The term "budo" is relatively recent one. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the martial arts were no longer to be used in combat, but rather to be considered exclusive attainments of the warrior class. "Bujutsu" was replaced by "budo," the implication being that spiritual attainment, not physical victory, was now the goal. When, shortly after, the entire concept of a samurai "class" collapsed, the martial arts were theoretically open to anyone interested.
In the same way, "kenjutsu" (the art of the sword) became "kendo" (the way of the sword) and judo replaced jujitsu. Privilege, however, is not so easily given up. Though, in fact, the sword had not been much used in battle since the beginning of the Tokugawa Period, the cult of the sword continued (right up to World War II), and with it a spiritual glorification of most of the martial arts.
One of the ways to make something mysteriously holy (which is what spiritualization consists of) is to make them arcane, restricted, secret. The art of the sword had a long history of confidentiality, teachings transmitted only to cohorts and the like. When the art of the sword became the way of the sword such secrets proliferated. They eventually became, in essence, a theoretical justification, different from others only in that it was hidden.
John Stevens, professor of Buddhist studies and an aikido instructor, is the author or translator of over 30 books on the martial arts and their links to the religions and culture of Japan. Here he gathers together an eclectic collection of such teachings then divides his material into three sections. The first is a collection of the principles of budo, taken from various training manuals; the second contains excerpts concerned with the philosophical elements of budo; and the third relates a number of instructional tales told by the budo masters. Since many of these were also excellent painters and calligraphers, he includes reproductions of a number of their works.
Also, traditionally, Stevens refrains from commenting on the work he has gathered. He introduces it and steps aside. These texts "are to be understood through personal experience and self-reflection . . . they are meant to be cryptic."
The interested reader may know some of the material, the precepts of Miyamoto Musashi many will know, but most of the contents will be new: Ki'ichi Hogen's "Secrets of Technique," for example, which is said to have been passed by this master down to a famous pupil, Minamoto Yoshitsune. The list is still in use. Morihei Ueshiba, founder of aikido, often quotes from it and so, says Stevens, did his own teacher, Rinjiro Shirata.
The secrets listed are attractively opaque: "Distinguish between truth and falsehood"; "Adapt to ceaseless change"; "There is nothing in the universe that cannot be harmonized." Some are in fact hortatory, and their ability to raise the spirits must have been one of the expected results.
Many of the secrets are expressed allegorically, as in "The Marvelous Techniques of the Old Cat," (Neko no myojutsu) which was first written down in 1727, and Yamaoka Tesshu's "Secret Art of the Carpenter's Plane." Others are expressed as maxims: for example, Miyagi Gojun's "If your temper rises, withdraw your hand; if your hand rises, withdraw your temper."
Yet other secrets are combat aids. Yamaoka advised his disciples to look closely at the bottom of the opponent's wooden sandals. If the bottoms were not worn evenly then you could be sure he was often off balance and not much of a swordsman.
Still others are imparted through anecdotes. Sixteenth-century master swordsman Tsukahara Bokuden was on a ferry boat when an unruly ruffian started a fight demanding to know his sword school. Bokuden said he was of the Victory-Without-Sword School. The furious ruffian bounded ashore at the first stop and drew his sword. Bokuden then shoved the boat back into the river, stranded his would-be opponent and shouted back that: "This is defeating the enemy without using the sword."
This interesting and attractive book has much more arcane lore and will interest both the adept and the casual reader; indeed, it may lead both toward a kind of enlightenment.
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