Japan the Ultimate Samurai Guide by Alexander Bennett

Author:Alexander Bennett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Published: 2018-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

Yamaoka Tesshu was a famous calligrapher, Zen master and formidable swordsman. His students influenced the development of modern Kendo.

Not only was Tesshu an intimidating fencer, he was a key figure in Japan’s modernization. In the spring of 1868, when imperial loyalists marched to Edo castle to topple the Shogunate, Yamaoka Tesshu was tasked with negotiating with their leader, Saigo Takamori. His diplomacy helped prevent considerable bloodshed. Although a staunch servant of the Shogunate, he was equally steadfast in his loyalty to the Meiji Emperor after the Restoration of 1868. He is remembered to this day as a man of high principle and otherworldly skills in swordsmanship and calligraphy.

Tesshu died in 1888 of stomach cancer. Apparently, he habitually took sips of highly carcinogenic charcoal ink before writing calligraphy. This was the probable cause. It is rumored that he died while meditating.

Tesshu was an “old-school” swordsman, and although not directly involved in the movement to include martial arts in the education system, many of his influential disciples, such as Takano Sasaburo, were very much at the forefront of the development of modern Kendo.

Ueshiba Morihei (1883–1969)

In 1923, Ueshiba Morihei accompanied his spiritual guru, Deguchi Onisaburo (leader of the Shinto-based religion Omoto-kyo), as his bodyguard on a trip to Mongolia. As they made their way through the mountainous terrain, their entourage was set upon by bandits. Bullets rained down on them from all directions but Morihei remained remarkably calm. Somehow he managed to evade the bullets by twisting and turning his body.

It must have looked like some kind of funky disco dance, but Morihei later described his reaction as being based on the principle of sumikiri—total clarity of body and mind. Such were the finely honed skills and sensibilities of the founder of Aikido.

Morihei was born in Wakayama prefecture in 1883. He began studying jujutsu when he was 13. In 1915, he became a student of the legendary Takeda Sokaku (1859–1943), reviver of the Daito-ryu tradition, when working on the northern island of Hokkaido. He revered Takeda, a hard man who took no prisoners, but eventually developed a different view of the true spirit of Budo. Morihei sought a more peaceful resolution to conflict.

Morihei met Deguchi Onisaburo for the first time in 1919. Deguchi apparently had miraculous healing powers and the encounter sparked Morihei’s fascination with spirituality. Deguchi considered himself to be an incarnation of the Maitreya Bodhisattva and had aspirations to unite the world with his religious teachings. Moved by Deguchi’s pacifistic moral beliefs, Morihei started his own dojo and taught his martial art which he called Aiki-bujutsu. In 1925, Morihei had an epiphany:

“The moment I was awoken to the idea that the source of Budo is the spirit of divine love and protection for everything, I couldn’t stop the tears flowing down my cheeks. Since that awakening, I have come to consider the whole world to be my home. I feel the sun, moon, the stars are all mine. Desire for status, honor and worldly goods has completely disappeared. I realized that

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