Difference between revisions of "Kenjutsu"
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* ''Translation: Sword Art/Technique'' | * ''Translation: Sword Art/Technique'' | ||
| + | Kenjutsu, is the art or techniques of using a sword. In many ryuha that focus on drawing the sword, this is used to describe a method of using the sword after it has been drawn from the sheath. | ||
| − | + | ==History== | |
| − | + | While it could be said that ''kenjutsu'' has been around as long as the sword, by the 10th century we see evidence that there may be identifiable styles, or at least that the style of an individual swordsman might be identified as different from that of another.<ref>Friday, Karl (1997), ''Legacies of the Sword: The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture'', University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, HI. pp 2. An anecdote from a translation of "How the Former Governor of Mutsu, Tachibana Norimitsu, Cut Down Some Men".</ref> By the [[Japanese Eras|Edo Period]], kenjutsu techniques were handed down through schools, or ryuha, which were often regulated by the shogunate and local lords.<ref>Friday 1997 p 18</ref> In addition, during the [[Japanese Eras|Edo Period]] and the periods just prior, techniques began to focus more on unarmored combat.<ref>Friday 1997 p 15</ref> | |
==Difference between "Do" and "Jutsu"== | ==Difference between "Do" and "Jutsu"== | ||
| − | Generally a "''-do''" suffixed art, having only come about within the last century and a half, lends itself toward more of a philosophical/meditative curriculum. Conversely "''-jutsu''" suffixed arts tend to focus more on the technique and its combative application. | + | Generally a "''-do''" suffixed art, having only come about within the last century and a half, lends itself toward more of a philosophical/meditative curriculum. Conversely "''-jutsu''" suffixed arts tend to focus more on the technique and its combative application.<ref name="Source Needed">Source needed.</ref> |
| − | |||
==Difference between ''kenjutsu'' and ''battojutsu''== | ==Difference between ''kenjutsu'' and ''battojutsu''== | ||
| − | The most basic difference between ''kenjutsu'' and ''[[battojutsu]]'' lies in the swords relationship to the ''saya.'' ''Kenjutsu'' techniques deal exclusively with the sword being already drawn from the ''saya'' as the combative situation would have dictated during the war times of the [[Sengoku period]] and earlier. ''Battojutsu,'' having only come about at the very end of the Sengoku and the beginning of the [[Edo period]] deals with the sword from a sheathed position and contains the [[battojutsu]] techniques for simultaneous drawing and cutting, techniques which lend themselves toward unanticipated small-scale encounters such as would happen during the "peaceful" times of the Edo period. | + | The most basic difference between ''kenjutsu'' and ''[[battojutsu]]'' lies in the swords relationship to the ''saya.'' ''Kenjutsu'' techniques deal exclusively with the sword being already drawn from the ''saya''<ref name="Source Needed"/> as the combative situation would have dictated during the war times of the [[Sengoku period]] and earlier. ''Battojutsu,'' having only come about at the very end of the Sengoku and the beginning of the [[Edo period]]<ref name="Source Needed"/> deals with the sword from a sheathed position and contains the [[battojutsu]] techniques for simultaneous drawing and cutting, techniques which lend themselves toward unanticipated small-scale encounters such as would happen during the "peaceful" times of the Edo period. |
| + | ==Footnotes== | ||
| + | <references/> | ||
{{draft}} | {{draft}} | ||
[[Category:Bujutsu]] | [[Category:Bujutsu]] | ||
Revision as of 08:49, 25 May 2007
- Kanji: 剣術
- Translation: Sword Art/Technique
Kenjutsu, is the art or techniques of using a sword. In many ryuha that focus on drawing the sword, this is used to describe a method of using the sword after it has been drawn from the sheath.
History
While it could be said that kenjutsu has been around as long as the sword, by the 10th century we see evidence that there may be identifiable styles, or at least that the style of an individual swordsman might be identified as different from that of another.[1] By the Edo Period, kenjutsu techniques were handed down through schools, or ryuha, which were often regulated by the shogunate and local lords.[2] In addition, during the Edo Period and the periods just prior, techniques began to focus more on unarmored combat.[3]
Difference between "Do" and "Jutsu"
Generally a "-do" suffixed art, having only come about within the last century and a half, lends itself toward more of a philosophical/meditative curriculum. Conversely "-jutsu" suffixed arts tend to focus more on the technique and its combative application.[4]
Difference between kenjutsu and battojutsu
The most basic difference between kenjutsu and battojutsu lies in the swords relationship to the saya. Kenjutsu techniques deal exclusively with the sword being already drawn from the saya[4] as the combative situation would have dictated during the war times of the Sengoku period and earlier. Battojutsu, having only come about at the very end of the Sengoku and the beginning of the Edo period[4] deals with the sword from a sheathed position and contains the battojutsu techniques for simultaneous drawing and cutting, techniques which lend themselves toward unanticipated small-scale encounters such as would happen during the "peaceful" times of the Edo period.
Footnotes
- ↑ Friday, Karl (1997), Legacies of the Sword: The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, HI. pp 2. An anecdote from a translation of "How the Former Governor of Mutsu, Tachibana Norimitsu, Cut Down Some Men".
- ↑ Friday 1997 p 18
- ↑ Friday 1997 p 15
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Source needed.
