Ritual Formalism and the Intangible Body of the Japanese Koryū Budō Culture

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the interrelation between the traditional Japanese martial arts culture (koryū budō) and its modern correspondents (gendai budō). The analysis is based on the idea of inscribing koryū budō on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage, as Japan's oldest martial cultural asset. Initial proposals to do so were put forward in the last ten years by some Japanese martial arts organizations, e.g. Nippon Budokan, especially by its koryū legacy division. The paper interprets the ritual-like and pattern-like formalism of the Japanese modern and traditional budō legacy, especially in the context of "Japanese nationalist history" after the Meiji Restoration. Emphasis is therefore put on the structures of movements that pre-exist in the ritual practices of the classical budō culture and are still present in modern martial arts systems, because of their hereditary and pre-formalized performativity.

Kata – The true essence of Budo martial arts?

“…What is I? ... Do, the way, is the method, the teaching, that enables you to understand perfectly the nature of your own mind and self Rafolt's (2014) work on the transformation from the ancient/traditional (koryu budo) to the modern forms (gendai budo) clarifies the process by which the spiritual component came to be inextricably linked with martial practice. Rafolt (2014, p. 8) proposes a three stage strategy; "(a) demilitarization, (b) mystification and (c) cultural appropriation".…”

“…Rafolt (2014, p. 8) proposes a three stage strategy; "(a) demilitarization, (b) mystification and (c) cultural appropriation". While much of the demilitarization came as a result of the post World War II pacifist attitudes, Kano pre-empted the change in the 1920's when he chose to promote the health and ethical benefits of judo and wished to resist its appropriation for military training by the state (Rafolt, 2014); a point that would have considerable repercussions for judo kata. The mystification emerged from the de-emphasising of martial prowess, with the void filled with the assertion of self -development and -cultivation believed to lead to spiritual stability.…”

“…Drawing on Shi-Xu's (2010) analysis of intercultural communication pedagogies, it is possible to claim the martial arts became a critical pedagogy of intercultural transmission; however the legitimacy of Western interpretation (or misinterpretation) is harder to discern and may simply be a product of Orientalism (Said, 1977;Clarke, 1997). The final of Rafolt's (2014) stages, cultural appropriation, we will not discuss in great detail, instead we refer the reader to his original work. It is suffice to say that the mystification of martial arts contributed to their international popularity and diversification and the mixing of cultural values and pedagogies; leading to a fear of the loss of the original, traditional values they stood for.…”

“…The latter approach has its roots in Confucian teachings which, considering the influence Confucianism had on Bushido, may explain why kata was so endeared to the martial arts. Consequently, Matsunobu (2011), supported by Rafolt (2014) and Sasaki (2008), discuss kata as a bodily form of…”

“…Therefore, kata could be representative of the Bushido way of developing and practicing Zen principles. Matsunobu (2011), Rafolt (2014 and Sasaki (2008) refer to kata as a story of lineage, folk tales or stories, or cultural heritage and so it could be that Budo kata is a psycho-physical allegory to the harmonious and reciprocal development of Bushido spiritual teachings.…”