Jigen-ryu article on Yomiuri.co.jp

[xvikingx]

I came across this archived Jigen-ryu article at Yomiuri's website.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/columns/0005/lens236.htm

[Josh Reyer]

Is that ZealUK in the bottom picture there?

[xvikingx]

I wondered that myself.

[Kenshi]

If it is he's too lanky and skinny to be doing jigen-ryu. He needs more food and harder training (*o*)

[Fred27]

I like this quote:

Kondo Isami, leader of the Shinsengumi, the shogunate's special police force, is reported to have said, "Avoid by any means the first blow of a Satsuma warrior's sword."

[ZealUK]

Yeah that's me.

I hate that picture.

[ScottUK]

Deleted post.

[Oroshi]

A Kagoshima tourism promotion leaflet was sent round my office recently. This bit caught my eye.

[ZealUK]

A Kagoshima tourism promotion leaflet was sent round my office recently. This bit caught my eye.

From the 棒納 bit I would guess that this is something to do with bo-odori.

Lots of schools still practice it.

[xvikingx]

Lots of schools still practice it.

Similar to how the kids in Yagyu-mura have to practice shinkage-ryu at school?

[Oroshi]

From the 棒納 bit I would guess that this is something to do with bo-odori.

Lots of schools still practice it.

An easy mistake to make, but it's 奉納, not 棒納. A dedicated presentation at a shrine or temple, as in 奉納演武 or 奉納仕合.

I've not heard of bo-odori before.

[ben]

Hey Alex, is there a special prize for the person who finally breaks that tategi?

b

[ZealUK]

Similar to how the kids in Yagyu-mura have to practice shinkage-ryu at school?

Yeah I guess so. I think it's mostly schools out in the inaka doing bo-odori. Some schools in the city practice Yakumaru Jigen-ryu. Isn't the Shinkage-ryu at Yagyu-mura more like ラジオ体操 than proper Shinkage-ryu?

An easy mistake to make, but it's 奉納, not 棒納. A dedicated presentation at a shrine or temple, as in 奉納演武 or 奉納仕合.

I've not heard of bo-odori before.

Ah thanks for the correction. Still it's likely something to do with either bo-odori or Yakumaru Jigen-ryu.

Bo-odori was a kind of martial arts based dance created by Togo Shigekata (second soke of Jigen-ryu) designed to teach self defence to farmers and pesants. Various implements were used including rokushaku bo and also shakuhachi if I remember correctly. There are a number of versions of it still around, each varies a bit because it was passed down in different communities around Kagoshima. I'd like to look into it in a bit more detail one of these days, but unfortunately family and work kills off all my free time.

Hey Alex, is there a special prize for the person who finally breaks that tategi?

b

Yeah, whoever breaks it gets to dig it up

[xvikingx]

Yeah I guess so. I think it's mostly schools out in the inaka doing bo-odori. Some schools in the city practice Yakumaru Jigen-ryu. Isn't the Shinkage-ryu at Yagyu-mura more like ラジオ体操 than proper Shinkage-ryu?

Yeah, the practce bit was supposed to be in quotes but I'm an idiot.
From what I've seen on NHK (その時歴史が動いた... or something like that) it was just meaningless suburi with fukuro-shinai.

[Kenshi]

The kids at the JHS do something called bokuto taiso (no fukuro shinai!) once a week. Heres a pic. No idea if they do anything other than this (its pretty much what I saw - probably the same thing as viking - on NHK).

After checking out more I found out other stuff:

- primary school kids study the history of shinkage-ryu and its famous personages (including Takuan)
- they learn some excercises with shinai and bokuto
- when they are about 10 they make a fukuro shinai in class
(original Japanese)

I wish my primary school had taught me some weapon use