Kenjutsu

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Kenjutsu ( Japanese 剣 術 , sword technique (s) ' ) is the generic term for all forms of Japanese swordsmanship , especially those disciplines that emerged before the Meiji period . Today's forms of modern Kendō and Iaidō , which emerged in the 20th century, also have their origin at this time. Practitioners of Kenjutsu are called Kenshi ( 剣 士 ).

Kenjutsu in all its original forms was founded by the feudal samurai (formerly Bushi ), the Japanese warriors, as a discipline of weapon management. The meaning of the word Kenjutsu can be translated as "method or technique for wielding the sword", whereby jutsu refers specifically to the technical application, in contrast to the ending Dō - such as in Kendō, Iaidō, Judō etc. - the one skill with denotes intellectual content.

Since Kenjutsu describes a whole group of disciplines with the use of the sword, the technical applications and the instruments, forms of teaching as well as strategies and tactics on the battlefield are often just as completely different. In some disciplines, wooden replicas of the sword were used ( Bokken , also Bokutō) and were practiced with body hits in full contact. Other forms taught entirely without an exercise partner and mostly used cata - stylized exercise forms. Since the ending -jutsu means all technical applications with the sword, it also includes ad hoc and intuitively created forms, because the ultimate goal was superiority on the battlefield and every intuitive tactical element of surprise was also useful.

history

Early developments

It is known that the first iron swords were made in Japan in the early 4th century, based on manufacturing methods developed in China and Korea. Swords played an important role as a weapon early on. In addition to its purely instrumental importance, the sword even had a symbolically heavily loaded and even religious meaning. The oldest teaching systems originated in the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573). Three main schools developed at this time:

  • Kage-ryū (Aizu) (Aisukage ryū)
  • Chūjō-ryū
  • Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū

At the same time, the technique of Udundi , a discipline that combined both Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu, developed on the island of Okinawa . Udundi was the martial art of the feudal Motobu clan in the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom on the southern islands.

Edo period

During the Edo period, the number of sword fighting schools rose to over 500. Both teaching methods and equipment developed significantly. In the first half of the 19th century the bamboo sword, the shinai , and the protective clothing, the bogu , were added. This made it possible to work with full force, even in exercise sequences. Before that, it was customary to do partner exercises only with wooden swords or the real katana and injuries or even death were not uncommon.

decline

With the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the modernization of Japanese civil society began. The previously dominant class of warriors (samurai) lost a lot of its reputation and importance in the course of industrialization. The sword fighting schools not only lost pupils, but also their social position as a training center for leaders.

For about 20 years the decline in kenjutsu was directly related to the unpopular memory of the feudal era, until the renewed national self-confidence of Japan led to the expansion of the army and the police force. Kenjutsu was again seen in both institutions as a traditionally rooted, honorable strategy for conflict resolution.

In 1868 the police adopted various forms of kata from various teaching systems in their teaching program and developed a standardized form of training for their purposes. Various other disciplines of martial arts were also transferred to teaching programs. For example, Jūdō was developed by Kanō Jigorō as a symbiosis of various old Ju-Jitsu styles and introduced at universities as a system for physical training and philosophy for personality development.

In 1895 the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai was founded as a joint teaching body for all sword fighting arts. It worked with various groups on a uniform formalization of the kenjutsu teaching content. A decree of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in 1912 underlined the lack of a uniform teaching basis on which all participating schools could have built their own, individual teaching content, whereupon the modern form of kendō was developed from ten joint kata worked out up to this point .

20th and 21st centuries

With the increasing popularity of Japanese martial arts, also outside of Japan, the interest in kenjutsu also increased. Many patrons and grandmasters of other Japanese martial arts remembered the roots of their discipline and adopted the foundations of their arts with reference to traditional kenjutsu. As an example, the Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu should be mentioned, which was first taught publicly by Sokaku Takeda (1859-1943) at the end of the 19th century and was converted into modern Aikidō by one of his most famous students, Ueshiba Morihei . Both Daitō-ryū and Aikidō are based on strategies and forms of traditional sword fighting.

weapons

Various swords of classic design were used in an emergency in the event of a direct confrontation:

Katana and wakizashi

Since katana and wakizashi were worn in pairs, the pair of weapons is also known as daishō (Japanese 大小, dt. "Large-small").

Handling and technology

When the Japanese fencing systems came into being, the special features of the katana and the wakizashi were taken into account.

Due to the round shape of the sword, a cutting-pulling movement is required in order to make a clean cut. The basic idea of ​​Japanese sword handling is that the sword cuts due to its own weight (between approx. 500 to 1000 g) and is only held and guided in the path by the hands. Of course, a certain amount of force is required, as it is also necessary to penetrate bones and possibly items of armor, but the handling of the sword is generally determined by looseness.

Japanese sword mastery focuses on speed and precision, not on strength and endurance. As a rule, the first cut makes the difference between life and death, persistent fights, as is often seen in films, are a pure invention of the film industry.

Exercise instruments

The most widespread practice instrument in Kenjutsu is the wooden sword (Bokken, Bokuto). For various reasons, the individual schools use differently designed boks. Depending on the specific form of the teaching program, the wooden swords differed greatly in material, weight, shape and length. In Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, a relatively thin boken without hand protection ( tsuba ) is used in order to take into account the special techniques in this discipline. In contrast, the Kashima Shin-ryū uses a considerably thicker and significantly heavier boken, which also has a significantly longer shaft in order to comply with the principles of this style. In the Kendō, on the other hand, the long Shinai is made from bound bamboo, or nowadays made from carbon struts. Some schools also use a fukuro shinai, a bamboo bokken wrapped in leather strips or fabric. This is especially to avoid injuries when a less experienced student strikes with full force and direct body hits are set. The origin of the fukuro shinai dates back to the 15th century.

Nitōjutsu

A special characteristic of some kenjutsu systems is the simultaneous, two-handed use of two swords, the daitō consisting of katana and wakizashi . This form of sword wielding is known as Nitōjutsu (二 刀 術). Styles in which this sword wield is part of the teaching content are called Nitōryū (二 刀 流); in contrast to Ittō-ryū (一刀 流). The most famous swordsman of this style was Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū. Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū is not the only line of teaching in which Nitōjutsu is practiced, nor is Miyamoto Musashi the inventor of this sword wield. Both old, traditional systems, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shinto-ryū, founded in the Muromachi period (approx. 1447), and Tatsumi-ryu, founded in the Eishō period (1504-1521), contain teaching content and techniques of Nitōjutsu.

Classical literature on kenjutsu

Early important writings on kenjutsu originated in the first half of the 17th century. First of all, the Zen monk Takuan Sōhō should be mentioned, the spiritual teacher of Yagyū Munenori and Miyamoto Musashi , who are considered to be the most important swordsmen in Japan. He wrote three essays on sword fighting: Fudochishinmyoroku , Reiroshu and Taiaki , which were written in the early 17th century. Fudōchishinmyōroku ( 不 動 智 神妙 録 , The Mysterious Record of Motionless Wisdom ) is a letter to Yagyū Munenori in which Takuan describes the mental attitude in sword fighting. The Taiaki ( 太 阿 記 , The Annals of the Sword Taia ) also represents a letter . The treatise Reirōshū ( 玲瓏 集 , The clear jewel sound ) was written between the two letters . The essence of Takuan's conception of kenjutsu is the teaching of the unbound mind , which is highly observant without focusing on anything in particular.

The sword master Yagyu Munenori published the Heihō kaden sho ( 兵法 家 伝 書 , The Way of the Samurai ) in 1632 , in which he explains the doctrine of the two swords, the deadly and the life-giving sword. The aim of swordsmanship is only secondarily to kill the opponent, primarily it is important to avoid the fight and to stand in the fight in such a way that one has the possibility to spare the opponent. The book gives an insight into the secret doctrine of his sword school and is rounded off by technical instructions for sword fighting. The essence of his teaching lies in the recovery and serene retention of the everyday spirit - even in an exceptional situation.

Perhaps the greatest swordsman in Japan, Miyamoto Musashi, published his work on sword fighting Gorin no Sho (The Book of the Five Rings) in 1645. In addition to the techniques of Kenjutsu and his sword school, he explains the mental attitude of purity, alertness and spontaneity in sword fighting . The essence of his teaching is that there are no fixed rules in real sword fighting, because you always have to act appropriately to the situation. The action must be developed from the situation and the path of the sword must become the path of the obvious.

Major kenjutsu swordsmen

Traditional schools and teaching systems of Kenjutsu

Modern styles, disciplines and teaching systems with elements of Kenjutsu

Sources and literature

  • Diane Skoss - Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan - 3 volumes:
  • Yagyu Munenori: The Way of the Samurai , Pieper, 5th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-23631-7 .
  • Thomas Preston: Samurai Spirit - A Warrior's Way in Japanese Martial Arts , Kristkeitz, ISBN 3-921508-38-X
  • Master Takuan (1999): Zen in the Art of Non-Combat Combat (Fudōchishinmyōroku, Reiroshu, Taiaki) ; Bern.
  • Miyamoto Musashi (2005): The Book of the Five Rings (Gorin no sho) ; Berlin

See also

Ōtenta - a sword of the " tenka-goken "

Web links

Commons : Kenjutsu  - collection of images, videos and audio files