Moral Instruction in Budō: A Study of Chiba Chōsaku with a Translation of his Major Work Samuel Shooklyn Faculty of Arts Department of East Asian Studies McGill University, Montreal 2009 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of requirement of degree of Master of Arts. Copyright © Samuel Shooklyn 2009 Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66363-9 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66363-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Table of Contents Abstract iii Résumé iv Acknowledgements v 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Why study Budō Kyōkun? 1 1.2. The Author 3 1.2.1. Early life 3 1.2.2. Budō pilgrimage 5 1.2.3. Going to the capital 8 1.2.4. Life as a martial arts instructor 10 1.3. Chiba Chōsaku’s writings 17 1.3.1. Japanese Budō Manual 17 1.3.2. Moral Instruction in Budō 19 1.3.3. Later works 26 1.4. On the transcription and translation of Moral Instruction in Budō 27 1.4.1. Transcription 27 1.4.2. Notes on translation 28 2. Translation: Moral Instruction in Budō 29 Appendix 1: Transliteration of the original text 91 Bibliography 120 ii Abstract This thesis provides a translation and transliteration of a late Meiji period martial arts text, Moral Instruction in Budō (1912), together with a study of its author, Chiba Chōsaku (1861-1935). The aim is to contextualize Chiba’s thinking in the framework of historical events and ideological currents of his time, in order to facilitate better understanding of his contribution. Chiba argued that martial arts practice (budō) is the way to maintain and transmit martial religious ethics (bushidō) in the modern condition of Westernized Japan. The importance of Chiba’s study lies in his claim that bushidō is not a legacy of the medieval samurai class, but a due faith based on loyalty to the Emperor and patriotism toward the Japanese nation, which provides the foundation for budō practice. Chiba submits that the implementation of budō instruction at the level of national education would prevent the slackening of morals and contribute to strengthening of the Japanese national character and military institution. Chiba’s career and writings demonstrate that the militarist slant in the budō ideology of Japan did not occur in the 1930s, as is generally accepted, but began at least two decades earlier. As the earliest example of a narrative that blends budō and bushidō ideologies, Moral Instruction in Budō remains a crucial text for understanding the historical impact of martial arts in Japan. iii Résumé Cette thèse offre une traduction et une translittération d’un texte datant de la fin de l’ère Meiji sur les arts martiaux, Moral Instruction in Budō (1912), ainsi qu’une étude sur l’auteur, Chiba Chōsaku (1861-1935). L’objectif visé consiste à conceptualiser la pensée de Chiba dans la perspective des événements historiques et des courants idéologiques de son époque, en vue de faciliter une meilleure compréhension de sa véritable contribution. Chiba défendait l’idée que la pratique des arts martiaux (budō) soit la manière de maintenir et de transmettre l’éthique religieuse martiale (bushidō) dans la condition moderne du Japon occidentalisé. L’œuvre de Chiba prend toute son importance lorsqu’il affirme que le bushidō ne découle pas d’un héritage issu de la classe des samouraïs médiévaux, mais plutôt d’une foi récompense basée sur la loyauté en l’Empereur et sur le patriotisme envers la nation japonaise, laquelle fournit les fondements de la pratique du budō. Chiba soumet l’idée que la mise en application de l’enseignement du budō au niveau de l’éducation nationale préviendrait contre le relâchement de la morale et contribuerait au renforcement du caractère national japonais et de l’institution militaire. La carrière et les écrits de Chiba démontrent que la tendance militariste de l’idéologie budō n’a pas fait son apparition dans les années 1930, comme il est généralement accepté, mais qu’elle a débuté au moins deux décennies plus tôt. Comme il s’agit du tout premier exemple d’une narration fusionnant les idéologies budō et bushidō, Moral Instruction in Budō ne laisse pas d’être un texte crucial dans la compréhension de l’impact historique des arts martiaux au Japon. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family for their support and encouragement. Thanks to Ms. Mina Hattori from the Department of Asian Studies at UBC for proofreading the Japanese transcription. Thanks to Ms. Takako Hoshina from Minobu Municipal Library for her invaluable help in locating the biographical data on Chiba Chōsaku. Thanks to fellow students at McGill for their helpful feedback. Thanks to Dr. Lamarre for giving me the sense of direction. Without his help this project would not be possible. v 1. Introduction 1.1. Why study Budō Kyōkun? One the most influential contemporary budō researchers of Japan, Watanabe Ichirō selected Moral Instruction in Budō for inclusion in his anthology of the Meiji period martial arts texts,1 which gives a sense of how important this text is for understanding the history of martial arts in Japan. We need to begin with some terminological distinctions. We need to keep in mind, for instance, the fundamental distinction between budō and bushidō in the modern sense of both terms. Before the Meiji period, both words comprised a wide variety of notions common to the warrior class, ranging from “vendetta” to warrior- like “comportment.” From the Meiji period, proponents of martial arts began to use the term “budō” to refer to Japanese martial arts collectively in order to underscore their presumed ethical values, as well as those pertaining to physical culture. In contrast, “bushidō” gradually came to denote an “unwritten warrior code” as well as a “samurai spirit” peculiar to Japanese spiritual culture.2 The result was a sharp divide between budō and bushidō, to the point that budō proponents and bushidō idealists did not usually talk to each other. Moral Instruction in Budō is significant and unusual as the only budō text of the Meiji period that makes bushidō its main subject. Other budō texts would at best mention the word “bushidō” in passing.3 This is not to say that it was an unfamiliar term to most martial artists of the period, yet their writings suggest that they were primarily concerned with production of manuals for their respective styles and less with the ideology 1 Ichirō Watanabe 渡辺一郎, ed., Shiryō Meiji Budō Shi 史料明治武道史 (Tokyo: Shinjinbutsu Ōraisha 新人 物往来社, 1971), 701-19. 2 Shun Inoue 井上俊, Budō no Tanjō 武道の誕生, Rekishi Bunka Raiburarī 歴史文化ライブラリー (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan 吉川弘文館, 2004), 2-3. 3 I have read through Watanabe’s anthology as well as located and perused most of the works that were listed in the bibliography of complete works of Meiji-Taisho period budō-bushidō publications (journals, magazines, and newspapers are not included) in Watanabe, ed., Shiryō Meiji Budō Shi 史料明治武道史, 883-90. 1 behind it. The situation with works on bushidō is slightly more complicated: some make no coherent reference to martial arts, others critique martial arts practice as retrograde practices, and yet others present them in a favorable light, but not a single book tries to address both budō and bushidō on equal terms. Chiba Chōsaku’s work stands out for grappling with both and for striving to integrate them in a coherent way (whether this is justified or not is another issue). Contemporary budō historians usually point to the 1930’s as the period when budō becomes a tool of militarist propaganda, while preceding periods are considered to be the time when budō proponents experimented more with the possibilities of either integrating or opposing Western physical culture and education philosophy.4 Chiba Chōsaku’s work and propagandist activities also disrupt this narrative. He situates “the true bushidō” ideology inside the emperor system and advocates the practice of martial arts as an essential component in making this ideology work for the nation, by targeting education of youths with an eye to strengthening their martial spirit, which would in turn produce better soldiers.