The Idea of the Body in Japanese Culture and Its Dismantlement

Japanese Culture and the Body Paper : Philosophy The Idea of the Body in Japanese Culture and its Dismantlement

Hiroyuki Noguchi

Director, Shintai Kyoiku Kenkyusho, Seitai Kyokai Seitai Kyokai, 2-9-15 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-0094 Japan [Received August 27, 2003 ; Accepted October 24, 2003]

At the heart of a culture lies a certain view of the body, and this view decides which perceptual experiences the culture chooses to value. In trying to achieve those experiences, certain principles for moving and handling the body are established, and these principles then set the standards for the mastery of essential skills that penetrate through all fi elds of art, creating a rich foundation from which the culture can fl ourish. The culture of traditional Japan, which disintegrated at the hands of the Meiji Restoration, indeed possessed such a structure. The idea of the body, the shared perceptual experiences, and the principles of movement that existed in traditional Japanese culture were radically different from those that arrived from the West and have been blindly disseminated by the Japanese government ever since the Meiji Restoration. This paper discusses the feeble underpinnings of modern Japan as a culture built upon the destruction of its own traditions, and explores the possibility of giving birth to a new culture by looking into the structure of its lost traditional culture.

Keywords: Japan, Idea of the body, Doho, Kata, Gyo, Meiji Restoration [International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004] 1. The Scenery of Death in Modern Society chaos throughout the nation. Samurai, angered by the cowardly stance of the Shogunate, rose in There is a national policy in Japan that has rebellion, while the exportation of raw silk led continued without pause to this day, for nearly one to economic turmoil caused by drastic rises in hundred and forty years since the Meiji Restoration prices. As a result of internal and external pressure, in1868. This is the policy of Westernization, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, then Shogun, had no choice which has led to the continuing disintegration of but to surrender his power in 1867. the traditional Japanese view of life and body, as a The new Meiji administration established whole. By accepting this policy, the Japanese people an Emperor system based on the constitutional did gain the practical lifestyles of a modernized monarchy of Prussia, deploying State Shinto, society fi lled to the brim with Western scientifi c a nationalistic form of Shintoism, in place of technology. At the same time, however, they have, Christianity – the core of Western culture – and by their own hands, effectively dismantled and quickly proceeded to recreate the nation. While obliterated a culture with a 2000-year tradition. It politics, economics, and industry went through is still not known who actually instigated the most reforms based on Western models, the policy of drastic social reform that ever occurred in Japan’ modernization, Westernization, and scientifi c s history; of which class they belonged to, or what progress would also extend to the lifestyles of the their objectives were [Oishi, (1977)]. In any case, general population. the Meiji Restoration was triggered by the opening On the surface, this policy of Westernization of Japan’s ports to foreign trade in 1854, when seemed to be a measure for guiding the people of the Tokugawa Shogunate, succumbing to military Japan to adjust to their new government, constructed pressure by the United States and European countries, in the short span of just two years after the collapse made the decision to end its 200-year policy of of the Shogunate. In reality, however, it aimed isolation. This decision by the Shogunate caused to reject and dismantle every aspect of traditional

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 8 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

Japanese culture through the unyielding glorifi cation tea huts throughout the nation. of Western civilization. The policy consisted of three Even staging of the traditional theatre art, Noh, was main factors – agitation, governmental orders and prohibited after the Restoration, forcing almost all regulations, and information control – none of which Noh actors to switch occupations or terminate their permitted room for traditional culture to coexist with careers. the new order. Amidst such an atmosphere of total rejection It was the imperial and royal families who fi rst of anything traditional, the Westernization of adopted Western lifestyles, as though setting an clothing was popularized, fi rst through military and example for the rest of the nation, inciting a sense of government uniforms. At the same time, Western yearning amongst the people for all things Western. food culture was introduced through hospital meals, Thus the emperor – the symbol of Japan – came to and Western architecture through public facilities. serve also as the symbol of Westernization. The Wearing neckties and clothes with buttons, eating media followed, spreading shallow words glorifying beef, drinking cow’s milk, entering buildings with Western civilization and boycotting tradition. Their one’s shoes on – such things never done by the slogan, "Bunmei Kaika"(the blooming of civilization), people of Japan in its two thousand years of history resounded throughout the nation. became the fi rst tests of loyalty imposed by the Meiji Even the historically adored wild cherry trees government. were cut down and used as fi rewood all over the The government proceeded to issue increasing country, because they stood as a reminder of the numbers of prohibitions and orders to switch trade or former feudal system. And instead, Someiyoshino, leave public service. For example, with the decision to an artifi cially created hybrid cherry tree, was prized introduce Western medicine as the offi cial medicinal because it was a product of "science": it fl ourishes in practice of Japan, the government devoted enormous most any type of soil condition, blooms gloriously effort into eradicating the long-standing practice of and almost simultaneously, and possesses a sense Chinese medicine. Resistance by doctors of Chinese of uniform beauty, where its fl owers bloom before medicine was strong, and in the end, it took more any leaves appear on its branches. But like all other than forty years until this effort was fi nally realized. artifi cially bred plants, the Someiyoshino has no During this time, in order to decide which of the two scent; it did not inherit the intense scent of the wild was superior, a hospital was established in order to cherry. And while the life span of wild cherries is gather data on the effectiveness of both medicines said to be three hundred, sometimes fi ve hundred on the disease, beriberi. The result of the so called years, Someiyoshino lasts for only seventy or eighty East-West beriberi competition however, was an [Horibe, (2003)]. This uniformly beautiful, artifi cial equal match, and confl icts between the two schools cherry, deprived of scent and longevity by human intensifi ed – even leading to the attempted assassination hands, was planted all across the nation, and would of Sohaku Asada, famous doctor of Chinese medicine eventually be designated as the national fl ower of and leader of the resistance [Fukagawa, (1956)]. Here Japan. If the birth of modern Western civilization is where we see the shameless scheming nature of the could be compared to the blooming of a fl ower rooted Meiji government’s policy of Westernization. A look in the soil of the traditional cultures of the West, then at the newspaper articles in those days reveal series modernity in Japan is an artifi cial fl ower that did of irrational writings such as, "Compared to the not come from any real soil. The fate of the cherry ugly black liquids prepared by doctors of Chinese trees suggests the true nature of the emergence of an medicine, look how beautiful the snow-white powders artifi cial and deformed modernity in this country. of Western medicine are!" Practitioners of Chinese Naturally, the destruction of wild cherries was medicine were forced to fi ght such unfair accusations only a small part of the monumental changes taking spread by the media. place. Perhaps the most signifi cant of the Restoration’s The introduction of Western medicine sought destructive activities was the government order to separate to accomplish more than the Westernization Shinto and Buddhism. This act, which was carried of medicinal practices. It was by nature, an out in order to establish State Shinto, triggered the anti-Shogunate policy. For example, the preserving anti-Buddhist movement, leading to the destruction of acupuncture practices, which did not exist in of historically valuable Buddhist temples, statues, and Western medicine, seemed from the outside to

9 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

be a salvation measure for the blind, who were within the new educational system, established in traditionally relegated to this line of work. However, 1872. With its curriculum constructed entirely on the practice of acupuncture recognized by the Western theories, the educational system became a Shogunate was Japanese acupuncture, the system stronghold for the process of Westernization. The of which was created after a thorough scrutiny biased education system, which again glorifi ed and revamping of Chinese acupuncture. So it was Western studies, would lead the intellect and Japanese acupuncture that was prohibited, and those sensitivities of the Japanese people towards ignorance who practiced it were ordered to switch to Chinese of, and disdain for, their own traditional culture. acupuncture instead [Machida, (1985)]. In other Even such subjects as art, music, and physical words, the policy of Westernization was characterized education, designed to cultivate students’ aesthetic by the complete rejection of Japanese tradition, and sensibilities– not to mention more general subjects – anything of foreign origin was valued and welcomed. played a major role in dismantling traditional culture Students of various fi elds such as architecture, and spurring the process of Westernization. cooking, and medicine, were all forced to learn The curriculum of art introduced the brilliant colors Western theories if they desired to acquire offi cial of the West, while traditional Japanese colors were trade licenses, newly required by the government. It thoroughly forgotten; their principles of harmony left was through the establishment of such systems that untaught. The traditional Japanese rich sensitivity the government attempted to cut off the transmission for colors is obvious when we look at kimonos or of experiential knowledge and thereby end the the traditional mountings used for calligraphy and tradition of the apprenticeship system. For example, painting. A book of sample dye colors from kimono by imposing the study of Western architectural makers in the Edo period reveals one hundred shades theory -- based on the metric system -- on Japanese of grey and forty eight shades of brown, each with a architects, the government effectively obstructed the name of its own [Nagasaki, (2001)]. The dye makers’ passing of knowledge from master carpenters, who ability to create such an enormous variety of colors based their building art on the traditional Japanese through the use of plant materials is a testament to scale system, to their apprentices. The traditional their superb skills. But more astonishing is the fact architectural methods of Japan, which enabled that clothes-makers and even consumers were able construction of the world’s largest wooden structure to distinguish all of these shades. To the Japanese, with no less than a thousand years’ lifespan, were colors were something that seeped into the materials; based on an entirely different theoretical system they worked to enhance the inherent quality of the from Western architectural methods. Riding the raw material. The new colors that arrived from the wave of Western theory worship, the Japanese West, on the other hand, coated over raw materials. government, however, has continued to force the This encounter shocked and confused the subtle Westernization of architecture to this day, without sensitivity toward colors that the Japanese had held due investigation or recognition of the value of until then. One hundred and forty years later, the its country’s traditional methods. In 1959, the result of such education is demonstrated in the vulgar government offi cially adopted a resolution proposed sense of colors seen in the cities of modern Japan. by the Architectural Institute of Japan, to prohibit On the streets, store signs and handout pamphlets the construction of wooden architecture. Six show no sign of subtlety. It is as if the use of loud years later it issued an order that forbid use of the and fl ashy colors alone could suffi ce in imitating the traditional Japanese scale system [Matsuura, (2002)]. Western sense of colors. Such education has surely Japan’s building codes promote the construction squandered more than a few fi ne talents out of which of concrete structures that are advantageous in excellent Japanese paintings could have been born making fortresses out of cities, and this is leading [Nakamura, (2000)]. to the disappearance of wooden structures, born Meanwhile, music education disarranged the from this land and climate, which have upheld the traditional concept of sound. The Japanese sense lifestyle of the Japanese for two thousand years. As of sound was developed through religion. Sound a result, the magnifi cent forests of Japan are now in created through deep and focused intensity was deterioration. considered to have the power to cleanse impurities. Governmental control of information also occurred The Ki-ai techniques handed down by Shinto priests

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 10 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

and mountain ascetics, the chanting of Buddhist fi lled with more conveniences than the average monks, and even the act of cleaning were all person can handle, is an expression of the impact religious practices, or music, based on the mystery felt by the Japanese as they were blinded by the of sound. The use of the hataki – a duster made of brilliantly bright light of the electric bulb, after living paper and stick – and broom originates from Shinto so long under the wavering light of old Japanese rituals, which invited the Divine by purifying the candles. surrounding environment through the use of sound. The lengthy closed-door policy of Japan warped They were not used for the purpose of achieving its encounter with Western civilization. Lacking sanitary cleanliness. The sound of the Noh-kan any common denominators with modern societies of (bamboo fl ute used in Noh drama) was for resting the West, the Japanese had turned their tremendous the dead, the Shino-bue (reed fl ute) for inviting the sense of disparity into glorifi cation and worship, as a dead to visit this world. The sense of depth held by means of self-protection. sound in traditional Japanese culture was based on a Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has been sensitivity towards sound that was entirely different quite successful in dismantling its own traditional from that found in Western music. Yet music culture. However, it has not been able to create education in schools taught only Western music, with any kind of new culture through the assimilation its theory based on an equally tempered scale that is of Western civilization. This is of course only essentially an exception among all other music born natural, for culture cannot be born from imitation on this planet, and students who sang according to and yearning alone. Blinded by that brilliant image the traditional Japanese scales were looked down of modern civilization, the Japanese were not able upon as being tone-deaf. to meet with the actual culture, which gave birth Physical education likewise dismantled traditional to, supported, and managed that very civilization. ways of moving the body (explained later in this In other words, they never truly understood the article), teaching only exercises and movements traditional sensitivities of the Western people, and based on the mechanics of movement transmitted therein lies the tragedy of today’s Japan. Of course, from the West. This resulted in the creation of great there is no way to transplant a culture. The culture disparity between perceptions of the body held by of a country, nurtured through the accumulation of old and new generations, making transmission of the experiences over centuries of tradition, belongs to body-culture from parent to child unduly diffi cult. the land from which it was born, and to that land As a consequence, today there are countless adults only. It does not permit absorption or imitation by who cannot even use chopsticks properly, let alone another. Scientifi c thought, founded on pragmatism, sit in the traditional form of Seiza. objectivism, and positivism, which Japan so avidly The one hundred and forty years of biased attempted to emulate since the Restoration, must education has forced the Japanese intellect to be then also have been an inevitable product of the utilized solely for translating, interpreting, and culture – the land and spirit – of Western countries. imitating Western civilization. Certainly, during Japanese scientists who participate in international those years, Japan has produced high-quality academic gatherings for the fi rst time are always electronic goods, and automobiles that were jokingly startled to fi nd that Western scientists mention God called "mobile living rooms", but those things have without any hesitation during discussions. This is nothing to do with Japanese culture. They are rather because in Japan, being a scientist necessarily means simple expressions of the shock experienced by the being a materialist and atheist at the same time. For Japanese in encountering the modern civilization of post-Restoration Japan, science was virtue and also the West. In other words, those things are copies religion or faith. of the image of modern civilization refl ected in the Modern Japan has thus become an anomaly in Japanese eye. That strange and exaggeratedly soft world history – a pure product of "modernity", car seat and suspension is a simulation of the sweet established without ever possessing a foundation of soft feeling the Japanese people, who up to that point true culture. It is a nation, in which experiments of had never sat on anything but hard Tatami mats, felt the most extreme "modernity" occur. when they sat in Western-style sofas for the very fi rst After all, "culture" is nothing but the ability to time. The excessively pragmatic electronic products, make the world in which we live one of richness

11 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

and beauty. It is the perceptual ability to convert Therefore receiving medical treatment is no different and recompose objective time-space into human from repairing broken machinery, and death becomes time-space. Through the discovering and sharing of merely the production of waste material. Hospitals this ability, "culture" enables the people belonging have already turned into processing facilities for to its land to appear in all of their beauty. Yet, at the industrial waste, with organ transplants serving as same time, it comes with the dangerous potential for part of their recycling business. Anybody who senses self-destruction because, by nature, its existence and something strange about this mechanical image of value cannot be perceived by those who live within it, death that is now the norm in the hospitals of Japan those whose very lives are supported by it. will realize immediately that science in itself can It is the scenery of birth and death that symbolizes, never become "culture". most directly, the culture of any country. The As we greet the 21st Century, perhaps the scenery of death in today’s Japan is a mechanical time has come to reconsider the disintegration of one. Its background is the hospital, where people our traditional culture that began with the Meiji are detained by life-support systems. Behind the Restoration. Time passed can never be reclaimed, closed doors of their waiting rooms, doctors call this but at least we must come to understand our past to the "spaghetti syndrome". This is the scene we fi nd the point that we are able to genuinely mourn its loss. in geriatric wards, where our elders are restrained We should look back now at our lost culture so that with belts around their arms and legs so as to prevent we can move forward towards the shaping of the new them from their unconscious attempts to pull off the culture that is to come. numerous catheters attached to their bodies. What we see here is not the sacred image of one greeting 2. Perceiving Life in All Things the fi nal chapter of his or her life. It is not the image of transmission from parent to child of the fi nal and Among the policies of Westernization that drove most profound word, the drawing of one’s "fi nal the disassembly of traditional Japanese culture was breath", which throughout history was considered the calendar change, issued in 1873. With this, the one of the most important activities in human life. Meiji government decided to abolish the lunar-solar In a mere thirty minutes after death, salesmen from calendar that had been used for twelve hundred years funeral services appear in front of the surviving and replace it with the Gregorian, or solar calendar. family. In recent years, merchants asking for organ Actual use of the new calendar was implemented transplants will arrive beforehand. It is this empty, only twenty-three days after issuing the order, and "scientifi c" image of death that symbolizes our as such, caused great confusion amongst the general nation’s modernity, and this has come to be because population. But more importantly, it had an enormous modern society separates body from life, body from impact on the Japanese people’s fundamental sense of character, body from self. Our "freedom-loving" the seasons and cycles of life. The old calendar was modern government may not govern its citizens’ commonly called the "farmer’s calendar" because of lives, but it does govern its citizens’ bodies. While its close ties to the cycles of agricultural activities they do recognize freedom in most other aspects, [Fujii, (1997)]. It was calculated not only through not one "developed" country recognizes freedom of astronomy, but was based on a deep understanding of choice when it comes to medical treatment. If our the life cycles of plants and creatures of the land, with bodies were considered inseparable from the lives further adjustments made according to observations that we lead, then choosing methods of medical of the heavenly planets. It can be said that the switch treatment, birthing, and dying, would naturally be from the old to the new calendar was in essence a an issue belonging to each individual’s ideology switch from a life-cycle-centered time order to an and thought. Modern nations, however, have objective time order based on the Western science of implemented Western medicine, which considers astronomy. body and life to be of separate spheres, as their The old calendar marked New Year’s Day at the offi cial form of medicine. Thus, they try to control fi rst signs of spring, symbolized by the blooming birth, medical treatment, and death, or in other words, of plum blossoms and the bush warbler’s song; the our bodies. In Western medical science, the body is second month with the cherry blossoms; the third only a tool: a machine to be used by its owner’s will. month with the peach. Time was kept according to

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 12 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

the cycles of nature-life activities, which basically can be found on January 7th of the current calendar. do not act in regular time intervals, as do the planets Thus, in order to proceed with this fi ctitious rite, and stars. For this reason, a gap will inevitably the stores line their shelves with artifi cially grown occur over time between a life-cycle-based calendar herbs from greenhouses. Similarly, the festival of and an objective planetary time order. Because the Hinamatsuri, where families celebrate the growth of old calendar placed more importance on the growth their daughters, is on March 3rd. On this day, every cycles of plants and creatures, and on the human household with a girl will set space in their homes experience of the seasons, with less emphasis on for dolls dressed in traditional robes and place peach strict calculations of the objective regularity of fl owers to their side. Peach fl owers are not in bloom planetary movements, every year would begin on a on March 3rd ofof thethe newnew calendar.calendar. Again,Again, thethe storesstores different day according to the new calendar. Each line their shelves with fl owers from the greenhouse. year, in the eleventh month, the calendar for the The people of modern Japan repeat such false events following year was announced, and people would year after year. Yet, they continue to introduce their plan their next year’s schedule of agricultural own country to people overseas with the explanation activities, events, and festivals accordingly. The that "the beauty of Japanese culture is in the Meiji government considered this life-cycle-based harmonization with Nature." calendar to be unscientifi c, and decided to use the The important point is that virtually no one in astronomy-based solar calendar instead. A time order Japan today realizes this disparity. They have lost that is rational from the viewpoint of astronomy, the direct perceptual experience of the changing however, is not always rational from the viewpoint seasons, and what remains is only the conceptual of human and creature life. Modern science relationship between the dates and the events. In rejected the life-centered time order and proposed any case, the strange tendency of the Japanese today the measurement of objective time. This is much to act like the traditional people of Japan towards like taking tempo in music, originally established others, after accepting the governmental policies of according to the speed of walking, and converting it Westernization and rejecting tradition for so long, into mathematical time measured by metronomes, could be considered an interesting subject for the thereby making music that feels stiff and suffocating study of psychological disease. for player and audience alike. Or, it is like replacing Ironically, most Japanese do not realize that while human breathing with artifi cial lungs that move in the years of historical events are recorded according mathematically regular patterns of repetition. The to the Western calendar in every book on Japanese rhythms of Life, however, exist in a different order history, the month and day, in the same books, are from mathematical cycles of repetition. actually recorded according to the old calendar. With the changing of the calendar, the Japanese Another example of their confusion concerns the alias people’s sense of the seasons entered into confusion. names that belong to each month. Although these The new calendar gives them no choice but to live names make no sense unless used according to the in a time frame that is completely cut off from old calendar, people continue to use them for the new traditional Japan. For our ancestors, the beginning calendar months. What results is the disconnection of the new year always came with the clear feeling between name and experience: Minazuki, the name of spring’s arrival. Now however, New Year’s Day of the sixth month of the old calendar, which means is smack in the middle of winter. And yet, every "the month with no water", is now used for the year the Japanese continue to greet each other with month of June, despite the fact that June is in the New Year cards containing words that celebrate the middle of the rainy season. In such circumstances, arrival of spring. This is nothing but the performance it is no wonder that most Japanese today have lost of a ritual, acting out the new spring without the their interest in reading and understanding classic experience of it. On the seventh day of the year’ literature. s fi rst month, every household in Japan eats rice In the end, perception of the seasons among porridge cooked with seven spring herbs. However, modern Japanese is merely the recognition of it is the seventh day of the fi rst month according to temperature change. The different seasons have the old calendar, in which all seven types of herbs become nothing but the categorization of temperature are actually present in the fi elds. None of them distribution over the course of a year. For people

13 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

who lived with the old calendar, however, perception lasting life force. of the seasons was certainly not based on temperature This world view, in which all things possessed life, change. They paid close attention to the subtle was also the foundation of the construction methods messages received from the natural environment for traditional wooden architecture. Timber material that surrounded them, and delighted in cultivating a used for construction was traditionally left out to delicate awareness of the changing of the seasons. weather for a period of approximately ten years. This is clearly demonstrated in the Waka and Haiku After World War II however, scientists advanced their poetry of old. way into the timber industry, analyzed the amount of The direct perceptual experience of contact with moisture contained in the weathered timber material, the seasonal cycles, examples of which abound and introduced a drying machine that could achieve in the classic literature of Japan, speaks of a most the same level of moisture reduction in the course fundamental aspect of traditional Japanese culture: of just three hours. This compressing of ten years namely, a worldview in which all things possess into three hours, however, takes away the moisture life. This ability to perceive that all things are alive, in timber on a cellular level, making superfi cial the resonating in harmony with one another, is what timber’s ability to absorb moisture. In other words, guaranteed people the certainty of being alive. "I it robs the wood of its original attributes, leading to a am alive." was indeed synonymous with "Everything shorter life span. From the start, scientifi c proof has else is alive." Cultivating the ability to perceive always required making visible the invisible. The a sense of liveliness in all that surrounded oneself method used by science is to convert what cannot be was, directly, the way to nourish one’s own life. quantifi ed into something that can be: In this case, Ze-ami(1363?~1443?), considered the founder of "weathering" into "drying". Weathering timber for Noh, explains to his disciples in the "Fushikaden", ten years means to leave the timber out in the rain, that "the Way of Poetry fosters longevity and so wind, heat, and snow for ten years. The shrine and should be learned by any means" [Nogami & Nishio, temple carpenters of Kyoto actually weather their (1958, p.11)]. Today, no one would think that poetry timber in water in order to exchange the old water could serve as a method for gaining health. But in contained in the wood with new. This obviously a world in which everything is alive, everything, and fundamentally differs from "drying". The including poetry and Noh, could lead to longevity. weathering process allows the timber ten years to Because creating a reverberating relationship with the adjust to itself to a different environment from that natural world was exactly the way to invigorate one’s in which it was raised, and this refl ects the ancient own life. attitude that considered timber "alive". It was this The traditional culture of Japan is an artisan ability to perceive timber wood as alive that enabled culture. Master craftsmen of all fi elds have relayed the creation of wooden structures with life spans of a the same words to their apprentices for centuries on thousand years. end. Without exception, they claim that the materials The policy of Westernization, however, continues used for their art are "alive". The dye maker says that in the world of architecture today. Government the cloth is alive; the potter says that the clay is alive; regulations require a moisture level of under 20% blacksmiths maintain that the steel they hammer is for construction timber. This is a number impossible alive [S.B.B. Inc., (19xx)]. to achieve through natural weathering methods, and The steel nails forged by traditional Japanese in actuality means that the government permits only blacksmiths contain more impurities than modern the use of artifi cially dried timber for construction. nails produced in the smelting furnace. Yet, it has Although it is true that the unit strength for each been discovered that nails taken out from structures piece of timber is increased when moisture levels are built six hundred years ago are still without rust and contained below 20%, the natural attributes of wood in perfect condition to be reused today. This fact, are lost; its ability to breathe is robbed. Western which goes against the theories of science, may architecture places emphasis on unit strength, but it not in itself demonstrate the belief that everything does not see timber as a living being. By all practical was alive, but it does suggest how the blacksmith’s means, wood is treated in a manner no different from long-standing conviction of the life in steel could be steel beams. Traditional architecture, on the other poured into a single nail to become a powerful and hand, emphasized balance. It sought strength through

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 14 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

balance, and considered the life force of the timber provides us with rich experience and the certainty of to be of utmost importance in achieving the desired being alive. Under the pretext of positivism hides the balance. absurdity of the scientist who turns on the lights in For the past hundred years, science has done order to investigate the nature of darkness. its best to rob time of its power. But life grows One of the very basic skills in the art of traditional and ripens with time, and the compression of carpentry is to be able to take one glance at a piece time necessarily comes with sacrifi ces. Just as of sawn wood and discern its top and bottom. This is listening to music requires time that does not because traditional carpenters believe that each piece allow compression, forced growth will only result of wood retains the memory of heaven and earth from in abnormal development. The layering work of when it stood in the mountains, and furthermore, that lacquer workers, the blacksmith’s forging of nails, the wood would not gain new life unless it was set the work of the swordsmith, all of these coexist with to stand according to that memory. The distinction time. For centuries on end, craftsmen have focused between front and back is equally important. The their attention on the grasping of Ki (timing) and the front is the side of the tree that faced the sun; the utilization of Ma (the in-between, lull in time). The back is of course the opposite. Trees that grow on the swordsmith’s work is to heat the iron, remove the iron east facing slopes of a mountain are used as pillars from the fi re at precisely the right timing, then after for the east side of buildings; trees from west facing an appropriate lull, cool the iron rapidly with water slopes are used on the west side. The pillars for each before returning it to the fi re. This process is repeated of the four directions are arranged according to the over and over, and the art is in mastering the right way they grew in their homeland, and it is believed timing, degree, and interval (Ki, Do, Ma). These that the trees can gain a second life in this manner. In skills have made possible the creation of swords that fact, when just one pillar is set with top and bottom cannot ever be reproduced with the most advanced of reversed, the resulting space will exude an odd feeling modern machinery. of disparity. The traditional spaces inhabited by the Each medicine pill that doctors of Western medicine Japanese for two thousand years were constructed give to their patients contains a multiplicity of using such methods that harmonized living material effective ingredients. The patient simultaneously with life [Nishioka, (1993)]. The resulting feeling of consumes, for example, ten effective ingredients being surrounded by life intangible was exactly the through a single pill. This speaks most directly of the sense of comfort they chose to cherish. nature of the pursuit for "effi ciency" seen in artifi cial In this manner, the basis of the construction drying and forced growth methods mentioned before. methods found in traditional Japanese wooden In simple terms, it is the conversion of time into architecture differs from that of Western architecture. space, and we should recognize that here lies the true However, the traditional methods acquired through cause of modern medicine’s harmful side effects. In accumulated experiential knowledge alone would the practice of Chinese medicine, the doctor gives not make Japanese architecture worthy of the title, a single effective ingredient to the patient, then "culture". The "culture" of Japanese architecture observes the resulting condition before deciding on lies in the indivisibility of the carpenter’s sensitivity what to provide next. This means that they need at from its construction methods. The discovery of least ten days in order to give the patient ten effective how one’s perception or awareness of the intangible ingredients. To observe a patient’s conditions, and can be utilized in the execution of certain methods then respond according to his or her progress is a so that those methods acquire life – this is what process that is quite natural, and certainly should the Japanese of old called Waza (art or skill). The not be scorned as being "ineffi cient". It only seems refi nement of such Waza, or in other words, the ineffi cient because science has recognized value refi nement of one’s sensitivity – to continue with in replacing the invisible rhythms of life contained the example of architecture – is what initiates within time with the visible movement of clock-time. correspondence with the dweller’s own sensitivity, The philosophy here is one that values result over and in turn creates a sense of richness and comfort in process, outcome over experience. We should the inhabited space. reconsider whether the fulfi llment we seek in life In essence, "culture" is the sharing of certain is about experience or result. Rhythm within time intangible values by a people – the collective

15 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

consciousness of a people, gathering towards the consists of the total disassembling and reconstructing abstract. of the shrine’s buildings once every twenty years. Consider the traditional Japanese kimono. Unlike Construction materials for the new buildings Western clothes, the kimono is not an end in itself. come entirely from the shrine’s forest. With these The actual product is not the kimono, but rather materials, the buildings are reconstructed in the exact the fabric from which it is made. By nature, the same form, and new trees are planted in place of the kimono is composed entirely of straight-line cuttings. logged trees, to be used for the reconstruction ritual Therefore, it can easily return to its original fabric that is to happen two hundred years later [Yano, state, simply by taking apart its stitches. The fabric (1993)]. These activities, continued over a span of then can be re-dyed or reused to make a new set fi fteen centuries, is where the shrine’s views on life of clothing. It can even be handed down through and the world are told without use of language. several generations of ownership. Such a concept of In this way, the idea that life exists everywhere regeneration is fundamental to the cultural worldview was the underlying current beneath Japan’s traditional in which everything possesses life. culture. It recognized life in all things, leading to the The construction of Ze-ami’s Noh even included certainty of correspondence between all things, and correspondence with the dead. Noh is a theater art touched upon that which fl ows ceaselessly from past with a unique construct involving dance, song, and to future. storytelling. The story is acted out by three main characters – traveler, monk, and ghost. What Ze-ami 3. The Idea of the Body in Asceticism expected from the performers was neither acting nor emotional expression, but direct correspondence and With the arrival of Buddhism fi fteen hundred harmonization with the dead. Noh, for Ze-ami, was years ago, the era of kings, symbolized by the great a ritual of purifi cation, in which the dead were to tombs, came to an end, and Japan was ushered into be pacifi ed and reborn. This serious theme cast by a new era, ruled by religion. As with the Meiji Ze-ami brought about the concept of Yugen (usually Restoration, the lifestyles of the Japanese people translated as the "subtle and profound"), to Japanese were dramatically transformed. Curiously enough culture. The perceptual experiences of Mono no though, in contrast with the Meiji Restoration, the Aware, Wabi, Sabi, and Yugen – crucial in the changes that occurred with Buddhism’s arrival understanding of Japanese culture – all emerged from actually seemed to clarify the distinct nature of that same world view, and for this reason could be Japan’s culture. shared by the Japanese [Shinkawa, (1985)]. Fortunately for Japan, Buddhism was not The Ise Shrine is Japan’s foremost Shinto shrine, transmitted directly from India, coming through with a history of fi fteen hundred years. In the vast China instead. During its travels in China, Buddhism forest compounds of the shrine, a certain ritual has had no choice but to merge with the antecedents been repeated every morning and evening throughout of China’s indigenous Taoism, such as the various the shrine’s entire history. This ritual, called the practices of mysticism including fangshu, and the Higoto-Asa-Yu-Ohmikesai, involves cleansing philosophies of Lao-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu. These of the shrine and offering of foods to the Spirit. practices, which were later integrated into Taoism, Self-suffi ciency is the rule; all offerings must come all involved ascetic practices for the purpose of from within the shrine compounds. The shrine has cultivating longevity. Therefore the Buddhism its own gardens and fi elds from which to harvest rice, that arrived to Japan was one already baptized by vegetables, and fruits; saltpan where salt is extracted the Chinese, meaning that it was characterized by according to ancient methods; and a well that has a strong emphasis on Taoist-like ascetic practices never gone dry for fi fteen hundred years. The food [Sekiguchi, (1967)]. is prepared with spiritually purifi ed fi re, called Imibi, Although its purpose may have differed from kindled by rotating a wooden drill on a dry wooden Taoism, Japan’s native religion, Shinto, was also a slate – a method dating to the Yayoi Period – while religion fundamentally centered on practice rather the plates are made of unglazed pottery fi red in the than doctrine. Both were religions that emerged as shrine kiln. The most outstanding aspect of the Ise spontaneous occurrences more than anything else, Shrine is its ritual of Shikinen Sengu. This ritual with neither possessing any founding person. And

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 16 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

the two have much in common, such as their sense great respect given the mountain ascetics by the of pure and impure Ki or energy and their methods people of the time demonstrates how religion for the of utilizing Ki. They also shared the fate of being Japanese was fundamentally not about religious texts forced to present distorted images of their practices and doctrines, but was based on veneration and awe by arming themselves with awkward theories in for Gyo. And it was not the seeking of reward in this attempt to resist being overtaken by Buddhism. This life that resulted in this sense of respect. Rather, it however, was only because both religions, by nature, stemmed from the historic inclination of the Japanese valued experience over speculation, perception towards inner observation. over theory. Taoism’s pursuit of longevity and It was the widespread popularity of Tendai and immortality was entirely different from the pursuit of Shingon, two sects of Mikkyo (esoteric Buddhism), healthiness by people of today. Taoists proclaimed both founded during the Heian Period, that pointed "Tao" as the Source that brought harmony to all out this inclination in clear terms. The Shingon sect, things, and sought the genuine experience of being founded by Kukai (774~835), placed its headquarters one with it [Maspero, (1983)]. Meanwhile, Shinto on Mt. Koya, and proceeded to gain great popularity was not the animism that became the favorite label among the public with its heavy leaning towards for all primitive religions. It was a religion that did esoteric and ascetic practices not found in previous not seek the divine outside of one’s self, instead forms of speculative Buddhism during the Nara taking the inner experience of Kashikoki(reverence Period. Furthermore, it possessed a philosophy. – or awe) and calling it Kami (the divine) [Kageyama, lacking in Shugendo – to back its faith in supernatural (1972)]. mysteries, and thus fulfi lled the conditions for Such religions, which place importance on gaining offi cial recognition as a religion from the inner experiences, will inevitably arrive at various government, despite being a teaching that centered practice methods that use the body as intermediates on Gyo. for their aims. In the case of Japan, these methods, Meanwhile the Tendai sect, founded by Saicho called Gyo, became the common denominator that (767~822), established its headquarters in Mt. Hiei. would enable the Japanese to accept the essentially Saicho’s tenets incorporated the four studies of En academic and speculative religion of Buddhism, and (also Hokke, the Lotus Teachings), Zen (meditative let it take root in its culture. disciplines), Kai (Buddhist Precepts), and Mikkyo or At fi rst, Buddhism was established as an offi cial esoteric practices. But sensing that his study in the religion during the Nara Period (710~784) through esoteric aspect of Buddhism could not stand up to the diligent effort of Shotokutaishi (574~622). Kukai’s, he attempted to create a system of esoteric However, because it leaned heavily towards politics Buddhism distinct from Kukai’s Shingon. His wish and placed little importance on practice, it did not would fi nally be realized through his disciple, Ennin capture the hearts of the Japanese people. The [Katsumata, (1972)]. The Tendai sect selected the increasing population of monks and nuns became mountains as its training grounds and sent many a fi nancial burden for the government, while the excellent disciples into the mountains. As a result, successive building of provincial temples and the the Tendai practitioners mixed with the mountain construction of the great statue of Buddha at Todaiji ascetics of Shugendo, who were still revered by Temple impoverished the people. During this the general population, to such an extent that it time, it was not Buddhism, but rather Shugendo, eventually became diffi cult to distinguish between a blend of Shinto and Taoism founded by En no Tendai and Shugendo practitioners. Even with Ozunu, that was wholeheartedly welcomed by Saicho’s fi rst-rate knowledge of Buddhist teachings, the people of Japan. In Shugendo, practitioners the Tendai sect had to emphasize aspects of the isolated themselves in the deepest wilderness of the teachings that went beyond language and speculation mountains – an area feared tremendously by the – the esoteric practices – in order to gain popularity general population – in order to test their discipline among the general population. and receive power from the mountain deities As for the reason why religions centered on [Wakamori, (1972)]. It was not so much a religion asceticism were preferred, and why they emerged in as it was a set of ascetic practices, or Gyo, which the fi rst place, some say that it is because the people sought a specifi c kind of religious experience. The of those days believed in, and feared, supernatural

17 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

phenomena such as curses and evil spirits. But formation of various Ways or Do, such as Kendo, such things are also of religion. Religion is, Sado, and Kado, and furthermore to the Waza, or art, simultaneously, the source from which curses and of the craftsman. evil spirits arise, and the power that releases people The underlying current of Gyo seen in Shinto, from those things. The presentation of a certain set Shugendo, Mikkyo, and Zen reveals not only the of values necessarily includes the act of defi ning the Japanese view on religion, but also tells us of the obstacles that stand in way of its realization. This inner experiences cherished and sought by the is not limited to religion. When we discover new Japanese people. The mighty tranquility of Shinto, possibilities, we also defi ne our limits. In establishing the supernatural experiences of Shugendo, the viscous what is normal, we defi ne abnormality at the same undulating quality of Mikkyo, the cutting purity and time, which is why the number of diseases always somberness of Zen – the Japanese people delighted increases as new cures are developed. The issue, and cherished these inner experiences at a distance of then, is not what the Japanese people feared, but what one step from the religions themselves, and through they felt reverence and awe for. It was not belief in this, were able to furnish their culture with a sense of the Buddhist doctrines or love of incantations that depth and expansion. moved the people of traditional Japan. What they The above four systems of Gyo can be divided into had was simply a feeling of reverence for ascetic two categories. The practices of Shugen and Mikkyo practices. It was the focused intensity involved in aimed to acquire powers beyond the ordinary, Gyo and the non-ordinary experiences it brought seeking the transformation of the self from a state about that they worshipped. of powerlessness to divine strength. The existence This special adoration of the Japanese for Gyo of adverse conditions is a given here, and what further crystallized with the development of the we see is the powerful conviction to overcome all Zen sect, which began with Eisai and Dogen during adversities. The Gyo of Shinto and Zen, on the other the Kamakura Period. Zen – the focusing of one’s hand, was of clearly different nature. Their practice awareness in sitting meditation until entering a state was not for the sake of supplementing that which called Shikantaza (just sitting) – perfectly matched the practitioner lacked, nor was it for driving growth the sense of Gyo sought by the Japanese, and was a towards a more powerful state of being. They were religious teaching that was deeply assimilated into rather for the return to one’s original nature by the Japanese culture. shedding off of all that is extraneous. Theirs were Zen was more than a religion that centered its Gyo of subtraction rather than addition, of returning practice on Gyo. It was Gyo itself. Its doctrine the colorful to the transparent. The inclinations of explained that which it sought through the use of the former two are for invigoration; they are Gyo of a single word – Mu (nothingness) – and its denial the Sun. The latter two have inclinations towards of all thought and speculation possessed a sense detachment and placation; these are Gyo of the of purity similar to Shinto. While Shugen and Moon. Both went through repeated ups and downs Mikkyo demanded worship and total reliance on in accordance with the times and helped to establish the spiritual or sorcery powers of the ascetics and the underpinnings of Japanese culture. For example, priests, Zen refused reliance on anything other Kabuki, which derives its name from the word than the self. This religion, which suggested the "kabuku"(to tilt/slant), was born out of the discovery possibility of deliverance through nothing but the of beauty in being off-balance. Its underling tone cultivation of one’s own powers by means of one’ is one that can be found in the Gyo of Shugendo s own practice of Gyo, strongly appealed to the and Mikkyo. Meanwhile, the aesthetics of Yugen inclinations of the Japanese people. In the end, established through Ze-ami’s Noh, shares a common Japan’s culture was so deeply infl uenced by Zen that ground with the Gyo of Shinto and Zen. it has become impossible to separate Zen from the In the end, the stream of Gyo from Shinto to Zen concept of "Japanese" that we hold today. Its style, refi ned the Japanese concept of ascetic practices and its doctrines, and its practice of Gyo did not remain contributed to the formation of the Japanese idea within the bounds of religion. The Zazen mind was of the body. Although each of the four religions directly assimilated into the everyday life and work possessed distinct views on ascetic practices, a of the general population, greatly contributing to the common thread can be found when seen through the

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 18 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

idea of the body. the volitional act of listening. And such states were In Gyo the body is utilized as a tool to break to be reached by means of concentration through through volitional concentration. Its method is Gyo, The Tsugaru jamisen is a musical instrument, to focus one’s awareness on certain perceptual a three-stringed lute, from the northeastern parts occurrences in the body, and to switch the attention, of Japan. What is demanded from its players is for a while, from one’s thoughts to one’s body. The to acquire an original piece of music that they can various ways in which the hands and fi ngers are call their own. Traditional Japanese music, unlike held during meditation, known as Inso, are a typical Western music, does not boast a great variety of example. The deliberate forcing of the body into musical pieces. Rather, performers are to cultivate conditions of stress, strongly associated with the the improvisational ability to play the same single practice of Gyo, is another. By repeatedly imposing piece in varying ways according to the time and place great burden onto the body, the practitioner’s attention of the performance. The late Takahashi Chikuzan, is forced to switch from mental concentration to master Tsugaru jamisen player, carried out a Gyo, bodily concentration. in which he played his instrument for eight days and In the next step, the aim is to separate the self from eight nights without rest. According to Chikuzan, the body, to which we normally suppose it belongs, by the eighth day, all awareness of his own playing in order to encounter the body that is apart from the had disappeared. He could no longer hear the sounds self; or in other words, to encounter pure Body. This supposedly coming from the instrument he was is the body that belongs only to Nature itself: the playing, and he began to see his body as a fi eld of body "as is". To encounter the body "as is" means white light. From the depths of this whiteness, he that all sensations of the fl esh disappear. What heard a song he had never once heard before. It was emerges instead is a body of mist or air-like quality. this song that was to become Chikuzan’s original The nature of this newly emerging body is one of composition. In this way, musical pieces in the art total passivity; it can fl uctuate with the true sense of of Tsugaru jamisen were not creations by the artists, being "alive" only after inviting or welcoming into but something the artist invited into his or her self, one’s self what is not of the self. The practice of something that arrived from somewhere unknown. Gyo sought the entrance into this sublime state of The practice of Gyo gives birth to different outcomes passivity. The contrast between the two categories of depending on what the practitioner invites within. In Gyo then has its roots in exactly what they decided to this case it was music. "invite". For the practices of Shugendo and Mikkyo, It would not be an exaggeration to state that the it was Unwavering Mind, while for Shinto and Zen, idea of the body in Japanese culture was shaped by it was the Source of all things. In this way, when the the practice of Gyo. For the Japanese, the body was practice of Gyo is understood as a phenomenon of not merely a tool to be utilized for daily life. It was the body, it then becomes possible for four different a place in which the abstract was to be received. religions to emerge while sharing the same structure Unlike the Western view of the body, it was not of ascetic practice. something that could be managed by the person’ One could say that this inner state of "inviting" s will, but could be brought to a state of harmony or "welcoming" was the essence of the idea of through the focusing of Ki, which occurs when one Nature held by Japan’s culture. The Japanese word, breaks away from a state of volitional concentration. Kangaeru (to think) was originally Ka Mukaeru Furthermore, the workings of such a body are not (to welcome in that which is there). Thus for of machine-like automaticity. By nature, it can the Japanese, the thinking process itself was a only improvise its every movement. It fl uctuates in passive activity, literally meaning the "inviting" resonance with the vibrations of life, in a world where or "welcoming" in of its object. And it was this everything is alive. And when it moves, through the "inviting", this entering into a state of passivity or receiving of a force from outside itself, its movement receptivity, which the Japanese called "natural". is not the self-oblivious trance-like movement of the They placed more value on the "seeing" or "coming possessed – its center is never lost. into sight" of things while one was in a non-self state To reiterate, the body for the Japanese was a place than on the volitional act of looking or observing. for receiving life. Life, in this case, is not the life They valued the receptive state of "hearing" over of the individual person or creature, but the Life that

19 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

fl ows through all beings in a world where everything way of moving or using the body, it follows that is alive. This Life has never died. If the union of they must share a common view of the body. The sperm and egg is the beginning of individual life, then formal way of sitting in Japan, called Seiza, may Life is what makes that union possible. Both sperm generate nothing but a sense of restriction to most and egg must be alive to begin with for their union Westerners. For the Japanese however, sitting in to occur. Thus Life exists beyond the individual. Seiza traditionally brought a sense of peace to the Life is a formless current that never ceases, and the mind. This way of sitting with both knees bent individual’s body is but a boat riding this current. results in a sense of complete immobility. It halts the The boat cannot move on its own. The body can mind from intending any following motion, and in move only because it is riding the current of Life at fact, executing sudden movements from this position large. is quite diffi cult. Sitting in Seiza forces one to The concept of Gyo, which underlay the four enter into a state a complete receptivity, and it is in religions of Shinto, Shugen, Mikkyo, and Zen, this position that the Japanese wrote, played music, penetrated into the daily lives of the general and ate. In times of sadness, of prayer, and even of population by the time of the Kamkura and resolve, Seiza was indispensable for the people of Muromachi Periods. This should not be understood Japan. Seiza was a Kata for receiving: a Kata that as the spreading of religious teachings, but as the fulfi lled the necessary conditions for one’s entrance dissemination of Gyo itself. The practice of Gyo then into a state of true receptivity. was able to break out beyond the fi eld of religion to Seiza is an attempt to negate all awareness of become the foundation for a certain view of the body, the fl esh, for fl esh refl ects human intention in and would further give birth to the concept of Kata, or excess. In trying to cancel out the mind’s volitional form. Kata is the symbolic expression of the Japanese activities, the ancients had discovered this method view on the body, born from Gyo. The Japanese of bringing harmony to the inner body by drawing reverence for Gyo would eventually shift into a sense out the sensation of the bones and seeking a sense of respect for Kata. of balance between the bent knees, spine, pelvis, hip joints, ankles, and other joints. In pursuing Kata , the 4. The Philosophy of Kata Japanese of old placed importance on awareness of the bones over awareness of the fl esh. By doing so, It is the way we view our own bodies – whether they had succeeded in negating the mind, and letting consciously or unconsciously – that decides which the body – the body, which belonged to Nature and perceptual experiences we choose to value. In trying not to the self – emerge "as is". to achieve those experiences, we then establish the However, in order to heighten one’s sense of the ways in which we use and move our bodies. In bones, the process of sitting in Seiza must follow short, each and every motion made by a human being certain rules. The act of bending the knees on its own is a refl ection of his or her own idea of the body. does not negate awareness of the fl esh. To start, one This is not limited to visible physical movement. must stand leaning forward with knees slightly bent. For example, while it is true that our breathing Next, draw one foot backwards, both feet fl at on the is restricted by the structure of our respiratory fl oor, and begin bending the knee of the leg in back. organs, exactly what we consider a "deep breath" is The front knee merely follows. Once both knees determined by each individual’s view of the body. have landed on the ground, the big toes are placed Similarly, while the act of eating cannot deviate from on top of one another. With successful execution of the structure of the human digestive system, it is our this process, the thighs will end up being completely idea of the body that dictates exactly what feeling parallel to the fl oor. If the thighs slope down towards we consider "satisfying", and when we feel we have the knees, it indicates that the person has not truly had enough. And whereas our physical balance is entered into a bone-centered state. In this manner, affected by the force of gravity on the structure of our Kata is not just about certain positions taken by the bodies, exactly what bodily sensation we choose to body. Rather, it is the entire process of movement call "stable" depends on each person’s concept of the required to achieve the inner perceptual experience of body. "receiving." Therefore, if a group of people possesses a distinct This method of entering into Kata while seeking

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 20 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

balance of the bones can be recognized in almost all case, the object is never constrained by the holder’ fi elds within Japanese culture. For example, there is s hand. At any given moment, the sword can be the Kata of Kyudo, the Japanese art of archery. In slid out from the Bushi’s hand. The same applies the standing position, the legs are spread wide apart to the hammer and needle. All are simply placed so that the knees are positioned directly below the inside the Kata of the hand; they are not held by grip. elbows when both arms are extended and spread Regardless of how light the tension, an object held by to the sides at the height of the shoulders; the feet use of tension cannot slide out of the hand unless that point maximally outward. This was the usual stance tension is released. Meanwhile, objects placed inside in Kyudo up until the end of the Edo Period, and the Kata of a hand, achieved through awareness of anybody taking this stance will know exactly how it the bones, can easily slide out of the hand even if feels to stand on one’s bones. This stance also makes the shape of the hand is unchanged. In this way, the it very diffi cult to tense the muscles in the arms. hand that does not constrain the object it holds is also Therefore, the bow cannot be pulled by muscular unconstrained by that object. tension in the arms; the archer must "receive" As an inner perceptual experience, heightening something into himself in order to pull the bow. awareness of the bones creates the sensation of Additionally, in Japanese archery, the target is aimed entering into the space between the fl esh. To use using not just one eye but both eyes. And it is not another phrase, it is the entrance into the Ma or crack only the eyes that aim. The archer sees his belly and between tension and release of the muscles. While tries to make its shape into a perfect circle. awareness centered on the bones is the normal state Similarly, the Kata for using the hishaku (ladle) of awareness in Kata, if the intensity of concentration in the Japanese tea ceremony, Sado, is quite diffi cult is to be further heightened, then the practitioner unless one’s awareness of the bones is heightened. must enter into the various Ma or borders within the The hishaku is used to scoop steaming water out of body. These are, for example, the perceptual borders the kettle, and is then turned upside down to pour between neighboring parts of the body, such as hip hot water into the tea bowl. But Sado rules state that and buttocks, or arm and torso; or the borders between when the water is poured into the bowl, the upper arm actual perceptual experiences, such as extension and must rotate in synchronicity with the ladle. When the compression, or expansion and contraction. Even average modern person tries to do this, what follows deeper awareness involves the focusing of one’ usually is that the arm only rotates from the elbow s awareness on a state in which one is neither self and below; the upper arm does not. This is an act nor other, where one is neither the initiator nor the that can only be accomplished by achieving keen reactor. Paradoxically, this state is, at the same time, awareness of the bones through sitting Seiza. a state in which one seems to be both self and other, Interestingly enough, a basic skill in Sumo initiator and reactor. wrestling is to grip one’s opponent by the belt and The pursuit for Kata, seen in every aspect of throw him by rotating the upper arm, just as the Japanese culture, stems from the fact that the tea maker does with the ladle. This skill, called ancients of Japan had discovered value in states of Kaina gaeshi (lit. turning the upper arm) can only "receptivity", where one’s volition was cancelled out. be executed by gripping the opponent’s belt with Once entrance into a "receptive" state is established powerful engagement of the little fi nger. Only by through Kata, the ability to respond to one’s own doing so does awareness of the bones heighten, and will becomes remarkably poor. Any movement without awareness of the bones, Kaina gaeshi cannot following one’s entrance into this state becomes be accomplished. entirely dependent, not on will or volition, but Whatever the fi eld, the numerous Kata in Japanese what one "invites" or "receives" into oneself. For culture all share a common structural principle, example, one can make movement occur through demonstrating the sharing of a common idea of the receiving of Strength into oneself. Based on the the body by the Japanese. All Kata are constructed Western view of the body, strength is produced by the without use of the fl esh. Therefore concepts of tensing of muscles, which is in turn initiated by one’ tension and relaxation are irrelevant. A Bushi s volition. On the other hand, the Japanese believed (warrior) holding a sword, a carpenter using a that Strength was something to be "received" into hammer, a dressmaker doing needlework – in each oneself, something that arrived from a place unknown

21 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

and therefore was entirely unrelated to any tension cease, the spirit moves freely." [Kanatani, (1971, produced by one’s own volition. Strength was p.93)]. The cook explains that when cutting meat, something that had to be perceived directly, without if he just focuses without trying to plan or guess relation to muscular contraction. The Japanese use the right course for his blade, the crevices within the expression Chikara ga waku (strength rises forth) the meat appear naturally, and the blade begins to to describe this direct perceiving of Strength, and the move by itself [Kanatani, (1971)]. This is the sort of volition-negating act of entering Kata is what induces experience shared by Japanese artists and craftsmen the rising forth of Strength from the unknown. pursuing mastery of their Waza or art. There are an endless number of tales, in which Thus, the artist’s capability was demonstrated masters from various fi elds of art accomplish primarily, by his "receptive" ability, or in other miraculous acts, which would be impossible through words, by the perfection of Kata. And secondarily, by the use of strength or force in its normal sense. It having the speed necessary to respond to the arriving is a matter of fact in the world of Budo that old sense of Strength. men of tiny build can throw huge opponents with Here, speed does not mean quickness in responding, amazing ease. And while the Western art of ballet is but rather that the artist’s action in response to the unmistakably an elegant and beautiful dance form, it arriving Strength is "just right". Matching Strength is unlikely that a ballet dancer would be performing could only be accomplished by acquiring the "right" after the age of forty. Traditional Japanese dancers, sense of Ki (timing), Do (degree), and Ma (interlude/ on the other hand, do not fade in strength or beauty space between). even at the age of ninety. This is only because the The mastery of Ki, or timing, involves being able dancer enters into a state of receptivity, in which to capture the beginning emergence of Strength. The Strength, rising forth apart from the dancer’s volition, word Sottaku no Ki describes the act of the mother is "invited" in order to induce movement. bird pecking her egg from the outside, at the exact What the Japanese artist in Kata, awaiting the moment in which the hatching chick tries to pierce arrival of Strength, seeks is the experience of Body the egg from within. This act, which is "matching" moving spontaneously, without any involvement at its best, is exactly the sense of speed sought by the of the artist’s volition. The needle worker says Japanese. They were convinced that the observing that the "needle moves". They do not say, "I move of external facts was never enough if one was to the needle". The calligrapher says that the "brush grasp "right" timing in such a manner. Only by runs", while the carpenter claims that the "plane seeing within themselves and seizing the beginning advances". These expressions, in which the person of Strength’s arrival was it possible. For according is never the subject, describe work done through a to the sensitivities of the Japanese, the mother bird kind of Strength that is not of volition or tension, is not objectively observing the egg, she is merely and furthermore, conveys that the work is done acquiescing to certain demands that emerged within spontaneously and in an improvisational manner her body. The Japanese believed in a sense of through the arrival of Strength into oneself. correspondence – an exchange of the abstract – This feeling of "receiving" or "inviting in" is that did not involve transmission and receiving of the basis of the Japanese’ sense of improvisation. physical information such as seen in the process Improvisation, for the Japanese, was not based on of stimulation and response. Furthermore, this free will, in contrast to the concept of improvisation correspondence was believed to occur only when one in modern arts such as free-style music. It meant entered into the noble state of "receptivity" called the spontaneous occurrence of inevitable actions Kata. that emerge in the here and now. For this reason, Thus, to respond was to "correspond". The improvisational acts are called "natural", when the Japanese love for Zen stems from the winning sense Japanese word for "natural" or "Nature", directly of speed found in Zen dialogues. It would not be an translated, is "happens by itself". Chuang-Tzu wrote overstatement to say that the arts of Renka and Haiku of a master cook cutting up an ox for the king of Wei. poetry were able to take root in the culture for the When the king asks him how his blade could stay same reason. We can also say, that it was this sense as good as new although he cut up oxen everyday, of "speed", in the broadest sense of the word, which the cook replies, "When sense and understanding attracted the Japanese mind to the concept of Ichigo

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 22 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Noguchi, H.

Ichie (one chance, one encounter). Such was the disintegration of the structural core of their own sense of speed pursued in traditional Japanese arts. culture. Mastering Do, or degree, means that after capturing "right" timing, one is able to execute a References movement to the degree that is exactly appropriate Bird, I. (2000). Nihon Okuchi Kiko (Unbeaten tracks in Japan). to the emerging sense of Strength. This has to be the Tokyo: Heibonsha. (in Japanese) Endo, M. (Ed.). (1967). Nihon Rekishi Series (vol. 10) Azuchi minimum required movement, unwavering, with no Momoyama (Japanese history series vol. 10: Azuchi, slack. The body’s Shin, or core, must move in order Momoyama). Tokyo: Sekaibunkasha. (in Japanese) to accomplish this. A movement of "right" degree, Endo, M. (Ed.). (1967). Nihon Rekishi Series (vol. 3) Heian-kyo no matter how miniscule, amplifi es the arriving sense (Japanese history series, vol. 3: Heiankyo). Tokyo: Sekaibunkasha. (in Japanese) of Strength so that it reverberates throughout one’s Endo, M. (Ed.). (1967). Nihon Rekishi Series (vol. 6) Kamakura entire body. And this is what enables the "invited" Bushi (Japanese history series, vol. 6: Kamakura Bushi). Strength to retain its force over the course of a certain Tokyo: Sekaibunkasha. (in Japanese) activity. Such movement does not exhaust Strength. Endo, M. (Ed.). (1967). Nihon Rekishi Series (vol. 8) Muromachi Bakufu (Japanese history series, vol. 8: Muromachi On the contrary, Strength is actually magnifi ed Shogunate). Tokyo: Sekaibunkasha. (in Japanese) through the acquiring of "right" degree, and this is Goto, K. & Matsumoto, I. (1989). Yomigaeru Bakumatsu: Leiden one of the main characteristics of the concept of Shasin Korekusohn yori (The last days of the Tokugawa movement in traditional Japanese culture. Shogunate, revived: from the Leiden University photography collection). (p.286). Asahi Shimbun. (in Japanese) The mastery of Ma implies impeccable use of Kanatani, O. (trans.). (1971). Chuang-Tzu. (pp. 92-95). Tokyo: the interludes between actions. This is based on Iwanami Shoten. (in Japanese) the belief that the pausing of one’s action, without Fujii, K. (1997). Kodai Nippon no Shiki Goyomi (The almanac of breaking Kata, could make way for the arrival of a ancient Japan). Tokyo: Chuo Koron. (in Japanese) Fukagawa, S. (1956). Kanyo Igaku Tousoushi:Seiji Toso new sense of Strength from within the resonating Hen (The history of battles between Chinese and Western lull. It is within this lull that one can experience the medicines: Political battles). Tokyo: Iseisha. (in Japanese) activities of the invisible or intangible. Ma is the Furuta, S. (1972). Zen-shu (the Zen sect). In Sekai Daihyakkajiten underlying rhythm that brings all skills of art to life. (World Encyclopedia). (Vol. 18, pp. 60-63). Tokyo: Heibonsha. (in Japanese) The blank space within ink paintings, the beauty of Horibe, Y. (2003). Nihonjin wa Sakura no kotowo Nanimo naturally occurring sounds in the tea ceremony, the Shiranai (The Japanese know nothing about Sakura). Tokyo: tokonoma, which represents the use of "no-use" – Gakushu Kenkyusha. (in Japanese) the overfl owing rhythm of Life in Japanese culture is Ishida, M. (1972). Buddhism: Japan. In Sekai Daihyakkajiten (World Encyclopedia). (Vol. 26, pp. 474-478). Tokyo: hidden within the Ma of activity. Heibonsha. (in Japanese) This philosophy of Kata was a system of Ishiguro, T. (1983). Kaikyu 90 nen (Reminiscing the past 90 techniques for using the body that comprehensively years). Kaikyu 90nen, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. (in Japanese) involved the Japanese view of the body, their Kageyama, H. (1972). Shinto. In Sekai Daihyakkajiten (World Encyclopedia). (Vol. 16, pp. 216-220). Tokyo: Heibonsha. (in perceptual inclinations, and the distinct ways Japanese) in which they used their bodies. This system, Katsumata, T. (1972). Mikkyo. In Sekai Daihyakkajiten (World established most likely during the Kamakura and Encyclopedia). (Vol. 29, pp. 393-394). Tokyo: Heibonsha. (in Muromachi Periods, became the foundation for Japanese) Kobayashi, T. (2002). Kyureki wa Kurashino Rashinban (The old Japanese culture. It cultivated the grounds for the calendar as a compass for daily life). Tokyo: NHK Publishing. blooming of Waza or skills in all fi elds, and was (in Japanese) the driving force for the assimilation of Chinese Koizumi, F. (1983). Kokyusuru Minzoku Ongaku (Breathing folk civilization into the land of Japan. This system of music). Tokyo: Seidosha. (in Japanese) Kubo, N. (1972). Dokyo. In Sekai Daihyakkajiten (World bodily skills, which existed beneath and throughout Encyclopedia). (Vol. 22, pp. 134-136). Tokyo: Heibonsha. (in all aspects of Japan’s culture, differed entirely from Japanese) the Western idea of the body that was disseminated Maspero, H. (1983). Dokyo no Yosei jutsu (Taoist training by the government and blindly accepted by the methods). Serika Shobo. (in Japanese) Machida, E. (1985). Ishizaka-ryu Shinjutsu no Sekai Harikara general population after the Meiji Restoration. Over mita Gendaijin no Seimei (The world of Ishizaka School the course of one hundred and forty years since of Acupuncture: Modern man’s life seen through a needle). the Restoration, the Japanese people had, in this Tokyo: Sanichi Shobo. (in Japanese) manner, and by their own hands, paved way for the Matsumoto A. (1999). Kyoto - Hanano Michi o Aruku (Walking

23 International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm Japanese Culture and the Body

the fl owery paths of Kyoto). Tokyo: Shueisha. (in Japanese) Name: Matsumura K. (2002). Kyureki to Kurasu (Living with the old Hiroyuki Noguchi calendar). Tokyo: Bijinesu-sha. (in Japanese) Matsuura, S. (2002). Miyadaiku Sennen no Chie (Thousand year Affi liation: old wisdom of temple carpenters). Tokyo: Shoudensha. (in Director, Shintai Kyoiku Kenkyusho, Japanese) Seitai Kyokai Mechnikov, L. (1987). Kaiso no Meiji Ishin (Memoires of the Meiji Restoration). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. (in Japanese) Nagasaki, M. (2001). Nihon no Dentoushoku - Sono Shikimei to Shikichou (Traditional colors of Japan: their names and tones). Tokyo: Seigensha. (in Japanese) Address: Nakamura, S. (1983). Nihon no Dokyo (Taoism in Japan). In Seitai Kyokai, 2-9-15 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-0094 Dokyo (Vol. 3, pp. 5-45). Hirakawa Shuppan. (in Japanese) Japan Nakamura, T. (2000). "Shisen" kara mita Nihon Kindai – Meijiki Brief Biographical History: Zuga Kyoiku Kenkyu (Modern Japan seen through the artists’ 1972- Chief Lecturer, Seitai Kyokai "eyes": A study of visual arts education in the Meiji Period). 1990- Direcotr, Shintai Kyoiku Kenkyusho, Seitai Kyokai Kyoto: Kyoto University Press. (in Japanese) Main Works: Nakanishi S. (1978). Kyo no Seishin-shi (The Spiritual History of • "Doho to Naikanteki Shintai" Taiiku no Kagaku vol.43 (1993) Kyo). Tokyo: Kodansha. (in Japanese) • "Nihon Bunka to Shintai" Taiiku Genri Kenkyu vol.31 (2001) Nishioka, T. (1991). Kini manabe (Learn from wood). Tokyo: Membership in learned Societies: Shougakukan. (in Japanese) • Japan Society of Physical Education, Health and Sports Science Nishioka, T. (1993). Ki no Inochi, Ki no Kokoro: Ten (Wood life, wood mind: Heaven). Tokyo: Soshisha. (in Japanese) Nogami, T. & Nishio, M. (Revised). (1958). Ze-ami’s Fushi Kaden. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. (in Japanese) Noguchi H. (2001). Nihon Bunka to Shintai (Japanese culture and the body). Taiiku Genri Kenkyu (Vol. 31, pp. 92-95). (in Japanese) Noguchi, H. (1993). Doho to Naikanteki Shintai (Doho and the inner perceptual body). Taiiku no Kagaku (Vol. 43, pp. 530-534). (in Japanese) Norman, E.H. (1993). Nihon ni okeru Kindaikokka no Seiritsu (The formation of the modern state in Japan). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. (in Japanese) Ogawa, M. (1993). Ki no Inochi, Ki no Kokoro: Chi (Wood life, wood mind: Earth). Tzkyo: Soshisha. (in Japanese) Oishi, S. (1977). Edo Jidai (The Edo period). Tokyo: Chuo Koron. (in Japanese) Okakura, T. (1963) Chano Hon (The book of tea). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. (in Japanese) Sekiguchi, S. (1967). Daruma no Kenkyu (Studies on the Bodhidharma). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. (in Japanese) Shinkawa, T. (1985). "Ikitarumono" no Shiso (Philosophy of the "living"). Tokyo: Perikansha Publishing. (in Japanese) S.B.B. Inc. (2001). Shokunin – Tsutaetai Nihon no Tamashi (Artisan – the spirit of Japan we want to transmit). Tokyo: Sankosha. (in Japanese) Shiono, Y. (1994). Ki no Inochi, Ki no Kokoro: Jin (Wood life, wood mind: Man). Tokyo: Soshisha. (in Japanese) Wakamori, T. (1972). Shugendo. In Sekai Daihyakkajiten (World Encyclopedia). (Vol. 14, pp. 384-385). Tokyo: Heibonsha. (in Japanese) Yano, K. (1993). Oise Mairi (Visiting the Ise Shrine). Tokyo: Shinchosha. (in Japanese)

International Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol.2, 8-24, 2004 24 http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jspe3/index.htm