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After being defeated while using a bo (long staff), Muso retired to a cave on Mt. Homan to meditate upon his defeat and how to better his art. Upon reducing the size of a bo to that of a jo and developing waza (techniques) that controlled seigetsu (solar plexus) it is said that another duel between Musashi and Muso occurred in the castle town of Himeji, where the jo broke the famous two sword block known as "Jujidome". The cave used and kept today as a shrine for Muso was used by many wandering warriors practicing shyugyo (austerity rites). They would live in seclusion to train and meditation and forge their spirits. Musashi was eventually hired and worked at Kumamoto castle as a kenjutsu (sword) instructor into his old age. For those of us that do Jodo, the Kuroda Han is not too far away geographically. It will be interesting to see if any verification of a meeting or a duel between Musashi and Muso Gonnosuke can be substantiated. When Shimizu Sensei opted into the idea of incorporating Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo (SMRJ) into the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF) (ZNKR then) he knew about the controversies this action would create.
Besides his desire to see Jodo grow worldwide after seeing and teaching such deserving students as Donn F. Draeger et al. he was truly concerned that such a small membership of practitioners within Japan might dwindle to obscurity. Many of his contemporaries, even close associates opposed his decision to “popularize” Jodo under the much larger Kendo umbrella. There were two main concerns voiced; first that many kendoka (kendo practitioners) performed waza (technique) at odds with Koryu (older) traditions, (ie. A higher stance floating the hips and having a raised rear ankle) and second that over time Jodo would lose its identity within the larger political framework. Musashi grew up in the period between Senkoku Jidai (Warring states period) and Edo Jidai (Tokugawa Shogunate). With the battle of Sekigahara, the role of the gun became firmly entrenched as did the formation of large group tactics to amass firepower. The far reaching consequences would be the eventual replacement of the warrior class with a conscript army trained with rifles.
THE COUP BY YUI SYOSETSU OF 1651Yui Syosetsu’s name appears on a makimono (scroll) for the Isshin Ryu Kusarigamajutsu (sickle & chain art) incorporated into the Shindo Muso Ryu (SMRJ) as the 5th Menkyo (master license) holder.
However, it is his successor Isshin Tano for whom the art is named. The Tokugawa purged Yui Syoetsu'sname from history. Indeed his tragic story follows along the same lines as the story of the 47 Ronin - Akoroshi. (OKUIRISHO, SHOMOKU, GOMOKU, MENKYO) Used in Shindo Muso Ryu Many folks pursue grades, ranks, certificates. At the most common level, ranks encourage people to continue training and serve as goal posts with which to measure their “growth”.
Today, there is a commercial aspect as well. Political organizations wish to standardize performance that can be graded to provide consistency amongst diverse groups. The standardization in a broad sense is designed to maintain quality control. Within SMRJ today, the Jodo section of the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF) offers testing and "dan grades. The classical makimono (scroll licensing) system is retained as well by surviving Menkyo Kaiden offering the “Koryu” aspects of Jodo training. Looking at a surviving ancient scroll (densho) is a powerful thing. It is sad to see that today that these items can actually be found and purchased on internet auction sites. It is also the way of the world I guess to see teachers treat makimono as income makers, offered on a whim and for reasons other than mastery of the self and of the curriculum. Personally I doubt that any system of recognition will ever be perfect. I try to remember and also to remind my dojo mates that a grade is arbitrary. It is a fruitless waste of time to judge the skill sets of others. Those that do are missing the point about what training is all about. We train for ourselves and not the approval of others. Shijyo: Shi (meaning teacher) Jyo (meaning to receive) Excerpts from: March 5th, 1992 lecture by the writer Shiba Ryotaro at Columbia University, Donald Keene Japan Cultural Study Center.
Buddhist Concepts for Budo Training -part 2 - Would You Cut Off Your Arm To Study With Your Teacher?8/1/2010
There are many versions of his better known treatises and books in English, quasi biographies, television specials, and books of fiction about him that he has the image of being Japan’s ultimate swordsman. Like the proverbial sign pronouncing that “George Washington slept here,” it seems that everywhere that Musashi travelled lays claim to some direct transmission of seminal sword knowledge.
This two- column two-inch article was written by an ex-Prime Minister of Japan named Hosokawa Morihiro. This is a famous clan name and indeed Hosokawa Morihiro is the 18th successor of the Hosokawa Han (fiefdom) It is home to the castle town of Kumamoto where 7 centuries of archives are housed intact in spite of fires, wars and changes in the social order. For those studying Jodo in Tokyo when Shimizu Sensei died a Diaspora type of event took place. In-fighting and petty politics between Shimizu's senior students created factions. Westerners had to make painful choices as to which dojo and teacher they would associate with. Two of us, my sempai (senior in Jodo) Bruce Brown and I chose Kaminoda Sensei and his colleague Osato Sensei. We continued to train at the Zoshyukan, a rented space across the way from where Shimizu Sensei had lived. The dojo space had a very nice feeling to it, even for a contemporary structure. |
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