virginia tech kendo
kendo philosophy
As put forward by the All Japan Kendo Federation:The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the Katana.
The purpose of practicing Kendo is:
To mold the mind and body,
To cultivate a vigorous spirit,
And through correct and rigid training,
To strive for Improvement in the art of Kendo;
To hold in esteem human courtesy and honor,
To associate with others with sincerity,
And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself.
Thus will one be able to love his country and society,
To contribue to the development of culture,
And to promote peace and prosperity among all people.
the five reflections
- Hitotsu, shisei ni motoru, nakarishika (Have I compromised my sincerity?)
- Hitotsu, genkou ni hazuru, nakarishika (Have I spoken or acted shamefully?)
- Hitotsu, kiryoku ni kakuru, nakarishika (Have I been lacking in spiritual vigor?)
- Hitotsu, doryoku ni urami, nakarishika (Must I regret the level of my effort?)
- Hitotsu, bushou ni wataru, nakarishika (Have I lapsed into laziness?)
origin
The five reflections, or “Gosei” in Japanese, were given to the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy at Etajima in 1932 by Rear Admiral Matsushita, then superintendent of the school. The five reflections are often borrowed by organizations that teach and practice Budo because of their applicability to the practice of martial arts and to spiritual and physical refinement endeavor.explanation
Each of the reflections begins with the word “One.” In Japanese, mottos and proclamations follow this form, rather than listing elements “one, two, three,…” The significance of this point is to understand that all of these precepts are equally important. None are subordinated to another. Each reflection ends with the expression, “nakarishika,” a classical Japanese expression meaning “have I not?,” which is close in flavor to the English, “hast thou not?”
Shisei ni motoru - Compromised sincerityHave there been times when I thought, “I must do such and such,” but allowed the feeling of responsibility pass without following through?
Genkou ni hazuru - Shame of words & actionsAm I guilty of making statements that are inconsistent with my actions? Do I practice what I preach? Have I reneged on verbal commitments?
Kiryoku ni kakuru – Lacking Spiritual VigorHas my spiritual strength been adequate? Have I treated any of my endeavors as being of less than primary importance?
Doryoku ni urami – Regret effort levelHave I tried hard enough? Are there cases in which I have decided ahead of time that I cannot be successful, and hence not applied myself and given up?
Bushou ni wataru – Lapse into lazinessHave I given 100% effort until the very end in all my endeavors? Have I decided “what I have done so far is good enough,” and left important things un-addressed?
what are the meanings of the five pleats on the hakama?
The hakama used in Kendo and Iaido have 5 pleats in the front and 1 behind, which seems to be fairly standard for hakama.
I would not be surprised if different schools had different teachings , but I have been taught the following (from the Kendo Equipment Manual: Ishiwata and Bond 1994):
Wearing a "hakama" with a stiff back plate straightens your spine, while keeping the collar of your jacket on the back of your neck, pulls your chin in and gives you perfect posture. A "hakama" has five pleats in the front and one at the back. The five pleats represent the five Confucian relationships of righteousness between ruler and minister; affection between father and son; attention to their separate functions between husband and wife; order between elder and younger brothers and faithfulness between friends; as well as the five Confucian virtues of humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness. The single pleat reminds us that just as loyalty and filial piety are one and the same we should follow the true path without double dealing. The "hakama" is designed so that we should think of these things whenever we put it on.
how are the 5 kamae (postures) named?
There are two major namings of the kamae, from two different traditional philosophical backgrounds, plus innumerable minor ones. The literal naming is upper, middle, lower, all-round (8 sides) and side (between arm and body).
Heaven-People-Earth
The first major philosophical split is into Heaven, People, Earth, Shadow and Light (Yin and Yang). This is from the teachings of the Yagyu-ryu (from the Yagyu region near Nara).
| Kamae | Gloss | Name | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joudan | Upper | Ten | Heaven |
| Chudan | Middle | Min | People |
| Gedan | Lower | Chi | Earth |
| Waki | Side | In | Shadow |
| Hasso | All-round | You | Light |
The main three are called tai "substance", while the In-You pair are called you "usage".
The heaven-people-earth split is common in all kinds of traditions, including flower-arrangement. In-You is also translated as ying-yang, the positive-negative pair of taoist philosophy.
Gogyou (five columns)
The other is from Chinese taoist philosophy in which the world is divided into five elements. This mapping of kamae to element comes from the Shinkage-ryu "divine-shadow-style" (not to be confused with the Shinkage-ryu "new-shadow-style": same pronunciation --- different characters!).
| Element | Kamae | Season | Virtue** | Color | Taste | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | Hassou | Spring | Humanity | Blue | Acid | East |
| Fire | Joudan | Summer | Propriety | Red | Bitter | South |
| Earth | Gedan | Doyou* | Faithfulness | Yellow | Sweet | Center |
| Metal | Waki | Autumn | Righteousness | White | Hot | West |
| Water | Chudan | Winter | Wisdom | Black | Salt | North |
* Traditionally Chinese and Japanese divided the year into five seasons, Doyou is a hot season around midsummer.
** The five Confucian virtues!
There are other things classified according to the elements, the above is just a representative list. There is a nice page about these in Japanese at www.people.or.jp/~seimei/gogyo.html.
The teaching says that each kamae is particularly effective against one other, as follows:
- Waki-gamae (metal) is effective against Hassou (wood) as an axe cuts down a tree. Also: in waki-gamae you hide your sword behind your body, just as you hide money (metal) in your pocket (or the sleeve of your kimono).
- Hassou (wood) is effective against Gedan (earth), as a tree grows from earth. Also: Hasso looks like a tree, as the sword points almost straight up.
- Gedan (earth) is effective against Chudan (water) as earth dams water. Also: Gedan is basically a defensive kamae, where you hit on the riposte (ni-no-tachi), so can be thought of as an earthen wall.
- Chudan (water) is effective against Joudan (fire). Also: Chudan can change to fit any situation, like water.
- Joudan (fire) is effective against Hassou (wood) as fire burns wood. Also: Joudan is an aggressive kamae, like fire.
Miyamoto Musashi said (in the book of five rings) that chuudan is the king of kamae, and the other four are like its ministers. It is generally a good idea to stick with chuudan, as it really is the most flexible of all the postures.
Another view on the relations
The elements have two cycles, a constructive one and a destructive one. The constructive cycle: fire burns wood to produce ash (earth), earth creates ores (metal), water condenses on the surface of metals, water nourishes growing wood, and wood fuels the fire. The negative cycle: fire melts metal, metal chops wood, wood decays to earth, earth muddies water, and water quenches fire. (I thought this idea of two rock-paper-scissors types of sequences from the same elements was one of those very cool zen things.) (From The Straight Dope: What's the story with feng shui?)
