Japanese

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[Bokkenrijder]

Hello everybody,

What does "doka" mean ?
Robert from"Aïkido Bushido Club Wezembeek-Oppem" in Belgium

[Peter Goldsbury]

Dou or michi (道) means road, path, or way, and ka or uta 歌 means poem or song. So, if you put them together, we have dou-ka: songs perhaps sung on the road going somewhere (think of a time when everyone traveled on foot, and sang songs about the journey they were taking, or simply to pass the time). 'Songs of the Way' is perhaps the most ambiguous meaning, which captures both nuances (i.e. songs sung on the way, or sung about the way, the latter being perhaps more appropriate for the transferred meaning of dou, as a 'spiritual' journey).

[Peter Goldsbury]

Dou or michi (道) means road, path, or way, and ka or uta (歌) means poem or song. So, if you put them together, we have dou-ka: songs perhaps sung on the road going somewhere (think of a time when everyone traveled on foot, and sang songs about the journey they were taking, or simply to pass the time). 'Songs of the Way' is perhaps the most ambiguous meaning, which captures both nuances: 'way' meaning simply 'road,' or a journey taken along the road, which is more appropriate for an art, like aikido or sado.

[Peter Goldsbury]

For some reason, you have two replies, which are slightly different. I tried to delete one, but the software wouldn't let me. PAG.