IDEAL TEACHING: JAPANESE CULTURE AND THE TRAINING OF THE
WARRIOR by Wayne W. Van Horne, Ph.D. Kennesaw State University Paper
presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Central States Anthropological
Society March 1996 Covington, Kentucky
A revised version of this article appeared in the Journal of
Asian Martial Arts in 1996, Vol. 5, No. 4. Back issues are available at the
site.
The central themes of Japanese culture have evolved over the past several
centuries and permeate all aspects of life in Japan, including martial arts
(Befu 1971:174-179, Beasley 1975:11-13). Perhaps the most central theme is the
strong emphasis on conformity and the subsuming of individualism to the norms of
the social group (Befu 1971:168-169). Yet one prominent image in Japanese
culture seems to be conspicuously paradoxical to this emphasis on conformity-
the idealized image of the lone samurai warrior.
Many of us are familiar
with the idealized image of the lone warrior as depicted in the famous Akira
Kurasawa/ Toshiro Mifune samurai films such as The Seven Samurai. The lone
warrior of these films is an independent individualist who is ultimately
competent, invincible, and is a technically superb warrior who single-handedly
triumphs in combat against the multitudes of adversaries who oppose him. Is this
seeming paradox of the heroic individualist in a culture of conformity based on
our erroneous Western interpretation of the Japanese warrior image, or is the
individualism of the warrior actually prized in modern conformity-ridden
Japanese culture?
One way to answer this question is to examine the
relationship between the teaching methods of Japanese martial arts systems, the
training ground of warriors, and key Japanese cultural values. Do the training
methods teach individualism, or are they consistent with the cultural value of
conformity? My research indicates that although the teaching methods do indeed
train martial artists to be highly skilled individual fighters who engage in
one-on-one combat, the ultimate goal of the training is consistent with broader
Japanese cultural values- to create individuals who contribute to the betterment
of the collective society and who have a high degree of social responsibility -- a
conclusion that has also been drawn by other researchers (Befu 1971:166-169;
Jones 1992)1.
The comparative analysis of martial arts training methods
that I am presenting is based on data I obtained through participant observation
and interviews as a student in three different systems of Japanese budo, or
martial arts. In each of these arts- Sakugawa Koshiki Shorinji Ryu Karatedo,
Aikido of Ueshiba, and Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo- the teachers I observed were highly
ranked, had been trained through traditional Japanese methods, and likewise
train their students with traditional methods.2 Two of the teachers are
Japanese, and one is an American who learned his art in Japan.
The
teaching methods and goals of all of these systems are strikingly similar, so
much so that it is obvious that they are widely used, culturally based methods
of teaching that embody Japanese cultural ideals. Their overt goal is to mold a
student toward a specific end, the creation of a master budoka, a warrior who
embodies not only supreme competence in the specific martial art, but also
embodies many of the ideals of Japanese culture (cf. Jones 1992).
In
order to examine the relationship between Japanese culture, teaching methods in
the martial arts, and the ultimate goals of warrior training, I will discuss
several major Japanese cultural themes that serve as models for teaching methods
in the martial arts. I will also use examples from my participant observation to
illustrate the influence that these cultural themes have on actual martial arts
teaching and goals.
The first major theme is one of the most pervasive
themes in Japanese culture- the importance of social conformity and the
subsuming of individual desires to the needs of the group. This ethos of group
conformity provides the model for the structure of group training in budo.
Several uniquely Japanese concepts relate to this theme, specifically wa,
musubi, giri, and ninjo. Wa is the concept of group harmony, the subsuming of
the individual to a part of the collective functioning of the group (Whiting
1979). Wa serves as a cultural model for group martial arts practice.
For example, in Karatedo, Jodo, and Aikido classes students practice
basic techniques (kihon waza) repetitively as part of a group. Students are
required to achieve a remarkable degree of synchronization and uniformity in
their collective movements, most strikingly seen in the group practice of
elaborate kata, or patterns of techniques, in Karatedo. Students are taught to
act in harmony with the group, not to perform as individuals. Those who do act
as individuals cannot move in synchronization with the rest of the group, and
are admonished by teachers for disrupting the group wa. In a perfect kata
performed by a class of students everyone moves not as individuals, but as a
group entity, each individual a part of the collective wa.
Musubi , a
related concept which means unity or harmonious interaction, is central to
Aikido theory. Musubi extends the ideal of group harmony to harmony with the
attacker. Aikido students typically train in pairs, with one student attacking
and one defending. Aikido technique is based on the defender blending with, or
coming into harmony with, the motion and energy of the attacker- in other words
applying musubi (Saotome 1989:9).
Giri is another core cultural concept
that refers to the individual's social obligation or duty to act appropriately
while interacting with others- in other words to conform to appropriate cultural
rules of social interaction (Nitobe 1979:24-25, Befu 1971:168-169). Individuals
must therefore suppress their personal natural inclinations and desires, their
individualistic tendencies, known as ninjo (Befu 169-170). This conformity to
appropriateness of behavior also extends to the ideal of "correctness", the
ideal that there are specific correct ways of doing things. In Japanese culture,
especially where ritual is used, the Japanese believe there is an optimally
correct way for actions to be performed that can only be learned through exact
imitation of a master of the art or ritual. There is therefore a high value
placed on conformity with the approved method of doing something. For example,
this can be seen in instructional methods used in the educational system and in
arts such as Noh and the tea ceremony.
Students who practice budo are
also admonished to imitate the techniques of their teachers exactly, without
individual variation or expression, in order to master the technique correctly.
In all of the arts I observed the major emphasis was to drill students
repetitively in individual techniques and combinations of techniques to make
them able to perform them with painstaking precision. For example, in Jodo
students were required to spend hours mastering each individual basic strike
with a staff (jo) before beginning to learn combinations of techniques. The
first several classes typically consist of practicing a strike over and over
again for two or three hours, with the teacher correcting it until the student
can do it precisely. My karatedo teacher, often made this same point by telling
students that as beginners they were like puppets, their goal being to imitate
their teacher as precisely as possible. Another American Aikido teacher I
observed made this point by telling students that the process of learning Aikido
was similar to that of art. Students had to learn to draw basic shapes, such as
squares, circles, etc., precisely before they would ultimately be able to create
a painting of complex form.
The emphasis on group conformity and
conformity in execution of techniques has multiple goals in Japanese training
methods. Technical mastery is certainly foremost. Learning the techniques
precisely allows the budoka to ultimately perform their techniques in the
quickest, most powerful, and most efficacious manner possible and optimizes
their ability to survive a fight. It also builds endurance, physical stamina,
and strength. However, it also allows the teacher to observe and assess the
personality of each student. The student's patience, natural aptitude, and
ability to be committed and persevere- all essential qualities to train and
survive as a warrior- become apparent. Teachers look for weaknesses in these
abilities, and give individualized instruction to each student to point out
their weaknesses and force them to improve. Throughout this process apt students
learn about their own character and personality and attempt to overcome their
weaknesses. My Karatedo teacher addressed this by saying that a shodan, or first
degree black belt, was only considered a beginner. All of the training prior to
that merely allowed a student to learn some basics, but more importantly allowed
the teacher to assess the student's character. The most important training began
after a student had proven to have the qualities necessary for becoming a
warrior.
This is also apparent in Jodo training. New students are
required to master each basic technique one at a time. This means that new
students must practice the same technique repetitively for hours during a class,
often practicing by themselves. Obviously, many new students become bored and
don't see the purpose of the tedious repetition. The Jodo teacher would observe
the way that new students dealt with the repetitive solo practice, and would
comment about weaknesses he perceived, such as not having patience, not
concentrating, etc. In this respect, the initial tedious basic practice served
as a sort of litmus test for gauging the personalities of new students. Many new
students didn't persevere through this initial phase.
The second major
theme that pervades budo training is derived from the importance of hierarchy as
a model for the structure of Japanese society (Beasley 1975:3-4). Two concepts
are particularly important in order to understand the effects of hierarchy in
Japanese culture and behavior (Befu 1971:31-32, 54, 166-168; Benedict
1974:98-113). The first is amae, the tendency to depend on the approval or love
of other significant people in one's life for one's own emotional happiness
(Befu 1971:159-161). The other, on, refers to indebtedness that can never be
repaid. For instance, a child can never repay its parents for its birth and
their love and effort to raise it. Likewise a student can never repay a teacher
for his knowledge and teaching, or an employee a boss for his hiring and
employment. The best one can do is to fulfill to the best of one's ability any
obligations to, or requests from, those people. These are all examples of on.
On also functions in budo training between student and teacher. Students
have strong obligations and bonds to their teachers, to the extent that
traditionally teachers were supported, and cared for, by their students. The
cultural importance of on, indebtedness, and giri, appropriateness, are such
that together they create a strong sense of obligation in students to do
whatever the teacher asks (Nitobe 1979:37-41). Budo teachers are in a position
of hierarchical status and authority over students, and they use their studentspi
sense of indebtedness and need for approval to exert ever increasing demands for
training time and acquisition of skills. They also use the studentspi sense of on
to manipulate and motivate them during training.
This was most apparent
to me in Jodo training. Increasing demands were placed on students as they
gained more seniority in the class. For instance, students were typically shown
a kata, or prearranged series of techniques, only once or twice by the teacher,
and then were expected to know it by the next practice. Usually newer students
would forget the kata. The teacher would then apparently become very angry with
the student, and would tell them that since they had forgotten the kata they had
wasted his time in teaching it to them. The horror of this to a Japanese student
is that they have both failed in their obligation to a higher status person to
whom they are indebted, and have also met with disapproval from a significant
person in their life. They would then typically work extremely hard to learn
what was required of them and not make this mistake again.
The studentspi
sense of obligation also motivates them to tolerate a variety of severe teaching
methods. In Jodo the teacher would often use anger to teach a variety of
lessons- to show disapproval of failure to learn, to motivate students to learn
faster, or to teach them to deal with their temper or a stressful situation. He
would also use disapproval to the same end, sometimes walking away from a
student in the middle of private instruction in apparent disgust, leaving the
student confused and alone in the middle of the practice floor in front of the
class. I also observed the Aikido teacher become angry and threaten to walk out
in the middle of a large seminar he was conducting with a hundred or so
students- because they weren't performing a technique exactly the way he had
showed it. The threat had the desired effect and motivated the students to
perform the technique exactly as demonstrated. In each of these examples the
teacher used anger and disapproval to manipulate the studentspi sense of on and
amae in order to motivate the students to learn.
The studentspi sense of
on also motivates them to endure teaching methods involving physical pain, which
are used by teachers to motivate students to learn certain lessons. For example,
once the Jodo teacher was reviewing a particularly long and complicated kata
with me that I had failed to master. It entailed me attacking him with a wooden
practice sword (tachi) and him defending with a short wooden staff (jo). Over a
number of repetitions he continuously increased the intensity, speed, and power
of his techniques to make the situation more and more like actual combat. He
interjected angry comments and looks of disgust at my incompetence throughout
this process. This culminated in a very real, though expertly controlled, attack
by him on the last repetition of the kata that resulted in me attaining a split
lip, a nearly broken arm, and a bruising blow to my solar plexus that caused me
a momentary blackout and wave of intense nausea. Needless to say, the reality
and danger he instilled in the situation resulted in an increase in the
intensity and skill of my practice from then on.
A similar experience
occurred at a similar level of my Karatedo training. Over the course of an hour
my teacher repeatedly told me to punch at him, and repeatedly threw me over his
shoulder onto a wooden gymnasium floor with a series of impressive techniques.
Eventually the pain and exhaustion I experienced from attacking and being thrown
resulted in my attacking him as hard as I possibly could with every ounce of
energy I had left in order to just keep going. Eventually I ceased to give any
thought to the consequences of my attacks. When he halted this practice he told
me that I had finally learned to perform a committed attack, which was necessary
in order for my techniques to actually work in combat. I then realized that this
had been his goal and was the lesson I was supposed to learn.
Japanese
students endure many physically grueling lessons like these, and return to
practice again, due to their sense of on to their teacher. Again, teachers have
multiple goals when utilizing a student's sense of on and amae. The studentspi
sense of obligation and desire for approval motivates intense practice, which is
characterized by the emphasis on the perfecting of techniques, and consequently
results in the attainment of a high level of mastery of technical skills by
students (Befu 1971:174). It also allows students to develop courage and
calmness in the face of unpredictable, intense lessons in the dojo. The goal is
ultimately pragmatic- the few students who endure to the culmination of this
process become master warriors, better than the vast majority of fighters
(Nitobe 1979:28-29).
A third major theme in Japanese culture, more
focused in the areas of religion, spiritual beliefs, and the arts, is the belief
that universal natural laws exist and can be manifested through the actions of a
master of an art. Two concepts associated with this ideal are ri and ji. Ri is
universal truth, the following of universal laws of nature, while ji is a
particular action or expression of ri created by a master. Ji is in essence a
depiction or manifestation of the universal truth, which can only be produced by
someone with the insight to produce it. In budo a technique or kata performed by
a master is ji- it is perfect and follows the natural laws (Leggett
1978:122-126). In order to master an art to the level that a budoka can express
ji in his actions every technique must be mastered, the principles of
biomechanics and ki (energy) flow must be understood, calmness of mind in combat
and invincibility of spirit must be mastered, the universal principles must be
applied to all action, and all of these must be integrated within the budoka.
With this high level of mastery a budoka becomes not only a master fighter, but
his actions become ji and manifest the universal truths.
The Aikido
teacher, Saotome, (a disciple of the founder of Aikido), discusses this through
a related concept, kannagara: >=Kannagara is a way of intuition....The only laws
are the laws which govern natural phenomena and promote harmony. Kannagara is a
way of supreme freedom, for the action appropriate to function in harmony with
nature occurs spontaneously.<= (Saotome in Jones 1982:124).
Saotomepis
words explicate the Japanese cultural model of mastery of an art- it is only
after mastering the art that the warrior can truly become creative and
spontaneous. The spontaneity will then be in harmony with the universal laws of
nature, and the warrior will be invincible. Thus the emphasis in teaching
methods on precise imitation, repetition, and technical mastery. It is only with
this level of exacting training that mastery might be achieved. For example, my
Jodo teacher would sometimes quip >=When you have a menkyo kaiden, (or have
mastered the system), you can perform this technique the way that you want, but
for now we do it the way our headmaster teaches us<=. The point that this makes
is that a student needs to imitate the teacher to reach the level of mastery and
insight necessary to spontaneously perform a perfect technique themselves.
Again the ultimate goal of this training model is pragmatic for the
warrior who faces combat and death. My Jodo teacher told me that the ultimate
goal of budo is to train hard to become as good as possible as quickly as
possible, so that one will be able to defeat an opponent with onepis spirit. His
point is that if you are a master then your capabilities will be so apparent in
your attitude and actions that any opponent will recognize that he will be
defeated and therefore wonpit attack. This is perceived as the ultimate pragmatic
goal of budo training- a warrior becomes invincible in art and spirit, and
therefore violence is averted.
The last theme, which is again more
specific to spirituality and the arts, is enlightenment and transcendence
through mastery (Suzuki 1973). This is the ultimate goal of budo training. The
training not only produces master warriors, but leads to the realization in the
master budoka that he does not want to kill. Again teaching methods are used to
instill this lesson from the beginning.
My Karatedo teacher once had an
aggressive new student join his class specifically for the purpose of sparring
with other students. The teacher asked him to spar with him before class, and
the new student eagerly accepted. The teacher had no difficulty in repeatedly
inflicting painful, although controlled, techniques on him. Within five minutes
the student was bruised and bloodied. He then proceeded to practice with the
rest of the class for two hours. This process of enduring painful sparring
before class with the teacher was repeated at the beginning of each class for
almost a month. The student became first more determined to fight hard, then
gradually became resigned to the fighting, and eventually realized that not only
was fighting self destructive, but he no longer wished to inflict such pain on
other students. Finally, when it was apparent that he was no longer interested
in fighting, the teacher ceased to fight him in this manner. I must add that
whenever the teacher sparred with other students he did not hurt them. When
asked about his purpose in the brutal treatment of the student, the teacher
answered that >=some people need to be shown love the hard way<=.
A similar
incident also occurred with the Jodo teacher. One new student who was also
aggressive in his practice with other students suffered repeated lectures and
bursts of apparent anger by the teacher. Again the teacher attempted to teach
him that budo training was not about aggression. Thus the ultimate goal of budo
training is to transcend violence and anger, again for multiple reasons.
Pragmatically, a warrior who has emotional control during battle has a better
chance of surviving . A warrior who is angry or violent is not in harmony with
universal laws and will be defeated. More importantly, by becoming a master
budoka a warrior is invincible, and therefore doesnpit need to kill another
human. With this ability comes the realization that killing is unnecessary. A
master budoka with this realization is motivated to train others to this level
of mastery, so that they too avert conflict. The outcome of budo training is
therefore the instilling of benevolence in the budoka, and a sense of social
responsibility to teach others for the betterment of society.
The
teaching methods that I have described budo teachers using are obviously derived
from important Japanese cultural themes such as conformity, the importance of
the group, correctness, indebtedness, harmony with nature, and transcendence.
They are indeed focused on the pragmatic goal of developing a superb fighter,
but this is seen as necessary for the ultimate goal of creating insight in that
individual which leads to the development of a personal ethos of benevolence and
social responsibility.
This brings us back to the question I posed at the
beginning- is it the individualism of the warrior that is actually prized in
modern conformity-ridden Japanese culture, or is this an erroneous
interpretation of the idealized warrior image by Westerners? The answer at this
point is apparent, the ideal of the budoka is that of an invincible warrior who
is able to overcome all adversaries, but who ultimately embodies a deep sense of
social obligation and is strongly motivated to better society by training others
to be able to avoid violence through their own mastery of budo. The warrior
image therefore embodies the cultural ideal of the individualpis obligation to
put societypis needs above their own. Like the hero at the end of >=Sanjuro<= and
other Kurasawa/ Mifune films, the master warrior in Japanese culture ultimately
shuns violence and killing as personal weakness and social evil.
1. The conclusions presented in this paper are my own and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of any of the martial arts teachers whom I observed during
my fieldwork. 2 . My participant observation consisted of five years direct
training with Thomas Cauley, shichidan (seventh degree black belt) in Sakugawa
Koshiki Shorinji Ryu Karatedo, two years with Norio Wada, godan (fifth degree
black belt) in Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo, and attendance at numerous seminars over a
twelve year period taught by Mitsugi Saotome, shihan (master teacher) of Aikido
of Ueshiba.
Acknowledgements
This paper is a result of the
outstanding training I have received from the following teachers: Thomas Cauley,
David E. Jones, David Adams, Norio Wada, Mitsugi Saotome, and Edward Baker. I
thank them all for their efforts.
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