Validity of sources

[glad2bhere]

Thanks, Joe--- This is exactly where UI am at right now!

BTW: Have you ever heard of the Sinhung Military Academy?

Most people know about the Toyama Military School in Japan. The academy I ran across was apparently run by the Japanese in Manchuria in order to develop an officer corp of Korean candidates for service in the Japanese army.

Often, there are vague comments made about this or that well-known individual "going to Manchuria". Hwang Ki, the originator of TSD supposedly worked for the Korean railway and studied at a Chinese Federal MA Academy in Manchuria. Ueyshiba (of Aikido fame) as well as Nakamura (of Toyama-ryu fame) are said to have visited Manchuria in their turn.

Some time back you mentioned an option of contacting the US government to investigate possible records regarding this theatre. Since there is precious little elsewhere, any idea how I might best organize an approach to Washington in order to find out what they know? Thoughts?

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Joseph Svinth]

NARA is a possibility. Also check the SCAP records on microfilm. Unfortunately, there are miles of archives and microfilm.

I know nothing about that military academy, but Googling suggests that there is material in Korean and Russian. Try terms such as Sinhung army school, army academy, army independence, etc., and different things turn up. Ones that look promising include http://www.dbpia.co.kr/view/ar_view....enu=&topMenu1= and http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/newspap...gi2/htm/20.htm

[P Goldsbury]

Thanks, Joe--- This is exactly where UI am at right now!

BTW: Have you ever heard of the Sinhung Military Academy?

Most people know about the Toyama Military School in Japan. The academy I ran across was apparently run by the Japanese in Manchuria in order to develop an officer corp of Korean candidates for service in the Japanese army.

Often, there are vague comments made about this or that well-known individual "going to Manchuria". Hwang Ki, the originator of TSD supposedly worked for the Korean railway and studied at a Chinese Federal MA Academy in Manchuria. Ueyshiba (of Aikido fame) as well as Nakamura (of Toyama-ryu fame) are said to have visited Manchuria in their turn.

Some time back you mentioned an option of contacting the US government to investigate possible records regarding this theatre. Since there is precious little elsewhere, any idea how I might best organize an approach to Washington in order to find out what they know? Thoughts?

Best Wishes,

Bruce

Hello Bruce,

Fumiaki Shishida, who is a professor of budo history in Waseda University, has written a thesis about martial arts in Manchuria. Shishida was a student of Kenji Tomiki, who taught at the Tenkoku University and later founded Tomiki Aikido (or Shodokan). Tomiki was captured by the Russians when they invaded Manchuria and became a POW. As did Shigenobu Okumura, who started aikido in Manchuria as a boy. Okumura Sensei is now about 86 and still carries the military passbook that he used when he was a young soldier.

I think Stanley Pranin interviewed him recently for Aikido Journal or its Japanese equivalent.

Best,

[glad2bhere]

Many Thank to you both!

I'm on it!

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Joseph Svinth]

Check List of Seized Japanese Records in the National Archives
James William Morley
The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 3 (May, 1950), pp. 306-333
doi:10.2307/2049557

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=036...3E2.0.CO%3B2-N

[glad2bhere]

Thanks, Joe.

I did check SCAP but the overwhelming amount of information has more domestic (Japanese) themes than anything else. I think I was hoping for maybe some debriefing materials regarding repatriated personnel, but have yet to find anything. OTOH the OSS materials in NARA look promising with a number of missions regarding fact-finding and engaging targeted personalities to be examined.

BTW: FWIW I note that there are still areas of the SCAP materials that remain classified and are omitted from available files. The subjects have to do with compensation and reparations as well as such issues as trade, routes and border disputes. Interesting how, even decades after the war, these points are still so touchy as to remain shielded from public examination, ne?

Thanks again for your help.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Joseph Svinth]

Bruce --

KGB archives are likely to have info on what you're looking for. They are probably about as accessible as CIA records -- if you read Russian.

You might try writing Alexey Gorbylev. His web site is at http://www.kyokushinkan.ru/viewsec.asp?page=67 . It's in Russian, but the e-mail is at КОНТАКТЫ , and his English is as good as yours.

[Ed_morris]

google translated:

http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools

[Joseph Svinth]

Good stuff there, even given the shakiness of the machine translation.

[Lance Gatling]

.......Fumiaki Shishida, who is a professor of budo history in Waseda University, has written a thesis about martial arts in Manchuria. Shishida was a student of Kenji Tomiki, who taught at the Tenkoku University and later founded Tomiki Aikido (or Shodokan). Tomiki was captured by the Russians when they invaded Manchuria and became a POW. .........

Dr. Shishida expanded his thesis into a book entitled 武道の教育力－満洲国・建国大学における武道教育, or The Educational Power of Martial Arts - Manchuria - Martial Arts Education at Kenkoku Univ., published 2005. There may be a few copies still available. I have a copy, will check sometime to see if there's reference to the Sinhung Military Academy.

Shishida sensei is the senior technical instructor of the Japan Aikido Association, the main Tomiki ryu aikido organization, and a very nice guy.

[glad2bhere]

Thanks, Lance. Very much appreciated.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[P Goldsbury]

Shishida sensei is the senior technical instructor of the Japan Aikido Association, the main Tomiki ryu aikido organization, and a very nice guy.

Yes, I know. I invited him here a few years ago to give a lecture on budo history. The conversation over dinner after the lecture was very stimulating, easily as stimulating as the lecture itself.

PAG

[glad2bhere]

Hi, Joe:

As long as we are talking about various documents I thought I would share a little something that I found through a friend currently living in Korea. Klaas (Barends) has made an effort to locate various books for people here in the States. One of the items he has found is a reproduction of the MUYE JEBO (lit: “martial arts illustrations”--MYJB) reportedly written by HAN Kyo. Some may recall that this work was one of the major landmarks in the development of the MU YE TOBO TONG JI (lit: “Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts”---MYTBTJ) published in 1795. I have not been able to authenticate the date of publication for the MYJB and there are some inconsistencies with earlier published reports.

One inconsistency is that the work that I have (ISBN: 89-7585-179-6) is a mixture of both HANJA and HANGUL. As a scholarly work this would be akin to mixing academic prose with popular parlance, as it were.

Another inconsistency is that the MUJB, as reported in the MYTBTJ is said to have included 6 skills, “….the kon bong (large stick), dung pae (shield art), nag sun (triple tip spear), and ssang soo to (long sword).” The manual that I have includes kwon bup (lit: fist method), wol do (aka: “kwan dao”), hyup do (lit: spear sword) as well as two chapters on two-handed saber, one of which may, actually be single-handed saber. Since the original citation for the content of the MYJB was none other than King Jungbo (1776-1800), I suspect that the former items are a more accurate report. This, however, does not explain the variance in the work that I have.

Though the overwhelming numbers of visitors to this forum are interested in Japanese traditions, I thought that finding a work identified as one which has long been reported lost might be of interest. Needless to say I will be examining this for some time to come to understand how it figures into what we know as Korean traditions.

FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce