Physical Education of the People and the Spirit of the People - 1931

 

 

Kanō Jigorō

Physical Education of the People and Spirit of the People 

As mentioned in previous issues regarding the People[1]'s Physical Education, about 20 instructors of this physical education have already completed their training, mainly in Tōkyō, and about 20 in Ōsaka and Hyōgo prefectures, respectively, and are ready to conduct nationwide training at any time. In Tōkyō, some of these people are discussing the possibility of going to schools and factories to teach and disseminate this practice. It was decided to hold nationwide seminars in Ōsaka for seven days starting 1 May and in Tōkyō for seven days starting 11 May; all prefectures will be informed soon.

先般来逐号国民体育のことについて述ぶるところがあったが、この体育の幹部講習員は東京 を中心として約二十名、また大阪および兵庫県を中心として約二十名それぞれすでに練習を終 えたのでいつでも全国的の講習をなし得る準備が出来た。東京においてはそれらの人の、っち有 志は、あるいは学校にあるいは工場に行き指導をなし、自己の練習を兼ねて普及に着手せんと 目下協議中である。全国的講習の日もいよいよ来る五月一日より七日間大阪において、同十一 日より七日間東京において挙行することに決定し、近く各府県にその旨を通知する運びになっ ている。

Preparations are now well underway, so it is only a matter of time before local centres of this physical education are established throughout the country. In view of this, I feel it is appropriate to say a few words about the Spirit of the People[2] that we are trying to instil in the people in relation to physical education from now on. This is evident from the last part of the speech I gave on the People's Physical Education at a meeting of the National Physical Education Council of the Secondary Education Association held in Tōkyō a few days ago.

かく準備は着々進んでいるから、全国的にこの体育の地方的中心の出来るのもただ時 の問題である。してみれば今日からわれらがこの体育に結びつけて国民に植えつけんとしてい る国民精神について、ここに一言するは適当の機会であると思う。それは過日東京において催された中等教育会の体育に関する全国的協議会において、私が国民体育に関してなした講演筆 記の終りの一部分を見れば分るから左にそれを掲げる。

In all countries today, physical education is not only about improving the body, but is also considered training for one's spirit[3]. Depending on the type of physical education, it has historically been accompanied by various types of training of one's spirit. However, the most important type of training of one's spirit must be the one that brings the most necessary results in light of the country's current situation. In the case of our country, what is this? Firstly, the veneration of the Imperial Household, which is the basis of national unity, and the defence of the Substance of the Nation[4] . Secondly, the augmentation of the strength of the individual and the nation. Thirdly, avoiding the exhaustion of strength in unnecessary conflicts and promoting harmony and cooperation between people.

今日はいずれの国においても体育といえば、ただ身体をよーするのみならず、精神の修行を6 も兼ねたものと考えられている。体育の種類によっては、歴史的にいろいろの精神修養がそれに伴って行われている。しかしどういう意味の精神修養が一番大切であるかといえば、その国 の現状に照して最も必要なる結果叡ヂ精神修養でなければならぬ。我が国においていうてみ るとそれは何であろうか。第一、国民の結東の基礎である皇室尊崇国体擁護ということである。 第二、個人の力や国家の力を充実するということである。第三、無用の争いに力を消耗することを避けて、人々相互に融和協調するということである。

What is most necessary to achieve these results is the spirit of the most righteous use[5] of one's vigour[6], which I have always advocated, or in other words, the spirit of Seiryoku zen'yō. If an individual or a nation wants to increase its strength rationally, there is no other way than the most righteous use of one's vigour. If a nation wants to use its vigour for good, it must have a centre that unites it. In Japan we are fortunate to have the Imperial Household[7], the centre that people trust, so the fundamental principle of the most righteous use of one's vigour is to look to the Imperial Household as the centre of national cohesion. Furthermore, society does not progress if people do not cooperate with each other by yielding to each other and helping each other in harmony and cooperation. Therefore, the most righteous use of one's vigour inevitably requires harmony and cooperation. Therefore, if the spirit of the most righteous use of one's vigour can be thoroughly cultivated, the necessary elements for national prosperity will naturally be provided along with it.

以上の結果を査するに最も必要なのは私が平素説いている精力最善活用、これを約言すれば精 力善用の精神である。個人としても国家としても、そのカを合理的に充実しようと思えば精力を善用するよりほかに逮はないのである。また国家がその力を善用しようと思っても、これを 統一する中心がなければならぬ。我が国には幸い皇室という国民が信頼している中心があるの であるから、どこまでも皇室を国民結合の中心として仰いでいくことが精力善用の根本義であ る。また人々互いに譲り合い助け合い融和協調していかなければ社会生活は進展しない。それゆえに精力善用は必然融和協調を要求する。それゆえに精力善用の精神を徹底的に養うことが 出来れば、それに結びついて国家興隆の必要なる要素はおのずから備ってくるのである。

The physical education of the people must also follow a system in line with this spirit. This is why a new physical education of the People has been devised, despite the fact that many already exist. If this physical education is implemented as the physical education of the People, it will naturally provide, in the first place, the training of one's spirit that the entire nation needs today. Secondly, a new system of physical education will have been achieved that allows the body to develop evenly and completely, without fatigue, something only gymnastics offers today. Thirdly, a system of physical education will have been achieved with movements endowed with meaning, interest and practical use, the lack of which is why gymnastics is not widely practised.

国民国民体育もこの精神に添うところの方法に依らなければならぬのであるから、従来多くの体育種類があるにかかわらず、新たに国民体育を考案したゆえんである。この体育を国民体育が実行 するに至ればおのずから第一に国民全体 今日最も必要とする精神の修養が出来るわけである。第二に今日は体操のみが具えている、無理なく身体を円満均斉の発達させるという体育 法がさらにまた新しく出来たのである。第三に体操がそれらを欠いて いるために広く行われないという原因をなしている、意味ある動作、興味、実用等の備っている体育法が実現したのである。

A new system has been devised that avoids the drawbacks of many physical education systems, which require a specific location, special clothing, equipment and machinery, cannot be practised alone, or require a certain amount of time. In short, this method of physical education is of great help in the education of one's spirit needed by the people of today, and fulfils the three main goals of physical education - strength, health and usefulness - that have been desired but not yet realised.

また多くの体育法が不便を感じている、特定の場所を要し、特別の服装を要し器具器 械を要し、単独では出来なかったり、一定の時間を要したりすることを 免れる新たなる方法考案されたのである。要するにこの体育は、今日の国民の必要とするところの精神教育に大いに力をなすものであり、従来渇望されていてまだ実現しなかった強、健、用という体育の三大目的を具備した体育法である。

Thus, that is, in short, 'more righteous use of one's vigour' becomes the defence of the Substance of the Nation, harmony and cooperation, and the enhancement of strength, the three great spirits inculcated by this physical education, all of which are particularly required by the current situation[8].

かく国体擁護、融和協調、力の充実はこの体育によって植えつけられる三大精神であって、いずれも今日の時勢が特に要求するところのものであって短くいえば精力善用となるのである

 

 

Sakkō, 10th Collection, 11th Issue, March 1931

「作興」第十巻第11一号昭和六年三月

Original title:

国民体育と国民精神

 

Full translation and notes by Emanuele Bertolani

---

[1] 国民 kokumin is the combination of 国 "country" and 民 "people", so it comes close to the technical meaning of "nation" as a group of individuals conscious of their own cultural and historical distinctiveness and autonomy, spec. as the premise of political unity and sovereignty. I think it is more appropriate to translate kokumin as 'people' because there are alternatives for writing 'state' or 'nation' as political entities (国 kuni, 国家 kokka), whereas kokumin 国民 refers directly to those who form the nation proper, hence to the People.

[2] 国民精神 kokumin seishin. "spirit" refers to the psychological quality of the human being, not the metaphysical one, the way one understands the meaning of a phrase such as "has a strong spirit" or "body spirit". The physical education of the People therefore aims at cultivating the spirit of the People, not the spiritual cultivation of the People.

[3] 精神の修行 seishin no shugyō The reference is to the spirit as the psychological and mental aspect of an individual, not as a synonym for 'soul' or with a religious meaning. The Master uses the term shugyō, which depending on the context indicates 1) the ascetic practices performed to experience Buddhist teachings with one's body 2) the commitment and study to make a certain knowledge or art one's own 3) the training pilgrimage in which warriors engaged once the Tokugawa victory (1615) had ended the country's time at war.

[4] 国体 kokutai. In Neo-Confucian thought, reality is constituted by the Action (yō 用) of ki 気, which is structured on the basis of the instructions of the Substance (tai 体). In other words, every manifestation of reality is governed by the same higher ordering Principle. The kokutai, as the Substance of the Nation, is the principle upon which the Japanese nation, its foundations and roots, rest. Specifically, the existence of an unbroken line of descendants from the solar deity Amaterasu Ōmikami and his presence on the Japanese throne as the link between Heaven and Earth.

[5] zen'yō Zen (different from Buddhist Zen 禅) indicates 'best' from both a utilitarian and an ethical perspective. That is, it refers to the fact that one's vigour should be used not only in the best way, but especially for a good purpose. That is why I chose to translate 善用 zen'yō as 'the most righteous use' and not with 'the best use'.

[6] 精力 seiryoku I considered translating 'vigour' instead of 'energy'. Specifically, 'energy' can be translated as 活力or 気力, while seishin is a word carefully chosen to have within it both the actual physical aspect (力 'physical strength') and the mental and psychological aspect (精 'spirit', mentioned in footnote 3).

[7] 皇室 kōshitsu specifically, the Sovereign and the members of his family. The statement needs to be understood in the context of Japanese culture: the imperial family is descended from the solar deity Amaterasu Ōmikami, and represents the link between Heaven and Earth. In the years following the Meiji Renewal (1868), the presence of a link between the physical and metaphysical spheres located in an individual who is part of an institution unbroken through the centuries was presented as the root of Japanese culture and the main reason for its exceptionalism.

[8] This statement also needs to be put into historical context. Master Kanō published the article in March 1931. In 1915, the Japanese government had attempted to gain dominance over the Republic of China by submitting the 21 Requests. In 1919, the Versailles Armistice had not recognised Japan's dominance over the German colonies in China conquered during the First World War. The Japanese proposal to include a racial equality clause in the founding document of the League of Nations in 1920 had been rejected. By 1922, the Anglo-Japanese alliance to counter Tsarist Russia had come to an end. In September 1931, with the Mukden Incident, the Japanese government had the pretext to order the invasion of Manchuria and set up the puppet state of Mǎnzhōu guó, a prelude to the Second Sino-Japanese War and the opening of the Asian theatre of the Second World War.