JAPANESE AESTHETICS (Bigaku)

JAPANESE AESTHETICS (Bigaku)

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of traditional Japanese aesthetic thought is the tendency to attach far greater value to symbolic depiction than realistic portrayals. Another attribute to be considered is the supposition that in order to be true art, a work has to involve a discerning representation of what is beautiful and an aversion from the crude and profane. As a result, artists have traditionally tended to select nature as their subject matter, steering clear of depictions of everyday, common life.
It was the Heian court, often described as having an exaggerated taste for grace and refinement, which exerted an enduring impact on subsequent cultural traditions, designating elegance as a key measure of beauty. Numerous cultural and artistic concepts, such as okashi, fūryū, yūgen, and iki carry with them a nuance of elegance.[1]
Another quality, one to which great value is attached, is impermanence or transience, itself a variation of elegance; exquisite beauty being regarded as both fragile and transitory. Metaphysical profoundness was provided through a merging of Buddhism, with its emphasis on the inconsistency and uncertainty of life, with this ideal. Numerous aesthetic conventions, such as wabi, sabi, yūgen and aware (with its subsequent amplification of mono no aware) all imply transience.
Over time, the presence of an artistically created void, in either time or space, became an important concept in aesthetic theory. The concept of simplicity became a culmination of the concepts of simulation and substitution, which stressed symbolic representation. Aesthetic concepts such as wabi, sabi, ma, shibui and yojō[2] are all inclined toward simplicity in terms of their basic inferences, consistently demonstrating distaste for elaborate beauty.
Simplicity denotes a certain naturalness or lack of pretense. In traditional Japanese aesthetics then, the separation between art and nature is considerably smaller than in Western art, stemming from the belief that the mysteries of nature cannot be presented through portrayal, but only suggested and the more succinct the suggestion, the more effective it becomes.

[1] The aesthetic concepts of wabi, sabi, yūgen, aware and mono no aware will be discussed in subsequent articles.
[2] The aesthetic concepts of ma, shibui, and yojō will be discussed in subsequent articles.

Copyright 2009 by Shisei-Do Dojo and Shisei-Do Publications. All rights reserved.

THE DICHOTOMY OF AMATAI-NO-SHUGO-RYU

The Dichotomy of Amatai-no-Shugo-ry

In training and practicing Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū, the thinking man cannot help but waver between Wa-Dō, the Way of Peace and Harmony, and its martial relevance; that is between peace and its martial applications, the Way of War. in due course, the wise man trains against realistic, honest intentions to do harm: intense intentions that seem to pervade the society we live in. One has but to watch the nightly news or read the morning newspaper in order to become acutely aware of the intentions and actions that fill our society. One learns to apply the techniques of Amato-no-Shugo-ryū with equal intent and intensity, as demonstrated and expressed in the techniques which are both powerful and effective; while at the same time, maintaining a sense of inner peace and benevolence, particularly focused at the community we live in and the people around us.

The honesty of intent and intensity are important in training on both a martial, aesthetic and spiritual level. In order for one to progress on their Way, one must be honest and genuine with themselves, particularly in matters of discipline and training. Any desire to train and progress must come from deep inside; it must be something that one is willing to make an honest commitment to and to keep that commitment with honor. One also needs to be honest, both with themselves and with their sensei as to the reason(s) why one is traning. Is it discipline and training? If so then there must be a indisputable commitment of intent to the training and discipline required by Amatai-no-shugo-ryū.

Intent is of the spirit and mind; intensity is of the body. When both share equally in an honest commitment toward the dame goal, this harmony can provide the basis and potential for a personal and spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

Yet, how can one be devoted to martial arts and at the same time to the Way of Peace? Wa-Dō only comes through strength: mental, moral, emotional, spiritual, and physical strength. Peace through weakness is acceptance of defeat and acquiescence. Strength, be it mental strength, moral strength, emotional, spiritual and/or physical allows peace to be a choice. Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū allows one to develop and train themselves for that choice. Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū makes a conscious choice of peace through strength. It is not the embodiment of war but rather the spirit of caring protection and peace: for the individual, community, and society. History has demonstrated time and again that hose who challenge peace and harmony do not have an appreciation, or a respect, or the ability to respond to a passive, compliant approach to peace. Those who want control and power, be it on a personal, community, or even national level, often take this passive, accommodating, yielding position of peace as permission to follow their own agenda. While fighting to end wars has brought only a temporary pace, it has proven to be the only means to stop tyranny, whether on a personal or social level. It therefore becomes incumbent on a martial art or collection of arts as in Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū to develop within a philosophical framework in which peace, harmony, and responsiveness to threat are themselves harmonious and thus do not add to the aggression around us. Rather than responding with passivity or fear, Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū stands ready to confront conflict, to redirect aggressive energy and direct it back against itself, without adding more aggression, until the aggression is subdued and a threat no longer viably exists. One who studies Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū thus stands ready to respond directly to aggression, whether it is directed at them personally, at friends or family, or at their community, with honesty and strength of character, using only the aggressive energy directed at him without adding to it.

BREATHING AND BUDO

In whatever form of Budo or martial arts you may practice, there should always be a focus and emphasis placed on consciously controlling one’s breathing. Breathing is essential to life as well as to the purification of body, mind, and spirit; indeed, breathing connects both our physical selves with our emotional selves. In Budo, students (especially) will end to hold their breath. Actually, if you care to think about it and admit it to yourself, we all are guilty of this from time to time. This is both a reaction to stress as well as a bi-product of concentrating almost too hard on technique. It is often a failing of many dojo and sensei, that proper breathing techniques, and coordination of breathing with movement are not taught or only lightly touched upon. Breathing creates a connection and a joining of both our mind and our body, which must be one if we are to succeed at our art.

In the next few days, we will look a bit at breathing and try to learn some good and useful breathing techniques, particularly derived from Tai Chi, which have direct application to us as Budo-ka.
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.Copyright 2008 by Hayato Tokugawa, Aoi Tokugawa, Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo & Takayama Budokai. All rights reserved.

THE CORE OF BUSHIDO

If we wish to find the core of Bushido, we must I think look at it in its historical context. To do that, I would like to use a metaphor, first put forward by Nitobe Inazo in his book on Bushido, worn as it may be; I think it is still effect. Certainly, we do not need all the flowery rhetoric or the cryptic European references of Nitobe so grasp what is truly simple.

If we think of Bushido as the Sakura, the cherry blossom, and think of how plants live, our search may become clearer. Japan of course is the soil and without the proper soil, no plant can flourish. Some will whither and die quickly, others will struggle over a long time, trying to survive, but never growing perhaps beyond some stunted weed. Japan, more than anywhere in the world, was the right “soil” for Bushido.’ The seeds came to Japan long ago from China, who in many ways is the “Mother of Japan”. The seeds came in the form on Confucius and then his disciple Mencius. If one wishes to understand Bushido, then look to the seeds themselves: Analects by Confucius and simply The Mencius. With these two great “fathers” came Wan Yang Ming and Lao Tsu. The great seeds of Asian thought came riding across the sea to eventually take root in Japan.

The Sakura, like any plant, not only needs soil, it needs nourishment and Shinto was just such nutrition for Bushido. Native to Japan, growing out of the sea with the land, it was there waiting to embrace Bushido and to give it all that it could. Perhaps the two greatest “gifts” of Shinto were its sense of patriotism, loyalty, reverence for ancestors, and love of family and parents, which lay at the very heart of Bushido at its birth as it does today. Look in any dojo and you will see the character of Shinto present from the walls to the etiquette of those who practice there.

Seeds, soil, nourishment, are fine but our analogy still lacks something. The Sakura needs sun and rain which was supplied in abundance by first Buddhism and later its refinement of Zen, which went directly to the growth and development of the Samurai character – the Samurai spirit, and provided for the growth and development of Bushido on the most personal of levels.

Bushido was exclusive only to Japan. Despite Nitobe’s analogies to European Chivalry, they are as different as night and day. Bushido could only have been in Japan. It was destined to be so.

Copyright 2008 by Hayato Tokugawa and Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo

TRAINING IN THE WAY OF THE SWORD

“Training in the way of the sword can be so repetitious, I know. Many students daydream their way through practice. But, “Small tiger”, do not let yourself fall into this snare. Daydreams sap the body of chi and in the end, training becomes even harder. One must force themselves to concentrate on the techniques and constantly try to find new elements to work on.

“When you are feeling tired during practice, you must push yourself past that weariness and train even harder. The more you commit to hard practice, the more chi you will have available for it.”

(Wudang Master Don to student Li Peoh)

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(c) 2007 by Hayato Tokugawa

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