Sakuraba Takeshi - The Development of Judo from the Meiji Renovation - 1/3

Who was Sakuraba Takeshi (1892 - 1941)

One of the three main disciples of 10th dan Nagaoka Shūichi, together with Hashimoto Seijirō and Kudō Kazuzō. Himself an 8th dan, he was a member of the Study Commission for the Teaching Programme of Gymnastics at School. He authored Jūdō shikō, published in 1935 with a preface by master Kanō Jigorō.

 

The Text

At the end of the Tokugawa, when the policy of sakoku^[1] was finally broken and the prospect of the State was defined^[2], the People unexpectedly asked for the union of all forces within the Nation, intending thereby to face national problems with all the Country united as a whole^[3]. Sonnō jōi^[4]  became the so-called motto.

However, while the first part of this so-called motto was a popular cry of an essential nature, which arose from the bottom of the heart of the People, the second part, i.e. the expulsion of the barbarians, was a warning against what appeared to be a direct attempt at self-destruction.^[5].

Later, with the clarification of the nature of what was called "foreigner", that cry at some point became extinct, and came to be replaced by sonnō kaikoku^[6]. Alternatively, it was also called kaikoku shinshu^[7]. Therefore, the "expulsion of the barbarians" did not lead to the development of Japan, the true development of our Nation. Instead, only joining them, taking and introducing those aspects of their culture which were exceptional, would lead to the development of Japan. It was in this way that the idea of ​​opening the Country won over the idea of ​​expelling the barbarians. Not that they (the people) were all aware of it at the beginning. Certainly there were also those who, though as men they could hardly bear letting so-called "red hair - blue eyes" set foot onto the sacred soil of the Land of the Kami, supported the strategy of opening the Country and temporarily enduring it, despite having no intention of actually doing so, because it was important obtaining the strength to strike and destroy foreigners by introducing their culture. However, since those who once obstinately advocated the expulsion of the barbarians leaned towards the opening of the Country, as if flipping their hands upside down, the wind of Europeanization spontaneously overwhelmed everything. No, it was not just a wind of Europeanization. Wherever its strength reached, everybody threw away without thinking, like old rags, the age-old culture of our Country. Jūjutsu was one of the many things that was thus discarded.

 

Despite the fact that they sometimes instigated insurrections in the Bakumatsu^[8] period, each han sought to advance military arts. The Bakufu had itself established the Kōbujo^[9], and promoted them alike. Therefore, this era was certainly a period in which the marvels of the fighting arts were carried out in our Country. However, that too was but a fleeting dream. With the advent of the time when the Han were abolished and the Prefectures^[10] established, and both the Government and the Sovereign^[11] very renovated, military arts of old immediately became things of the past, without anyone bothering to reflect upon them. Even the bushi threw away their two swords and put their hands on the abacus and the hoe. Those who studied bujutsu were considered crazy. When Sakakibara Kenkichi^[12], the Bakumatsu sword expert, gathered some people and began to practice gekken as a form of entertainment, some jūjutsu experts also joined him. The action of Sakakibara, far from being a means to make ends meet, deserves to be praised as a desperate attempt at opposing the wave whose crest was about to break, and reviving again in the hearts of the People, through its practice as a form of entertainment, the kenjutsu which had become decadent. But after a while, come the tide of an era in which they could not help but hide, the shadow of the great swordmasters of the time, and that of jūjutsu experts alike, disappeared from society.

However, those who possess something truly exceptional cannot leave it to remain buried underground forever. Although their purpose may not consciously revive itself from the beginning, a new consciousness of the beauty of what they originally possessed was reborn beneath the awareness of their value. Just like a Greek sculpture that, at the beginning of the modern era, despite being an old concept of body shape, is reborn with a new purpose below the threshold of awareness, so too the bujutsu once more made its appearance in the world.

The way of the rebirth of the jūdō began, by and large, with two different currents. One was genuinely popular, the depended from the State. The popular current had its center in the work of Master Kanō, whilst the State current depended on the the Ministry of Education’s research activities on physical education. Thus, the two currents naturally influenced and intersected each other, external and internal forces collaborated in a multi-faceted work, and finally came to the present situation. I will first describe the Ministry of Education’s research activities on physical education

 

It was in the 5th year of the Meiji Age that primary schools were built for the first time in our Country. Later, the Minister of Education Tanaka Fujimaro^[13] visited the United States and numerous European countries and, having observed their gymnastics, decided to have it practiced in all the schools of our Nation. It was the 11th year Meiji^[14]. Quoting from the description of the contemporary situation in the Bulletin Weekly of Education published in August of the year 9 Shōwa^[15], which Mr. Shinoda Toshihide^[16] made following the Ancient Education Research Symposium^[17] :

"What is called gymnastics began in the eleventh year Meiji. Tanaka from the Ministry of Education, having toured the United States and Europe with Mr. Iwakura^[18], observed the practice of gymnastics. Seeing men with beards moving their hands and feet in a peculiar fashion, and having asked enquired what it might be, he was told that human beings must exercise not only the mind but also the body. Thus Mr. Tanaka, once back home, founded the Taisō denshūjo^[19]".

This way, gymnastics suddenly acquired strength in our world of education. However, thinking about it, there was no need to take materials for physical education only from the United States and Europe. Perhaps there were even better ones in our Country. Therefore, it was decided to conduct a study on the bujutsu handed down in our Country, to see whether this could not be the case. This activity then began at the Taisō denshūjo described in the speech of the aforementioned Shinoda.

The fact that one could say, according to Professor Shionoya's research^[20], that in year 10 Meiji^[21]  there were places in which jūjutsu was practiced in addition to, but aside from, compulsory school subjects (such as Aichi's First Middle School) was perhaps, for the Ministry of Education, which determined to impose a gymnastics-only policy, a stimulus to self-criticism. On the other hand, needless to say, we can think that the ideas of high-minded experts with profound knowledge of the duty to preserve what makes our Nation unique, and which had come to assert themselves strongly in opposition to the tide of the era that leaned towards the "Omnipotence" of the United States and Europe, had an important role in re-awakening activities related to such things.

Thus, in May of the year 16 Meiji^[22], experts of jūjutsu and kenjutsu were invited to the Taisō denshūjo and a study was undertaken on whether the two jutsu could be used as forms of school gymnastics, and how school gymnastics could be improved. At the same time, supervisory advice was requested to the Director of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tōkyō, of Professor Johnson who taught thereof, and others. The works lasted until October of the following year, 17 Meiji^[23], with the following results:

 

Advantages of the two jutsu

1.     They help physical development

2.     They lead to obtaining strength to sustain physical activity for a long time

3.     They make one’s mental strength vigorous and shape one’s will

4.     They expel one’s weak aspects and forge a strong physical form

5.     they make for the bases of the self-defense in the eventuality of an unexpected danger

 

Detrimental or impractical points

1.     Uniform physical development is often lost

2.     there are several dangers in their actual practice

3.     It is difficult to keep them at a level of reasonable physical activity, but easy to get lost in activities that are either too intense or too mild.

4.     One’s spirit becomes vehement, risking increasing one’s tendency to violence.

5.     With thoughts of fighting spreading, it is easy to think in vain about obtaining victory.

6.     There is a tendency to cultivate desires for a fight that, on the contrary, has only the appearance of a race.

7.     During actual practice, everyone needs to be looked after It is difficult for one to able to teach many at the same time.

8.     A large number of classrooms is necessary.

9.     While the practice of jūjutsu only requires a keikogi, kenjutsu also needs practice equipment, which, along with the clothes, must be kept clean at all times, which is difficult for the students to do.

 

The conclusions of the Denshūjo, formulated based on the theory of education, were the following:

 

1.     it is not appropriate to use (jūjutsu and kenjutsu) as curricular subjects^[24]

2.     if, in the places where they are habitually practiced with ease, their gymnastic-related aspects are overlooked and (jūjutsu and kenjutsu)  are practiced only as form of mental training, it should be possible to harness their benefits.

 

There were, among the middle schools of all Prefectures, some in which (jujutsu and kenjutsu) were taught as an optional subject.

Later, in the years 27 and 28 Meiji^[25], following the Sino-Japanese War, along with the cries that from one end of the Country to the other demanded the promotion of budō, the Ministry of Education had the Advisory Council on School Hygiene evaluate^[26] whether jūdō and kendō were to be made compulsory subjects. Perhaps the Council itself did not feel the demand coming from society with the same force^[27], because it rejected almost all previous studies as unnecessary. Thus, based on the studies of the Meiji years 16 and 17, it was established that (jūdō and kendō) continued to be optional subjects. It was July of the year 19 Meiji^[28]. However, the attention paid to jūdō and kendō by society in general became ever greater, and proposition for their teaching as compulsory curricular subjects was submitted to the Imperial Parliament^[29]. In summary, during the Tenth, the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Council the proposal to add jūdō and kendō to compulsory curricular subjects was rejected, but eventually, on the Twenty-fourth Council, the postulants' ideas were recognized and unanimously approved. It was the year 40 Meiji^[30].

 

On the other hand, the Ministry of Education thrice commissioned a study to the Research Committee on Gymnastics and Play^[31]. It lasted from July of year 37 Meiji to November of year 38 Meiji^[32]. The results were as follows:

 

"The results of the study, carried out at the Denshūjo from May of the year 16 Meiji to October of the following year, on the experiment and the theory about the educational value of gekken and jūdō, recognized that (they) were not suitable to be carried out as a curricular subject. It was therefore established to teach them as optional subjects. Later, in July of the year Meiji 29^[33], since the results of the consultation of the Advisory Council on School Health led to discussions largely identical to the previous studies, it was decided on their basis to maintain and protract the initial approach.

Although in recent years, together with the growing demand for physical education to be intensified, there have been numerous proposals to add (gekken and jūdō) to compulsory curricular subjects, to date no reason has been found to oppose the results of previous studies and to affirm that one cannot add (gekken and jūdō) to the compulsory curriculum subjects. Thus, based on the initial approach, we believe that it is legitimate to practice (gekken and jūdō), as an optional subject to be chosen, limited to those students of strong constitution of fifteenth year of age. There are often, in society, supporters who insist that it is not difficult to adapt gekken and jūdō so that they can be taught to groups, and that, by establishing their practice and setting their curriculum, ensure that they conform to the goals of physical education, even though, according to the initial approach, it is not good to introduce gekken and jūdō as curricular subjects. Even supposing this to be true, it is necessary to add numerous modifications and corrections, based on the execution of a systematic research that exposes theory in relation to practice over time. Therefore, in relation to this point, further studies from the National Research Center on Physical Education^[34], and other Institutes, will be needed.

In today's school there are those who, regardless of the age and physical condition of the students, and complying with their aspirations, teach gekken and jūdō. From the point of view of physical education, this is something that cannot be overlooked. We believe, among other things, that more attention needs to be paid to the fact that training during periods of intense cold and muggy heat requires careful consideration for the physical condition of the students. "

 

The study of the year 38 Meiji^[35], based on that of the year 16 Meiji, also found itself unable to approve the addition (of gekken and jūdō) to the curricular subjects of Middle School, since there were no reasons to amend (the previous provisions), but, in this way, the cries for the spread of budō had moved the whole Country. In short, even though the proposal to the Committee had been approved unanimously, on the one hand there were enthusiastic postulants, but on the other hand it was only the result of the times that led to support (of that idea). Thus, as a result, the Ministry of Education carried out a new study, kendō and jūdō were universally recognized as effective and necessary for physical and mental training, at the same time ensuring their preservation, given that their widespread diffusion was a matter of competence of the middle schools. According to the Reformed Executive Regulations of the Middle School, promulgated on November 31 of the year 44 Meiji, they were added to the curricular subjects as part of Physical Education.

However, even in this reform there were shortcomings. Obtaining their (kendō and jūdō) addition to curricular, but not compulsory, subjects meant that they were optional. Moreover, this situation continued in the Taishō Period. Although both the Upper House and the Lower House had approved, in the year 13 Taishō^[36], the proposal to make them (kendō and jūdō) compulsory subjects, it was not easy to change the state of things. However, in the year 6 Shōwa^[37], thanks to the proposals of real pedagogues and, in particular, the great influence of the period itself, the amendment that made them compulsory subjects was finally approved. Looking back, from the year 16 Meiji up to the year 6 Shōwa, it took almost a half century, but eventually it was possible to fully demonstrate the educational value of  kendō and jūdō, taught in middle schools not only as curricular, but as compulsory subjects.

 

( Jūdō shikō, pp. 174-184)

 

Acqua Autunnale

gasshō _/\_

 

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^[1] sakoku鎖国

^[2] kokka 国家

^[3] kyokoku icchi挙 国 一致

^[4] 尊王攘夷

^[5] 自己 の 壊 滅

^[6] 尊 王開国

^[7] 開国 新 取

^[8] 幕末 (1853 - 1869) The final years of the Tokugawa shogunate, encompassing the first visit of Commodore Matthew Perry and the end of the Boshin war. 

^[9] Military Training Center of the Bakufu, established at the end of the Edo Period. The Kōbujō (講 武 場) established in year 1 Ansei (1854) was renamed Kōbujo (講 武 所) in the year 3 of the same era. He taught kenjutsu, hōjutsu etc. to students of the samurai and hatamoto families. In the year 2 Keiō (1866) was abolished as a result of the institution of the Army Office. Famous masters such as Katsukai Shū, Odani Seeichirō and Takashima Shūhan taught there.

^[10] 廃 藩 置 県

^[11] 政王 一 新

^[12] 榊 原 健 吉 (1830 - 1894) initiator of the practice of performing kenjutsu fights as a form of entertainment. The establishment of the Keishichō gekken sewa kakari 警 視 庁 撃 剣 世 話 掛, the institution responsible for the training of police forces in kenjutsu, Sakakibara became its teacher.

^[13] 田中 不二 麿 (1845-1909), Minister of Education from 1874 to 1878

^[14] 1879

^[15] 1932

^[16] 篠 田利英 (1857-1944), professor and then director of the Tōkyō normal female high school 東京 女子 高等 師範學校, author of the Physical Training Manual for the Normal School 修身 教科書 師範学校 用 (1901)

^[17] 教育 の 古 き を 探 る 座談会

^[18] Iwakura Tomomi 岩 倉 具 視 1825-1883), initiator of the Meiji Renovation together with Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori and director of the Iwakura Mission (1871-1873), a diplomatic journey that brought the main exponents of the Meiji Renovation to visit the United States and the Europe.

^[19] Educational institution for Western-style gymnastics, established in 1878 in Tōkyō, under the direct control of the Ministry of Education. American George Adams Leland (1824-1903) was introduced as a teacher of Western-style gymnastics, and when Leland withdrew, Tsuboi Gendō (1852-1922) followed in his footsteps, becoming the center of the institution of the basics of physical education in Japanese schools. It was abolished in 1886, replaced by the Department of Gymnastics School for Teachers 

^[20] Shionoya On 塩 谷 温 (1878-1962), honorary professor of the Imperial University of Tōkyō with specialization in Chinese characters, was also interested in Confucianism and martial arts

^[21] 1878

^[22] 1883

^[23] 1884

^[24] 科学校衛生顧問会議

^[25] War 1894-1895

^[26] 学校衛生顧問会議Chaired by Michiyoshi Miura (1866-1925), who repeatedly opposed the introduction of kenjutsu and jujutsu in middle schools.

^[27] 世間 literally "world", meaning not the totality of the planet (which would be sekai 世界), but Japan in a broad sense.

^[28]  1886

^[29] Established by the Meiji Constitution of 1890

^[30] 1907. The following year the Jūjutsu Commission of the Butokukai, directed by Kanō Jigorō, published the manual Kata of jūjutsu established by Dai Nippon Butokukai 大 日本 武 徳 会 制定 柔 術 形, containing the Nage no kata and the Katame no kata under the heading "randori no kata".  

^[31] 体操 遊戯 調査 会

^[32] 1904-1905, corresponding to the years of the Russo-Japanese War

^[33] 1896, the year following the victory of Japan in the Sino-Japanese

^[34] Founded in 1924 to carry out studies in physiology, biochemistry, psychology and science of the education.

^[35] 1905

^[36] 1926

^[37] 1931 The Kōdōkan had in the meantime published Kōbōshiki kokumin taiiku 攻防 式 国民 体育(Physical education for people in attack-defense style) and Seiryoku zen'yō kokumin taiiku 精力 善用 国民 体育 (Physical education of the people - The most correct use of spirit and physical strength)