56
edits
Changes
From SamuraiWiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
*Referring to: Bô (Bôjutsu), Jô (Jôjutsu), Hanbô (Hanbôjutsu)
*Referring to: Bô (Bôjutsu), Jô (Jôjutsu)
*Description: Any staff weapon over 5 feet can be considered a Bô; lesser lengths ranging between 5 to 4 feet are Jô. A stick of 3 feet, considered half the size of a Bô, would be called Hanbô.
*Description: Any staff weapon over 5 feet can be considered a Bô; lesser lengths are called Jô. On a side note, a stick of 3 feet, considered half the size of a Bô, would be called Hanbô.
== Origin ==
== Origin ==
Among the first systematizers were the Sô-hei (warrior-priests) of the Kamakura Period. From there, it's possible to see the Chinese influence; the large number of Japanese priests, who had studied in China, made up a vast portion of the Sô-hei intellectuals. But they were not content with only borrowing the Chinese methods; they adapted and modified the techniques to suit their time and culture.
Among the first systematizers were the Sô-hei (warrior-priests) of the Kamakura Period. From there, it's possible to see the Chinese influence; the large number of Japanese priests, who had studied in China, made up a vast portion of the Sô-hei intellectuals. But they were not content with only borrowing the Chinese methods; they adapted and modified the techniques to suit their time and culture.
From that point, we have to wait until the late Kamakura or early Muromachi Period to see a systematic of Bôjutsu and Jôjutsu techniques. [[Iizasa Choisai Ienao|Iizasa Ienao]], founder of [[ Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto ryu|Katori ryû]], brought a Bôjutsu form which is supposely now the root of all functional staff weapons system in Japan.
From that point, we have to wait until the late [[Kamakura Period|Kamakura]] or early [[Muromachi Period|Muromachi period]] to see a systematic of Bôjutsu and Jôjutsu techniques. [[Iizasa Choisai Ienao|Iizasa Ienao]], founder of [[ Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto ryu|Katori ryû]], brought a Bôjutsu form which is supposely now the root of all functional staff weapons system in Japan.
Techniques included striking, poking, blocking, parrying, deflecting, stopping, covering, holding, sweeping, flinging off, and the interception of an armed opponent or his weapon.
On the other hand, it took a little longer before someone developed an extensive Jôjutsu style. [[Muso Gonnosuke|Musô Gonnosuke]], who had studied the Katori ryû Bôjutsu system as well as its other weapons and then later on the [[Kashima Shinto Ryu|Kashima ryû]], was the founder of the first Jôjutsu oriented school, the [[Shindo Muso ryu|Shindô Musô ryû]].
== Survival ==
With the arrival of peaceful [[Edo Period|Edo period]], the Bô and Jô became the ideal weapons for the time. With them, it was possible to defeat an enemy without killing him. The strikes could be directed against non-lethal areas of the body and subdue the opponent, a practice not functional with bladed weapons.
Had it not been for the Tokugawa law enforcement groups, these weapons might have fallen into impractical use as it had happened for other weapons, now lacking a battlefield outlet.
