[Ελληνική έκδοση]
(Samurai on horseback,
wearing armor and horned helmet,
carrying bow and arrows [c. 1878? by unknown])
People are making wars and fighting each other and a great part of the Japanese history comprises a glorious military tradition. The ancient Japanese were hunters and farmers, who when they started cultivating rice, the surplus of it was accumulated as wealth, thus a social structure of hierarchy started appearing. That meant that the protection of the wealth and class became necessary. Since the 9th century some kind of professional warriors had appeared, due to conflicts of different tribes that were fighting each other. Calling “samurai” all the warriors of Japanese history is not accurate. Apparently, it is not also accurate to say that the class of samurai once ruled Japan. Samurai were just one of the hierarchical classes of “Bushi” The hierarchy within that group of Bushi was based on the social status, the fighting abilities and the connection with shogun. Yet, nor all the Japanese who were fighting were Bushi. “Bushi” is a term that defines the warriors coming from Japanese aristocratic families.
Bushi started to rule Japan, while the political power of the Emperor was declined, since Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) established the first Shogunate, the Bakufu (tent government) of Kamakura (1185-1333). During the medieval ages the sword and the spear replaced the bow and the arrow, as preferred weapons in the battlefields. The unarmed method of fighting was supplement knowledge and not basic, since the warriors had weapons and armors. The unarmed techniques were mostly taught based on the scenario, according to which the warrior was out of his main weapons and he had to be able to defend himself and perhaps pull a smaller weapon. Punches or kicks were not efficient against armors. So, immobilizations, projections and neutralizations formed that kind of unarmed fighting styles.
The firearms were introduced to Japan in 1543 and gradually changed the way and the concept of training in martial arts. During the middle ages the concept of “Bushido” (The Way of Bushi) started being developed, even though, as a term, it appeared in print later. Zen influenced Bushido. Zen was pragmatic, preaching about self-discipline and dealing with death more than Shinto and Confucianism did.
During the Tokugawa or Edo Period (1600-1867), the concept of Budo (The Martial Way) started being developed, changing the direction of martial arts’ training but not necessarily replacing totally the older concept of Bujutsu (The Martial Techniques). During that period, Japan lived isolated and in a relative peace. Neo-Confucianism was established as a major religious and moral movement. Neo-Confucianism promoted the ideas of duty and loyalty. The warriors started being educated and they cultivated the fine arts. Thus, on one hand the experience of the warriors in the battlefields was reduced, on the other hand philosophy was cultivated. The concept of Budo was developed by people who were not fighting in the battlefields, and aimed to unify the spiritual with the physical practice, based on the unification of the daily activities of that era with the ideals of the past. Thus, a specific way of living and reflecting on life was created. Budo arts, in the very beginning, were not created as sports or any other social activity. The unarmed martial arts started to evolve, for self-defense, police arrests or conflicts under the daily social circumstances. Jujutsu (unarmed martial arts) was invented as term and as concept, based on the Japanese weapons’ systems of fighting. Sword, the soul and the symbol of Japan, and its arts have been considered as the basis of Jujutsu. Spear arts have also influenced Jujutsu. Some principles of the Chinese systems of “boxing” (Kempo in Japanese) are also considered to have played some role. In 1868, Bakufu collapsed and Emperor Meiji gained the political power, and that era is known as the Meiji Restoration. The Founder of Aikido was born fifteen years later.
After the Meiji Restoration the ideas, technology and customs coming from the west influenced the Japanese way of living. In the late 19th century, Japan had emerged from isolation and had become a modern country, based on industrialization. Japan wanted to be recognized as an equal nation in between the western powerful countries. A strong army was necessary.
[Ελληνική έκδοση]
Next Aikido, The History: Early Years
[Sources]
A Yudansha class will be held at the KouShiKan Dojo, Piraeus, Greece, on March 4, 2012 at 11.00 o'clock. The event is organized by the instructors of the KouShikan Dojo and Petros Moulagiannis sensei 4. Dan Aikikai will lead the class.
