The Continueing Adventures of....

I got a tenegui from 剣道日本 with the 4 kanji phrase 交剣知愛, which I didn't understand. http://www.budogu.jp/column/kotoba.html has a long list of Japanese budo terms. I hardly have the time to to read it all.

Last night, Iaido 忘年会 or end of year party. Very enjoyable, but very drunk. There were 2 ladies either side of me, both kendo 5thdan. Opposite me, a friend of 森島先生. To his left, kendo 7thdan hanshi, and to his right, shigin 7th dan. And me, just started Iaido, kendo 2 dan, 6kyu shodo and no qualification in shigin. I makes me humble and shows to goals.

Lunch time, shigin end of year party. Much more alcohol than last year, and people commented that the atmosphere was much nicer than last year.

This week is Christmas for the west, but Christmas day I have kendo keiko in the evening. The next day is the last keiko for Kaishin and their end of year party.

This year kendo 2dan; shigin contest - got a prize in October; shodo - got a prize in December. All in all, mission accomplished, all systems go for next year. (I have to find to time to describe the shigin contest and upload the video).

Forever changed

Summer holidays are here. The season begins with kendo gasshuku (剣道合宿, best translated as camp or retreat). My stretching/yoga/exercise regime finally paid off as I was able to do kendo properly. In general keiko, you have to stretch, lifting the shinai(竹刀) with your left hand up to your forehead. With my general poor health I'd forgotten, but from now on I'll do an hour of basic practice everyday.

A week later was the Sumida river fireworks display. It was hotter than I can ever remember, but still crowded. I feel like there were more yukata this year. I can only imagine that daily life has become difficult so festival events are good chance to escape, even if it's only for short time.

I wanted to do kendo keiko the next day, but I was too tired and had to get ready for the long trip. I drove from Tokyo to Hiroshima, a total of 2160 Km, over five days. It was a brilliant experience but I never want to do that again.

We left Tokyo on Monday and drove all day to Aichi ken, to a ferry at the end of the 渥美半島, which might to Akubi penisular. The ferry took almost an hour to 鳥羽, which I read as Toriwa. This is the home of Mikimoto cultured pearls (but I know nothing, so the name in English might be wrong). Ryokan, onsen, beer and bed.

We had to visit Ise jingu in Mie ken. Last year, my kendo sensei went to a hachi-dan match here, and it's very important to the the Imperial family. It's mentioned in the Tale of Genji (元治の物語, written 1000 year ago. I'm a beginner, I don't know what I'm looking at.

On from Mie (三重県) ken to the border of Okayama/Hiroshima ken, to my late parents-in-law's birthplace, Tojo (東城). Some relatives live in Niimi (新見). Tojo didn't suffer effects of the bomb, but the black rain slightly affected Niimi. On the way out, we visited a shrine (国司神社), which was cathartic.

Directly south, we took another ferry to 'gas' island - so named because of a secret poison gas factory in WWII. It's a nature reserve now and a museum dedicated to the victims of the poison gas production. Mixed emotions - different times, different morality. A taste of the next day, Hiroshima city.

There a two strong memories - the A-Bomb Dome and the castle. 300,000 civilians died there and the castle, the center of Japanese imperial military was destroyed. The military target is a consequence of war, but I can't deal with civilian slaughter, genocide, terrorism, mass destruction, what ever word we use. The preparations for the ceremony the next day made my cry. I couldn't hold back the tears when I saw a block of seats for the bereaved families...people going about their daily business. Kokushi-jinjya helped a bit.

20 years ago on the cover of my first Japanese language book was the torii at Itsukushima jinjya. Finally I got there. Buddhism is almost pure logic. Everything is cause followed by effect. The military planners in Horoshima castle made it a military target. Shinto, on the other had is all human feeling.We look at the shape or form, of the torii, or the kanji drawn with a fude brush, or the movement in kendo, and think of the deeper meaning. Itsukushima jinjya is beautiful and the A-Bomb dome is very sad, but both help us to understand a deeper truth.

There was not enough time at Miyajima (宮島, also called Itsukushima=厳島). Six or seven hours driving got us to the shore of Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. Sashimi, sake, onsen, beer, bed. Finally Saturady, eight hours driving back to Tokyo. I feel physically tired but spiritually stronger than ever, ready for the next step. I want to practice and rehearse kendo, shakuhachi, shodo and learn more about Noh theatre, Iaido, and shinto.

Sunday afternoon and I want to sleep, I think it's catching up with me now, because it has been an exciting two weeks.

The Pen is mightier than the Sword

This year is nearly half over and it's been busy. In January, I ran 10Km for the first (and only) time. My hip joints hurt, as if I've strained the tendons, especially on the right side. I was a really stupid thing to do, as I had the Kendo 2nd Dan exam a few weeks after. I knew the body posture wasn't right and I should have failed, but were it not for the kendo masters' intervention.

The winter wasn't too bad but the spring was terrible. There was no snow in Tokyo until the end of February. From February to the end of April there were 11 days of snow, I believe. The last time there was so much snow was 50 years ago. Temperatures was also bizarre - one day 25C, the next freezing. The net result was a constant cough, runny nose etc, cold-like symptoms. Physical strain, bad weather and illness all mean I haven't got much exercise and the legs hurt even more.

Last week I got around to thinking how the muscles work. Over 45 minutes, the muscles were stretched and contracted. This must leave the muscle fibres twisted and is the source of pain. There is a Yoga position called the alligator pose. I've been doing this morning and evening for a week and the pain is significatly reduced. I still can't run but I'm doing 30 sit-ups each session.

Back to my goal: the japanese sword. Further to the last post, there are five positions to hold the sword - uppper, middle, lower , hasse kamaeru and side position. These are also known as heaven, water, earth, yin and yang. So far, no-one can tell me about the meaning of the last two. They aren't really used in shinai kendo but are important stances in the kendo kata and probably in Iaido (I just begun to study Iaido, so I can't say).

At the beginning of May is Golden Week, Japanese public holidays for the constitution, to celebrate nature and to celebrate children. All of Japan goes somewhere, but the Icelandic volcano disrupted travel! We went to Nikko, because it's an important aspect of Edo culture. Unfortunately, so did everyone else and we didn't see much. We went to the Edo village and got dressed up. The photos are at Facebook. That was pretty much my first exposure to a metal sword. Getting it in and out of the scabbard (saya さや鞘) was difficult to begin with. It got easier with practise. I want to do more with a metal sword - outside Japan you might say katanaかたな刀 but in Japan it usually Nihonto 日本刀 or iaitou居合刀.

Finally, right up to date, on Sunday I did kendo keiko in the morning and went to the shigin/iaido meeting in the afternoon. Some videos are on Facebook. We had a class on Monday morning, where they suggested I study the Iaido or kenbu for the next competition. I want to but I have the kanji proficiency exam in 3 weeks. Y'know, the pen is mightier than the sword, especially this month.

taijutsu vs budo

Last year in kendo keiko I was under the strange delusion that all four datotsu-bui (men, ko-te, do and tsuki) were equally important. 3-dan aite went ge-dan (dipped the ken sen), leaving men and tsuki wide open. I had a long time (in a kendo sense) to think men or tsuki ? men was too obvious so tsuki. Ai-te was furious and that was our kakari keiko over! Other people have told me since that in the dojo during keiko, tsuki is very rude and you shouldn't do it. (A shiai is a different matter, anything you can do is good.)

If ge-dan (下段) leaves you so vulnerable, what use it ? I read in lots of texts there are 5 dan - we normally use cho-dan (中段) or sometimes jyo-dan (上段). Ge-dan leaves you vulnerable but in the past, before WWII, kendoka wore leg protectors and ge-dan was a threat to the legs. I'm still pondering the utility value of ge-dan.

Thinking a little more, has kendo lost the value of ge-dan as there is no datotsu-bui below the belt. 　剣道日本 magazine has some articles on the history of kendo. 1945-1954 it wasn't called kendo. Until 1989, it wasn't called budo. Tai-atari was also illegal. It get's me thinking about the future of kendo and the source of kendo.

Completely unrelated, the family are wondering about the summer holiday. Yagyu family name comes from region, a Yagyu valley in Nara. Searching for this, serendipitously (I finally used the word!) turns up Yagyu Shingan-ryu, which is 400 years old and founded by a student of Yagyu Munenori. Ueshiba Morihei was also a student. Attendance is by invition only and I'm not ready for this.

The Western view of the world is to compartmentalize and chain reasoning. For example, disease is caused by bacteria, antibiotics kill bacteria and cure disease, so if you're sick take antibiotics. Stop taking them when you're better. Consuming antibiotics is leading to resistant strains and not finishing you course makes the surviving bacteria populations stronger. Both consequents of the logic are the wrong thing to do. Considering modern budo, kendo with a sword, kyu-do with a bow, jyu-do as hand-to-hand fighting, is this type of western thinking. Kyo-ryu by contrast is a holistic budo. It might be what I'm looking for.

Practical matters first; after gashuku I want to perfect my men stroke. Everything else is flash and doesn't help get better. And despite Yagyu's words, I want to win. I also read 'Hagakure' written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (translation by Wilson) and The Unfettered Mind (Takuan, same translator). One of says a young samurai shouldn't learn Buddhism. So all of these thoughts must wait a few years, while I'm driven to more training and the lust to win.

Nerima-ku kendo renmei gashuku

This weekend was 練馬区剣道連盟合宿 (as the title says). It was my absolute privilege to see first-rate kendo. Recently, they have brought in bokuto kihon waza (木刀基本技), 9 fundamental kendo moves

men, ko-te, do, tsuki
ko-te -> men
harai men
tsuri age men
hi-ki men
nuki do
ko-te -> tsuri age men
depana ko-te
kaishi do
do -> ochi age men

In august we did this without bogu and no contact. On Saturday, full bogu and 思い切り打つ - er, strike with full force.

On Sunday kata renshu. Being only 2nd dan, I have only studied to 5hon-me. For gashuku, I read upto 7hon-me, but from pictures, text and DVD it's hard to get. A very kind 8th dan sensei led me through all 7 moves. Next year, I have to know them and the 3 kodachi moves. A challenge!

And then there was shinai kendo. My posture is still not good. Sometimes the feet are all over the place. I need to practice every day for consistancy. The really special thing was ai-men waza. At the very end of keiko on Saturday, we were doing just ai-men, it was getting faster. At the very end it was the fastest I've ever moved. Perception changed. There was almost God but I heard a voice call "Yame!" and I was't quite there. To put it in context I'm reading Takuan "The Unfetter Mind" and thinking about Zen. The older context is Ueshiba sensei's Budo - budo is the unifaction of the physical, mental and spiritual.

Keiko was quite short but the most intense I've done so far (Ueshiba-sensei's hell's dojo is my ambition!). I am very tired but I have very good motivation to continue. I am in their debt now.

Kendo 2nd Dan

On Sunday 7th Feb I passed Kendo 2nd dan exam. This is the result of three years of training and I'm very content. The exam is in three parts; three essay questions, shinai kendo and the kata. Today is Wednesday and I'm finally feeling alright. That exam took 100% effort. The essay question took about a month to think about and write. I'm extremely grateful to my wife and to Kaishin ken yukai kaicyou Kataoka-sensei for correcting each draft. I live in Japan and, taking this test in Tokyo, I want to write in Japanese. Later, I post them here.

The day before the test I visited Yagyu-ke gravesite. There was a little left-over snow. It was very cold at the gravesite. Strikingly, there was no sound at all. I wondered if it meant anything. 2nd dan is too low-level for Munenori-sama to acknowledge me ? On the morining of the exam I visited the local shinto shrine, Hakusan jinja. Passed the first torii is a registered tree, 1000 years old. That tree made more sound that Yagyu's grave. I wondered if it meant anything. Up the steps is dragon statue pouring water. The water in the trough was mostly fozen. I was washed my hands and face, threw 100 yen at the alter and said quitely "I want to pass with all my heart".

At the exam place, I needed a 100 yen coin for the locker. If I hadn't gone to the shrine, I'd have one. These little things just make me more nervous. After an hour and a half waiting, it was my turn to put on the tenegui and men. I was almost shaking. Munenori's silent grave and the noisy tree filled my mind. Silence, calm, centered. My shinai kendo must have been alright, but I still concerned about posture and feet position/movement. The kata could have been better. 3bon-me uchi-tachi is still awkward, and maybe I made a mistake in 5hon-me.

From today, everday i need to study for kendo and more Japanese language.

It's been almost a year since my duty ended. And the search for new meaning began.

By chance I went with family to Nichiren's temple near Mt Fuji - that is the temple where is ashes are stored, and later in August to the temple where he was born. (That one is easy to remember 誕生時 誕nativity生life寺temple). Nichiren's Buddhism, and that of his disciple Shinran-sama, is much like German philosophy. One of former English students said there's much in common with Heigel. I don't understand either.

Our mission is to assimlate Japan and teach Japanology - atleast, that's the simple explanation. Recent books have been (in no particular order)

• The Life-Giving Sword by Yagyu Munenori, translation by William Scot Wilson. Very readable and points the way to Zen and Budo


• Budo by Ueshiba Morihei, translation by John Stevens. Very difficult, but given the time he was writing, 1936, and the fact the modern Budo didn't really exist, it worth the effort. Here is an important point in perception; the West catagorizes every in specific concrete idea, whereas Ueshiba-sensei's new aiki-budo uses katana, stick and bare hands.



• 禅のヒントby Patrice Julien. Really a simple, short introduction to Zen written by a Frenchman in Tokyo in Japanese (and easy Japanese).

The current reading list is

• 五輪書by宮本武蔵better known is English as The Book of Five Rings. I bought a translation more than ten years ago and re-read it last month. It's good stuff for Kendo but I wonder how the translation is and if I can the Japanese text.
  
• The Way of the Living Sword by Yagyu Munenori, translation by D E Tarver. It seems to be based on the same text as The Life-Giving Sword above, but has a new chapter at the end. reviews at Amazon are excellent (mostly). I found these two as recomended reading at http://www.samurai-archives.com/ which is Japanese history in English.


• 受験編 which a list of answers for the written part of the Kendo exams, and very readable even though it's in Japanese.

At the end The Life-Giving Sword is a picture of Yagyu-ke no haka (haka -> grave? but there's no bones or ash...) The family plot is at 廣徳寺 koutoku-ji, which is very close to our house. here's the pictures