HISTORY 0F JUJITSU
Self-defense being natural to
everybody, there is perhaps no country
where the art of fighting unarmed, whatever its form, is unknown, but
perhaps in no country has the art made such remarkable progress as in
Japan. In the feudal days of this country there existed various schools
of such art, being known by the different names of jujitsu, taijitsu,
yawara, wajitsu, toride, kogusoku, kempo, hakuda, kumiuchi, shukaku,
judo, etc. They are so intermingled with one another that any correct
discrimination between them is almost impossible; for instance, one
being nominally different from but virtually analogous to another,
while the other varies from its namesake as regards its essential
points. We may, however, state that, of these, toride and kogusoku are
intended for the arrest of persons, while jujitsu and judo make it a
specialty either to floor or kill one's opponent and kempo and hakuda
to kick and strike. Generally speaking, they may all be described as
the art either of fighting with an armed or unarmed enemy, oneself
utterly unarmed, or of engaging by means of a small weapon an enemy
armed with a large one.
The various schools mentioned
above have had their own foremost
champions who, endowed with high intellectual powers, have assiduously
devolved their whole life to the study of their beloved art. And they
were duly rewarded. Not only have they succeeded, with wonderful knack
or by means of real strength, in mastering the art of gaining a victory
over an enemy, but they have. contributed to the unequaled development
of the art by discovering many fundamental rules bearing on manifold
manoeuvres against one's antagonist, delicate movements arising from
harmonious muscular action, display of pluck, training of intellectual
faculties, etc.
Opinions differ as to the
origin of the art. One traces it to Chin
Gempin, a naturalized Chinese, of whom mention is made in the following
paragraph. Another attributes it to Shirobei Akiyama, a physician at
Nagasaki, who is stated to have learned three tricks of hakuda in
China. A third, on the other hand, claims the art to be the production
of pure Japanese ingenuity.
To state more in detail, Chin
Gempin was naturalized as a Japanese
subject in 1659 and died in 1671. While sojourning at the Kokushoji
temple at Azabu, Tokyo (then Yedo), he, it is stated, taught three
tricks of jujitsu to three ronin (samurai discharged from their lord's
service). These ronin were Shichiroyemon Fukuno, Yojiyemon Miura and
Jirozayemon Isogai, and after much study, they each founded their own
schools of jujitsu. It is beyond doubt that what was learned by them
consisted of three kinds of atewaza (that is to say, striking the vital
and vulnerable parts of the body) of the Chinese kempo (pugilism). We
cannot, therefore, arrive at the hasty conclusion that Chin is the
founder of jujitsu in this country, though it must be stated to his
credit that his teaching gave an undoubted impulse to the development
of jujitsu.
The second of the-three views,
conferring upon Shirobei Akiyama the
honour of being the pioneer of jujitsu in Japan, is maintained by one
of the Shinyo schools and is not supported by any other schools. This
theory, like the preceding one, can scarcely hold water, since kempo
and hakuda of China, the latter of which arts Akiyama learnt in that
country, were no doubt confined solely to kicking and striking, and it
is highly improbable that jujitsu, the art of throwing and killing, was
originated by him.
What then, you may ask, has
given rise to such incredible
traditions? It is possible that the authors of the two views expressed
above found it expedient to give to the Chinese the credit of being the
founder of jujitsu in this country, for by this action they might gain
the greater confidence of the public than declaring themselves as
originators of the art — a consideration quite natural to exponents of
new ideas and things. This supposition is in a way explained by the
fact that in former days the Chinese were held in high esteem in Japan,
as were Westerners later, so high indeed that our forefathers often
accepted with undue credulity anything attributed to Chinese school of
thought.
What may be considered as a
strong proof against the above
mentioned views is that both yawara and toride are referred to in a
book styled "Kuyamigusa " (My Confessions) which was published in 1647,
twelve years prior to the immigration of Chin Gempin. Moreover, the
term kumiuchi is often found in still older books. These records afford
ground for believing that jujitsu prevailed in Japan at a much earlier
period. Further, the Takenouchi school, which is acknowledged by the
majority of jujitsu professors to be the oldest of the kind, was
founded in 1532 by Hisamori Takenouchi. It is therefore indisputable
that that school was in existence long before Chin Gempin ever set foot
on this land.
All these considerations go far
towards confirming the claim of the
third view, that jujitsu is indigenous and not foreign. It is true that
the terms jujitsu, yawara, etc., are quite modern, but the art, in its
initial stages, can be traced as far back as 24 B. C. In that year, so
the record goes, Emperor Suinin ordered two strong men, Nomi-no-Sukune
and Taima-no-Kuehaya, to wrestle in his presence. After fighting, which
consisted mainly of kicking, the former gained the ascendancy and
finally broke the ribs of his opponent. Elated by his success, Nomi
went the length of trampling upon and breaking the loins (ouch! DH) of
his vanquished competitor, which ended fatally to the latter. This
record is generally accepted as showing the origin of wrestling in this
country. Considering, however, the fact that Kuehaya was kicked to
death, it seems that the contest partook more of the nature of jujitsu
than that of wrestling.
In those ancient days there
existed of course no distinction
between wrestling and jujitsu and as the latter name was then quite
unknown it may be that the tragic event was recognized in a general way
as the origin of wrestling. Be that as it may, there developed in the
Middle Ages, when the country was the scene of horrible wars and
strifes, the art of kumiuchi which was a kind of wrestling applied to
encounters on the battle-field. After many year's development the art
advanced to such a degree that even the weak often gained a glorious
victory over a strong foe, thus encouraging every aspiring warrior to
train himself thoroughly in it. As years went on the art made a
two-fold development. It gave rise, on the one hand, to wrestling,
properly so called, which, as it developed, lost its practical use,
and, on the other, to jujitsu which has since attained almost
unprecedented perfection. It need scarcely be said that jujitsu serves
one as a valuable aid in emergencies.
