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The Creation of Habitus in Japanese Martial Art of Iaidō

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The Creation of Habitus in Japanese Martial Art of Iaidō ”Use more hara power” The creation of habitus in Japanese martial art of iaidō Matias Kristian Kuosmanen University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences Social and Cultural Anthropology Master’s Thesis April 2016 Tiedekunta/Osasto – Fakultet/Sektion – Faculty Laitos – Institution – Department Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Social Research Tekijä – Författare – Author Matias Kristian Kuosmanen Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title ”Use more hara power” – Creation of habitus in Japanese martial art of iaidō Oppiaine – Läroämne – Subject Social and Cultural Anthropology Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä – Sidoantal – Number of pages Master’s Thesis April 2016 85 Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract This thesis is a study on Japanese martial art called iaidō, which is a form of Japanese fencing and explore the somewhat underdeveloped social scientific study of martial arts and combative sports. This paper will begin with an introduction on how martial arts and specifically Japanese martial arts have been studied previously is the field of anthropology, sociology, philosophy and history, and will also discuss the problematics of these previous approaches. The research data is based on an ethnographic fieldwork that was conducted in Japan for a period of six months in 2013-2014. The research methodology utilizes phenomenological approach and the researcher positioned himself as part of the training group that was the object of study. This sort of methodological approach can be described as apprentice anthropology or enactive ethnography, in which the researcher is part of the training group that he studies. The main concern in this paper will be how a specific kind of habitus is created in the context of iaidō. The analysis will be based on phenomenological approach combined with the concept of habitus as developed by Pierre Bourdieu. The theoretical framework provided by Bourdieu will be further elaborated through the works of Loïc Wacquant, who has applied Bourdieu’s concept to the study on how habitus is created in a boxing gym. The creation of habitus in the context of iaidō will be revealed through descriptive analysis on how the bodily and mental dispositions are acquired in the training process. The training session works as a platform in which the kinesthetic skills can be acquired. The pedagogy is based on emulating the teacher movements as well as on oral transmission of knowledge. The transmission of knowledge happens through the social context of dōjō, which is formed by individual practitioners. The data is further analyzed to reveal how the habitus changes according to individual practitioner and during the transmission process. This social context does not only exists for the current practitioners, but it is also an historical process. A martial art school is an institution that spans historically and socially through different generations of practitioners. Similarly, the iaidō habitus is formed through these social and historical processes. However, it can never remain exactly the same, but it is instead prone to changes. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords habitus, phenomenology, martial arts, budō, body lineage, iaidō 2 Tiedekunta/Osasto – Fakultet/Sektion – Faculty Laitos – Institution – Department Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta Sosiaalitieteiden laitos Tekijä – Författare – Author Matias Kristian Kuosmanen Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title ”Use more hara power” - The creation of habitus in Japanese martial art of iaidō Oppiaine – Läroämne – Subject Sosiaali- ja kulttuuriantropologia Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä – Sidoantal – Number of pages Pro gradu -tutkielma Huhtikuu 2016 85 Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract Tämä pro gradu –tutkielma käsittelee Japanilaista kamppailulajia nimeltään iaidō, joka on japanilaisen miekkailun muoto. Tämä tutkielma edustaa aiemmin heikosti edustettua sosiaalitieteellistä tutkimusta kamppailulajeihin ja kamppailu-urheiluun. Tutkielma alkaa johdannolla siitä miten kamppailulajeja, urheilua ja erityisesti japanilaisia budō-lajeja on aiemmin tutkittu sellaisilla tieteenaloilla kuten antropologia, sosiologia, filosofia ja historia. Tutkimuksessa käytettävä aineisto on kerätty etnografisessa kenttätutkimuksessa Japanissa kuuden kuukauden aikana vuosina 2013-2014. Tutkimusmetodiikka sisältää fenomenologisia lähestymistapoja ja tutkija on asettanut itsensä osaksi tutkittavaa. harjoitusyhteisöä. Tämän tyyppistä metodologista lähestymistapaa voidaan kuvailla oppipoika-antropologiaksi tai enaktiiviseksi etnografiaksi, jossa tutkija on osa tutkimaansa harjoitteluyhteisöä ja osallistuu itse aktiivisesti harjoituksiin. Tämän tutkielma keskittyy siihen miten tietyntyyppinen habitus luodaan iaidōssa ja harjoittelun yhteydessä. Analyysi perustuu fenomenologiseen lähestymistapaan, joka on yhdistetty Pierre Bourdieun habituksen käsitteeseen. Bourdieun tarjoamaa teoreettista viitekehystä on laajennettu Loïc Wacquantin töiden kautta. Wacquant on soveltanut Bourdieun habituksen käsitteen tutkimukseensa siitä, miten habitusta luodaan nyrkkeilysalilla. Habituksen luomista iaidōssa pyritään analysoimaan kuvailemalla sitä prosessia miten ruumiilliset ja mentaaliset dispositiot omaksutaan harjoittelun kautta. Tässä analyysissä turvaudutaan fenomenologiseen lähestymistapaan, jotta saadaan aikaan mahdollisimman tarkka ja syvällistä kuvausta siitä prosessista, jolla nämä dispotitiot omaksutaan. Tutkimusaineistoa analysoidaan syvemmin, jolloin voidaan nähdä miten habitus muuttuu ja mukautuu sekä yksilöllisen harjoittelijan mukaan, että osana siirtymäprosessia opettajalta oppilaalle. Analyysissä kiinnitetään huomiota myös sosiaalisen kontekstin merkitykselle siirtymäprosessissa. Tämä sosiaalinen konteksti näkyy selvimmin harjoitteluryhmässä, mutta se ulottuu myös historiallisesti merkittäviin henkilöihin lajin sisällä. Kamppailulaji on instituutio joka levittäytyy historiallisesti ja sosiaalisesti eri harjoittelusukupolvien mukana. Iaido habitus luodaan näiden sosiaalisten ja historiallisten prosessien kautta. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords habitus, fenomenologia, kamppailulajit, budō, body lineage, iaidō 3 1. Table of contents 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... 4 2. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 5 3. PREVIOUS APPROACHES TO MARTIAL ARTS ................................................................................10 3.1. HOPLOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 10 3.2. ANTHROPOLOGY OF SPORTS ............................................................................................................ 11 3.3. MARTIAL ARTS AS KINESTHETIC CULTURE ............................................................................................ 15 3.4. CULTURAL CONTEXT ....................................................................................................................... 16 3.5. STUDIES OF MARTIAL ARTS IN FINLAND ............................................................................................... 17 4. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................21 4.1. PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH ..................................................................................................... 21 4.2. HABITUS ...................................................................................................................................... 24 4.3. WACQUANT AND PUGILISTIC HABITUS ................................................................................................ 25 5. METHODOLOGY ...........................................................................................................................28 5.1. FIELD DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................................... 28 5.2. APPRENTICE ANTHROPOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 30 5.3. ENACTIVE ETHNOGRAPY .................................................................................................................. 32 6. KEIKO ...........................................................................................................................................33 6.1. ENTER THE DŌJŌ ........................................................................................................................... 33 6.2. THE ETIQUETTE ............................................................................................................................. 34 6.3. KATA PRACTICE .............................................................................................................................. 36 7. BODY PEDAGOGIES IN IAIDŌ .......................................................................................................40 7.1. MAKING THE MOVEMENTS NATURAL ................................................................................................. 40 7.2. BUILDING UP THE HARA ................................................................................................................... 43 7.3. DIRECT EMBODIMENT AND MIMESIS .................................................................................................
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