Arts of War in Times of Peace. Archery in Honch Bugei Shden Author(s): John M.

Rogers Reviewed work(s): Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 253-260 Published by: Sophia University Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2384902 . Accessed: 12/03/2012 09:02
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Sophia University is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Monumenta Nipponica.

http://www.jstor.org

Artsof War in Timesof Peace

in Honcho BugeiShoden Archery

indigest versions suchas Bugei intheEdo period andhasappeared circulation by later and BugeiShodensho 'I'tP, edited ShOden Bassho , writers. on Hinatsu's artsrelyheavily OthermajorEdo histories of the martial two ofHinatsu's an expansion is basically work. Gekken SodanI0t-:A, 1790, while on swordsmen, BujutsuRyusoRoku A,tft&, 1843,is little chapters thanby exponent. of thematerial morethana regrouping by schoolrather Hinafollows Another 1790, work, Bujutsu Keifu Ryaku important AM,*=X, in its that lineage appear tsu'stext verbatim formany ofthebrief explanations charts.
AUTHOR is an assistant in sport philosophyat the Nippon College of Physical Education, Tokyo. He wishes to expresshis gratitudeto Dr Okada Meiken Pi W H1mfor his advice in the development of the present article. 1 Heiho is in fact a more encompassing scienceand spans from to the purephilosophy THE

Shoden AfIjNf+, and Kanjo Bugei Shoden Tat.1'fI,

JN work on the is theoldest survey HonchoBugeiShoden in Japanese martial arts.Written of theclassical history andtraditions 1714 by Hinatsu ShirozaemonShigetaka H9MVEWMA. , and pubninedifferent covering of tenchapters lishedin 1716,thebook is comprised is Each chapter to swordsmanship). arts(two chapters are devoted martial founder or expodevoted to an illustrious divided intoa number of sections onehundred andfifty promimartial art.Thetext mentions nent ofa particular theartsof military science and strategy (heiho_Q?A;),l nent warriors practicing (bajudecorum 4), horsemanship archery military (shitsukeML),2 (shajutsu #f (tojutsuiq4f), the art of the spear(s`jutsu M4M), tsu . swordsmanship (kogusoku 'J>aJ), and unarmed armed closecombat firearms (h-jutsuTr4i), knownas Kanjo ShOdenfH&t'fi, Bugei combat(jujutsu t4q). Popularly
nHE

by JOHN M.

ROGERS

the textenjoyedwide

logisticsof troop and supplydeployment. 2 The term furigana shoreiis read herewith to the decorumof the as shitsuke,and refers Ise fk and Ogasawara 'jVJq schools. It is the science of how a bushi should act, talk, and interactwith others in everydaylife, formal situations,and especiallyin military situations.

254

MonumentaNipponica, 45:3

ran Shu inShiseki times inmodern published wasfirst HonchoBugeiShoden in several lateranvolume90, 1883. The texthas been included tgR, arts,such as BujutsuSosho AATR (1915),Zoku of the martial thologies , NihonKendo Kendo Shugi OqLat- (1923)byYamada Jirokichi ShiryoH*$IJ1E6*4 (1943),and NihonBugeiShodenHtAfJNfn byWatatani work. it as an independent and evaluated Hinatsucollected The son of a naginata *jj grandmaster, schoolsof of thedifferent and founders aboutthewarriors popularstories such andaccounts records historical them against themartial artsandweighed and Gikeiki , Koyogunkan as AzumaKagami A WR;t,, Hojoki k of the scrolls and written traditions the He also read popularworks, 9. and Whilenota fewof histheories classics. and theChinese schools, various theMeiji madepublicafter by documents havebeendisproven explanations and presents accuracy foritsgeneral BugeiShodenis recognized Restoration, seenbythe were arts ofthemartial of howtheorigins picture an unsurpassed point thestarting remains period.Eventodaythetext in themid-Edo literati on thesubject. foranyresearch arts, in themartial figures of prominent of introductions consists The text conflicting Hinatsu discusses in which commentary often followed bya brief which after texts), important from passages brief quoting versions (sometimes Chinese; in is literary Thebodyofthetext hepresents hisowninterpretations. original aremadeintheir {)t<; quotations is in kana-majiri thecommentary beis little variation and there is widely available The original 1716text style. theeditions. tween toourunderstandcontribution a considerable makes HonchoBugeiShoden the formed Widelyread and quoted,its information ing of Edo thought. twoand a artsforthefollowing ofthemartial man'sunderstanding educated historical madepublicprimary untilthevariousschoolsfirst halfcenturies thePacific War. after documents son hewastheeldest that agree Mostrecords aboutHinatsu. Little is known oftheTendotheseventh grandmaster YoshitadaH b d. 1688, ofHinatsu is hisfather didnotsucceed of naginata style ryui TAR.j71n. WhyShigetaka Nobutsune FKCf Kii-no-kami Matsudaira He served notknown.3 q, , lord to in 1717, when hewent death thelatter's ofSasayama CastleinTamba,until andapserve theHouseofSakai 'R4. He diedinEdo attheageofseventy-two about so little is known that in Seiganji . It is ironic wasburied parently
3 According to the inscription on his gravestoneat Sairenji fi;, Hyogo prefecture, Yoshitada had three sons and one daughter. The inscriptionreads, 'The oldest son, Shigetaka,was heirto thefamily. . . but fora certainreason left Sasayama and traveledto

Kiyoshi#,

1962. In 1920theDai-Nippon ButokukaiX E t,

published

of Musashi,wherehe died Edo in theprovince and is buried.' KunihikoX BtIM , Dai-Nippon Mitamura ShfibunNaginatadoKyohanX EX *i71A4, do, 1939, pp. 533-34. 4 Originally locatedin Yoyogi,Seiganjiand siteat to thepresent itsgravesweretransferred

ROGERS: Arts of War in Times of Peace

255

Burin Genshi *U4JtR#A0-, Heika Sawa

whospent forposterity a warrior muchof hisliferesearching and recording thelivesof other warriors. We do knowthathe was bornintoan influential martial-arts family, readwidely, and was reasonably welleducated. One can imagine Hinatsu as a manwhose lifefrom childhood revolved around themartial artsyetforsome reasonhe was not destined to take overhis father's school. In addition, Hinatsualso wrote other works on themartial arts:Honcho
n

and Heika Monogatari CS

THE period inwhich Hinatsu wasactive coincided with thelullbefore thelateEdo revival ofthemartial arts.It hadbeensomeseventy years since thedeaths of prominent figures suchas Miyamoto MusashiW9*Ai,Ono Tadaaki'>Mf , , and followed theextheGenroku N,and YagyuMunenori period, insharp ofwhich were cesses contrast to thevirtues andmoral codesexpoundand ed bythesamurai ofpeacethecustoms class.During theprolonged period or their traditions of the samurai wereeither forgotten performed by rote, In his commentary on archery Hinatsu significance no longerunderstood. in shooting rather than bowmen whoare onlyinterested forrecords deplores in his to studying applying themselves proper form and tradition. Similarly, on swordsmanship he criticizes themenofhisdaywhowere obsessed chapters theconduct ofthose whoconandexotic; bythesupernatural he also deplores in order to deceive others forprofit. cealedthenameof their realteachers Hinatsuwas nottheonlymanappalledbytherapiddecline in thebushi's In Hagakure j, self-image. 1716, his work on the ethicsof bushido, inofhisdaywere Yamamoto Tsunetomo that thesamurai o4jcg complains in discussing terested andthat had lost andwomen, only money, clothes, they in theWayof thewarrior.5 interest The Kyohofg reforms, in thetime of Tokugawa Yoshimune 8)II+i, enofthebushi martial artsin order to raisethemorale class.A practicouraged tioner often sword and patronof variousmartial attended arts,Yoshimune and spearmatches he issueda proclamation at Edo Castle.In 1718, exhorting hisretainers to learnswordsmanship, to associate with other retainers accordreall necessary ingto thecorrect military etiquette, and procure provisions station. quiredbytheir

Archery A principal artand, likeswordsmanship, thesymbol of theJapanese martial and warrior, archery can be broadly dividedintotwo streams, ceremonial Thesecan be further forarchers military. subdivided intotechniques on foot
5 Yamamoto Tsunetomo, The Hagakure: Hatayama at the time of the Russo-Japanese war. Hinatsu's graveis not at thenew siteand A Code to the Way of Samurai, Hokuseido, was eitherlost or removedaround thattime. 1980, p. 58.

256

MonumentaNipponica, 45:3

and those on horseback.6 Ceremonialarchery was practicedfromthe Kamakura period bythenobility andhigh-ranking warriors, andincluded formal shooting on ceremonial occasions suchas theNew Year,thebirth of a child,and dispelling evil spirits. Hinatsuaddresses ceremonial archery and discusses theOgasawara'J>4; and Ise f# styles in Chapter 2, which deals with military decorum. Ofthenumerous schools, most prominent were thesix Heki Ht schools thatfrom theOei period, 1394-1428, became thearchery of theaverage bushi.In later times of peace,military archery changed and comfordistance 59) became petition (toya -- ) andcontinuous shooting (toshiya popular. is saidto havebegun Toshiya in thetwelfth century at Tokuchoju-in -AW to theSanjusangen-do 6 themainhall R in Kyotoand latershifted of thenearby Rengeo-in . rchers knelt at thesouthendof the 120gR V meter veranda and shotnorth to see ifthey couldmaketheir arrows cover the entire distance without hitting ceiling, floor, wall, or pillars.The roofpresented an additional difficulty becauseit prevented thearchers from usinga simple arc to makethedistance. First undertaken bythebushias a self-evaluation oftheir skill, was toshiya revived several times, first intheSengoku eraandthen againintheEdo period. Records were andverified kept bya panelofsixofficials (domiS) from each of thebranches of theHeki school. There were basically three different ways to shoot attheSanjtusangen-do. Archers couldchooseto shootan unlimited number of arrows fortwenty-four H FR), to seehow hours (oyakazu ;A),or from dawnuntil dusk(hiyakazu many they couldshoot theentire length ofthehall.They coulddetermine what ofa fixed percentage number ofarrows, usually a hundred ora thousand, they couldshootthelength ofthehall.Boyswhohad notyetundergone gempuku to shootfrom downthehall (hando _T).8 7-EW couldelect halfway In the1600s, toshiya becamea popular competition, andthetitle 'BestArcherin Japan'was awarded to thearcher who shotthegreatest number of arrows in a fixed oftime. period The function centered on theHekistyle, and theChikurin-ha especially iiAg, theonlyone ofthesixbranches oftheHeki to chooseitsheadbyskill rather In oneoftheearly thanbyfamily. European references to Japanese martial arts,Engelbert Kaempfer, whovisited Kyoto
6 There are some exceptions.Designed for the average foot soldier,the Heki-ryui Ei E styleof archeryis based primarily on nonequestrian archery. Okai Mitsuru fMiI in Gendai Kyudo Koza . Yuzankaku, 1969, 3, p. 145. 7 Tokuchoju-in was located close to Rengeo-in, which Retired Emperor GoShirakawa 1bigJ had Taira KiyomoriiL buildin 1164. One of thebuildings of Rengeoin was a Kannon-do WI 4t knownas the San-

juisangen-do.The buildingsof both temples werelaterdestroyed by earthquakes and fires, but the Sanjuisangen-do was later rebuiltin 1266 by RetiredEmperorGo-Toba ,%M. 8 For an arrowto be countedsuccessful in toshiya,it onlyhad to travelthe length of the Hall without hitting thewalls,pillars,roof,or floor. Althougha large hoshimakuMI was set up about two ken from the end of the veranda,it was not reallya target but simply a backstop. Okai, p. 148.

ROGERS:

Arts of War in Times of Peace

257

/1

Archery at the Sanjusangendo

The Historyof Japan Kaempfer, Engelbert

in describes therowsof Kannonstatues his 1690-1692 stayin Japan, during diverted 'Without the He thenmentions, theSanjuisangen-do. temple people of a wonder at theability with of arrows,' and expresses themselves shooting A hall similar was builtin Asakusa,Edo, in 1642, to theSanjuisangen-do in holders to record inFukagawa. Thetitle offered reconstructed andwaslater for in Edo'. On thebasisof official and schoolrecords Edo was 'BestArcher 823 to calculate that itis possible hallshootings, bytheendoftheEdo period and 543 at theEdo hall.10 archers had officially shotat Sanjuisangen-do crowds before in theseventeenth to setrecords admiring The trend century haikai to archery. Ihara Saikaku4;qNM held several was not limited %Ebetween 1675and 1684,and on suchoccasions composed anything gatherings session. froma thousandto 23,500 versesin a singletwenty-four-hour of suchpoemsOyakazu 5 namedone collection 1681, Saikaku,in fact, at the of the same name after thearchery Sanjfisangen-do.11 competition
9 Engelbert Kaempfer, The History of Japan,MacLehose, Glasgow, 1906, 3, p. 197. 10 Ishioka Hisao 1 'Kyoto Sanjusangen-do Toshiyano Bunsekiteki Kenkyui' M -+ FWIAYe- Eb Et, in Kokugakuin Daigaku TaiikugakuKenkyiushitsu Kiyo 1
*F 1969, 1, pp. 5-17;

singlearcherto shoot 'severalthousandarrows.

. in a day's time.'9

Ishioka, 'Edo Sanjiusangen-doToshiya no BunsekitekiKenkyu', in ibid., 1972, 4, pp. 25-39. 11Donald Keene, World Within Walls: Japanese Literatureof the Pre-ModernEra, 1600-1867, Holt, Rinehart& Winston,New York, 1976, p. 47.

258

MonumentaNipponica, 45:3

factors causes.Two technical to several can be traced The riseof toshiya to have a rather archery tends Japanese possible. physically madethesessions to possible without resorting shooting that makeslong-distance flat trajectory its grip thebowwelltoward archers Japanese in an arc. In addition, shooting 12in this position; a kneeling or crouching from base and thisallowsshooting flight in the thearcofthearrow's significantly to increase wayitwaspossible space. confined to explain.The general becameso popularis moredifficult Whytoshiya An inof skill was one factor. and publicdisplay toward record setting trend in their potential in themartial and especially artsin general creased interest certainly helpedobtainofficial forre-instilling bushiideals,thenin decline, archery use a weaponof war,military No longer of anypractical sanction. ofsamurai to find difficulty Thegrowing ina newdirection. needed to develop in in maintaining interest another factor was possibly employment gainful instant fameand income.In wouldinsure as setting a newrecord toshiya, Oda factor. rulers was yetanother earlier of outstanding daysthepatronage X Hidetsugu andToyotomi e :, Hideyoshi Nobunaga MSB , Toyotomi were and the last two were all students of the Chikurin-ha, Heki-ryui f:-At Their bytheHouseofMaeda inKaga fondof toshiya. interest was continued which encouraged and theKii and Owaribranches of theTokugawafamily, 13 fiefs to compete. from their thepractice archers by sponsoring and featsat theHall, he closesthe WhileHinatsudulynotestherecords reason. Atthepeakofitspopularon a critical note-and notwithout chapter of a display of more at theHall became a graceless performance, ityshooting Wasa Daihachiro's of skillor form. endurance thana demonstration fott1k in twenty-four hoursaverages 13,053arrows ApF 14 featin 1686of shooting or one arrow timeforbreaks), about six hundred shotsper hour(allowing sixseconds.15 every Hinatsau and strength, feats of endurance on isolated Rather thandwelling andlineage intypical tothesuccession devotes hisattention, fashion, Japanese whowas thelegitimate which students, of theschools-which teacher taught had or not a certain whether disciple what he choseto callhisstyle, successor, oftheart.To Hinaof theinner mysteries' beenled into'true understanding
12 Shooting at the Sanjfisangen-do was originallydone from a squatting position, then later while seated on a low box. Okai, p. 156. 13 Expenses involved in sending even a singlearcherto tryhis skill at the Hall were high. In addition to buying the bows and thousands of arrowsto practicethis type of shooting,it was necessaryto inviteHeki-ryui Chikurin-hamasters,and makers of bows, strings,arrows, and gloves. Only the weal-

such sponsorship. could afford thiestfiefs 14 WhileHinatsurefers to himas Daihachi, his recordat the the plaque commemorating Hall giveshis name as Daihachiro. 15 Accordingto Nendai Yakazu-cho*N5Q thelength of RKfi8,133of thearrowstraveled theHall. Kyudo Jiten A, [=KJ], p. 1886. volumes9-11 of Kydido Kyudo Jitenforms Koza, cited in n. 17, below, and is especially readingsfor definitions, helpfulin providing information. names, and further

ROGERS: Arts of War in Times of Peace

259

a individuals butrather bycertain innovations arenotdivisive tsu,theschools tradition. of orthodox progression catholic Translation andswordsmanarchery dealswith chapters ofthree translation Thefollowing justoverhalfof for book and account form thecoreof Hinatsu's ship;these martial of Japanese reality thehistorical reflects thetext.Thisdisproportion mainweaponin theHeianand was thewarrior's arts,forthebow and arrow account in Hinatsu's chapters Other periods. and Muromachi theNamboku lists only for example, closecombat, on armed thesection tendto be brief; page of text. fournamesand runsto lessthana single ofBujuinthe1968edition included is basedon theversion Thetranslation theKyuddo and schoolsfollow of namesof archers tsuSosho.16The readings and forthe annotation, to excessive of thissortcan lenditself Koza. 7 A text to aid understandof thepresent article noteshavebeenaddedonly purposes ingof Hinatsu'saccount. in kenrE, approxmeasured in thechapter areusually on archery Distances intheKyoto to 'kenmeasured refers Hinatsu Occasionally 1.8meters. imately is shooting Long-range 1.95 meters. fashion'(kyoma >M),% approximately
and tan R, or 10.9 meters. 109 meters, measuredin cho flj,approximately Kamakuraperiods,onlyto be replacedby bladed weapons (uchimonoUtTt)in

16

sha, 1968, pp. 7-108.

BujutsuSosho

, Jimbutsu Orai-

17 Kyu?do Koza EA.29, Yfizankaku,1941, 11 vols.

260

MonumentaNipponica, 45:3

The Heki Tradition. Archery: The Major Schools of Military

Heki-ryfi Heki-ryui

|~

~ ~~~~~F

W tEL

F i-Ei

Yoshida-ryfi

Yasumatsu-ryfi

Yuge-ryfi

Sekka-ha

Izumo-ha

Chikurin-ha

IIII

Jutoku-ha

Daishin-ha

Insai-ha

Yamashina-ha

Sakon'emon-ha

Okura-ha 4, p. 27. 1982, Hisao & IrieKohei, Doho, Kyoto, from Ishioka NihonBudo Taikei, Adapted