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Dale
7th July 2000, 05:34
In another thread the question was asked of another member "What's your religious background" which got me thinking.

If any of you would care to share either the religious background of your Ryu, or of yourself, I would be most interested and appreciative.

I will not share mine at the moment as I don't know if this is correct etiquette for this forum. Please enlighten me and I will be most co-operative.



Yours in Budo
Dale Elsdon

CKohalyk
7th July 2000, 06:55
Good day,

Yeah sorry about that. I hope it wasn't too out of line for me to ask that. The reason I did was because in an earlier post the person in question stated:

"Also, I incorporate an "extra" bow simply because my shrine is attached to the west wall..."

It made me think of some budo practitioners (actually ONE budo practitioner) that is not only a budoka, but also a Shinto priest! I was just wondering if maybe there are more people like that out there...anyone?..

Now to get back to Mr.Elsdon's original question; What does everybody think? Is this the proper forum? Mr.Lindsey?

Regards,

CKohalyk

JosephBlow
7th July 2000, 07:08
Hi Dale,

Being the Grand Arbiter of Etiquette, I thought I'd step in and offer the guidance you seek about the appropriateness of religious discussion on e-budo. In two words: "It depends."

Like with any other topic, people initiating threads should ask what purpose is there to the discussion that will follow? If in your case it's "I'm selling and you must buy," I expect you'll get the same kind of reception you would if you did it over the phone in the middle of the night.

That being said, I think there are some fascinating discussions to be had on the topic of religion and budo. If your question is on-topic, then let's get busy. If it isn't, then let's all spare each other the flames.

Regards,

Rich B

ghp
7th July 2000, 07:14
CKohalyk,

I'm not a Shinto priest. I have a "passing" acquaintance with Shintoism from my stay in Japan, as well as a healthy respect for the tradition and culture of a Japanese budo. Also, I am aquainted with friends who are members of Seicho-no-Ie, a Neo-Shinto religion similar to that of Omoto Kyo.

Regards,
Guy

CKohalyk
7th July 2000, 07:35
Mr.Power,

Thanks for the reply! BTW, can you elighten me as to the "Seicho-no-Ie"? Are they related to the Omoto, or just similar?

BTW everybody, should we move this to another forum?

Thanks for any info in advance,

CKohalyk

MarkF
7th July 2000, 10:51
Hi Guys,
There have been several "long winded" threads concerning religion and martial arts, but before BC (before hard-drive crash of 2000cme). They did, actually become the focus of this board and made for some friendly, but differing opinions and intelligent conversation. However, possibly the forum "Budo No Kokoro" or the Shinto/buddhism threads would be better for this area of thought. Also, the Member's Lounge has been the launching pad for this, as I think it really isn't a good subject for koryu history, although that is a reality. Consider the lounge first.

This is just my opinion about where a thread like this should be posted.

George Ledyard
7th July 2000, 11:10
Originally posted by MarkF
Hi Guys,
There have been several "long winded" threads concerning religion and martial arts, but before BC (before hard-drive crash of 2000cme). They did, actually become the focus of this board and made for some friendly, but differing opinions and intelligent conversation. However, possibly the forum "Budo No Kokoro" or the Shinto/buddhism threads would be better for this area of thought. Also, the Member's Lounge has been the launching pad for this, as I think it really isn't a good subject for koryu history, although that is a reality. Consider the lounge first.

This is just my opinion about where a thread like this should be posted.
If this is Budo: History and Tradition than the question:

"If any of you would care to share either the religious background of your Ryu, or of yourself, I would be most interested and appreciative."

properly belongs here. That is certainly an important aspect of "tradition". If it is to be a general discussion of religious traditions it probably belongs elsewhere.

[Edited by George Ledyard on 07-07-2000 at 05:12 AM]

ghp
7th July 2000, 18:54
CK,

Seicho-no-Ie is an off-shoot of Omoto Kyo and tries to consolodate the "best" philosophies of other religions -- it mentions Christ, Buddha, and (of course) Shinto. The prayers are offered to Amaterasu Omikami, the senior deity of the Shinto kami.

The SNI founder, Taniguchi Masaharu, was a former member of Omoto Kyo; and, he was a friend of both Deiguchi Onisaburo and Uyeshiba Morihei.

Regards,
Guy

Dale
8th July 2000, 12:03
Sorry people for being ambiguous, I'm new to the forum and wasn't sure of the etiquette reguarding these types of questions. Having that said I now re-word my question
to

Is there anyone out there willing to share with me the religious traditions or origins of their Ryu. Also I am interested to know if anyone shares the same religious ideals as their Ryu ancestors.


Thanks for your input

Yours in Budo
Dale Elsdon

Mollberg
13th July 2000, 01:02
its all about that karate for christ!!!

Dale
13th July 2000, 13:13
Mr Mollberg I'm not I understand what you are trying to say are you of the Christian faith. I have heard of some Christian Samurai but can't recall any names at the moment.
This may be a silly question but does your style have christian roots or were your instructors of this faith?


Yours in Budo
Dale Elsdon

Joseph Svinth
13th July 2000, 17:36
In all seriousness, the interests of my teachers and their teachers always had more to do with the interests of the Roman soldiers who in medieval times were said to be dicing for garments at the foot of the Cross than anyone on the Cross itself.

And again in all seriousness, "God rides a Harley" was as close to piety as several of them came. Yes, teachers and students alike bowed with respect to traditions, to instructors, and one another, but that was all.

In those classes, standards of behavior were working-class Christian simply because that was how these people's mothers had tried to raise them. Had we been in Iran instead of Seattle, doubtless the standards would have been working-class Shi'a instead. Either way, it still would have mattered more that a technique hit than which deity or apostle's name was taken in vain every time it missed.

***

Now, for a minor digression into Christian samurai. Sotokichi Uriu, a samurai’s son, was a midshipman at the US Naval Academy who started boxing at the Annapolis YMCA in 1881. (Until 1906 foreign students could attend the US Naval Academy.) Uriu evidently learned his lessons well, for many years later, while assigned as an instructor at Japan’s Eta Jima Naval Academy, he, in the words of US Naval Academy historian Jack Sweetman, "literally silenced another officer’s criticism of his [Christian] religion by a knock-out punch on the chin." During the Russo-Japanese War Uriu commanded a cruiser squadron and in 1912 he was promoted to full admiral. He died November 11, 1937, aged eighty.

His wife, by the way, was one of the first Japanese women to graduate from Vassar.