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Kendo Tradition
Kendo 剣道, means 'the way of the sword'; a budo system (Classical Martial Ways)
which was created in the light of the essence of the ethical code in the Tokugawa period (1603-1868) where the Japanese sword
attributed to much attention. In this period samurai were engaged in the study of swordsmanship including training
with the bamboo sword (shinai) which method was called 'shinai-geiko'.
Being traditional is something which takes place in accordance with a tradition. Tradition is a firm
established practice, repeated in virtually unaltered form from generation to generation.
Kendo referring to the Tokugawa period, thus falls under this definition of tradition because
Kendo has its origins in the Tokugawa period. However, in the Tokugawa period, budo1 had far broader
connotations than it does today, the nomenclature applied to various disciplines betrayed no
discernible systemization. Swordsmanship, for example was called Kenjutsu,
Kendo, Shinai-geiko, etc, without distinction of form or content.2
Concerning the term Kendo (剣道), it is recorded as early as 1673 by
Abe Gorodaiyu, the founder of the sword fighting school Abe Ryu or Abe Tate Ryu.3
Kendo describes the teachings of his ryu, he devised a method of
swordsmanship in which emphasis was on moral and mentally training. At
approximate the same time, the Heijo Muteki Ryu, founded by Yamanouchi
Renshinsai, also used the term 'Kendo' to describe its teachings. However, Kendo is
historically based on the samurai culture, which can be traced even further back than the Tokugawa era.
Kendo in the Tokugawa period differs from the modern kendo (post Tokugawa period) which is based on shin-budo
(Modern Martial Ways). When the term Kendo and shinai-geiko are used to
refer to both classical and modern forms of swordsmanship certain conceptual and definitional problems occur because
the term Kendo was
recorded in the Tokugawa period while the term for the modern kendo was developed after the Tokugawa period.
Besides in 1750 the development of the armor and training procedures was fully established where
over five hundred ryu were practicing the method shinai-geiko.4 Thus, shinai-geiko was by no means a
invention from the modern era (the post Tokugawa period).
The modern kendo was finally standardized in 1912 in relation to circumstances of kendo kata organized by
the Japanese organization 'Dai Nippon Butokukai'.5
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Samurai in the Japanese Feudal System
Samurai were warriors who served either the daimyo (feudal
lords), or the shogun (overlord), and in return received either land or salary.
Unlike vassals in the European feudal system, each samurai held his fief from
only one lord.
In their domains, the daimyo were in control of not only samurai
but also other residents in lower classes of the society, such as peasants, artisans and
merchants.
The shogun reigned over the daimyo, exercising absolute rule under the nominal
leadership of the emperor. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and his descendants ruled the
country from 1603 to 1867. Their reign is called the Tokugawa period or Edo
period after the name of the city where they placed the shogunate - the
present-day Tokyo.
The feudal system came to an end when the last shogun, Tokugawa
Yoshimune turned over his power to the emperor Meiji in 1867. This led to the Meiji Restoration of
1867-69. Japan introduced constututional monarchy with the emperor Meiji as head
of state. Hereby the modern era of Japan had begun.
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Dann, Jeffrey (1978) Kendo in Japanese Martial Culture.
Ph.D. thesis. University of Washington.
Draeger, F. Donn (1974) Modern Bujutsu & Budo.
Weatherhill, New York.
Friday, Karl F. (1997) Legacies of the Sword.
University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu.
Tominaga Kengo. (1973) Kendo gohyakunen-shi. Tokyo: Hyakusen shobo.
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