Alex in Wonderland

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Sao Paulo wating for the 14th WKC to start. At last, I have time to sit down and catch up. The most recent project keeping me out of trouble has been the translation of a book published by the Nippon Budokan a few years ago. With nearly 400 pages, it was quite a mission. But now, after one year of seriously hard work, it is being printed as I write this blog.

I know what some of you may be thinking. "A book about the Japanese martial arts by the Japanese...Smells like propaganda appealing to the masses about the wonders of Japanese culture..." It could have gone that way, but the Nippon Budokan gave me a lot of freedom in how it was rewritten.

The book was first published in Japanese to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Japanese Budō Association. It is essentially a report by the various federations outlining the inroads made over the last four decades in popularizing their arts, and the various issues they face in the future. The underlying theme is one of urgency. How can the budō world appeal to generations of people who potentially stand to benefit from what budō has to offer?

I have been a student of the martial arts for over twenty years now. I do not believe that one becomes a “good person” just by virtue of studying budō, however, if one wishes to utilize it as a framework for personal development, the latent possibilities are immense. Through intensive exchanges with your opponent you learn about your faults – the chinks in your spiritual and physical armour. You train hard with humility to purge yourself of any weaknesses, and ideally, learn to exhibit a consequential inner-strength and calmness in your daily deportment.

Organizations such as the Nippon Budokan, and the various individual federations which have contributed to the content of this book, are striving to disseminate budō on a wider scale, both domestically and internationally. They are on a “social mission” of sorts to appeal to the wider community, and reaffirm the many benefits budō has for the individual, and hence society at large.

The purpose and content of the English version is slightly different from the Japanese volume. Much of the preparation has involved not only translation, but considerable editing, and contextual clarification, specifically for non-Japanese readers with little knowledge of Japan’s history, or of the various budō arts that exist.

Budō is enjoying astonishing popularity outside of Japan, more than the Japanese could ever imagine, and the potential of budō as a form of personal development is not unfamiliar to non-Japanese budōka. The main difficulty faced by enthusiasts overseas, however, is the dearth of reliable information. There is a growing number of books written in many languages that address the history and culture of budō, but nothing significant to date that has emanated from Japan. This book is the first such undertaking on this scale, being supported by all of the martial arts federations and organizations associated with the Nippon Budokan. It is my hope that it will provide a dependable reference guide for a more penetrating analysis of budō culture in the future.

The Nippon Budokan will be celebrating its 45th anniversary on October 10, 2009, and the book will be launched then. The very next day, 14,000 copies will be sent to embassies, university libraries, and martial arts organizations throughout the world. The book will also include a DVD introducing the various arts. It will not be for sale initially.We are hoping to be able to retail it in the near future...Just to whet your appetite, the TOC is listed below.

INTRODUCTION
FOREWORD Matsunaga Hikaru (Nippon Budokan Foundation President)
FOREWORD Usui Hideo (Nippon Budokan Foundation Chairman of the Board)
AN ACCLAMATION OF BUDŌ Yōrō Takeshi (Professor Emeritus Tokyo University)
EDITORIAL POSTSCRIPT Mifuji Yoshio (Trustee, Secretary General/Nippon Budokan Foundation)
INTRODUCTION Alexander Bennett (Associate Professor, Kansai University)
THE PHILOSOPHY OF BUDŌ
THE BUDŌ CHARTER (Budō Kenshō)
THE BUDŌ CHARTER FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

CHAPTER 1 THE JAPANESE MARTIAL ARTS
SECTION 1 JAPANESE BUDŌ Professor Sugie Masatoshi (Osaka University)
SECTION 2 FROM BUSHIDŌ TO BUDŌ Professor Kanno Kakumyō (Tokyo University)
SECTION 3 THE MODERNIZATION OF BUDŌ ─ THE TEACHINGS OF KANŌ JIGORŌ
Professor Murata Naoki (Kōdōkan Jūdō Institute Museum)
SECTION 4 WHY STUDY BUDŌ? Professor Nakabayashi Shinji (University of Tsukuba)
SECTION 5 THE ATTRACTION OF BUDŌ Professor Ōboki Teruo (Saitama University)
SECTION 6 THE HISTORY OF BUDŌ IN SCHOOLS Professor Motomura Kiyoto
(Tokyo Women’s College of Physical Education/Previous MEXT Sports and Youth Department Physical Education Official)
SECTION 7 BUDŌ’S EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL Professor KANNO JUN (WASEDA UNIVERSITY)
SECTION 8 NIPPON BUDOKAN FOUNDATION Nippon Budokan Foundation

CHAPTER 2 JAPANESE KOBUDŌ:THE CLASSICAL MARTIAL ARTS
SECTION 1 WHAT IS KOBUDŌ? Yokose Tomoyuki
SECTION 2 THIRTY KOBUDŌ SCHOOLS

CHAPTER 3 MODERN BUDŌ
SECTION 1 JŪDŌ
SECTION 2 KENDŌ
SECTION 3 KYŪDŌ
SECTION 4 SUMŌ
SECTION 5 KARATEDŌ
SECTION 6 AIKIDŌ
SECTION 7 SHORINJI KEMPO
SECTION 8 NAGINATA
SECTION 9 JŪKENDŌ

CHAPTER 4 BUDŌ PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
SECTION 1 NIPPON BUDOKAN PUBLICATIONS
SECTION 2 JAPANESE BUDŌ ASSOCIATION
SECTION 3 NATIONAL PREFECTURAL BUDŌKAN ASSOCIATION
SECTION 4 JAPANESE ACADEMY OF BUDŌ
SECTION 5 JAPANESE CLASSICAL BUDŌ ASSOCIATION (Nippon Kobudō Kyōkai)
SECTION 6 JAPANESE UNIVERSITIES WITH BUDŌ SPECIALIST COURSES

APPENDIX
SECTION 1 INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR OF BUDŌ CULTURE
SECTION 2 EVENTS IN BUDŌ HISTORY
SECTION 3 GLOSSARY OF BUDŌ TERMS
SECTION 4 INDEX