Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan

By Diane Skoss

"Explore the old to better understand the new." Gain deeper insight into your martial arts training by learning about the ancient Japanese warrior ways. This book is your guide to their martial traditions, the koryu bujutsu--ancestors of the modern Japanese martial arts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 15, 1997
• ISBN: 9781890536039

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Draeger.

THE KORYU BUJUTSU EXPERIENCE

Hunter B. Armstrong

From the hoplological¹ perspective, Japan’s koryu bujutsu are among the last extant hand-to-hand battlefield martial fighting arts in the world. As such, they provide a unique window on the history of Japan’s martial culture, and a glimpse into an aspect of human behavior rarely seen in today’s high-tech, materialistic world. They are training not only in movements necessary for survival on a medieval battlefield, but for human interaction and behavior that had to rise above the pettiness of personal squabbles to a level of morality and ethics that today is grossly misunderstood.

KORYU BUJUTSU DEFINED

First, I should define what I mean by koryu bujutsu training. Koryu ko or furu(i)ryu or naga(reru), meaning flow. The latter, in combination with other characters, is often used to refer to styles, schools, or traditions of behavior, movement, or thought. In Japan, names of styles or schools of flower arrangement, dance, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and fighting arts, among others, have the suffix "-ryu appended. Thus, koryu specifically refers to old styles, schools, or traditions. I prefer old traditions."

Here, we are specifically concerned with old traditions of Japanese martial arts. Martial arts is denoted by the second word, bujutsu (as opposed to budo—martial ways). It should be noted, however, that koryu bujutsu does not include Okinawan fighting arts. This is not because the Okinawan arts are not worthy, but because they have their own distinct cultural background and legacy, and deserve better than to be lumped in as poor cousins of the Japanese fighting arts.²

The next question then, is how to define the old in koryu. This is not easily done; in fact it is arbitrary and frequently based upon opinion. However, in my opinion, old refers primarily to time of origin. Thus, the koryu are those traditions that originated sometime up to and including the early Tokugawa period (1603-1868). However, the caveat here is that we Westerners often try to discriminate too finely. Life, and certainly cultural evolution, is rarely clean-cut and distinct. We have to look at other aspects beyond the time frame when defining koryu bujutsu.

The second major factor is structural integrity, in other words, how well has the tradition been maintained or how much of it has been reconstructed. Retaining the original structure of the tradition (the ryu) and its bujutsu—the techniques and their applications—was/is based on how the members of the ryu have maintained and continue to maintain its original functional aims and practice. In this regard, Donn Draeger elucidated an interesting and valid distinction between the functional priorities of classical bujutsu and budo. For the more modern arts of budo, the ranking of priorities is (1) morals, (2) discipline, (3) aesthetic form. For the older bujutsu, in contrast, the emphasis was on (1) combat, (2) discipline, (3) morals (Draeger 1973, 36).

The koryu bujutsu can then be defined as traditions of fighting arts originating no later than the early Tokugawa period, and whose functional aims were the development of combat effectiveness, discipline, and morality, in that order. Of course, there are exceptions and variations, but this definition can serve as a rough outline on which to base this discussion.

WEAPONS AND HEIHO

On the battlefield the bushi (warrior) was likely to encounter a number of different weapons, including various types of yari (spear), naginata (Japanese glaive), nagamaki (another sort of Japanese glaive), yumi (bow), not to mention the Japanese sword in its various configurations. If the warrior was to survive against these weapons, and more importantly, dominate, it was imperative that he be skilled in their use. Due to the demands of battlefield reality, most if not all of the early koryu were sogo bujutsu (integrated, composite martial arts/systems).

Designed for the battlefield, the classical arts incorporated training in a variety of weapons systems, including grappling with weapons and in armor.³ Unlike modern styles, such as kendo, judo, aikido (yes, aikijutsu too), atarashii naginata, etc., that are derived from kobujutsu (old bujutsu), the classical traditions did not specialize in one weapon or type of combat. The use of the various weapons and martial systems were interrelated and integrated through a core set of principles, heiho.⁴ This heiho was, and is still, handed down from the founder through each headmaster. In their heiho, the classical traditions placed their technical emphasis on the use of weaponry, with the sword at the center. The use of those weapons was and is distinctly different in intent and function from the weapon arts of modern budo. And by extension, the classical systems’ body arts—kogusoku, yawara, jujutsu, kumiuchi, etc.—also have different ends and functions than their more modern