I recently received a twenty-one page document, dated 1916. It is a magazine article in which the writer, Andō Kizaburō, interviewed shizoku: retired bushi of the Tanba-Sasayama-han (AKA Aoyama domain). I am going to discuss certain information revealed in the document, as well as providing excerpts, framed in quotes. 

  1. The main martial arts promulgated by the domain were heihō (military strategy),  hōjutsu (gunnery and artillery), kyūjutsu (archery), sōjutsu (spear fighting), kenjutsu (swordfighting), bajutsu (horseriding), and jū-bōjutsu (jūjutsu and bōjutsu, which were regarded, more or less, as one entity). 
  2. It is clear that the Japanese were well aware of the encroaching West, long before the “shock” of the Black Ships, the American visit to Japanese ports which opened up the country, despite Japanese wishes to the contrary. Evidence of this is shown in the Aoyama daimyō taking charge of heihō and artillery and amalgamating various ryūha in these two disciplines and establishing Goryūgi Heihō & Goryūgi Hōjutsu: domain-wide schools of military strategy and artillery, supervised by the daimyō himself. “Regarding artillery, according to the official proclamation around March of the 4th year of Kaei, it was specially emphasized as a martial art that young generations must practice, regardless of the hierarchy of rank.”

  1. “Because it was an era in which the social class system was strictly enforced, sōjutsu and horsemanship were established as martial arts to be practiced exclusively by those holding qualifications of gokenin (domain samurai) and above. Retainers of the infantry (kachitau) and below did not enter these schools. For swordsmanship and archery, there were no such distinct and definitive restrictions; however, regarding actual practice, there was a general tendency for it to become the domain of the upper-class samurai .” In regards to sōjutsu, this is a fascinating statement–spear fighting was one of the primary weapons of the ashigaru, low-ranking fighters, often conscripts, who fought in mass formations during the Warring States Period. In this feudal domain, at least, the low-ranking warriors were forbidden from learning spear (along with horseriding). This illustrates how far ideas of martial practice diverged from the battlefield in the peacetime of the Edo period. In this han, at least, the spear was more an elite weapon that either sword or bow-and-arrow. It may also illustrate a pragmatism that modern people do not often ascribe to the people of Edo: horseriding was expensive and symbolic of aristocracy, so of course, it was circumscribed to higher ranks.
  2. “Lower-ranking individuals such as the infantry (kachi), vanguard unit (sakite-gumi), matchlock guard unit (mochitazu-gumi), rural units (gōgumi), and town units (machigumi)—namely those referred to as foot soldiers (ashigaru)—for the most part entered training in Araki-ryū and learned the art of capturing (torite). Because these ranks of warriors primarily served in official duties related to guarding and capturing criminals, the study of Araki-ryū was a natural result arising from the operational necessity of their main duties. . . . .  However, this does not mean that upper-class samurai (jōshi) never trained in Araki-ryū; in fact, many did so.” A system of bōjutsu – Ten-ryū – was also practiced. In many domain, the local Araki-ryū would incorporate weapons at will, so that each faction, beyond the core torite-kogusoku (armed-grappling) techniques were quite different. In this domain, separate fuzuko-bujutsu (附属武術) were created, namely Ten-ryū bōjutsu and Koshiba-ryū iaijutsu. Most interesting, however, is the development of Araki-ryū (and surely, elsewhere, other ryūha), where the original grappling techniques, primarily for close-combat and dispatching enemy warriors with a secondary study of taking prisoners in exigent circumstances, developed the latter into a policing martial art where the primary purposes were keeping order (there were dozens of farmer’s revolts in this domain, due to the lack of much industry and the over-reliance of rice farming) and capturing lawbreakers. 
  3. “Setting aside horsemanship, archery, and artillery, other martial arts generally designated the late afternoon from 4 o’clock to 6 o’clock (the current 2 hours) as the standard general training hours, and those of exceptional diligence would, outside these hours, wake up early every morning and hold matches by agreement before breakfast, or engage in solitary training to sharpen their skills.”
  4. “Around the An’ei era (1772 – 1781), they frequently held matches that resembled real combat using wooden swords with bare faces and bare gauntlets among the disciples to cultivate their courage, and also when an application for a match was received from another dōjō master, they settled the match using wooden swords with bare faces and bare gauntlets in the presence of a doctor and acquaintances. The dōjō of the victor became increasingly prosperous, while the loser closed the dōjō because of this, which was by no means rare. Coming down to later years, they handled it practically: dividing into left and right sides of dozens of people each, they formed battlefield arrays using signal marks, placed paper targets or thin boards on their heads, or carried red and white balls wrapped in cotton attached to the tips of sticks placed inside bamboo tubes on their backs as targets of attack, and it is said they held matches called “beautiful armor alignment” or “head-taking.”
  5. “Artillery/firearms training had fixed days in the afternonon once or twice a month, at the Kenmotsu riverbed target range, each ryūha forming a single unit to conduct it. Officials in charge of ammunition counts were dispatched and distributed the required bullet tips. These bullets were all granted from the authorities, though practicing with one’s own self-provided gunpowder was optional; it was a system where training faced no obstacles at any time. Zealous persons called it “bulk-shooting:” practicing firing one hundred consecutive rounds alternating between the standing and kneeling postures. The distance to the target was constantly 15 ken (~27 meters) firing at a twenty-centimeter square target. Those who achieved one hundred hits out of one hundred shots were extremely rare; most produced a certain number of stray bullets. When considered from today’s perspective, it feels exceedingly primitive, but at that time, they used matchlock muskets, and of course had no equipment for sight scales corresponding to the distance. Furthermore, because the gunpowder was a crude product, this level of inaccuracy was to be expected.”
  6. “Connected to artillery practice, what was most interesting was gun-hunting. During the old weapon era, outside of professional hunters who received permission as part of their civilian livelihood, gun-hunting for birds and beasts was strictly forbidden for both samurai and commoners alike without distinction; however, those holding qualifications above the primary hōjutsu license were assembled during a fixed period limited to the winter season and dispatched to scatter across the mountains and fields of the domain territory, allowing them to hunt birds at will. Furthermore, they entered deep mountains and secluded valleys to hunt wild boars and deer. On one hand, this served the purpose of eliminating the damage caused by birds and beasts to agricultural crops; however, its primary purpose was based on the core intent of training the body by wading through mountains and rivers, and for young men, it is said it was truly a peerless pleasure.”
  7. “Winter training (Kangeiko) lasted for thirty days during the coldest period every year, starting out every day from around 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM in modern time and practicing until daybreak. Because many individuals practiced two or three types of martial arts concurrently, such as swordsmanship, sōjutsu, and jūjutsu, those who went around two or three dōjōs within a single night were not few. Regarding the training grounds at that time, although jūjutsu was an exception, all others practice on earthen floors (doma), not wooden floors like today. Therefore, with merely a single layer of training clothing, they felt a coldness that made them shiver, but upon swiftly seeking a partner and engaging in a match, their bodies instantly became warm like spring, feeling no cold air whatsoever.”

The article concludes with the following anecdote:

Honshin Kagamitomo-ryū sōjutsu

The master instructor of Honshin Kagamitomo-ryū sōjutsu, Satō Sagoemon Nobusu, was a master of such renown that during his period of service in Edo, he even provided instruction to samurai of other domains; it is said his name was known not only in neighboring areas but also within the Satsuma and Chōshū domains. At the time when the retainers of the Satsuma and Chōshū domains visited Sasayama, they stated that they wished to view Satō’s training hall. They were reportedly deeply impressed. At that time, it was praised by people saying: “The things that excel beyond measure in Sasayama are the spears of Satō and the horses of Ashizawa.” What excels beyond measure in Sasayama today? Electric lights, telephones, and infantry barracks. This leaves one feeling slightly disheartened.

 

I am pleased to announce the general release of my book, Roots Still Cracking Rock. [French, Spanish, Italian & Czech language versions will be released in the next few months.] This book is my testament to classical Japanese martial arts.

Roots Still Cracking Rock: Refections On My First Fifty Years Within Classical Japanese Martial Traditions