Review of Denis Gainty

Martial Arts Studies, 2018

the spread of this set of recognizable Asian disciplines .2 In fact, Bruce Lee should take some credit for the popularization of the term 'martial arts' [Clements 2017]-as it is a different term from those often used in Asian countries for naming such practices. This misleading idea expresses what I call 'The Holy Grail Theory'. Cultural practices are seen as a concrete object that were passed from country to country in an unbroken chain. This notion can be observed, for instance, in the explanation of the origins of sports, trying to identify the unbroken chain of transmission in which the Maya ball game gets connected, unproblematically, to modern football. One of 'The Holy Grail Theories' in popular discourse is that martial arts started in Babylon and then moved to India and from there Bodhidharma passed them towards China and from there they spread to Japan. Historical research on the influence of different cultural traditions suggests a much more complex situation. See Payne [1981] and Reid and Croucher [1983] for examples of these simplistic models of transmission.

2015

I must begin by thanking Professor McFarlane for his care and critique of my article (Keenan 1989). The article was intended to be provocative if not very ambitious. It is in large part a descriptive piece about popular culture in the West and how it attempts to embrace the traditional martial arts of the East. I performed no sociological analysis that might have provided a full picture of what a statistically significant portion of modern martial artists do and think. It is interesting that Dr. Stewart McFarlane — who teaches the only university-level course on the martial arts in the U.K. —has taken up the cudgel, for many of the ideas expressed were worked out in conversations with Minoru Kiyota—who is the only Buddhol-ogist to teach a university-level course in the martial arts (in this case kendo) in the U.S.A. It pleases me that McFarlane found my article sometimes perceptive; perhaps that is the best one can hope for! Such a careful reading deserves an equally careful response.

2012

Although Okinawa is now under the political administration of Japan, its history has been shaped under the influence of Chinese, Japanese and, most recently, American military domination. Moreover, both Okinawans and the Japanese of the mainland, recognize that Okinawa is differentiated from the rest of Japan by its individual history and distinct cultural practices. One of the most recognizable products of Okinawan culture is karate, at base a martial art but also a cultural practice inscribed with relationships and ideas inherited from wider Okinawan society. At the beginning of the 20th-century this practice was brought to mainland Japan. This paper examines how localized cultural practices, such as karate, might be modified when transitioning to different social contexts, and what such modifications indicate about the nature of cultural practices. Through modification, Okinawans were able to incorporate their martial art into the traditions of the Japanese mainland. In cooperation, the Japanese government sought to assimilate the Okinawan people and enfold karate into their promotion of the imagined homogeneity of Japan. The active agency of both parties reveals that this interaction was a negotiation between the samurai core-subculture of Japan and the karate practitioners of Okinawa, rather than simply a one-sided assimilation.  I would like to acknowledge the great help that my advisor, Scott Schnell, has offered to me in comments on this paper and in my academic career. Hokkaido). It has since that time come to be understood by many outside of Japan as a Japanese martial art, rather than one that is specifically Okinawan. This paper takes up the contested nature of karate among its practitioners, who may variously describe karate as: 1) an Okinawan martial art, 2) a Japanese martial art or 3) a Japanese martial art differentiated by its Okinawan origin. The broad spectrum of interpretations ascribed to karate derives from the art's intersection with the ways that Okinawa and the people of Okinawa are viewed in relation to the Japanese mainland. The following work will seek to untangle some of the historical antecedents for the varied perspectives given to the practice of karate. Japan is known for its martial arts throughout the world and, as Chan states, "apart from electronics, cars and cuisine, [martial] arts represent the greatest export of Japan and are seen by their practitioners worldwide as not merely emblematic of a culture, but derived directly from that culture's history and spiritual philosophy" (2000: 69). Karate may be positioned within the constellation of Japanese martial arts, but can be represented as such only through the flattening of any difference between Okinawan and Japanese culture or through the modification of the practice itself. In order for karate to be considered a Japanese martial art, a shift of framing from the Okinawan culture and its traditions to those of mainland Japan-a cultural translation of the practice-was required. The introduction of elements from the Japanese martial tradition, and a contraction of the perceived difference between the two cultures and their respective populaces, combined to allow karate to establish itself in mainland Japan. This process was not merely the appropriation of a cultural tradition by an invading and dominating foreign presence in the form of the Japanese government. In fact, this translation was also facilitated through acts of individual agency by Okinawans who willingly adopted Japanese martial traditions and identified themselves as Japanese as well as Okinawan. The interesting dynamic of this negotiation in translating the Okinawan art of karate to Japan, a culture with its own rich martial traditions, can be described as either wildly successful or disquietingly effective. While some maintain the autonomy and cultural rooting of karate as an indigenous art of Okinawa, those in the Japanese government view karate as a Japanese cultural tradition, as is consistent with their view of Okinawa as part of Japan both legally and culturally. The Japanese government includes karate within the constellation of activities covered under the "cultural visa", which affords visitors an extended stay in Japan if they are there for cultural studies (Ko & Yang 2008). In doing so, the Japanese government sends the clear signal that karate is Japanese, and can be employed as an entrance for visitors into what it views as quintessential Japanese culture, or as an ambassadorial practice when exported abroad.

Although Okinawa is now under the political administration of Japan, its history has been shaped under the influence of Chinese, Japanese and, most recently, American military domination. Moreover, both Okinawans and the Japanese of the mainland, recognize that Okinawa is differentiated from the rest of Japan by its individual history and distinct cultural practices. One of the most recognizable products of Okinawan culture is karate, at base a martial art but also a cultural practice inscribed with relationships and ideas inherited from wider Okinawan society. At the beginning of the 20th-century this practice was brought to mainland Japan. This paper examines how localized cultural practices, such as karate, might be modified when transitioning to different social contexts, and what such modifications indicate about the nature of cultural practices. Through modification, Okinawans were able to incorporate their martial art into the traditions of the Japanese mainland. In cooperation, the Japanese government sought to assimilate the Okinawan people and enfold karate into their promotion of the imagined homogeneity of Japan. The active agency of both parties reveals that this interaction was a negotiation between the samurai core-subculture of Japan and the karate practitioners of Okinawa, rather than simply a one-sided assimilation.

2011

This study examines the development of the concept of "bushido," or the "way of the warrior," in modern Japan, focusing on the period between the mid-nineteenth century and the early 1930s. The popular view holds that bushido was a centuries-old code of behavior rooted in the historical samurai class and transmitted into the modern period, where it was a fundamental component of Japanese militarism before 1945. In fact, the concept of bushido was largely unknown before the last decade of the nineteenth century, and was widely disseminated only after 1900, especially after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. This study argues that modern bushido discourse began in the 1880s, and was dependent on political and cultural currents relating to Japan's modernization and the nation's attempts to redefine itself in the face of foreign "others," primarily China and the West. Following more than a decade of largely unquestioned thrusts towards modernization and Westernization after 1868, Japanese thinkers looked to their own traditions in search of sources of national identity. The first discussions of bushido at this time were not the work of conservative reactionaries, however, but were conceived by relatively progressive individuals with considerable international experience and a command of Western languages. Some of the first modern writings on bushido clearly posit the concept as a potential native equivalent to the English ethic of "gentlemanship," which was widely admired in late-nineteenth century Japan, and much of early bushido discourse should be seen primarily as a response to outside stimuli. This study examines the causes and effects of the "bushido boom" that took place between 1898 and 1914, which firmly established the concept not only in Japan, but throughout the world. In this context, this study analyzes the use of bushido by the Japanese military and educational system, as well as its popularization by prominent figures in the early twentieth century. This study also examines the reasons for the decline in the popularity of bushido between 1914 and the early 1930s, thereby providing points of departure for future research on the trajectory of bushido from 1932 to the present day.

Martial Arts Studies

Shinkage-ryu, ethnography, kata, violence 10.18573/mas.68 In Japan, the study of Japanese martial arts is rooted in historiography. Other approaches are comparatively rare. Yet, it would be extremely enlightening to undertake fieldwork on the classical Japanese martial arts, and to ask a broader range of questions. In this spirit, this study is interested in exploring the issue of violence. The martial arts are understood by researchers to fundamentally be fighting techniques, but the aspects of martial arts that have attracted the attention of researchers in the past have been the psychology of fighting and the pedagogy of the martial arts. I wish to argue that one of the objectives of the classical Japanese martial arts was to learn, through the practice of the martial arts, the wisdom that could be used to overcome violence. This study, then, proposes that martial arts are motivated by the 'sublimation of violence'. Through an ethnographic study of shinkage-ryu, this study explores how the sublimation of violence is practiced in the dojo and elucidates the structure and practice of classical kata that have largely remained hidden.

The popular discourse about Asian martial arts has often been surrounded by an aura of esotericism, so pervasive that it even influenced the academic discussion to some degree. Moreover, nationalistic motives to promote certain martial arts narratives often prevail. This article focuses on the frequently flawed philosophical and historical discourse surrounding the Asian martial arts. In particular, this study concentrates on the academic discussions of the Japanese and Korean martial arts, and the search for a philosophical framework compatible with historical narratives. The Japanese created a romantic but also nationalistic martial arts narrative that aligned with the ideals of the Meiji Restoration. This romanticized image was naively accepted in the West, often imported along with esoteric ideas of the East. And, as most modern Korean martial arts originated in Japan, the Korean martial arts discussion aligns with that of Japanese martial arts, and this alignment has been a point of heated dispute. Discussions of Korean martial arts reflect a search for a definitive identity of the Korean martial arts community as well as the desire to establish a martial arts tradition independent of those of Japan as well as China. However, the discourse has often been influenced by western, albeit biased and perhaps faulty, historical views and ideas about martial arts traditions.

The Fighting man of Japan, 1905

F. J. Norman, author of this book, was a soldier, who had been for many years resident in Japan. While acting in that country as an instructor in some of the leading colleges, both military and civilian, he had opportunities of making a thorough and systematic study of both the "noble sciences" of kenjutsu and jujutsu. He was probably the first Occidental who has gone at all deeply into these two branches of Japanese education. I re-edited this book based on several poor versions available on line.