Editor's
Note:
This is the third in a continuing series of
articles on the Japanese art of iaido the
modern discipline or way of drawing the sword
that assumed its present form in the early
20th century. The series started with "The
Study Of Iaido" followed by "Layers
Of Shu-Ha-Ri In The Practice Of Iaido."
This article focuses on the curriculum of
Muso Shinden ryu iaido, the style of sword
drawing that the author teaches. Future articles
will discuss other physical and aesthetic
concepts of iaido in context of actual practice.
Historic
Background
Very
briefly put, Muso Shinden ryu iaido (MSR)
is one of the many styles of drawing the
Japanese sword descended from Hayashizaki
Jinsuke Shigenobu. As I have pointed out
elsewhere on the website, Hayashizaki is
considered the "founder" of sword
drawing as a form distinct from fighting
with swords already drawn. MSR iaido descended
by way of Tamiya ryu iaijutsu, along with
Muso Jikiden Eishin ryu and many other styles.
The descending line of iaido we are concerned
with here was influenced by a series of
successive headmasters, including Hasegawa
Eishin, Omori Rokusaemon and Hayashi Rokudayu
Morimasa. The resulting style at this point,
in the 18th century, was referred to as
Tosa iai. It subsequently split into two
branches in the 19th century. The Tanimura
ha (Tanimura branch), led by Tanimura Kamenojo,
became Muso Jikiden Eishin ryu in the beginning
of the 20th century, named by headmaster
Oe Masamichi (1852-1927). The Shimamura
ha, led by Shimamura Ichisada, became the
Muso Shinden ryu under Nakayama Hakudo (1869-1958)
around the same time. (1)
| Some
suggest Nakayama Hakudo was the "founder"
or "inventor" of the style.
From the foregoing we can see this is
untrue. Nakayama Hakudo reorganized
the Shimamura ha and renamed it in keeping
with established tradition. He was the
last Muso Shinden ryu headmaster. Since
then Nakayama's senior students have
become prominent teachers, resulting
in some mild variations in the details
of some of the kata. However, my personal
observations suggest these variations
are very minor. |
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Meaning Of "Muso Shinden"
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"Muso
Shinden" means "transmission [of]
divine vision." However, we should
avoid reading too much into its literal
translation. The sounds of both "muso"
and "shin" are found throughout
the history of sword styles, but they are
not always represented by the same characters
from one school to another. The hearer/reader
is supposed to pick up the layers of meaning
implicit in the similar sounds, as well
as reading the characters. There are also
traditional aesthetic and spiritual concepts
associated with the characters. For example,
the character for "shin" is also
"kami," usually translated into
English as "god" but entirely
different from any Western concept of the
divine. The "divine vision" may
refer to Hayashizaki's vision of the art,
or could refer to something else. Therefore,
it is difficult to understand this sort
of imaginative naming without being familiar
with the Japanese language, traditions and
some martial arts history. Understanding
these less-obvious meanings are closer to
understanding the meaning of the name as
a whole. Suffice it to say for now that
there is more in a name than just its kanji.
Basic Characteristics
Muso Shinden ryu has some physical characteristics
that are consistent throughout the style.
On a practical level, they facilitate learning
to handle a sword and perform the various
kata (prearranged movements in a pattern
used for practice). Among these are the
importance of proper grip, cuts and sayabiki.
We will deal with these first before getting
to some specific characteristics of MSR
Omori ryu.
Proper
grip
In a proper grip, the "meat"
of the hands is on top of the tsuka
(sword grip). The right hand is always
above the left. Single handed techniques
in MSR are always done with the right
hand. The right hand is approximately
1" from the tsuba (guard). The
left hand wraps about the end of the
tsuka. The little finger of the left
hand is wrapped at the end of the tsuka,
not below |
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it.
The small and ring fingers of both hands grip
more tightly than the rest of the fingers.
There should be no "white knuckle"
effect.
Cuts
Cuts in MSR are done using this "wringing"
method mentioned above. They are round
in shape, meaning that the tip of the
sword always leads the cut. The right
hand leads the cut while the left provides
support. The last one-quarter of the
blade from the tip down is where the
cut takes place. We do not cut with
the middle of the blade. This method
allows the tip of the sword to |
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achieve
maximum speed in the cut. It also allows for
maximum distance from the target, a consideration
in a hypothetical encounter with a similarly-armed
opponent.
Sayabiki
MSR includes throughout a technique
called "sayabiki." The sword
is seated in the obi such that the tsuba
is in the center of the waist. |
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Sayabiki
means that as the iaidoka is drawing the sword
out of the saya (scabbard) with his right
hand, the left hand turns the saya flat and
pulls it back and around the waist. To return
the sword to the saya, the practitioner begins
with the sayaguchi (scabbard mouth) at the
front center of his waist, aligns the sword,
and pulls the saya back once again with the
left hand (the sword stays balanced on the
left hand the entire time). Eventually, enough
room is created to allow the tip of the sword
to drop into the sayaguchi. The iaidoka presses
the saya slightly in toward the waist to allow
the tip to drop in properly and allows the
sword to slowly move into the saya. While
this technique underlines some aesthetic concepts
that relate to Muso Shinden ryu which will
be dealt with in another essay, on a practical
level, sayabiki allows the iaidoka to handle
a very long katana (sword). An old film of
Nakayama Hakudo shows him easily handling
a katana that is very long in relation to
his overall height using this method. At New
York Budokai, we tend to ignore recommendations
of sword length offered in catalogs and tell
new members to simply get an iaito (iaido
practice sword) that is as long as possible
without being too heavy for them.
| Interestingly,
sayabiki is also preserved in the much
older style of Tamiya ryu iaijutsu (which
dates from the late 16th century). We
do not know whether sayabiki existed
in the Shimomura ha; but we can say
Hakudo did not "invent" sayabiki
as a characteristic of MSR. The technique
already existed. |
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Omori
Ryu Characteristics
MSR iaido, like many other styles, is divided
into shoden, chuden and okuden groups of
kata to facilitate learning. It is the shoden
level of Omori ryu which interests us here.
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All
of the Omori ryu kata save one begin from
the kneeling position of seiza. Seiza is
a formal kneeling posture, in which the
iaidoka sits on the floor with the tops
of the feet flat behind him. The buttocks
touch the heels. Critics of iaido are fond
of pointing out that drawing a long sword
from seiza is a pretty unlikely in actual
combat. Most likely, if one were sitting
in this way, he would be indoors and hence
not likely to be in possession of a katana,
or long sword (probably only a wakizashi
, a short sword or tanto, a knife). Taylor
and Ohmi writing in the Journal of Asian
Martial Arts on the history of the style
(1) wisely point out that seiza is a useful
posture for training the quadriceps and
lower back. Moving from seiza allows the
beginning student's muscles to strengthen
and gain control, essential work for learning
how to move with a long sword (1997, 86).
As
I have mentioned elsewhere, seiza is not
only a training tool, it is a formal posture.
A beginning student learning a traditional
art form, such as sado (tea ceremony), kado
(flower arranging), or many other traditional
arts, would also be trained in the posture
as a matter of course. Learning manners
is part of what the shoden forms teach.
One
of the differences in the seiza used for
the shoden forms, however, is that the iaidoka
does not "rest" her weight on
her heels. By keeping her quads slightly
activated, she can rise from that position
more easily and gracefully than she could
otherwise. Keeping the quads active also
improves posture and strength generally.
| As
to posture, for the most part in all
of Muso Shinden Ryu, with only rare
exception, the back must be kept straight,
with the iaidoka leaning neither forward
nor backward. Weight is centered at
all times throughout the execution of
the forms. |
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It
takes approximately six months for a beginner
to learn to sit in seiza properly and begin
to move with control from that position.
For some persons it may take longer. As
a teacher, I get tired of hearing new students
say they "can't" take up this
posture; in that case, they "can't"
do iaido either. Practicing seiza during
a commercial break once a day watching TV
is often all it takes to stretch everything
to accommodate the posture, given some time.
| The
noto (resheathing the sword) for all
the kata in Omori ryu starts from the
habaki, the copper or brass end piece
at the end of the blade closest to the
tsuba (sword guard). This requires the
student to use the full method of sayabiki
in order to replace the sword in the
saya. Doing the full technique allows
the teacher to acquaint the new student
with the proper method from the very
beginning, and is very good training. |
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There
are 12 kata in the MSR Omori set. The arrangement
of the kata in the set can vary. The arrangement
listed below reflects how we practice at
New York Budokai. Other dojo's practices
may be different, though all of the forms
would be included:
Shohatto
Uto
Sato
Atarito
Inyoshintai
Ryuto
Junto
Gyakuto
Seichuto
Koranto
Gyakute-inyoshintai
Batto (also called Nukiuchi)
We will discuss the individual forms in
depth in subsequent essays.
©
By Deborah Klens-Bigman, Ph.D.
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