The Cultural Politics of Proprietorship: The Socio-historical Evolution of Japanese Swordsmanship and its Correlation with Cultural Nationalism Alexander C. Bennett Ph.D. Dissertation (Senior Supervisor – Dr. Kenneth Henshall) University of Canterbury School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics (JAPA) 2012 i ii COPYRIGHT Alexander C. Bennett 2012 iii iv Acknowledgements Although I started writing this thesis six years ago, I have been involved in kendō itself for over two decades. Guidance from the many wonderful teachers and friends I have met on this journey provided me with the knowledge to undertake the project. There are far too many people to name here, but I would like to especially thank the following people and organisations for their assistance and support. First, Professor Kenneth Henshall has been an incredibly patient supervisor, and has always given me wonderful advice enabling me to overcome many hurdles along the way. I feel greatly honoured to have had such an illustrious scholar as him for my supervisor. Professor Edwina Palmer was also involved at the start of my studies, but has since taken up a position outside the University of Canterbury. Her comments were invaluable in the completion of my earlier chapters. I am also indebted to Dr. Chigusa Kimura-Steven, and the other staff members in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics (Japanese) at the University of Canterbury. I would also like to thank the Nippon Budokan and the All Japan Kendo Federation for their on-going support and willingness to provide me with many of the documents quoted in this thesis. I have also had considerable help from Professor Uozumi Takashi at the International Budo University, Professor Nakajima Takeshi of Kokushikan University, and numerous tantalising conversations about the state of kendō today with Professor Sakudō Masao and Professor Kanzaki Hiroshi at the Osaka University for Sport and Health Science. In a similar vein, I am also grateful to my Kendo World colleagues, high school kendō club friends, and members of the New Zealand Kendo Federation. During the course of writing this thesis, I received much appreciated financial assistance from the Japan Foundation, Mrs. Hashimoto Kumiko of the International Naginata Federation, and my place of employment, Kansai University. I am incredibly indebted to my good friend Dr. Lachlan Jackson who was kind enough to help me in the final stages with his keen proof reading skills, and sharing the odd pint of beer. I would also like to thank my family and kendō friends in Christchurch who have been through so much in the last twelve months. And, of course, how can I ever say thank you enough to my understanding wife Yōko. No words shall convey the depth of my gratitude to her. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my dear and inspirational friend Michael Ikuya Komoto in the hope that we may be able to cross swords again, sometime in the future. Alexander Bennett Butokuden, Kyoto - March 16, 2012 交剣知愛 v vi Abstract The Cultural Politics of Proprietorship: The Socio-historical Evolution of Japanese Swordsmanship and its Correlation with Cultural Nationalism This thesis provides a detailed socio-historical analysis of the evolutionary process of traditional Japanese swordsmanship (kenjutsu ) from the inception of distinct martial schools (bugei -ryūha ) in the fourteenth century, to its gradual progression into a modern competitive sport (kendō), and a subject of study in the current Japanese education system. The following questions with regards to the development of Japanese swordsmanship were analysed: 1) How did schools dedicated to the study of martial arts ( bugei-ryūha ) evolve, and why was the sword so important to the early traditions? 2) What was the process in which kenjutsu become “civilised”, and how did it relate to class identity in the Tokugawa period (1600‒1868)? 3) In what way did kenjutsu transmute when class distinctions and national isolationist policies ( sakoku ) were abolished in the Meiji period (1868–1912)? 4) What were the cultural and political influences in the rise of “state” and “popular” nationalism, and how did they affect the “re-invention” and manipulation of kendō in the first half of the twentieth century? 5) How did post-war private and national cultural policy affect the reinstatement of kendō and its usefulness in inculcating a sense of “Japaneseness”? 6) What are the nationalistic motivations, and perceived dangers of the international propagation of kendō with regards to cultural propriotership? Through applying socio-historical concepts such as Norbert Elias’s “civilising process” and Eric Hobsbawm’s “invention of tradition”, as well as various descriptions of nationalism to the evolution of kendō, this thesis demonstrates how the martial art has continued to maintain a connection with the past, while simultaneously developing into a symbolic and discursive form of traditional culture representing a “cultural ethos” considered to be a manifestation of “Japaneseness”. Ultimately, kendō can be described as a kind of participatory based mind-body Nihonjinron. Japan’s current reaction as it ponders the repercussions if it were to somehow lose its status as the suzerain nation of kendō , i.e. as exclusive owners of kendō ‒ a martial art perceived as one of the most representative forms of traditional Japanese culture – is also assessed in this thesis. vii viii Contents Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………….…v Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………vii Contents …………………………………………………………………………………ix List of Illustrations and Tables …………………………………………………………xiv Conventions ……………………………………………………………………………..xv Abbreviations …………………………………………………………………………...xvi List of Author’s Publications …………………………………………………………..xvii Introduction 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………...…1 2. What is Kendō? ………………………………………………………………...….….1 3. Kendō’s Technical Framework …………………………………………………………6 4. The “Spirit” and “Philosophy” of Modern Kendō ………………………………….…9 5. Questions Addressed in this Thesis ………………………………………………..…11 6. Methodology …………………………………………………………………..……..19 Chapter 1 A Reassessment of Schools of Swordsmanship in Medieval Japan 1. Introduction ………………………………..…………………………………...……23 2. Early Bushi Culture ………………………………..…………………………..….….25 2a. Emergence Theories for Professional Warriors in Japan…………………………...25 2b. Consolidating Occupational Functions………………………………..………….30 3. The Customs of Medieval Japanese Warfare ………………………………..………..33 3a. Illusions of Medieval Warfare and Beautified Perceptions of Warrior Behaviour…..34 3b. Shifting Trends in Weaponry and Strategy………………………………..……….38 3c. The Development of Swords in Japan………………………………..……………41 3d. The Predominance of Swords ‒ Fact or Fiction? ………………………………….44 3e. The Sword Fetish and the Symbolic Value of ‘Meitō’ ……………………………..46 4. Aspirations for ‘Bun’ and the Aestheticisation of ‘Bu’ ……………………………….48 4a. ‘Buke Kojitsu’ and ‘Kakun’ in Muromachi Warrior Culture……………………….48 4b. The ‘Aestheticisation’ of Swordsmanship………………………………..………...52 ix 5. The Genesis of Martial Arts Schools ………………………………..………………..54 5a. Pre-Ryūha Martial Procedures………………………………..…………………...54 5b. The Criteria for Establishing Martial Art Schools…………………………………56 5c. Ryūha Training Methodology – ‘Aesthetic Asceticism’ …………………………....57 5d. The First Traceable Schools of Swordsmanship………………..………….……….61 6. The Age of the Sword Masters ………………………………..………………….…..66 6a. The Kage-ryū Line………………………………..………………………………66 6b. The Tenshinshō-den Katori Shintō-ryū Line…………………………………..…70 6c. The Nen-ryū Line………………………………..………………………….……72 7. Conclusion ………………………………..………………………………….....……73 Chapter 2 The ‘Civilising Process’ of Kenjutsu 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………...…………..…77 2. The Solidification of Class Boundaries and a New Function for Martial Art Schools .79 2a. Establishing Samurai Responsibilities……………………………………..………79 2b. Bakufu Policies Dictating Warrior Behaviour……………………..………………80 3. The Intellectualisation of Kenjutsu ……………………………..……………………82 3a. The Yagyū Shinkage-ryū and the “Heihō-kadensho” …………………………...…83 3b. Miyamoto Musashi and “Gorin-no-sho”……………………………..………...…87 4. Spiritualisation and Pacification …………………………..……………………….…88 4a. Seeking Higher Principles and Holistic Penchants………………….……………..88 4b. Anti-violent Violence……………………………..………………………………93 5. Commercialisation ……………………………..……………………………….……95 5a. Ryūha Proliferation and Meeting Market Demand………………………….……95 5b. ‘Flowery’ Kenjutsu……………………………..……………………………...…97 6. Sportification ……………………………..……………………………………..…..99 6a. The Expansion of Full-contact Fencing……………………………..……..……100 6b. The Latter-Tokugawa Fencing Renaissance……………………….……….……103 6c. Non-Bushi Participation in Fencing……………………………………….……105 6d. The Creation of New Rules for Engagement……………………………………106 7. Conclusion ……………………………..…………………………………………..108 x Chapter 3 The Demise and Rise of Samurai Culture, and the Nationalisation of Kenjutsu 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………...111 2. Dismantling the Centuries-old Warrior Hegemony ………………………………...115 2a. Breaking Up the Old Order...……………………………………………………115 2b. Rethinking the Question of Japan’s Military Preparedness……………………….117 2c. The Abolition of Class Distinctions and the Promotion of “Functional Equality”..120 3. The Reinvention of Kenjutsu ……………………………………………………….122 3a. Sakakibara Kenkichi and the Gekken-Kōgyō…………………………………….123 3b. The Adoption of Kenjutsu by the Police………………….……….………….....127 3c. Kenjutsu and Commoners………………………………………………….……130 3d.