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cybermaai
26th March 2004, 00:07
Were the martial arts the first to use the suffix "-do"? If so, when did other traditional arts (sado, chado, etc.) begin to use it?

Thanks,

don
26th March 2004, 01:20
Originally posted by cybermaai
Were the martial arts the first to use the suffix "-do"? If so, when did other traditional arts (sado, chado, etc.) begin to use it?

Thanks,

Don't take my word on this but I think the MICHI took on a head of steam after Kukai (?), founder of Shingon Buddhism (?--sorry, reaching here) stated that enlightenment could be reached by total mastery of one way (don't have the reference with me, but do a search of Iaido-L for "Karl Friday" and Kukai (I'm recalling from that post. I just tried, though, and it wouldn't let me on; they may have changed their requirements). I believe the first ones were CHA, NOH, HANA, etc. (I believe there's an article touching on this in the 2nd or 3rd volume of The Cambridge History of Japan. The first BUDO, was probably KYUDO (fuzzy here again; cf. Cameron Hurst's book, The Armed Martial Arts of Japan).

Hope this helps, but don't quote me.

(..."embiggens"?!)

Joseph Svinth
26th March 2004, 04:34
My guess is that you have this backwards. Cultural arts were michi for a long time, but martial arts were considered military or theatrical/sporting (e.g., civilian) arts until the Ministry of Education got in the act, post-1890.

Thus, it wasn't until 1909 that Japanese physical educators began calling shinai fencing "kendo," meaning "the Way of the Sword." Pioneers in this process included Takano Sasaburo of the Ona-ha Itto-ryu, who taught at the Tokyo Teacher’s College where Kano Jigoro was president, and Ozawa Torakichi of the Hokushin Itto-ryu. Although the Ministry of Education preferred the name "shinai kyogi" ("bamboo stick competition"), the name "gekken" remained in use in Japan until 1928, when the newspaper magnate Noma Seija created the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei ("All Japan Kendo Federation").

In 1911, under pressure from the Diet, the Ministry of Education decided to require Japanese schoolboys to learn jujutsu and shinai kyogi, as judo and kendo were still known in those days. The idea, said the Ministry in its reports, was to ensure that "students above middle school should be trained to be a soldier with patriotic conformity, martial spirit, obedience, and toughness of mind and body." An official curriculum was published in 1917.

Cady Goldfield
2nd April 2004, 16:41
I recall reading that "do" was introduced during the Edo period, when urbanized samurai were practicing mental disciplines in place of battlefield jutsu. But wasn't it more broadly disseminated during the Meiji period, when militarism was being diffused into cultural arts?

Also, were Zen priests using the term at an earlier time than that?

Cady Goldfield
2nd April 2004, 17:31
Don, I just did a little research. I think you're right that Shingon-shu Buddhism did make reference to "Way" at a fairly early date. I'm digging for more and will post any findings.

don
2nd April 2004, 21:40
Originally posted by Cady Goldfield
Don, I just did a little research. I think you're right that Shingon-shu Buddhism did make reference to "Way" at a fairly early date. I'm digging for more and will post any findings.

I think Joseph, a man after my own heart, is refering to the political "assigning" of "DO" concommitant with the 20-30's militarists co-opting of the Butokukai. This "DO" is not that of "the Way" we're all familiar with, but a shorthand reference to "Bushido" which, at that time, meant unswerving suicidal fanaticism for the emperor. For details, see Bodiford's excellent article "Religion and Spiritualilty: Japan" in Green's 2001 Martial Arts of the World, an Encyclopedia.

Cady Goldfield
2nd April 2004, 21:55
Hm. Interesting. I've chatted with a Buddhist-history buff who mentioned Shingon-shu and Jodo-shu as sects that have mentioned "Way," but in a completely different "way." I'm going back to the books!

don
2nd April 2004, 22:26
Originally posted by Cady Goldfield
Hm. Interesting. I've chatted with a Buddhist-history buff who mentioned Shingon-shu and Jodo-shu as sects that have mentioned "Way," but in a completely different "way." I'm going back to the books!

I've looked up Friday's comments. It wasn't Kukai, it was Saicho. See--

http://listserv.uoguelph.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9905&L=iaido-l&T=0&F=&S=&P=25413

stuart richings
7th April 2004, 14:23
It's not high brow, i've found 'enlightenment' stuff people. 'Do' means the same simple thing whether it appears on the belt you wear to train or on a mountain pathway sign. how about concentrating your mental efforts into your training?

Neil Hawkins
9th April 2004, 09:49
Stuart,

As you have probably lurked for awhile before joining up, you should realise that by the time you get to this section of the board you are in an area populated by scholars, academics and people with a genuine interest in the historical and philosophical side of the martial arts.

Many of us have years of physical study (20 or more in most cases) and now choose to sit back, let the younger ones wrestle, and contemplate the deeper meanings of the arts. People come here to learn and exchange ideas, some maybe undergoing a specific course of study, others may just have an interest.

The fact that the forum is called "Japanese Culture/History and Tradition", should give you a clue as to what we talk about. If you believe that this reduces our practical or technical ability, well you're entitled to your opinion. I'm surprised that you have cut into your own training time by reading this far into the forums.

As to the question at hand, I was under the impression that many schools of the sword used the term 'kendo' and 'kenjutsu' almost interchangeably throughout their histories. DO was simply a 'way' of doing something, and like 'michi' (utilising the activity as a 'path' toward enlightenment) was a common suffix in buddhist and shinto thought.

Regards

Neil

Joseph Svinth
11th April 2004, 21:01
I inadvertently posted this in the wrong thread. No problem -- I'll just duplicate the post!

Lots of folks used the suffixes -do and -jutsu in Tokugawa times. However, in the Meiji era, the Michi was first spotted by Japanese Christians. Thus, according to Prof. Bodiford's essay in "Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia," the first use of Bushido in a title of a book was "Christianity and Bushido," 1894, by Uemura Maashisa. Uemura's thesis was that Japanese should rely on Christianity just as Bushi of earlier times had relied on Confucianism. This thesis was of course more famously echoed in Nitobe's "Bushido," 1900. (Nitobe was a Quaker.) This latter book was written in English, and not translated into Japanese until 1909.

In 1906, the Butokukai (est. 1895; its legendary history is so much horse-pucky) defined Bushido as the Japanese spirit (yamato damashii), and defined it as service to the emperor, strict obedience to authority, and a willingness to sacrifice one's own life. Before that? None of the above.

Prof. Bodiford continues: "The suffix do of 'bushido' soon acquired specific connotations of duty to the emperor (i.e., imperial way, kodo), an ideal that grew stronger as Japanese society became ever more militaristic. Because martial arts constituted the prime method for instilling this ideology, they too became ever more frequently called 'something-do.' In 1914 the superintendent general of police, Nishikubo Hiromichi, published a series of articles in which he argued that Japanese martial arts must be called budo (martial ways) instead of the more common term bujutsu (martial techniques) to clearly show that they teach service to the emperor, not technical skills. In 1919 Nishikubo became head of the martial art academy (senmon gakko) affiliated with the Dainippon Butokukai and changed its name from "Bujutsu Academy" to "Budo Academy." Thereafter, Butokukai publications replaced the terms bujutsu (martial arts), gekken or kenjutsu (swordsmanship), jujutsu (unarmed combat), and kyujutsu (archery) with budo, kendo, judo, and kyudo respectively. This deliberate change in names signaled that ideological indoctrination had become the central focus of those classes. Similar 'do' nomenclature eventually was applied to all athletic activities regardless of national origin, so that Western-style horsemanship became kido or bado, bayonet techniques became jukendo, and gunnery became shagekido. By the late 1930s, recreational sports had become supootsu-do, the highest expression of which was one's ability to sacrifice oneself (sutemi) and 'die crazy" (shikyo) for the emperor."

Volume 2, pp. 480-481.

nicojo
11th April 2004, 23:28
Very interesting, and if I had the money I would track down the encyclopedia, Mr. Svinth, as you have referred to it in a number of posts about topics I like.

But I always thought "kodo" was the "way of incense" or is that just so much silliness and marketing? (I have bought some of the stuff (www.nipponkodo.com), but hold no ceremonies honoring anything or anyone) Is there something else I should know about kodo the incense and kodo the emperor-revering? Maybe a penny goes to the butokukai or something. (You know when you buy satya srinivas nag champa it supports Sai Baba...)

Seems like this is the key point of Prof. Bodiford's entry, and something I hardly knew before, well, joining e-budo and reading the suggestions posted around here:
This deliberate change in names signaled that ideological indoctrination had become the central focus of those classes.


edited to say: well the incense is "koh" I guess, a diff. kanji, but still, you see how I was confused...

Joseph Svinth
13th April 2004, 02:27
The cheapest way to get a copy of that encyclopedia is to talk your library into buying a set for its reference collection.

Professor Bodiford includes the kanji for all his Japanese terms, but because I don't read Japanese, it's just squiggles to me.

Joseph Svinth
13th April 2004, 02:35
BTW, for kodo, the Imperial Way? See http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/timeline/410108awp.html

QUOTE

The battlefield is where the Imperial Army, acting under the Imperial command, displays its true character, conquering wherever it attacks, winning whenever it engages in combat, in order to spread Kodo [Literally "The Imperial Way," whereby the Japanese people, achieving a unity of mind, with Emperor as Master and serving Him with loyalty and devotion, endeavor to establish a highly moral nation through whose moral influence they hope to contribute to the peace and welfare of the world] far and wide so that the enemy may look up in awe to the august virtues of His Majesty. Those who march to the battlefield, therefore, should exalt throughout the world the glories of the Empire by fully realizing what the country stands for and firmly upholding the moral tenets of the Imperial Army.

END QUOTE

That particular document is dated January 8, 1941

The other kodo is described here:

http://www.michionline.org/resources/Glossary/K/kodo.html

Brought into Japan in the sixth century by Buddhist monks, who used the mysterious aromas in their purification rites, the fine fragrance of ko (Japanese high quality incense) became a source of entertainment for aristocrats in the Imperial Court during the Heian Era 200 years later. What the Japanese call kodo, or “the way of incense,” has long been a wellspring of spiritual sustenance in Japanese culture.