Shomen

Shōmen ( Japanese正面, front / front ) denotes the front of a martial art - dōjō in Japan . Traditionally, the Shōmen is the entrance to the place for martial arts training, e.g. B. a sports hall opposite. Similar to the English word "face" ( face ), Shōmen also means the front of the head / body .

The Shōmen can be the place of honor of the room ( Kamiza 上座 ) and the listing of the Dōjō rules or rules for the training of martial arts ( Dōjōkun Japanese 訓 ) accommodate. It can be adorned with Japanese characters, a portrait of great masters or, as was common in Japan in the past, with an urn with the ashes of the founders of the dojo. From the 1920s, the custom of setting up a small Shinto house altar ( Kamidana ) in the Shomen arose in Japanese dōjōs from budō associations.

Rei , the Japanese expression of thanks and courtesy, requires that the Shomen be bowed when entering, as if to greet a person. In addition to the bow when entering and leaving the dōjō, respect and courtesy can be paid to the shōmen at the beginning of each training session, even before the sensei , with a bow while seated ( Rei ). Both are also called greetings in Germany . This rei has no religious meaning per se. They are gestures of politeness: "Thank you for allowing me to practice here."

The particularly traditionally oriented Reishiki even specifies with which foot you have to approach the place of honor "Kamiza" first or in which direction you have to turn when you turn towards or away from it.