There are many resources available for information on classical Japanese martial arts, with popular and scholarly sources in English readily accessible. This Recommended Reading List is updated from time to time as more work is published.
Online Resources
Check out Kogen Budo for writings by Ellis and others on classical martial traditions.
Koryu.com gives a good general sense of the modern practice of classical Japanese martial disciplines.
This article at Budo Japan this one by Dr. Karl Friday. Dr. Friday has various writings online and in print addressing and re-assessing Japanese warrior culture in light of ongoing scholarly research. Everything he writes has relevance and informs how we approach practice.
This old thread on E-Budo giving an idea of our approach, including thoughts by Chris and Ellis Amdur:
Popular Sources on Classical Martial Arts
Good reading for a general introduction to the study of classical traditions would be Diane Skoss' Koryu Books series. They bring the work of a number of current martial researchers and scholars together in one place.
And of course the written work of Ellis Amdur, our teacher.
On Musashi:
Translated works of swordsmen have been available for a long time. I continually revisit some scholarly translations of the work of Miyamoto Musashi - he addresses combative realities as a whole, not just with swords, in a practical way that is really reflected in the two translations below.
But take care, there are also bogus "interpretations" out there.
The Complete Musashi Dr. Alex Bennett's translation of Professor Takashi Uozumi's collects the most recent research on the famed swordsman-artist's oeuvre. Corrections of prior translations from later discovered original documents are part of this work.
and
The Five Rings by Meiji University's David K Groff, also a practitioner of a line of Musashi's swordsmanship.
Groff's translation is my current favorite. Very nuts-and-bolts, no nonsense, accessible. I've always liked the direct simplicity of Musashi's writing and his critique of the aestheticized, commercialized, and philosophizing of the martial way in his day (which has continued unabated since that time, and in the light of history, isn't really much different from today).
Scholarly Research
More often these days my own reading is more academic work. Scholarship on Japanese warrior culture has expanded considerably over the years, much of it available to the non-specialist reader, and give very different picture of the changing warrior culture of Japan than "martial arts research."
Accessible versions of some doctoral theses are also available, in some cases more focussed on overall martial culture, even specific schools, than in general historical work.
I suggest tracking down the work of the following four scholars before going further. They will set the scene, so to speak, and provide much needed perspective on the world in which the Japanese martial tradition arose.
1. RP Dore's Education in Tokugawa Japan
2. The late Dr. Cameron Hurst's Armed Martial Arts of Japan.
3. The works of Dr. Alexander Bennett: Kendo: Culture of the Sword, in particular.
4. The 1998 doctoral thesis of the late John M Rogers The Development of the Military Profession in Tokugawa Japan.
Also read Musui's Story.
Additionally:
The works of Dr. Karl Friday:
Legacies of the Sword: the Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture.
The works of the late Dr David A Hall:
Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts
The price is now exorbitant. Individual chapters can be obtained from Brill. Especially relevant material appears in his chapter Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior in Koryu Bujutsu and his article Pilgrimage and Practice: The Body, Speech, and Mind Interface Between the Japanese Warrior and Religious Ritual.
The works of Steven Trenson:
Trenson writes on esoteric Buddhism and martial traditions. His works give insight into the spiritual world view of the pre-modern warrior vis-a-vis the mentality they deemed necessary to avoid sin and "falling into hell" when taking life (in the medieval Buddhist context).
In particular his articles Cutting Serpents: Esoteric Buddhist Dimensions of the Classical Martial Art of Drawing the Sword and Buddhism and Martial Arts in Premodern Japan: New Observations from a Religious Historical Perspective are must reads.
Trenson also translated Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu: The Iai Forms and Oral Traditions of the Yamauchi Branch.
Beyond these are some great sources for background knowledge, such as Michael Wert's Samurai: a Concise History and the work of Thomas Conlan.
The works of Dr. Constantine Vaporis:
Tour of Duty is particularly good to get a sense of the daily life of the warrior stationed at Edo, including their guard and law enforcement responsibilities, specifically touching on some martial matters.
The Samurai Encyclopedia which *may* be a condensed - and more affordable - version of this one. I haven't seen the latter yet.
Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism
This book by Jacqueline Stone is important to understanding the medieval and early modern Japanese approach to the concept of original enlightenment, which undergirds some of the gokui of some of the martial traditions of the times.
Comments
Post a Comment