‘Should you encounter god on your journey, god will be cut!’
(c.f., Linji Yixuan; explanation at end)
(c.f., Linji Yixuan; explanation at end)
I am writing this article because to reflect on an unexpected event that happened to me while pursuing martial arts. I have been doing Karate for about a year and recently started Kendo and was originally planning to pursue Korean swordsmanship (Chung Suk Kuhapdo) or alternatively Iaido as well. The choice of a weapons form was merely an act to avoid getting confused with hands-on techniques from Karate.
From my perspective the practice of martial arts is not just a rehearsal of defence or attacking techniques, it also provides means to build character, meet likeminded people, exercise and relief yourself of stress that you build up during your daily work. Inherent to all arts I practice or was planning to practice is a code. The techniques you learn should only be practiced and applied within an appropriate context, most of the arts also make high demands to - and build character. In the case of Goju Ryu karate the primary reference for this code is the Bubishi (Account of Military Arts and Science), which is based on a collection of ancient Chinese books from the Qing Dynasty. The points of the second article on Philosophy of that book makes obvious:
- Let anger be your enemy.
- Remember, an empty vessel makes the most noise.
- Patience is the foundation upon which security and long life rest.
- Know well your station in life.
- Trustworthy reputations are only gained from virtuous merit.
- Success is the fruit of the strong and wise.
- Delay is the best remedy for anger.
- Those who will be enlightened are the ones who live moderate lives, have simple tastes, consume natural foods, and pursue the wisdom of the sages.
- Remain honest in your heart, true to your discipline, and refrain from overindulgence, and you will enjoy great rewards in life.
- Mind your manners and your own business.
- Discretion is the better part of valour.
- The barriers of human achievement lie only in the mind.
- An idle mind is a demon's workshop.
- Justice exists for those who live according to the Way, as these are one in the same.
- Be happy without cause and make the best of what you have.
- True friendship knows no boundaries.
- It is a humble virtue to be wealthy and not affected by it.
- Cause and effect are mutually consistent.
- Despair is the conclusion of fools. Tomorrow's success is built upon yesterday's failures. Live in the here and now. Do not seek more but learn to enjoy less.
Kendo and Iaido are clearly linked to ancient Japanese swordsmanship and root in the training for Samurai. Nowadays, Kendos purpose is clearly stated by the All-Japan Kendo Federation since 1975. The purposes are,
- To mould the mind and body,
- To cultivate a vigorous spirit,
- And through correct and rigid training,
- To strive for the improvement in the art of Kendo.
- To hold esteem in human courtesy and honour.
- To associate with others in sincerity.
- And forever pursue the cultivation of one.
In short the pursuit of martial arts for sports should generally be seen as an attempt to build character and, therefore, from my perspective be seen as a positive pursuit.
What happened?
I told some people about the sport and got a very mixed reaction. On the surprisingly negative side that sport became associated with the crimes against humanity committed by the Imperial troops that invaded China
In addition to the very swift and brutal assault, many civilians were systematically executed by the Japanese occupants. Apparently, these executions were greatly displayed in Japanese media and lead to various competitions among Japanese military members who would execute more civilians within a fixed period of time. The records went up to about 160 civilians killed by one individual officer at a time. The weapons of choice were Bayonets (knives attached to firearm) and Katanas (Japanese Samurai swords). These actions eventually peaked into systematic practices to maintain troop morale in which Chinese civilians, preferably women and children would be brutally slaughtered by these tools for entertainment. What is very disturbing to me is the fact that many of those individual crimes are very sparsely documented. They are many times hidden beyond euphemisms like “crimes against humanity” or in Japanese schoolbooks referred to “Japans past actions caused other people a lot of pain”. This may leave the martial arts practitioner unprepared for such a swift criticism. The following authentic documentary has some footage of these practices. I strongly suggest watching it; Those who deny the past and those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat the past and suffer the consequences.
Part 1: The Rape of Nanking
Part 2: The Rape of Nanking
As practitioner of any Japanese (or even Korean) sword art, one should be aware of this association and be prepared for dealing with it. From my perspective, what trips most people of is the use of Kabanas or similar looking weapons in cutting drills and the fact that the sport is associated in some instances with Japan. Another general issue is the perception that those sword-forms are different from Karate, which is more widely accepted to be a form of self-defence.
What might not be apparent to the critic but also counts as a disturbing point is the fact that many Japanese officers were actually taught Battlefield Kenjutsu at Japanese academies. Direct records to what degree this teaching directly resulted in the atrocities are very sparse; nor if any code of conduct was taught beyond simple dojo etiquette (I appreciate any pointers to references/material). Also at the time of the Second World War many people owned swords but only a few were actually directly trained.
Why is this association unfair?
As Ming Zhen Shakya expressed it in her article; “No group of people is immune to the contagion of jingoism, zealotry, racial primacy, hero worship, or grandiosity. A democracy's system of checks and balances can usually manage the infection within its own borders; but […] when an alien group of infected fanatics seeks to destroy and conquer that democracy, appeasement doesn't cure or contain anything; and an isolationist mentality only serves to put an intended victim in temporary quarantine while giving free range to the vector of the disease.”
From my perspective the main causes for Japans irrational and brutal pursuit of China were ego inflation, hero worship, combined with their mechanised culture to avoid uncertainty by drill.
Ego inflation turns disciplined individuals reckless. On a large scale this resulted in egoistical superiority and ethnic pride. In Ming’s article the events leading up to this problem are very well described. The origins may be least known to the reader. In addition, Japan at the time had a well-functioning propaganda that successfully projected emperor Hiroito as god figure. Many of the Japanese followed that image blindly and thus had a divine mandate to conquer the rest of the world and spread hatred against the Chinese. This propaganda machine successfully dehumanized the Chinese and in combination with the other problems leads individuals committing those cruel crimes. These issues are not only inherent to the Japanese campaign; all know what happened to Germany in WWII.
The acts as well as the societal dysfunctions that lead up to that invasion were in clear violation of any code of the mentioned arts. The propaganda machine successfully dehumanized peoples and blinded a majority of the Japanese to the other peoples’ qualities. In many dojos and academies the real principles of the martial art only existed on paper and were not communicated, at the time purposefully, to the practitioners. Moreover in the context of the sword arts, Bushido was ridiculed support the emperor’s divine cause to conquer the rest of the world. Particularly, associated loyalty and honour virtues were stretched to blend over any issues related to fairness or compassion.
After the Second World War attempts have been made by various schools to embed such virtues into their basic foundations. Unfortunately, rolling up the past with respect to the involvement of the martial arts academies in the crimes committed was to my knowledge not really done (pointers to counter examples are appreciated). It would have been highly appreciated to have a process of coming to terms with Japans past, as Germany did with his.
So what does the quote have to do with it?
‘Should you encounter god on your journey, god will be cut!’ or ‘Kill Buddha!’ were citations of Linji Yixuang who was one of the founders of the Chang Buddhism. One of his core concepts was to free his students from the influences of masters and doctrinal concepts in order to better discover their own enlightenment. His teachings were highly influential for the Zen Buddhism (the Rinzai School) that became dormant to Japan and supported the rise of the Samurai. My question, would many have followed through with these ideals, could the rise of a god-like figure been avoided?
Many of you may also know this citation out-of-context from Kill Bill 1, in which the man from Okinawa hands over his forged sword to the Bride. Although the movie is quite entertaining sort of linking it to the actual practice of a sword form is a redicule.
Conclusion
I was really struck unexpectedly by the association my practice of martial arts with these historic events. First, I was unaware of particular details like the officer competition and, second, I did not expect to be linked by anyone to those events. These events are in violation of the ethics and conduct of how martial arts like Kendo, Iaido, and Karate should be practiced and taught today. Drawing such lines to current practitioners of these arts is prejudged and very unfair.
On the other hand the practitioner should be aware of this history and be prepared to deal with such associations. For example, the public display of tools of the trade (Katanas, like in the opening picture) in your place may be appealing to you, but certain guests will eventually jump to other conclusions. Moreover not everyone will share your enthusiasm for Tameshigiri cutting.
...Now you know how this looks like to some other people (v.s. the documentary above).
What I really hold against people in charge in Japan right now is the fact that, to my satisfaction, there is no real process of coming to terms with Japans past. This really opens the door for prejudged statements about martial arts practitioners or unfair comparisions. Therefore, you need to be considerate who learns about your practice and how. Practice safe, hard and remember the purpose and ethics!
References:
- Kendo
- Iaido
- Chung Suk Kuhapdo
- (Technical) thoughts on Iaido
- Bubishi - The Bible of Karate
- Video: The Rape of Nanking 1/2
- Video: The Rape of Nanking 2/2
- Batto History: Interesting references how Japanese officers were trained in WWII
- Ming Zhen Shakya: "Japan, Zen, and WWII"
- Linji Yinxan
- The Japanese Rinzai School of Buddhism
- Kill Bill Movie
- Video: Tameshigiri Cutting
Please send me your comments, or pointers to other references! I think I'm not the first one who meets offended individuals when talking about Kendo or Iaido. Let me know about your experiences.
