Japanese 3209 Fall 2007

The first written record of martial arts in Japan starts in the Muromachi/Sengoku period. Samurai were professional soldiers, and martial arts were their job skills. The syles and schools were less structured and more direct than in the Edo period. Samurai strove to learn all they could as their skill in combat brought honor to their clan. At this point, there were no traditions in martial arts – good martial artists who had survived combat passed on their experiences and techniques. Combat effectiveness was crucial at this time, so the arts stayed true to their original goals.

In the Edo period, eace reigned and the Tokugawa shogunate formed a Japanese autocracy. The samurai who rose in this era were warriors in name only – for over 250 years, Japan never knew war. These samurai were essentially white-collar workers who wore swords to signify their rank or status.

Still, samurai had to learn martial arts – they simply weren’t considered important, because there were no battles. Schools became systematic and inflexible, and the authorities tried to stop this. Bushido was eventually formalized to encourage men to become true warriors. Around this time, the split between “-do” and “-jutsu” schools formed. Some schools focused on dueling techniques rather than battlefield tactics, as that was the closest most samurai would ever come to battle. Some samurai were still professional soldiers, however, such as police and castle guards.

The samurai class was abolished (with all the others) in the Meiji period. Firearms were slowly making bujutsu obsolete. Dojo died as the clan structure collapsed. Other schools blended together and formed new schools. A few were able to retain their heritage, and trained as they had in the Edo period. Sometimes, it was up to a single family to keep a school or style alive. When Japan militarized, they used bujutsu and bushido to instill nationalism. Often, this led to atrocities and warcrimes. Many martial artists were distressed at this; some even left the country.

After WWII, martial arts began to suffer in Japan. Many artists had died in the bombings. Some were disgusted with war and sought lives of peace. Some were shamed that the Great Japanese Empire had been defeated. Whatever their reasons, the American occupying force banned martial arts during the demilitarization of Japan. The few teachers left began to train together in secret. Eventually, some martial artists began to present their arts as “sport.” Some of these changes stuck – some did not. The government eventually encouraged this as it helped further separate modern culture and samurai culture. This has also led to the modern day, where bushido is restricted to the octagon of the UFC and the rings of Pride and K-1 fights.