Japanese version is here
The Sword and the Way
written by Chutaro Ogawa Sensei
from "Kendo Kowa" (The Lecture on Kendo)
To begin with, what I consider as the essence of Kendo lies in the first character of
the word Kendo; that is, "Ken" (sword). Kendo cannot exist without it. Although, in
modern Kendo, we use a bamboo Shinai, what I mean by "Ken" is to use the Shinai with the
concept of "Katana" or "Nihonto".
There are still some people who claim that the Shinai is nothing but a bamboo stick and,
therefore, there is nothing wrong with stressing just the physical play. If you take the
Shinai in that way then that can be true. It is then enough to say that Kendo is a
sport.
However, once you consider the Shinai as a Nihonto, Kendo becomes the business of life
and a method of taking life. Its goal will be to shed a light on the matter of life and
death. Such an attitude is the basis of life, and it will be useful in our time when we
no longer carry swords.
The second character in Kendo is "Michi" (way). Kendo cannot exist without the Michi
either.
There are people who say that Kendo itself is not a Michi but a philosophy. They even
say that to submit a dissertation regarding the philosophical aspect of Kendo is worthy
of being qualified as Hanshi. According to them, Kendo is not a Michi, since Michi
comprises various things such as Zen and that is not desirable. Well, I suppose that
there can be some varying ideas on this subject.
In any case, Kendo is a "Michi" of "Ken". "Ken" without "Michi", such as in the field of
sports or Kenjutsu, is going to have little depth. Our ancestors furthered Kenjutsu
into Michi through earnest fighting three hundred years ago. That is the secret of Yagyu
school, "Fudochishin-Myoroku".
What it conveys is not a philosophy, but Zen and Michi. This Michi may appear as ancient
Shintoism in Japan, as Confucianism in China, as Buddhism in India, and so on. Michi is
always constant regardless of how it appears; whether in the East or in the West. We
practice the "Michi" of humanity through Kendo.
To take the Michi of humanity is to do ordinary things in the ordinary way. This is the
Michi for us as human beings. This is something which is easy to say, but which cannot
be attained fully, even if one takes Shugyo all one's life. They say that Buddha once
said, "I speak as I think, I do as I speak". This is the basis. If we, who are not
experienced, really speak as we think, it is going to be incoherent. If we do as we
speak, we will fail easily. If we live in that way, it will be impossible to manage
house hold things or perhaps even to behave well. Therefore, to do ordinary things in
the ordinary way is impossible. Consequently, though it is impossible, having it as an
ideal goal and to train oneself to attain it through Ken is Kendo.
--
translated by Hiroyuki Otaki
(Shidokan Kendo Club)
shimano
Mail:
shimano@st.rim.or.jp