ascetic training. Shugyo was practiced by both zen monks and bushi who sought to raise their skill with harsh training that challenged the body and mind. The goals varied, but were often fudoshin or related states that led to mushin (no mind) or satori (enlightenment). Such training is one way to achieve fudoshin if one can find the appropriate guidance.

One method is to train classical Japanese martial arts with a teacher who can guide the sincere deshi and who understands the training of fudoshin. A good teacher can be difficult to find and the deshi is required to have a learning mindset – one focused on being open to new ways of seeing and doing things, as well as the determination to train relentlessly and with good focus.

Another path, offered by well-versed practitioners seem to suggest that if

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the deshi applies himself daily, paying attention to how the mind is acting, fudoshin can be achieved. If the deshi will just notice and not be moved by his thoughts, he will make good progress. For example, when eating – do not focus on getting this taste or that but simply eat good wholesome food in moderate amounts. When choosing a bike, do not be overly concerned with the color or style but rather does it fulfill the function. In picking a sword, let go of the fancy furniture and beautiful saya and be aware if the blade is well made and well balanced. Start with the simple daily things and build your practice.

The deshi first needs to develop his art fully via daily training with focused attention on moving more naturally, effortlessly and efficiently. This will start the training of fudoshin. For example, when the deshi wants to take a day off because he is tired or sore or he had a hard day at work. ‘I’ll just take today off and work all the harder tomorrow’. This will not help deshi so he must learn to not be moved by such feelings or thoughts just because he is tired, in fact the good deshi will notice that some of his best training has been when he was tired before hand. The deshi notices how energised he is after training and develops a rational for training when things are challenging. Please note, it is not the fighting through pain or boredom or weariness that is fudoshin, however that is the start, but rather it is not being moved at all by such thoughts or emotions that is fudoshin.

As the deshi starts to bring his fears and concerns to light, he notices they aren’t as scary as he first thought. The repressed thoughts that bubble up as the deshi grows in skill and confidence

can seem bad – all those negative feelings and thoughts that have been swept under the rug appear dark and embarrassing. However, if the deshi can find the courage or guidance to just release those old limiting thoughts and fears – he will greatly improve, both as a martial artist and as a person. This is because there are less things to come up and occupy his mind in a stressful situation. The hidden fears are uncovered, brought

to light and released. Thus his mind grows calmer, his body more relaxed and his art makes a significant jump.

Another approach, once the deshi has good physical skills, is to add more mental training. One method to help achieve fudoshin is to do zazen (zen mediation). This quiet time starts first with learning to focus by counting breaths, count 1 to 10 with each exhalation. If the deshi notices himself counting 12, 13… then he gently brings himself back to one and starts again. If he notices he is thinking about some movie, or the pain in his legs or the itch on his nose, he gently brings himself back to one and starts again. Once the

deshi has sufficient focus to maintain this counting – he will have a good start in fudoshin. This occurs because the deshi is starting to be unmoved by all the little thoughts that float through his mindscape. In fact, he likely will notice if he acknowledges these thoughts, but give them no attention, they wiggle about a bit and pass through his mind. However, if he tries to force them from his mind, they seem to grow larger and remain

steadfast where they are. With these skills learned, the deshi is able to make progress in his mediation and fudoshin skills.

The last method presented here, and one that is also employed by both the above methods, is creating awareness of fudoshin in everyday life. If the deshi can be rigorous in his soul searching and precise in his attention to opportunities to practice fudoshin in everyday doings, then he can make good progress. If the deshi can be open enough to know when he is clinging to some concept or thing, when he is moved by words or attached to things, or

simply when he gets too attached to this way of doing things he can note them and let them go. As he starts to let go of judging, both of himself and others, the deshi’s fudoshin will grow. When the deshi notices: judging others or things, liking this or that, having pet peeves, lying, or being moved by greed, fame, flattery or desire then he needs to remind himself of fudoshin and let go of the attachments.

Fudoshin is really a very simple matter – be immovable and yet keep your mind everywhere – however getting there is challenging for most individuals. With training and awareness of his mental state, the

FUDOSHIN

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From Steve Coniaris

Nan-in, a Japanese Zen Master during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), hosted a university professor of philosophy who came to inquire about Zen. The professor spoke at length on all he knew about Zen. Nan-in began pouring tea into the professor’s teacup and when it became full, he kept pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could contain himself no more. “It is overfull and no more will go in!” To which Nan-in said, “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen if you first do not empty your cup?”

The learning mindset is what each deshi should strive to develop. Through a beginner’s mind, all things are possible and learning occurs quicker and more efficiently. No one ever steps in the same river twice; and no one technique is ever exactly the same – only the perception that it is so.We should all think on these things.

deshi begins to remain unruffled and calm in more and more stressful situations. This spiritual forging takes place in the deshi’s daily training, in the dojo and at various gasshuku (intense training sessions). Sensei moves the deshi first toward proper technique and form then introduces iki (breath) and heiho (strategy). At some point after the waza (technique) is introduced, sensei starts to focus on the real mastery of the art by adding such things as fudoshin. Fudoshin, a stepping-stone to mushin.

Some may think that the deshi would have no life, no joy, but that is the mind trying to rationalise why one should not undertake this journey – ‘I might fail’ or ‘It seems so difficult, it likely isn’t worth it.’ However, the truth is rather the opposite – fudoshin frees one to enjoy things much more and not to be concerned with the little stuff. It allows one to easily change one’s path as new information is presented with little internal resistance. Such concepts as ‘I am too old to change’ or ‘This is not how I learned it’ fade away. The simple things in life are appreciated more; from friendship, to health, or to a small flower by one’s feet. Training takes on a new joy that has been described as ‘One’s movement becomes so free and easy, you can’t understand how you didn’t know this before. There is joy in each movement and in just being alive’.

This unattached, calm, immovable mind was achieved by bushi in the past and can be accomplished by the modern practitioner who makes a dedicated, focused effort as well. Reading classical texts and creating a personal practice that encourages excellence and movement toward fudoshin is very helpful.

Partial and fully embodied fudoshin An American professional football player (wide receiver) was once playing basketball. When he was going to the basket, flying through the air he was undercut and landed on his head opening a 6-inch gash. He popped right up to show he was unaffected and was ready to continue playing until the blood started down his face and he had to be taken to hospital. The football player was unmoved by the hit or the fall or the blood. He had been taught not to show emotion or concern after a hit. He was not to be intimidated by a hit. Basketball players are not trained in this way, and most would jump up ready to fight or stay on the ground in pain. This football player demonstrated partial fudoshin.

Fudoshin is really a very simple matter – be immovable and yet keep your mind everywhere – however getting there is challenging for most individuals.Similarly in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angles, in the prelims of the 100m breaststroke, the world record holder removed his sweatsuits and stood there looking out at the crowd as the previous heat finished. He noticed everyone was staring at him. One of his teammates came up and asked him if he was nervous. He said ‘No’. His teammate said “Well look down’. The world record holder did and notice he was naked – he had forgotten to put on his swimsuit prior to his sweats (this is common since racing swimsuits are tight and rather uncomfortable to sit around in). He did not panic, but calmly picked up his sweat bottoms and put them on. He went back into the locker room

and put his swimsuit on. Imagine how embarrassed most people would have been. Would they even return? Would you? Steve Lundqvist did and he set a world record in the preliminaries and then bettered that in the finals and won a gold medal. He was unmoved by his mistake. This too is fudoshin. The question is, does it fill the person’s entire life or just certain, limited times.

These are examples of limited fudoshin – applying it to one situation. The challenge now is to grow that fudoshin from the one limited area to the person’s whole life. Yamaoka Tesshu spoke of something similar to fudoshin when he spoke of fearlessness. ‘It is easy to be fearless when confronted by a bushi with a sword, many people can do this, but they are overwhelmed when confronted by such passions as greed, anger, lust, or the delusions of fame, wealth or responsibility.’ This same thinking applies to achieving fudoshin in the real sense. Fudoshin is a mind unmoved by flattery or disparaging remarks, winning or losing, being rained on or having sunshine, loss or gain. The advanced practitioner must overcome both the inner and outer fears and attachments. The deshi will first develop limited fudoshin then expand it out to fill all aspects of the deshi art and life – in and out of the dojo. Fudoshin is there to help the deshi, not only in moments of crisis, but when facing moral challenges, interpersonal relationships and everyday conflicts. Fudoshin; the deshi’s skill starts to transcend his art, and his enjoyment of this journey we call life is very much richer for it.

Fudoshin is the state of immovable mind/body/spirit. Explore it.

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Paul Martin appraising a sword, taken at the British Museum

the art of richard munn

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Following the integration of hiragana and katakana into the unique Japanese syllabaries, the distinctive Japanese writing system developed and calligraphers produced styles intrinsic to Japan.

Japanese calligraphy shares its roots with Chinese calligraphy and many of the principles and techniques are very similar and recognise the same basic writing styles:

seal script (tensho) clerical script (reisho) regular script (kaisho) semi-cursive (gyosho) cursive (sosho)

The traditional tools of the art are: The inkstick (sumi); mulberry paper (washi); an inkstone (suzuri) to grind the inkstick against; a paper weight (bunchin); a cloth (shitajiki) which goes under the paper and a brush (fude).

Calligraphy was introduced to Japan from China around 600 A.D. and known as the karayo tradition. The oldest existing calligraphic text in Japan is the text on the halo of the Medicine Buddha statue in the Horyu-ji Temple. This Chinese text was written in Shakeitai style, prominent in the Chinese Six Dynasties period.

In the 7th century, the second Emperor Taizong was a fanatic about Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic texts, and hence, this popularity influenced the Japanese calligraphers. All of the original texts written by

Wang Xizhi have been lost, and copies such as Gakki-ron, written by the Empress Komyo are highly regarded as important sources of Wang Xizhi’s style, in particular for the wayo style unique to Japan.

During the Heian period, Wang Xizhi’s influences remained strong, and evident in calligraphy written by Kūkai or Saicho, admired by the Emperor Saga.

Writing had been popularised and the kana phonetic syllabary was devised to deal with elements of pronunciation that could not be written with the borrowed Chinese characters. Japanese calligraphers still fitted the basic characters into the squares laid out centuries before. The Tanka poem, Soukou Shujitsu, was written in 749 AD, and shows some differences from the unique style of Japanese calligraphy from the Chinese. Ono no Michikaze (894-966 AD)

along with Fujiwara no Sukemasa and Fujiwara no Yukinari, the so-called sanseki (‘Three Brush Traces’), are considered the founders of the Japanese wayo style.

The Heike Monogatari marked the beginning of the Kamakura period (1185–1333). This era is often referred to as ‘the age of the warriors’, it is also a time when Buddhism flourished. Zen monks, such as Shunjo, studied in China and the copybooks that he brought with him are regarded to be highly influential for the karayo tradition of the time, expressing a clear kaisho style.

The arts prospered, but are not considered as refined as that of earlier times. Of note is the role of Ikkyū Sōjun, a successor of Shūhō Myōcho at Daitoku-ji; Ikkyū was instrumental in elevating the appreciation of calligraphy to an integral part of the tea ceremony in the 15th century and an appreciation of the art called zenga, though this practice didn’t come into its own until the beginning of the Edo period in around 1600. Zenga is a style of Japanese calligraphy and painting, done in ink and in many instances, both calligraphy and image are part of the same piece. The calligraphy is usually a poem, or saying that teaches some element of Zen. The painting is characteristically simple, bold and abstract.

Calligraphic studies were essentially limited to the study of karayo style works, via the Ming Dynasty China. Calligraphers such as Hosoi Kotaku, who authored the five-volume Kanga Hyakudan in 1735, further advanced the karayo style. Characteristic for the early Edo period was an innovation by Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) who had paper made to order and painted a backdrop of decorative patterns, butterflies or floral elements with which his calligraphy established a poetic correspondence (Zenga). Together with Konoe Nobutada (1565–1614) and Shōkadō Shōjō (1584–1639) – the three Kan’ei Sanpitsu – he is considered one of the greatest calligraphers in the wayo style at the time.

Around 1736 Yoshimune began relaxing Japan’s isolation policy and Chinese cultural imports increased. Catalogues of imported books testify to a broad appreciation of Chinese calligraphers among the Japanese literati who pursued the karayo style: ‘traditionalists’ studied Wang Xizhi and Wen Zhengming, while the ‘reformists’ modeled their work on the sosho style of calligraphers such as Zhang Xu, Huai Su and Mi Fu. In terms of wayo, Konoe Iehiro contributed many fine kana works but the wayo style was not as heavily practised as karayo at that time. Some examples have been preserved by scholars of

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_calligraphy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitsuzendo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokuseki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenga

SHODO

kokugaku (National studies), or poets and painters such as Kaga no Chiyo, Yosa Buson or Sakai Hoitsu.

Japanese calligraphy was influenced by, and in turn, influenced Zen thought. For any particular piece of paper, the calligrapher has just one chance to be creative with the brush. The brush strokes cannot be corrected, and even a lack of confidence will stand-out in a piece of work. The calligrapher must concentrate and be fluid with the brush, which writes a statement about the calligrapher at a moment in time – a method of achieving Samadhi. This style is referred to as Hitsuzendo, the ‘Art of the Brush’. Through Zen, Japanese calligraphy absorbed a distinct Japanese aesthetic often symbolised by the enso or circle of enlightenment.

Yamaoka Tesshu (1836–1888), founded the Hitsuzendo line of thought as a ‘practice to uncover one’s original self through the brush’. This was then further developed by Omori Sogen Roshi as a way of Zen practice. Hitsuzendo is practised standing, using a large brush and ink, usually on newspaper roll. In this way, the whole body is used to guide the brush, in contrast to writing at a table.

Zen calligraphy is practiced by Buddhist monks and most shodo practitioners. To write Zen calligraphy with mastery, one must clear one’s mind and let the letters flow out of themselves.

SHODOJapanese calligraphy, or Shodo, is a form

of artistic writing, and for a long time, the most esteemed calligrapher in Japan was not Japanese, but a Chinese calligrapher called Wang Xizhi dating back to the 4th century.

Enso

Calligraphy by Wang Xizhi

Calligraphy by Muso Soseki (1275–1351, Japanese zen master, poet and calligrapher. Written in a flowing, connected sosho style.

Another form of calligraphy is called Bokuseki meaning ‘ink trace’, and refers to a form of calligraphy and more specifically a style of Zenga. It is often characterised by bold, assertive, and often abstract brush strokes meant to demonstrate the calligrapher’s pure state of mind representing ones single-moment awareness by brushing each word or passage with a single breath, ultimately realising Zen and manifesting ones Zazen practice into physical and artistic action.

Before Japanese tea ceremonies, one is to look at a work of shodo to clear one’s mind. This is considered an essential step in the preparation to the tea ceremony.

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CARTILAGE INJURIES IN THE KNEE

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

There are two tough, free moving, cartilage structures between these two bones, one on the medial side of the knee joint, one on the lateral. Anatomically called the ‘menisci’ they sit precisely onto the top of the tibia which is fairly flat, so the bottom surface of the meniscus is flat, whilst the top surfaces faces the two round ends of the femur, so they are cupped to accommodate this shape in effect the menisci make the two bones fit together better. To clarify this a little further; the menisci are wedge shaped, half-moon, C-shaped structures, the inside of them is thin and has no blood supply, whilst the outside is much thicker but does have a blood supply to it. This all becomes important when they become damaged as without a blood supply they cannot heal. The ‘menisci’ allow body weight to be distributed effectively through the knee joint and so permit the tibia and femur to move relative to each other in a smooth and efficient manner. They also act as shock absorbers and guiders of movement through their attachment points located around the middle of the joint.

Meniscal tears or a torn cartilage- what exactly do we mean? This is where much confusion arises as the ends of the femur and tibia both have

The knee is the joint between the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone).

Cartilage injuries in the knee

hard cartilage covering them, as well as the fibrous cartilage that makes up the menisci. What most people mean when they talk about a ‘torn cartilage in the knee’ are the menisci most of the time.

Traumatic injuries are a common cause of meniscal injuries often as a result of twisting motion of the knee whilst under load and in a flexed position. Rapid squatting movements, lunges and jumping activities also cause problems. Another consideration is as people become older they have more wear and tear in the weight bearing joints, specifically knees and hips and this not only affects the hard cartilage at the end of the bones but in the natural course of things the menisci also become ‘frayed’ on their thin inner edges and can develop tears and splits within them through their entire width.

There are a number of symptoms in meniscal injuries ranging from the obvious pain and swelling, to locking of the joint, sometimes ‘cracking and clicking’ sounds from the joint and of course a restriction of normal movement. This is all to do with driving the joint surfaces together. As they are compressed the damaged meniscal cartilages (which at this point has lost its integrity) and may as a result be leaving floating detritus

within the joint, or is trailing frayed bits, or has splits within it (basically is not working properly) rather than facilitating joint movement it is actually blocking and disrupting it.

The diagnosis of meniscal injuries is difficult as a lot of the orthopaedic tests are not terribly reliable. Probably the most useful information is gained by a combination of taking a good comprehensive case history, finding out the mechanism of injury and doing a comprehensive physical examination. If a severe meniscal injury is suspected then immediate referral to a specialist orthopaedic surgeon and MRI is the norm.

Treatment can be provided by an osteopath or a physiotherapist initially and for a minor injury; however in my experience if there is a cartilage injury in most cases eventually this will lead to a referral to a surgeon. This subsequently and commonly will result in an ‘arthroscopy’ of the joint where the meniscal cartilage can be trimmed/tidied up and loose bits within the joint vacuumed out. Occasionally meniscal replacements are performed with donor tissue but this is a fairly new procedure as far as I know.

Quadriceps Muscle

Quadriceps Tendon

Femur

Patella

Cartilage

PatellarLigament

Meniscus

Ligament

Tibia

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SEMINAR AND EVENT REVIEW

It should have been held in Bath, but the sports hall floor was damaged and the event was moved to Stevenage. Attended by around one hundred and sixty people representing countries including Great Britain, Holland, Bulgaria, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic, Brazil, Taiwan, Australia and Japan

The first day was for the practice of ZNKR iaido, concentrating on getting the angles and footwork correct. The afternoon concentrated on ensuring that the kata were performed incorporating all the points relevant for grading.

After an hours practice on the second day the gradings were held. The afternoon was given over to the Taikai

All were entered for the Taikai, and if not participating, reason for withdrawing had to be given. Heats were held for each grade, and the winners of each grade competed in the final.

It was won by Jesper Waldestål, aged 23 from Falkenberg in southern Sweden, who had beaten Oliver Jarvis in the Sandan final. As everyone watched him, he emerged as the clear favourite. His iaido was almost mesmeric, even if watching his opponent your eyes were drawn back. He has been practising for nine years, and the banner will have his name on a ribbon for this year. When asked why he started iaido, he simply said “Swords are cool”

The full results will be available on the BKA website, but the following were noted:

Mudan Fighting Spirit went to Stephan Otto; winner of Shodan was Rob Bromhead;

Recently I was very fortunate to participate in the First Annual East Coast Taikai in August of 2013. Amongst some of the sensei there were Sang Kim, 5th Dan Renshi, Yoshitoki Hataya, 9th Dan Hanshi (Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu), Masaharu Mukai Sensei, 7th Dan Kyoshi (Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu), Philip Ortiz, 6th Dan (Ryushin Shouchi Ryu) and others. This was my first time going to a taikai and therefore did not know what to expect.

First a little history. My style is called Silun Dobup. It has roots in Toyama Ryu, Nakamura Ryu and Korean sword forms. You can imagine my delight when as I watched the Toyama Ryu masters doing forms that I immediately recognised as being so very similar to the forms I do. I stood there looking around and felt like I had finally found confirmation that my own path runs along with other styles which we had heard of before but I had never actually seen with my own eyes. It does not end there either. You see, one thing I have found out over the years as a kendo practitioner is, whenever I get together with others who practice kendo, there is an immediate welcoming and almost instant forming of brotherhood and friendship. It was also the same with the taikai. I was welcomed with a very friendly smile from the organiser (Sang Kim sensei) and I went inside and spoke with other practitioners, I even found a friend from my kendo class there whom I did not know was also attending.

I met Philip Ortiz sensei and discovered through our conversations that he is very much like myself, in that we are both born in New York City but our parents are from Puerto

British Kendo Association’s 2013 Iaido Summer Seminar Stevenage, 5th-7th AugustBy Gary Williamson

My First Taikai Experience.First Annual East Coast Taikai, USABy Raul Acevedo

Nidan was Yuki Shima; Yondan was Dan Silk, with the Fighting Spirit award going to Elena West; Godan was Ann Luso; and Rokudan was Andy Watson, with Dave Collins and Tony Devine winning the Fighting Spirit awards in each division respectively.

Throughout all the practice the Japanese sensei patiently gave instruction and encouragement, reiterating the points that were being failed. They were aided by a plethora of senior UK sensei. Three of these sensei were given specially made Hyo Sho Jyo, to mark that they had given 40 years service to perfecting their own iaido, and moreover teaching and encouraging others. The awards were made to Vic Cook, Len Bean and Chris Mansfield and were presented by Errol Blake, Chairman of the BKA.

All of these sensei having given half a lifetime or more to this art, and it was encouraging to speak to others such as Jesper Waldestål, and Femi Woode, who show the enthusiasm for the future.

The final day was given to the teaching and practice of koryu. The seminar was a success and would not have been so without the sensei from Japan and Europe, and the many others who give their time so generously.

The sensei in the photo (left to right)Yoshimura Kenichi (8 dan kyoshi); Oshita Masakazu (8 dan kyoshi); Ishido Shizufumi (8 dan hanshi); Morita Tadahiko (8 dan kyoshi); Shoji Keiichi (7 dan kyoshi)

Waldestål

The banner

Rico in the Caribbean. I always thought I was alone in this regard. You can imagine how happy it made me to be amongst such an awesome crowd of people who are extremely knowledgeable and eager to share the knowledge they possess. To be honest, I’m only a 2nd Dan in my art working my way towards 3rd Dan soon (hopefully), so being in the same room with these gentlemen was a real treat and honour for me.

I came home from the experience of doing Toyama Ryu forms and watching some people cutting targets (which I love to do) and felt inspired to go out there and share what I know! Much to my amazement, a local Tae Kwon Do school invited me (a.k.a. Hudson Valley Sword Acadmey) recently to do a sword demonstration in a public festival in Monroe, NY called the Cheese Festival. I instantly accepted and recruited a sword buddy of mine to show up and talk with me about what we do, and also to cut some targets. It turned out really well, and many people came afterwards to talk with us and ask questions about iaido and kendo and how to get started on this path. I was so happy to be able to look back at the taikai and pull from the experience, and so be able to go out and share this wonderful art with others in a public forum.

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Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th September 2013 saw the first of the Autumnal Iaido seminars supported in the BKA calendar and the second time in succession that Genbukan Edinburgh had hosted a seminar at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Sport and Exercise.

The seminar was led by John Honisz-Greens Sensei Rokudan (ZNKR) with support and additional resource provided by Greg Drewe Sensei Rokudan Renshi (BKA) and Anna Stone Sensei Rokudan (BKA) and attended by approximately 30 people from both Muso Jikiden and Muso Shinden lineage and from Mudan to Godan grade.

The event started at 9.30am sharp with an introduction to the Sensei, followed by an explanation of the format for the day and what were the main aims of the weekend training. This open form of training and explanation at the start of the day is aimed to set the tone of a relaxed informative session whereby all participants will have the opportunity take away key points to work on for their own skills level. By setting the theme and tone from the onset all are made aware of what is going to be

The Edinburgh Genbukan SeminarBy Phil Henderson (Budokan Dojo) and Stuart Sherriff (Katsumushi Dojo)Edited by Billy Smart (Shonenjiku Dojo)Photography by Bartek Nowak

the focus for the day and ultimately the weekend before any training starts. This demonstrates structure and planning in the teaching to follow, something that is crucial to generating a positive learning environment.

The schedule for Day 1 was to focus on ZNKR Seitei Gata, in particular with regard to correct basics, i.e. what Honisz-Greens Sensei described as Level 1, 2 and 3 techniques following the ZNKR Seitei Iaido Manual. Particular time was spent on Seitei Gata No.1 Mae, as many of the key fundamentals that were being focused on that day were introduced and explained in that form in detail.

Level 1 techniques:• Is the kissaki in the correct position

after nukitsuke• Is the hand height correct after

nukitsuke• Does the blade finish at just below

horizontal after kiritsuke• Is the correct ashi-sabaki (footwork)

being used

These are basics but things that can and should be regularly reviewed and monitored in all training regardless of ones skill level.

Level 2 techniques for higher graded students started to include:

• An understanding of coordinated body movement with the sword action with a strong focus on using toes to set a strong foundation, and the various foot positions, and knee angles throughout the technique.

• Improving tenouchi to create better sword angle with the blade, levels of finishing cuts etc.

• Understanding the relationship of the left and right hand and how it affects the kissaki power and how judges can note if correct tenouchi is being applied.

For 4th and 5th Dan grades of which there were several, level 2 also focused on the in depth study of:

• Metsuke and how to enhance the feeling and use of the eyes to determine and interact with keikoteki (look out for the infamous cardboard sensei later in the photos). Or in Honisz-Greens sensei’s words how to turn a technique from 2D to 3D.

• The introduction and application of jo-ha-kyu again enhancing on the level 1 basic footwork to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the level 1 ashi-sabaki and sword-work, so as to keep the kensen alive throughout the techniques.

The final Level 3 was also focussed in particular on explaining ma-ai in regard to tenouchi and the shape of the cut, with particular focus on nukitsuke in Seitei Gata No.1 Mae. Demonstrating and showing how the trajectory and shape of the cut is important to show the target (keikoteki) had been cut. This was insightful for all and Honisz-Greens Sensei’s method of demonstrating this was excellent, meaning little further explanation was needed.

Senior grades were happy to discuss these key areas of teaching at this broader and deeper level of training, however due to the open learning format of the morning session many of the lower and ungraded students were beginning to demonstrate some

understanding of the higher points. Not necessarily were they able to input the points into their practice, but they were able to demonstrate some, and clearly an understanding of the morning session.

Day 1 afternoon was to consist of a taikai practice whereby a unique and enjoyable taikai teaching system was used.

The participants were split into 2 groups, Court 1 with 2 teams Mudan to Sandan with Stone Sensei as the Senior Judge, and Court 2 also with 2 teams of senior Sandan to Godan with Drewe Sensei as the senior responsible. Honisz-Greens Sensei monitored both courts and assisted by keeping everyone on track to this new format. Also, there were 6 players in each team making a practical split for 5 referees and a time-keeper, whilst having a team of 6 competing. Much emphasis was also placed on correct judging etiquette, flag technique, correct calls (pronunciation and intonation), and effective court and paper management, with demerits to a players score if they made a mistake.

This system allowed for all participants to take part as competitors, judges, referees and court managers giving everyone a chance at performing

under pressure, judging practice and critical analysis helping everyone to learn from others and ultimately themselves. It also put a large responsibility on the two senior sensei’s as they acted as senior referees sitting off court making observation notes on specific feedback forms for all participants. So at the end of the day all participants left with feedback specific to them on all 12 ZNKR Seitei Gata techniques.

Again this method of teaching demonstrates just how much learning and development one can get from a structured weekend session by practicing all of the roles i.e. taikai, judging, and court management practice. On a personal note, I would add that spirit of competition does help to improve the standard of iai rather than just churning out kata as everyone was constantly trying to do their best and improve on their performance each round.

The lower grades were predominantly encouraged to look for what they knew in the kata to be correct i.e. footwork in the correct place, hands at correct level, etc. the Level 1 techniques that had been covered earlier in the day.

A personal training point enjoyed by many was it is interesting to have your own habits and flavours highlighted as a 5th Dan by a keen observant Mudan. However, when this is done within a training environment that has already been established as one of open learning and respect it can be fun and practical. Before the competition started all had been well instructed on what elements to look for that was suitable to their level of ability.

SEMINAR AND EVENT REVIEW

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SEMINAR AND EVENT REVIEW

I also felt that the input feedback from Drewe, Stone and Honisz-Greens Senseis and the amount of information that they managed to get on the feedback forms over the weekend was and will be part of all of our own training improvement plans going forward.

Day 2 started with a reiteration of the plan and aims of the day confirming and establishing what would be covered and what students could expect from the training session. Then to the warm ups again and a few exercises to get the correct Iai muscles working, including a few old favourites suggested by Drewe and Stone Senseis, some of which included a little thinking rather than just standing and cutting on the spot. Honisz-Greens Sensei also threw a couple of very enjoyable but technically difficult warm-ups again focussing on correct hand power and dexterity that left almost everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out how he done them. It set the technical tone for the day, and an enjoyable tone that these Edinburgh seminars are already very well known for.

The session moved forward and completed the last of the ZNKR Seitei Gata before moving on the Omori Ryu, (Shoden Koryu Kata). The technical levels discussed from day 1 were now also applied to the Koryu for both Jikiden and Shinden students present. These were adjusted accordingly by the Sensei’s, Drewe Sensei demonstrating Shinden and Stone Sensei demonstrating Jikiden. Honisz-Greens Sensei kept them both on their toes as he studies Jikiden but has been training in the Ishido Sensei Shinbukan Dojo for the last 3 years so is versed in Shinden. Volunteers performed kata and were given constructive feedback about their performance in a bid to improve their Iaido. The feedback included both positive and negative comments but at all times with respect and courtesy.

The morning session concluded and after lunch a 2nd afternoon of taikai practice and learning followed.

This was a slightly shorter version of the Day 1 practice but covered the main points again and incorporated the teaching points discussed on the morning of day 2.

The afternoon concluded with a short free practice and open question session, and whilst cardboard sensei didn’t have much to say s/he proved invaluable in making and emphasising

key points of tenouchi, cutting and ma-ai.

The seminar was based on very traditional and inspirational training as developed by our Japanese Sensei, in particular Ishido, Morita and Oshita Sensei, with an open sharing of information and practical application through structured practice and a re-enforcement of key learning points is something that the Iaido fraternity should be proud of.

The seminar and its leaders strove all weekend to ensure that the standards and styles of teaching established by their own teachers above were constantly included in the event. Also, generating an environment where a Mudan can give feedback to a Godan and it is accepted as a good observation. The seminar showed a fine example of how to develop Iaido communities that look after each other and how to forge stronger ties between the groups at national and international levels. Everyone was made welcome and encouraged to share and comment regardless of affiliation, style or lineage.

In summary, the Edinburgh Genbukan dojo members extended a welcoming hand and looked after all who attended, demonstrating that Scottish hospitality for which their dojo has become very well known for. The environment created by the teachers, the teaching and sharing of information, and the knowledge and practice was some of the best seen and will certainly have many of us visiting each year this event runs.

To coin a phrase from both Ishido Sensei and Oshita Sensei “Iaido is a family and it is a family we must all look after and help”. The Edinburgh Genbukan seminar certainly meets this standard and in some respects moves it to a much higher level.

A superb weekend with like-minded people, where I came away feeling humbled for my errors but invigorated to try harder and strive to improve, both in my teaching techniques as a dojo leader and in my personal Iai going forward.

Message to Doug Evans Sensei

Doug Evans Sensei, Minato Dojo, who sadly could not join us due to illness.

The Edinburgh Genbukan Seminar (Continued)

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This section of the magazine takes a look at the old and new. Cinema releases, books and DVDs. The aim is to give an honest and impartial review, so if you have seen or read anything of interest and want to make a review with a 5 star rating panel, please drop an email to [email protected]

Samurai MindTraining the Samurai Mind is a collection of writings written by and for Samurai. One might suspect a collection of advice on how to behave in court or swing a sword, but instead it is deeply philosophical, often philanthropic, frequently humanitarian, and intensely practical for our own world. I was surprised to find this level of written discourse across so many writers and years. A joy for the thinking reader.

Published by Shambhala ISBN-10: 1590307216 ISBN-13: 978-1590307212

13 AssassinsIf you like violent, disturbing films with a strong moral undertone, then this film fits the bill. Wonderful cinematography, great story line and acting, and full of jidai-geki samurai – what more do you need in a film?

One for a Saturday night in – but perhaps not for young children.

47 RoninKeanu Reeves as a samurai! Come on, they can’t be serious. This is a fantasy film, with links to the original story, so beware, it may not come up to your expectations – though it might boost dojo numbers for atleast 2 sessions!!

The outcast Kai (Reeves) joins a group of Ronin, led by Kuranosuke Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada – Ujio in Last Samurai), who seeks vengeance on Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) for killing their master and banishing the group. The Ronin embark on a journey whose challenges would defeat most warriors.

Hara Kiri – Death of a samuraiFrom the same director as 13 Assassins, this film starts out quite slow, and never really gets quicker until the end. Watch out for the bamboo sword seppuku part, which could set your teeth on edge – I wont say any more than that!

Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji RestorationFor those who cannot read Japanese, there are few options with regards to publications and studies on Sakamoto Ryoma. Jansen’s extraordinary work simply a ‘must have’ for all who wish to better understand the Meiji period and one of the most important men in all of Japanese history. Simply phenomenal.

Published by Columbia University Press ISBN-10: 0231101732 ISBN-13: 978-0231101738

The Last ShogunThis is truly “historical fiction,” in that it reads better as history than as a novel. The story is in straight chronological sequence, and includes a great deal of detail. Shiba’s style is the kind of thickly woven tapestry that makes for a good costume drama. There are a lot of descriptions of personalities and motivations, and a very rich portrayal of the political pressures on Keiki and others around him. As a novel, all that attention to detail makes the early chapters slower going. As history, this is terrific stuff, and brings out the texture of Tokugawa Yoshinbu’s life and Japan on the eve of the Meiji Restoration.

Published by Kodansha ISBN-10: 1568363567 ISBN-13: 978-1568363561

Akira Kurosawa: Master of CinemaThis rapturous volume is an exceptional tribute to Kurosawa, designed to fully capture the visual glory of his work. Cowie’s text is thoughtful, but less-detailed than other books on the director. The writing is engaging nonetheless, and examines Kurosawa’s work from various perspectives: the humanist sagas; the revisionist Samurai; and his literary themes and variations. A well-designed book, ripe with interesting photos, for those who relish Kurosawa as an icon in cinema history.

Published by Kodansha ISBN-10: 0847833194 ISBN-13: 978-0847833191

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REVIEWS

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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 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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