Texts martial in Japan in the seventeenth century
early seventeenth century, a situation occurs in Japan, apparently, singular: at the exact moment when the art of the sword seems to have become less necessary to the survival of the old feudal system, now absorbed into the new form of government of the Tokugawa Shogunate, we are witnessing the emergence of some works of importance for the understanding of this' art noble, cultivated and loved to this day. The three works are, in chronological order, the Fudochi shinmyoroku (The testimony of the secret wisdom immutable) written in 1632 by monaco zen Takuan Soho, the Heiho Kadensho (The sword that gives life, also known as The Book of martial traditions of the clan), written by Yagyu Munemori since 1632 and Gorin-no-sho ("The Book of Five Rings "or" five elements ") by Miyamoto Musashi, written between 1643 and 1645.
These are three works that describe the traditional teachings (and those specific to individual teachers who wrote them), and deliver to posterity a legacy of important theories and techniques of the art of Japanese sword. The work of Takuan Soho is clearly the result of apprenticeship Zen master, and has a more philosophical, while that of Miyamoto Musashi is instead an eminently practical. The book we are dealing with today, the sword that gives life, but constitutes a very important combination of these two different approaches: Munemori, in fact, teach techniques, but do not step away from the Zen that permeates all the time. Among the reasons for this proliferation of sword masters and theoretical texts, there is a phenomenon that had already occurred in the Muromachi period (1336-1568), namely the formation of numerous martial arts schools, many of which arose according to their founders, for divine inspiration.
Munemori Yagyu's life (1571-1646)
Son of one of the greatest swordsmen of the sixteenth century, Yagyu Sekishusai Muneyoshi, Munemori sees a decided his fate day of 1594, when only twenty-three, during a meeting with the future shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, was asked by his father, whom Hideyoshi had applied to become a master of his sword, to substitute teaching. Munemori became the heir and the continuation of the tradition of his father, who had joined the teaching style of the traditional Shinto style of Tomita and also to learn from Kamiizumi Ise no Kami Hidetsuna and his pupils, Shinkage-Ryu style. Munemori perfected this style in Shinkage Yagyu-Ryu, taught to this day. A friend of Takuan Soho, a contemporary of Miyamoto Musashi, Munemori acts as a master swordsman of the Tokugawa for three generations, teaching the child Ieyasu, Hidetada, and his son, Iemitsu. The story passed down a story of the life of Munemori impressive: it took place in 1615, during the terrible battle of Osaka, during which one of the opponents of the Tokugawa, Toyotomi, asserragliatosi in the castle is protected by more than sixty thousand soldiers, sent a group of assailants in the opposing camp, which had managed to get almost to the tent of the Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada. The assailants killed the Shogun would probably have if they had not met a man of middle age, he tied the horse in front of the Shogun, confronted the soldiers and killed seven with expertise quickly than ever, while the others were attacked by Hidetada guards. The work
Munemori Yagyu, as we wrote, was the legacy of great masters such as, for example, Matsumoto, Ikoasai, Kamiizumi and Sekishusai, encoded in Shinkage Yagyu-ryu. The book The sword that gives life Munemori summarizes the thinking of the art of sword, presenting the style he brought to perfection. Munemori is found in the work of the great tradition of Zen masters, the result of the influence of Takuan Soho, who was sent to our author the concept of Zen Ichiyo ken (sword and uniqueness of Zen), so Soho as he had taught: "There are many occasions when martial arts and Buddhism are in harmony and where the martial arts can be understood through Zen. Both abhor in a particular attachment and fixation on things ... It does not matter what kind of secret tradition has been entrusted, or the technique used: if the mind is fixed on this technique, the defeat is certain martial arts. Regardless of the opponent's actions, which are affected to a cut or touched, is a fundamental exercise of self-discipline never fix your mind. " Should therefore rule out any type of attachment, and reach the condition of no-mind.
Thus, Munemori, we see that the objective of the exercise of the art is to transcend the technology itself: the continuous exercise must lead to internalize the technical aspects, as long as the mind is no longer able to interfere with practice, which becomes, at this point, our second nature. The author writes: "If you repeat endlessly the various practices and accumulate merits in your discipline, both in terms of practical training, action will be reflected in your body and your limbs, but not in your mind. Distancing from practice, do not opporrai to it, and make any technique necessary. At this point you will not know where is the mind, nor demons, neither the heresies will know where to find it .... " The
Henko Kadensho is divided into three chapters: The bridge of the shoe, where the present techniques; The sword that causes death, with a widening of the techniques and the introduction of school psychology; The sword Giver of Life, which continues as indicated in the previous chapter, and ends with the basic technique of the Yagyu-ryu Shinkage: the "Non-Sword."
The edition of the work published by Luni, as well as a rich introduction, edited by William Scott Wilson and the text dell'Henko Kadensho, also mentions important graphic work created by Yagyu Sekishusai and commented in 1707 by Matsudaira Nobusada, expert practitioner Yagyu Shinkage-ry, which shows the various techniques of the school. (1)
Note 1) Review the work Munemori Yagyu, The sword that gives life. The secret teachings of the House of Shogun, Luni Editrice, Milano 2004 (Arts in the East, 2005).
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