Kenjutsu

• 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. By the Edo Period, kenjutsu techniques were handed down through schools, or ryuha, which were often regulated by the shogunate and local lords. In addition, during the Edo Period and the periods just prior, techniques began to focus more on unarmored combat.

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.

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.

Footnotes

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