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THE EVOLUTION OF KENDO
The Pre-Tokugawa Period
In the pre-Tokugawa Period (prior to 1603), schools of swordsmanship supplemented the bokken
(wooden sword) and katana (samurai sword) with the new invention; the leather wrapped split bamboo,
called fukuro-shinai. It is believed that Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Hidetsuna in 1563 was the first swordsman who
adopted this split bamboo. This invention resulted in training that could now be
carried out with reasonable degree of safety. Heretofore swordsman had
used live blades and bokken in kata training (pre-arranged form). [Friday, p. 137]
The Tokugawa Period - The Development of Kendo
In the Tokugawa period (1603-1868) the term Kendo was recorded as early as 1673 by Abe Gorodaiyu, the founder of
the sword fighting school Abe Ryu or Abe Tate Ryu. [Dann, p. 34]
Kendo describes the teachings of his ryu, he devised a method
of swordsmanship in which stress was on mental and moral training rather than gaining expertise in a physical techniqu.
At about the same time, the Heijo Muteki Ryu, founded by Yamanochi Renshinsai, also used the term Kendo (剣道)
to describe his teaching. [Draeger, Vol.II, p. 81] Ken-no-michi or Kendo
means 'the way of the sword'. The word ken means 'sword' and the words
michi or do means 'way' or 'path'. Generally speaking, Kendo was not synonymous with
'kenjutsu' (剣術). The methods of Kendo were based on Classical Martial Ways (ko-budo) and not Martial Arts.
[Dann, pp. 21, 52][Draeger, Vol.II, p. 68]
About 1716 Naganuma Shirozaemon Kunisato of the Jikishin-kage ryu introducing men (the protective head helmet) and kote (wrist protection). [Friday, p. 119n] Nakanishi Chuta, formerly student of the sword fighting school, Ono-ha Itto-ryu, in 1710s improved fukuro-shinai to nearly the type of shinai as we know today. Furthermore he improved the kote. His son added the do (torso protector) in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. [Dann, p. 54] By 1750 the development of the armor and training procedures was fully established and over five hundred ryu (traditional schools) were practicing the method shinai-geiko. [Dann, p. 97] This method of swordsmanship was carried out by using shinai and armor, the direct forerunner of modern kendo. The earliest use of shinai-geiko as a method of training was an attempt to eliminate injuries among practitioners. In the mid-eighteenth century, as a result, three methods of sword training existed: (a) katana, (b) bokken, and (c) shinai.
Kendo and Kenjutsu embody theory in kata, the formal techniques of swordsmanship, which aqre exercised in a prearranged manner, and make the use of kata their primaey training method. [Draeger, Vol.III, p. 100]
Budo (武道) consists of to ideograms. Do (or michi) means 'path' or 'way' while the ideogram bu means 'military affairs, arms, bravery, martial power'. D. F. Draeger emphasized that the classical budo (also called ko-budo or Classical Martial Ways) in the Tokugawa period was not sport. [Draeger, Vol.II, pp. 33-34] Furthermore Sahashi Shigeru explained in his 'shin no Budo' published in 1972 that budo was not considered a sport because budo rest in 'bu'. [Draeger, Vol.III, p. 51] The values of Classical Martial Ways were based on morals, discipline, and aesthetic concerns. [Draeger, Vol.II, p. 36]
In addition, the social structure of Tokugawa period was influenced by the political systems, from level of the local clans to the Tokugawa shugonate, which led people to identify themselves with the group to which they belonged (collectivism). This idea enhanced their self-esteem and encouraged people to co-operate and word harder in spite of the fact the they did not receive any form of tangible rewards for their efforts within the group. These values differs from those found in individualism and and sport after the Meiji Restoration (1868). [Hideo Kojima, p. 238]
After the Tokugawa Period - The Development of Modern Kendo
In the Meiji period (1868-1912) the Japanese government made the
striking transition from an isolated feudal society to a modernized and
industrialized nation ruled by a constitutional government and defended by a westernized
conscript army and navy. The warriors were de-classed but the discontented bushi (warrior) or
shizoku (former samurai) became a distinct threat to the government that resulted in
a number of rebellions that had to be subdued by force of arms. The
samurai had passed into history. [Friday, p. 5] The history of modern kendo
begins after the overthrow of the Tokugawa bakufu in 1868. At that time Japan was plunged
into a period of modernization. [Draeger, Vol.III, p. 55]
The budo including Kendo were significantly and dramatically effected by these developments and the event that stands out as the turning point for the Modern Martial Ways is the task of formulating the standard kata for police use and modern kendo in 1886. [Draeger, Vol.III, p. 110] In addition, numerous modifications in classical technique were neccessary to create the moderne kendo. These modifications are indicative of the change from swordsmanship as used in combat to its use on the level of sport. [Draeger, Vol.III, p. 106] The modern kendo is linked more in technique than in spirit to the Classical Martial Arts and Ways. This is partly because the modern kendo center on the individual's rather than the group's concern for self-protection. [Draeger, Vol.III, p. 57]
After the Meiji Restoration in 1968 the idea of competition among people was introduced by the government. Thus collectivism began to be replaced with individualism. [Hideo Kojima, pp. 237-238] This resulted in the organization 'Dai Nippon Butokukai' in 1895 became responsible for development of Modern Martial Ways and hereby the modern kendo. The Butokukai did not promote the Classical Martial Ways for the purpose of national defense or technical fighting ability among its members. Instead it sought to propagate traditional martial disciplines that would allow individuals to feel or experience their ‘samurai’ heritage, an education that would improve morals and prepare the nation’s youth to be loyal and healthy citizens of the state (nationalism). [Dann, pp. 27, 87, 89-90]
The use of the Butokuden dojo in 1899 made it possible to develop the standardization of swordsmanship with the goal of making it acceptable to the Ministry of Education as a required school subject. In seeking a new national form of swordsmanship fit for educating school age youth, the Butokukai tried to unify the names of swordsmanship from Kendo, shinai-geiko, gekken and kenjutsu to its appellation of 'kendo' in 1912. However, there existed quite a few Ryu (traditional schools) which did not allowed this modernization. In addition, the term Kendo was not a new invention because this term was already used in the Tokugawa period. [Dann, pp. 22, 37-38, 86, 89-90]
Furthermore Dai Nippon Butokukai created a new standard kata, called Dai Nippon Teikoku Kendo Kata in 1912 and speed up the modernization process of Japan by transforming the Classical Martial Ways (ko-budo) to the Modern Martial Ways (shin-budo). Kenjutsu and Kendo from the Tokugawa period use kata as their primary training method while kata never has been the primary training method in modern kendo. [Dann, pp. 22, 37-38, 86, 89-90][Draeger, Vol.III, pp. 110-111]
After WWII (1945) the organization Dai Nippon Butokukai was banned by the Allied Powers. First after 1950 the Allied Powers begun to allow the Japanese combat disciplines to be taught again. The provision was that these disciplines were to resemble American notions of sport. The result was the formation of Shinai Kyogi Federation to produce a cultural hybrid of Western fencing and sport and the essentials of Japanese swordsmanship as it was practiced with the bamboo shinai. [Dann, pp. 99, 101]
In 1952 All Japan Kendo Federation (Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei) was founded and in 1955 the Shinai Kyogi Federation merged with All Japan Kendo Federation.
The founding of All Japan Kendo Federation made it possibly to continue the standardization of the modern kendo on a national basis and encouraged the international recognition and growth of kendo as a sport. [Dann, pp. 102-104] As D. F. Draeger pointed out, the values of sport in modern kendo is the establishment of better records or championships, as well as the development of individual stars or champions. [Draeger, Vol.II, p. 125]
References
• Dann, Jeffrey, 1978. Kendo in Japanese Martial Culture.
Ph.D. thesis. University of Washington.
• Draeger, Donn F., 1973. Classical Budo. Vol. II.
New York: Weatherhill. ISBN 978-0-8348-0234-6.
• Draeger, Donn F., 1974. Modern Bujutsu and Budo. Vol. III.
New York: Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0351-8.
• Friday, Karl F., 1997. Legacies of the Sword.
Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
ISBN 0-8248-1879-2.
• Hideo Kojima, 1988. In Social Values and Development:
Asian Perspectives, edited by Sinha, D. and Kao, H.S.R.
California: Sage Publications. ISBN 0-8039-9568-7.
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