Ken-Zen, Jutsu-Do Myths Deflated

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[Don_Modesto]

Two articles related to common threads here:

William Bodiford
Zen and Japanese Swordmanship Reconsidered

Professor Bodiford reiterates his contention that the marriage of Ken-Zen is more illusory than real with lots of evidence closely considered.

Karl Friday
Off the Warpath: Military Science & Budo in the Evolution Ryuha Bugei

Friday similarly trashes the cherished myth that JUTSU became DO with the advent of peace under the Tokugawa. Very interesting thesis in which he claims that the Ryuha Bugei were from the beginning antiquarian pursuits largely out of touch with battlefield realities. Their emergence coincided with the emergence of other MICHI such as poetry and dance during the Sengoku period of constant warfare, not with peace after Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidated his grip on Japan. Friday maintains that Ryuha Bugei were very concerned with the development of the individual and thus DO coeval with their beginning.

Interestingly, other essays in the volume toe the line on the usual Ken-Zen, Jutsu-Do lore.

Budo Perspectives
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Kendo World Publications (January 2005)
ISBN: 4990169433

http://www.amazon.com/Budo-Perspectives-Vol-Alexander-Bennet/dp/4990169433/sr=1-1/qid=1164065381/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2275790-5092135?ie=UTF8&s=books

(This thread cross-posted to e-Budo:Budo no Kokoro as well.)

[Ron Tisdale]

Thanks Don! Should be required reading...

Best,
Ron

[Don_Modesto]

Thanks Don! Should be required reading...Hey, Ron!

Here's the TOC, fwiw. Someone over at e-Budo asked for it and the book seems to remain in relative obscurity on the web as yet, so I typed it out:

Suzuki Sadami
20th Cent. Budo and Mystic Experience

Uozumi Takashi
Research of Miyamoto Mushashi's Gorin no sho: From the Perspective of Jpn Intellectual History

William H. bodiford
Zen and Japanese Swordsmanship Reconsidered

Terayama Tanchuu
Ken-Zen-Sho: An Analysis of Swordsmanship, Zen, and Calligraphy and their Relevance Today

Abe Tetsushi
Cultural Friction in Budo

Murata Naoki
From "Jutsu" to "Do": The Birth of Kodokan Judo

Irie Kohei
Budo as a Concept: An Analysis of Budo's Characteristics

Na Young-il
Confusion in the Concept of Budo in S. Korean Society

Sakudo Masao
The Culture of "Bu"

Sogawa Tsuneo
What Should be Taught Through Budo?

Oya Minoru
Inter-connectedness of Waza and Mind

Matsui Kantaro
The Promotion of Budo for the Disabled

Motomura Kiyota
Budo in the Physical Education Curriculum of Jpn Schools

Duncan Robert Mark
Budo & Education

Karl Friday
Off the Warpath: Military Science & Budo in the Evolution of Ryuha Bugei

Richard Schmidt and George R. Bristol
The Influence of the Japanese Martial Disciplines on the Dev't of the US Marine Corps MA Program

David Matsumoto
Thinking Differently about the Teaching of Judo in Japan

Raymond P. Ambrosi
Folk MA and Ritual: Continuity through Economic Change

Alexander Bennet
Kendo or Kumdo: The Internationalization of Kendo and the Olympic Problem

Meik Skoss
Tilting at Windmils: Observations on the Complexities in Transmission of the Koryu Bujutsu in Japan and the US

Danny Hakim
Budo's Potential for Peace: Breaking Down Barriers in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

Anton Geesink
The Paradox of "Judo as an Olympic Sport" and "Judo as Tradition"

Yamashita Yasuhiro
The Role of Judo in an Age of Internationalization