Alex in Wonderland

Blooming heck. Six years it took, but I finally finished my second PhD thesis, and submitted it yesterday to the University of Canterbury. The title: "The Cultural Politics of Proprietorship: The Socio-historical Evolution of Japanese Swordsmanship and its Correlation with Cultural Nationalism". I finished my first one at Kyoto University about "bushido" in 2001 which can be bought here if you can read Japanese. The one I just finished is all in English (much easier to write) and is a detailed socio-historic analysis of kendo. The TOC is as follows. Hopefully I can find a publisher for it... Actually, before that, I hope it passes!!!

Contents
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………….…v
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………vii
Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………………………ix
List of Illustrations and Tables.……………………………………………………………………xiv
Conventions…………………………………………………………………………………………………..xv
Abbreviations………………………….…………………………………………………………………...xvi
List of Author’s Publications………………………………………………………………………..xvii


Introduction
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………...…1
2. What is Kendō? ………………………………………………………………………………...….….1
3. Kendō’s Technical Framework………………….………………………………………………6
4. The “Spirit” and “Philosophy” of Modern Kendō……………………………….….…9
5. Questions Addressed in this Thesis……………….………………………………………..11
6. Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………..…..19


Chapter 1
A Reassessment of Schools of Swordsmanship in Medieval Japan

1. Introduction………………………………..……………………………………………………...……23
2. Early Bushi Culture………………………………..………………………………………….….….25
2a. Emergence Theories for Professional Warriors in Japan….……………………………...25
2b. Consolidating Occupational Functions…………………………….………………………...….30
3. The Customs of Medieval Japanese Warfare…………....…………………..………..33
3a. Illusions of Medieval Warfare and Beautified Perceptions of Warrior Behaviour…34
3b. Shifting Trends in Weaponry and Strategy…………………………………………..……….38
3c. The Development of Swords in Japan………………………………..……..............………41
3d. The Predominance of Swords ‒ Fact or Fiction? ………………………………..........….44
3e. The Sword Fetish and the Symbolic Value of ‘Meitō’ …………………………........…...46
4. Aspirations for ‘Bun’ and the Aestheticisation of ‘Bu’ ………………………......48
4a. ‘Buke Kojitsu’ and ‘Kakun’ in Muromachi Warrior Culture…………………........……..48
4b. The ‘Aestheticisation’ of Swordsmanship………………………………..………...............52
5. The Genesis of Martial Arts Schools………………………………..…......……………..54
5a. Pre-Ryūha Martial Procedures………………………………..…………………................... 54
5b. The Criteria for Establishing Martial Art Schools……………………………............……56
5c. Ryūha Training Methodology – ‘Aesthetic Asceticism’ …………………………............57
5d. The First Traceable Schools of Swordsmanship………………..………….……........…..61
6. The Age of the Sword Masters………………………………..……………...….…..........66
6a. The Kage-ryū Line………………………………..………………………….....................… .…66
6b. The Tenshinshō-den Katori Shintō-ryū Line…………………………………...............…70
6c. The Nen-ryū Line………………………………..…………………………...................... .……72
7. Conclusion………………………………..…………………………………....................... ...…73


Chapter 2
The ‘Civilising Process’ of Kenjutsu

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………...…………..................... 7
2. The Solidification of Class Boundaries and a New Function for Martial Art Schools.79
2a. Establishing Samurai Responsibilities……………………..……………..………...........79
2b. Bakufu Policies Dictating Warrior Behaviour……………………..…………….........…80
3. The Intellectualisation of Kenjutsu……………………………..………………….....82
3a. The Yagyū Shinkage-ryū and the “Heihō-kadensho” …………………………......…83
3b. Miyamoto Musashi and “Gorin-no-sho”……………………………..……….............…87
4. Spiritualisation and Pacification…………………………..………………………....…88
4a. Seeking Higher Principles and Holistic Penchants………………….…………….......88
4b. Anti-violent Violence……………………………..…………………………................... .…93
5. Commercialisation……………………………..……………………………….…...........…95
5a. Ryūha Proliferation and Meeting Market Demand……………………….......….……95
5b. ‘Flowery’ Kenjutsu……………………………..…………………………….................. ...…97
6. Sportification……………………………..……………………………………..…................99
6a. The Expansion of Full-contact Fencing……………………………..……..…..........…100
6b. The Latter-Tokugawa Fencing Renaissance……………………….……….….......…103
6c. Non-Bushi Participation in Fencing…………………………………............……..……105
6d. The Creation of New Rules for Engagement………………………………........……106
7. Conclusion……………………………..………………………………………….................108


Chapter 3
The Demise and Rise of Samurai Culture, and the Nationalisation of Kenjutsu

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………...................111
2. Dismantling the Centuries-old Warrior Hegemony…………………………….115
2a. Breaking Up the Old Order...……………………………………………………................115
2b. Rethinking the Question of Japan’s Military Preparedness………………………....117
2c. The Abolition of Class Distinctions and the Promotion of “Functional Equality”..120
3. The Reinvention of Kenjutsu……………………………………………………….........122
3a. Sakakibara Kenkichi and the Gekken-Kōgyō……………………………………...........123
3b. The Adoption of Kenjutsu by the Police………………….……….…………...............127
3c. Kenjutsu and Commoners………………………………………………….……................130
3d. Introducing Kenjutsu into the School Curriculum……………………………….........133
4. The Dai-Nippon Butokukai ‒ Self-Appointed Gatekeeper of Bujutsu…142
4a. Foundation of the Dai-Nippon Butokukai……………………………………….............142
4b. The Butokukai’s Main Objectives and the Enlistment of Political Authority….…145
4c. The Invention of Conventions for a Nationalised Style of Kenjutsu….……..……147
5. Conclusion………………………………………………………...................………………….15 1


Chapter 4
Kendō’s Fascistisation in the Taishō and Early Shōwa Periods–
De-civilising Kendō Culture

1. Introduction………………….................………………………………………………...……153
2. Nurturing the Agents for Kendō’s National Dissemination……………...…157
2a. The Dai-Nippon Butokukai’s School…………………………………………...............….157
2b. The Tokyo Higher Normal School……………………………………………..................159
3. Kendō’s Fascistisation and Promotion to Compulsory Education……….161
3a. Taishō Democracy and “Dissident Philosophy” …………………………….........……161
3b. Taishō Hedonism versus Traditional Asceticism……………………………….........…162
4. The Reversion from Competition to Combat Kendō……………………………163
4a. Kendō’s ‘Decolourisation’ and Reification of the Shinai as a Symbol of Patriotism.164
4b. The Dawn of Proactive State Engagement in Kendō Education………………..…167
4c. Kendō’s Induction into State Cultural Policy……………………………………...........170
5. From Ideals of Self-perfection to the Reality of Self-sacrifice……………175
5a. Cultivating the Attacking Spirit…………………………………………...............……….175
5b. Budō Education’s Admittance into Primary Schools as a “Regular Course” of Study

…………………………………………………………………………...................... ...........177

5c. The “National Peoples’ School Order” …………………………………………..............178
5d. Augmentation of Budō at all Levels and the Budō Promotion Committee………180
5e. Deficient in the Skill to Kill……………………………………………………....................181
6. Sengika (Militarisation) and Total State Control of Kendō…………………183
6a. Organisational Consolidation…………………………………………………................…1 84
6b. The Mombushō’s Efforts to Militarise Budō……………………………………............186
6c. The Kōseishō’s Initiatives to Militarise Budō…………………………………..........….189
7. The Immediate Post-war Aftermath……………………………………………….....191
7a. The Butokukai Purge…………………………………………..................………………….192
7b. The Eradication of Kendō in Schools…………………………………….............………197
8. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...................199


Chapter 5
Kendō and Sports ‒ Path of Reason or Cultural Treason?
Refocusing the ‘Spirit of Kendō’ and Guarding ‘Japaneseness’

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………..................……....203
2. Post-war Reinstatement…………………………………………………………......…..205
2a. Re-evaluating Kendō’s Suitability in Post-war Society…………………………...…205
2b. Shinai-kyōgi and Re-civilising Kendō Culture…………………………………..........208
3. The AJKF ‒ The New Gatekeeper of Kendō……………………………………....213
3a. National Amalgamation………………………………………………………................… 213
3b. The AJKF’s Stated Objectives and the Continuing Civilising Process……………215
4. Penance Complete ‒ Kendō’s Reintroduction into the Education System……217
4a. Evolving Educational Objectives as a Backdrop to Kendō’s Educational Role…218
4b. First Steps Back into the Mainstream ‒ Redefining Kendō as Sport……………..219
4c. Measured Elevation to a Special Position in Japanese Education…………….……225
4d. Compulsory Budō Education Once More………………………………………..............230
5. The Menace of Sportification and the Quest to Return to Traditional Values……...233
5a. Conceptual Consolidation………………………………………………………................ ...233
5b. Sports, the Olympic Spector, and Protecting Cultural Values…………………....…243
6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………....................25 0

Chapter 6
The International Diffusion of Kendō Culture

1. Introduction………………………………………………................………………………...253
2. Kendō Migration to the East and West……………………..………………………..255
2a. The Spread of Kendō in Pre-war Europe…………………………..........………………255
2b. Pre-war Kendō in the Americas………………………………………………..............….259
2c. Kumdo and Korean Revisionism……………………………………………….................262
3. The Complexities of Kendō’s International Consolidation…………………266
3a. Formation of an International Body……………………………………………..............267
3b. The Mission ‒ Conveying Japanese Kendō to the World……………………….......268
3c. The Burden of the World Kendō Championships………………………………..........274
3d. Proprietorship and the Ambiguity of ‘Correct’ Culture…………………………........277
4. Conclusion……………………………………………………..................…………………….282


Conclusion…………...................………………………………………………………………….. 285

Appendix…......................……………………………………………………………………. ……291
Glossary of Terms……………………………………………………...............………………..293
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………....................30 7