Kenjutsu - Iaijutsu - Iaido

(English version)

Contents

The European Iaido Federation

The aim of the E.I.F. is to make the practice of the traditional japanese martial Way, Iai (the Art of drawing and cutting with the japanese sword), more widely known. The federation seeks to bring together the practitioners of this art and it looks upon the diversity of styles found in its practice as being one of its positive assets. Nonetheless, the E.I.F. has chosen the "Muso Shinden School" as a main reference due to the fact that it is widely practiced throughout the world and for its highly precise teaching curriculum. Today, the E.I.F. has about 500 members and its main office is situated in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kenjutsu - Iaijutsu

The sword is perhaps not the most ancient weapon of Japan, but it was the most sophisticated one, and for a number of centuries occupied the central and most important position in the martial training of the Bushi. Forging and metal-working were known to the Japanese at least two centuries before the Christian era. Iron swords have been found in the stone crypts and dolmens which date from the Kofun-Bunka period (400 B.C. - 700 A.D.) and they bear witness to the technical and artistic advancement of the Japanese culture of these times. Most historians agree, however, that the first appearance of the shape and style of the blade which we call the "Nippon-To" took place somewhere n the early 8th. century. This development is legendarily attributed to a smith by the name of Amakuni who lived in the province of Yamato.

The Nippon-To is called the soul of the Bushi. It was the symbol of everything that he represented and he was never without it: he lived by it, and he died by it. Further it allied his whole being, in the most intimate way possible, to the question of life and death. He was faced with the necessity of transcending the ordinary concept of life and death and this state of mind was called "Seishi O Choetsu". It was this internal struggle which brought about a change of inner attitude and this gave to the sword a double purpose: the external one of cutting down that which opposed the will of its owner himself, and the internal one of cutting through the Ego of the owner himself, and thus enabling him to attain a spiritual awakening. In this way the sword came to symbolise moral qualities such as Loyalty, Self-sacrifice, Honour, Sincerity, Justice and Courage.

Historically, it may be said that the forging of the sword evolved in perfect harmony with the different methods of handling it, and in this way the Nippon-To became one of the finest works of art ever produced, and this was incorporated into a highly elaborate system of combat, and thus combined both beauty and use. The use of the sword was initiated under two principal headings: KENJUTSU and IAIJUTSU. It is through the study of these two practices that one can perhaps best understand and appreciate the basic Spirit of the Martial Arts.

Kenjutsu is the method of handling a sword once it is drawn and out of the scabbard. It is what is generally known as classical swordsmanship proper. It was this aspect which was considered to be, by far, the most important aspect of the two, and it was here, that the greatest emphasis was placed in the training of a swordsman. During the course of its history, Kenjutsu was called by various different names according to the fashion of the times, or, according to the varied philosophical or political propensity inherent in a particular school. It was called Heiho, Kenpo, Toho, Gekken, Hyodo, Tojutsu, Tachiuchi, Hyodo, and so one. However Kenjutsu is now the most widely used word to designate the art of classical swordsmanship.

laijutsu is, specifically, the art of drawing the sword and making an effective cut, in one and the same motion. Because of the rapidity with which one could unleash an attack, laijutsu came to occupy a very important position in swordsmanship, though secondary to that of Kenjutsu. The development of lai, or Batto-jutsu, is generally attributed today to Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu, but the fact that he lived in the late 16th. and early 17th. century would make it seem inordinately late for the discovery of such an important technical advantage. It is safer to conclude that lai had already been in existence for an indeterminate period of time, prior to Hayashizaki Jinsuke, and that it developed in conjunction with the various styles of Kenjutsu ; and that it was Jinsuke who became its principal innovator and his efforts in this field made the real value of the quick-draw known on a wider scale than ever before.

Iaijutsu, likewise, was also called by various different names throughout its existence : Batto-jutsu, Tachiuchi, Batto, and laido.

Concerning Iaido

It was not until 2Oth. century that the term laido came into use and that its practice came to be considered as a discipline its own right, among other Budo. Up until that time, the terms lai-juts or Batto-jutsu, were most commonly used to designate this discipline. However, there exists a basic difference in that, fl the practice of lai-jutsu, the important point was to develop combat effectiveness above all else, while in the practice of lai-do, the spiritual and moral development of the individual comes first, and, theoretically, effectiveness is secondary. otake Risuke, in his book on the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, defines lai-jutsu: "lai-Jutsu is an art with which to kill an enemy". Many people today ignore this reminder about the origins of the art and content themselves with the execution of beautiful, but too often, empty "figures"; barring this, they delude themselves into thinking that what they are reproducing is exactly the same exercise that the Bushi of olden times practised (a delusion one might call - "Samurai Psychosis"). Both of these circumstances are born of insufficient experience and understanding of that student's particular martial art.

And the idea that "Budo", is above all, a "spiritual" discipline and has "Higher" aims than "Bu-Jutsu", and, therefore, tolerates (and even encourages) practical ineptitude is the result not only of incomplete comprehension but even intentional misdirected ignorance on the part of the trainee or the teacher. There is no contradiction between Jutsu and Do.

The discipline of lai-do was introduced by certain individuals who understood that the sword and the art of drawing the sword could become instruments by which the spiritual development of a man might be undertaken. t is in this way that the concept of Seishi Tanner, or literally, forging of the spirit, introduces a situation where by the technical methods required to attain the spiritual enlightenment of the individual may or may not be the same as those dictated by the necessity for combat effectiveness. The attainment of one method is no guarantee of the attainment of the second, but neither does one exclude the other. Because of this fact, the student of laido, must somehow bring together within himself, through proper understanding, the seemingly opposite aspects of this martial art as a means of defeating and adversary on the one hand, and as a way to spiritual development on the other. The practical basis and origin of the discipline cannot be overlooked, omitted or ignored, simply because one is led into thinking that the way to one's spiritual development can have no connection with the "unrefined" and determined behaviour necessary to bring down an adversary.

The History of Muso Shinden Ryu

The founder of what is today known as the Muso Shinden Ryu, was a man named Hojo Jinsuke Shigenobu, or, Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu. His life is rather obscure, and many stories have been invented concerning this man. We know that he was born in the province of Sagami (Shoshu) somewhere in the middle of the sixteenth century. It is said that he later lived in the province of Mutsu in the northern part of Japan. It is not known just exactly how good a swordsman he actually was, but he did study swordsmanship intensively from about 1596-1601, and, thereafter, devised a series of lai techniques which he called Batto-Jutsu. His style came to be known by various different names : Junpaku Den, Hayashizaki Ryu, Shin Muso Hayashizaki Ryu, Shigenobu Ryu, etc.

We know also that he made a tour of Japan in Musha-Shugyo fashion, and that, at that time, he attracted many disciples to his system. The exact techniques that he taught remain as obscure as his own life,but it is more or less agreed that they must have been relatively simple, practical, and highly combative, in their essence.

It is said that in 1616 at the age of 73, he made a second tour of Japan, during which, he disappeared. Under his pioneering influence, many different schools of Iai emerged.

After his death, the tradition of the Shinmuso Hayashizaki Ryu was carried on by Tamiya Taira-no-Hyoe Narimasa who, it is said, was teacher to Tokugawa leyasu, Hidetada and lemitsu. This fact would most certainly have contributed to the popularity of this style.

Tamiya Narimasa was followed by Nagano Murakusai Kinro, 3rd, Sokei; -- Momo Gumbei Mitsushige, 4th. Sokei -- Arikawa Shozaemon Munetsugu, 5th. Sokei -- Manno Danuemon Nobusada, 6th. Sokei.

The seventh Sokei was Hasegawa Chikara no Suke Eishin. He studied Hayashizaki Ryu under Nobusada, in Edo, during the Kyoho period (1716-1735), and he gained the reputation of being an exceptionally highly skilled swordsman. It is said that he transformed many techniques, and that it was he, who devised the style, where techniques were performed with the cutting-edge upwards in the obi. He took his style back to the province of Tosa and called it Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu, and there it was preserved up until modern times.

The ninth Sokei Hayashi Rokudayu Morimasa was a vassal of Yamanouchi Toyomasa, 4th. Hanshu (chief of a province), and while living in Edo, he studied Eishin Ryu lai under the eighth Sokei Arai Seitatsu. He also studied Shinkage Ryu under the direction of Omori Rokuro Saemon Masamitsu. This man had devised a method of lai, which was praticed from the seiza position (Zashiki), and he taught it to Hayashi Morimasa, who later incorporated it into Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. This is what is known today as Shoden Omori Ryu.

After the eleventh Sokei, there is a split in the teachings, and two branches were created the Shimomura branch (Shimomura-ha) and the Tanimura branch (Tanimura- ha).

The sixteenth Sokei of the Shimomura-ha, was Nakayama Hakudo Sensei. He studied Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu in the province of Tosa, under the direction of Hosokawa Yoshimasa, 15th, Sokei of the Shimomura-ha, as well as, with Morimoto Tokumi, 17th Sokei of Tanimura-ha.

In 1933 he adopted the name Muso Shinden Ryu Batto-Jutsu for his teachings, and they steadily grew in popularity, thanks to his own unceasing efforts and the steady devotion of his disciples.

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