Bujutsu

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Bujutsu ( Japanese 武術 , dt. "War, military art, technology") is the generic term for the earlier Japanese martial arts . After learning the techniques for warlike purposes was no longer necessary, the Budo developed from the Bujutsu in Japan .

In the 9th century an aristocratic warrior caste rose in Japan with the samurai , which dominated the entire community in the following centuries. These warriors practiced a wide variety of combat disciplines, some with and some without weapons. Although there were specialists for every weapon, the samurai were instructed in the most important branches of weapon so that they could fight for their liege lords in the event of war.

The primary weapons of the samurai were the sword ( katana ) (fighting with the sword is taught in Kenjutsu ), spear / lance Yari ( Sōjutsu ), bow / arrow Yumi , Ya ( Kyūjutsu ). Fighting with the (medium-length) stick ( Jō ) is taught in Jōjutsu and fighting with the long stick ( Bō ) in Bōjutsu (the stick was not a preferred samurai weapon, it was also used by other classes). There are a variety of different other jutsu.

At the beginning of the Edo period (from 1603) the country was politically united and pacified. The samurai lost their original role and became increasingly civil. The tradition of practicing martial arts, however, was preserved, was even prescribed by law ( Buke Shohatto), and was given a new foundation ( Budō ) through the addition of moral and character teachings .

With the modernization and westernization in the Meiji period (ban on swords, Haitorei, 1876), the Bujutsu continued to lose ground. The adoption of western military technology seemed to make the old bujutsu teachings obsolete.

The fact that some of the old martial arts have been preserved is due to their family-like organizational structure (Iemoto system). A master of a Bujutsu school ( Ryū ) had only a few selected students, one of whom in turn became the heir to this school (preferably the eldest son). This “keeper of the seal” ties his fate entirely to the ryu and guarantees the preservation of the teaching for the future. In many Bujutsu, the core techniques are recorded in formal procedures ( Kata ), the study of which is an essential part of learning a Ryū.

There used to be hundreds of ryu (Watatani and Yamada number well over 700 schools), but most of them have died out. The falsification of lineages was and is nowadays a popular means to legitimize one's own martial art or to distinguish oneself and earn money with it. Therefore, those interested in practicing a koryū are advised to find out more about the ryū and the teacher beforehand.

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