From Jujutsu ken bo zukai hiketsu (1887), one of a number of publications dating from the beginning of the Meiji era, aiming to explain martial arts and related disciplines to a general audience.
I have no parents; I make the heavens and the earth my parents.
I have no home; I make saika tanden my home.
I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power.
Thus begins a series of verses that has become quite well known in the martial arts world. It continues with a number of other attributes, including rinki ohen. I first came across them in Michel Random’s book, The Martial Arts: Swordsmanship, Kendo, Aikido, Judo, Karate, published in English in the mid-eighties, but they originally appeared in English in E.J. Harrison’s The Fighting Spirit of Japan, in a chapter on Kiaijutsu, originally published in 1912 (as The Fighting Spirit of Japan and Other Studies), and in a revised form in 1955. Random used Harrison’s translation, more or less – the few changes probably being due to translation into French then back to English. Anyway, you can see them as they appeared in Harrison's book at the bottom of the page
Harrison (who began training in jujutsu in 1897, in Yokohama) notes the verses as coming from Kiai-jutsu Sakkatsu Jizai (Kiai-jutsu: the freedom to take and give life) by Kumashiro HikotarÅ, published in 1911. There is a copy in the National Diet Library (in Japan) which has been digitised and is online, but wouldn’t you know it, there are three missing chapters, one of which is the one containing the verses. (But if you care to take a look, here it is: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/859889/1/64). The chapter is Kiaijutsu no Gokui (The Essentials/Inner Secrets of Kiaijutsu) and the section is Kiaijutsu no Takusen (Revelations of Kiaijutsu).
Harrison did a good job with his translation. It has a keen sense of poetry and reproduces the feeling, as well as the sense of the original – terse and resonant. Harrison, it should be added, had a good acquaintance with budoka of that era and seems to have had a good ear for the way they spoke.
While Harrison’s translation is good (and I don’t think it could be done much better), it does not really explain the verses. What does it mean to say, ‘I have no parents’, for example? And what does this have to do with kiaijutsu? Is it the statement of a religious recluse, or is there something broader?
And what does all that have to do with shouting anyway?
Before we look at that, I will take a small detour, which provides a bit of background and some other verses for comparison.
Some sayings of Takeda Shingen
Takeda Shingen and some of his 24 generals (Utagawa Yoshikazu)
As one of the most famous warlords of the sengoku period, Takeda Shingen needs no introduction. The chapter immediately preceding the Revelations (also missing in the National Diet version) was titled Takeda Shingen’s Family Precepts. I found this interesting as reading Harrison’s translation of the Revelations had already reminded me of one of Shingen’s famous sayings:
People are the castle; people are the stone walls; people are the moat; compassion is your ally; hatred is your enemy.
This is also something I came upon many years ago – this time, it was in an English version of one of the Kozure Okami comics (Lone Wolf and Cub). In the story, “The Coming of the Cold”, Itto Ogami is sent on a mission to assassinate the head of the Takeda clan who is secretly and illegally building a castle. Ogami takes the assembled clan members to task for considering waging war defensively, something Takeda Shingen would not have done, reminding them of the remorseless attitude of the Takeda forces in times past. He uses the term Kanrai (the approaching cold – which is the story title) to describe this, but there seems to be no historical association of this with the Takeda.
Mission accomplished, Ogami leaves, but standing outside the half-finished castle reflects on Shingen’s saying, as shown in the panel below. Note that the last part is mistranslated. It should be “hatred is an enemy”, not “hatred of your enemies”. The original Japanese quoted Shingen correctly.
Interesting, but these were not the verses that were included in Sakkatsu Jizai. I tracked down another copy and found they were introduced as follows:
Below are recorded the precepts of Takeda Shingen for your reference.
Through them, one may glimpse the mindset with which General Kizan cultivated himself.
(Kizan is a literary name sometimes used for Shingen.)
However, these verses do not belong to him, but to his rival, Uesugi Kenshin.
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| Shingen (seated) is displaying admirable composure as Kenshin attacks at the 4th battle of Kawanakajima. |
The standard version, which you can see carved into stone if you visit Uesugi Shrine, Yonezawa, differs slightly in one or two verses, but the overall effect is the same. What this gives us, the identity of the writer aside, is indeed a look at the mindset of a formidable general. What it also tells us, is that personal cultivation is an important consideration in Kumashiro’s idea of kiaijutsu. Giving these precepts before ‘The Revelations of Kiaijutsu’ gives the latter extra authority by presenting it as part of a tradition, both in form and in the importance given to spiritual/moral concerns.
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| A plaque inscribed with Uesugi's 16 precepts at Uesugi Shrine. |
When the heart is free from desires, the mind is broad and the body is at peace.
When the heart is free from selfishness, one does not lose affection and respect.
When the heart is free from greed, one acts according to duty.
When the heart is free from selfishness, there is no doubt.
When the heart is free from pride, one respects others.
When the heart is free from error, one does not fear others.
When the heart is free from evil views, one nurtures others.
When the heart is free from greed, one does not flatter others.
When the heart is free from anger, one's words are gentle.
When the heart is patient, one can resolve matters.
When the heart is free from cloudiness, the mind is calm.
When the heart has courage, there is no regret.
When the heart is not base, one does not desire or seek.
When the heart is filial, one is loyal.
When the heart is free from pride, one recognizes the good in others.
When the heart is free from delusion, one does not blame others.
– Uesugi Family Precepts
The precepts are genuine, if mislabelled, but what about The Revelations of Kiaijutsu? We do not know Kumashiro’s background, but the book as a whole contains discussions on concepts that were floating around at the end of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period. From what I have read (and I haven’t looked all that deeply), Kumashiro positions himself as a commentator rather than an expert, and I would hazard a guess that the Revelations were something he came across together with other source material, possibly from early jujutsu material (sakkatsu jizai is a term that crops up in such works).
So, what do they mean? Michel Random explained the verses as a summation of the attitude towards internal cultivation present both in spiritual practices (such as those of Shinto) and bugei, with no mention of kiaijutsu, and I think this is a key insight. Kiaijutsu itself seems to be an art that utilises our cultivation – primarily mental or spiritual – for situations of stress or confrontation.
As there is no shortage of such in modern life, I think it is quite valuable to look at these verses in greater detail. However, this is getting a bit long now, so I will present my interpretation of these verses in my next post – they repay a bit of thinking about, so you might want to consider your own interpretation before reading mine.
I have no parents; I make the heavens and the earth my parents.
I have no home; I make saika tanden my home.
I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power.
I have no means; I make docility my means.
I have no magic power; I make personality my magic power.
I have neither life nor death; I make a-um my life and death.
I have no body; I make stoicism my body.
I have no eyes; I make the flash of lightning my eyes.
I have no ears; I make sensibility my ears.
I have no limbs; I make promptitude my limbs.
I have no laws; I make self-protection my laws.
I have no strategy; I make sakkatsu jizai (literally “free to kill and free to restore to life”) my strategy.
I have no designs; I make kisan (taking opportunity by the forelock) my designs.
I have no miracles; I make righteous laws my miracles.
I have no principles; I make adaptability to all circumstances (rinkiohen) my principles.
I have no tactics; I make kyojitsu (emptiness and fulness) my tactics.
I have no talent; I make toi sokumyo (ready wit) my talent.
I have no friends; I make my mind my friend.
I have no enemy; I make incautiousness my enemy.
I have no armour; I make jin-gi (benevolence and righteousness) my armour.
I have no castle; I make fudoshin (immovable mind) my castle.
I have no sword; I make mushin (absence of mind) my sword.”
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