Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

of imperturbability, the immovable wisdom that allows the mind to move
freely, with spontaneity and flexibility, even in the face of fear, intimidation,
or temptation. For Takuan the realization of true freedom must be anchored
to firm moral righteousness. He likened this attainment to a welltrained
cat that can be released to roam freely only after it no longer needs
to be restrained by a leash in order to prevent it from attacking songbirds.
Under the influence of the extreme militarism of the 1930s and 1940s,
however, the freedom advocated by Takuan was interpreted in amoral, antinomian
terms, as condoning killing without thought or remorse. For this
reason it has been condemned by recent social critics for contributing to the
commission of wartime crimes and atrocities.
Educational Works
In 1872, the new Meiji government established a nationwide system of
compulsory public education. That same year, the ministry in charge of
schools promulgated a single nationwide curriculum that included courses
in hygiene and physical exercise. In developing these courses, Japanese educators
translated a great number of textbooks and manuals from European
countries, which only a few decades earlier had developed the thennovel
practices of citizen armies, military gymnastics, schoolyard drills, and
organized athletic games. Tsuboi Gendô [83] (1852–1922) was the first
person to attempt to introduce to a general Japanese audience the notion
that exercise could be a form of recreation and a pleasant way to attain
strength and health, to develop team spirit, and to find joy simply in trying
to do one’s best. His Togai yûge hô [84] (Methods of Outdoor Recreation,
1884) helped ordinary Japanese accept the concepts of sport and, more importantly,
sportsmanship.
In the eyes of many Japanese educators, a huge gulf separated traditional
martial arts from sports and sportsmanship. The Ministry of Education,
for example, initially rejected swordsmanship (kenjutsu [85]) and
jûjutsu instruction at public schools. Its evaluation of martial art curriculums
(“Bugika no keikyô” [86], Monbushô 1890) found martial arts to be
deficient physically because they fail to develop all muscle groups equally
and because they are dangerous in that a stronger student can easily apply
too much force to a weaker student. They are deficient spiritually because
they promote violence and emphasize winning at all costs, even to the point
of encouraging students to resort to trickery. In addition, they are deficient
pedagogically because they require individual instruction, they cannot be
taught as a group activity, they require too large a training area, and they
require special uniforms and equipment that students cannot keep hygienic.
At the same time that the Ministry of Education was rejecting traditional
Japanese martial arts, however, it sought other means to actively promote
Written Texts: Japan 767