Iaijutsu
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| Focus | Weaponry (Sword) |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Non-competitive |
| Country of origin |  Japan |
| Creator | disputed |
| Parenthood | - |
| Olympic sport | No |
Iaijutsu (居合術), the art of drawing the Japanese sword. One of Japanese martial disciplines in education of the classical warrior (bushi).[1]
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[edit] Etymology
"Iaijutsu" was known before the Tokugawa period (before 1603) but it is unclear exactly when the term "iaijutsu" first came into use, or when exactly drawing the katana from its scabbard first became practiced as a martial art. Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu (c.1546–c.1621), the founder of the Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū and Musō Shinden-ryū schools, is generally credited with the invention of iaijutsu, but this is contrary to the account of Iizasa Chōisai Ienao (c.1387–c.1488), who devised a system of drawing the sword and founded the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū 100 years earlier.[2]
[edit] The purpose of iaijutsu
Iaijutsu is a combative sword-drawing art but not necessarily an aggressive art because iaijutsu is also a counterattack-oriented art. Iaijutsu technique may be used aggressively to wage a premeditated surprise attack against an unsuspecting enemy.[3] The formulation of iaijutsu as a component system of classical bujutsu was made less for the dynamic situations of the battlefield than for the relatively static applications of the warrior's daily life off the field of battle.[4]
[edit] History of iaijutsu
The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and the Nihon Shoki (History of Japan), both of which were compiled in the eighth century A.D., are but two outstanding examples in which iron swords and swordsmanship are dated back to the Japanese mythological age of the gods (kami).[5]
Archaeological excavations dated the oldest sword in Japan from at least as early as second century B.C.[6]
The development of Japanese swordsmanship as a component system of classical bujutsu (classical martial arts) created by and for professional warriors (bushi), begins only with the invention and widespread use of the Japanese sword, the curved, single-cutting-edged long sword. In its curved form, the sword is know to the Japanese as 'tachi' in the eighth century.[7] It evolved from and gained ascendancy over its straight-bladed prototype because years of battlefield experience proved that the curved form of sword was better suited to the needs of the Japanese warriors (bushi) than the straight-bladed kind. Around the curved long sword the bushi built a mystique of fantastic dimensions, one that still influences Japanese culture today.
The nature of the bushi's combative deployment, mounted as he was on horseback, required the classical warrior to reach out for his enemy, who might either be similarly mounted or otherwise ground-deployed.
During the Kamakura period (1185-1333) the Japanese sword smiths achieved the highest level of technical excellence and because the war between two influential families, the Minamoto and the Taira, made it possible to test and evaluate swords under the severest of conditions.
By the end of this period the long sword (tachi) was superseded by a shorter weapon in a new form, called katana.[8]
It was with the general widespread use of the curved sword mounted and worn as a katana that classical Japanese swordsmanship for infantry applications really begins. It is not until the fifteenth century that there are evidence in reliable documentary form to prove that the bushi practiced swordsmanship in a systematic manner. In this connection it is belief that kenjutsu, which deals with the art of swordsmanship as it is performed with a wooden sword (bokken) that has already been brought into unsheathed position, is the senior form to iaijutsu.[9]
Iaijutsu is extant today but there exist also a modern form for drawing the Japanese sword, called iaido. Iaido, the way of drawing the sword, appeared as a term in 1932 and was popularized by Nakayama Hakudō (1869-1958). More about the history of iaido can be read in the article Iaido.
[edit] Postures in iaijutsu
According to Donn.F. Draeger, iaijutsu is a combative art and therefore the warrior considered only two starting positions in the execution of sword-drawing technique. The first of these sword-drawing technique is from the low crouching posture, named iai-goshi. The other posture is the standing posture, named tachi-ai.[1] The seated posture, Tate-hiza, is not used in iaijutsu because this posture does not permit all-around mobility. The posture seiza, the formal kneeling-sitting posture, is either used because this posture is a 'dead' posture where regarded by the warrior as less combatively efficient. It would be difficult for the swordsman using either of these two later postures to go quickly into action in an emergency.[1]
[edit] Ryū
Following ryū are still existing and include iaijutsu in their curriculum.
- Katori-ryū
- Shin Musō Hayashizaki-ryū (sometimes Musō-ryū)
- Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū
- etc.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. pp. 14, 50. ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. Page 3. ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. Page 4. ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. Page 8. ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. Page 13 ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
- ^ Warner, Gordon and Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, Boston: Weatherhill. Page 14 ISBN 978-0-8348-0236-0
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