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| It's a little dark, but you get the idea – a practice fight with bokuto from the film Gohatto |
I’m not a collector – these days, space is at a premium, so I rigorously avoid stimulating any such instinct I may still have, but the other day I chanced upon something that was rather nice, and a steal for the price.
I found it in a junk shop – Japanese antique shops tend to be rather pricey, but cheaper ones have been cropping up recently selling all kinds of interesting stuff, not in very good condition for the most part, but worth an occasional look.
Amid the old fishing poles, rulers and other assorted stick like objects was a bokuto. (Bokken is the more common term in English, but my dojo always used the term bokuto, and it is more common in Japan).
A bokuto is, as I’m sure you know, a wooden practice sword. They must have been common since a long time back, but I haven’t seen any that pre-date the Edo period. Mind you, that’s hardly surprising – they were certainly not the kind of thing that would usually be handed down, and I’m sure many of them were little more than sticks. The term ‘wasters’ is commonly used in western martial arts, and it gives a sense of their disposability.
(There are a few from the early Edo period connected with Miyamoto Musashi, and there may well be others I don't know about. I wrote a bit about Musashi's bokuto here: Distance Matters).
Nonetheless, they are important and a well-chosen bokuto can last more or less a lifetime of practice.
I only have a few, all acquired for specific practice reasons. The first – I’m not sure of the wood – was made from a model carved by my teacher. The second (red oak) was shop bought. I went through the whole barrel looking for the one with the best balance. “They’re all the same,” the shopkeeper said – they weren’t and there was some noticeable variation in weight and balance, so I would recommend trying out yours before you buy, if possible.
And then there’s this one.
It looks short here, but it's actually about 71cm in total (2 shaku 3 sun 5 bu). When swords are measured, what you see are the blade measurements. This is the total length, so that would make it equivalent to a long wakizashi.
It’s probably a bit older than the others – 30 or 40 years old, I should think, judging from the colour and feel. What attracted me was the balance – it’s reasonably heavy and feels good in either one or both hands.
It is an unusual length, too, somewhere between the normal shoto (short) and long bokuto. That makes it useful both for practice and, if the need ever arose, as a weapon. Bokuto, Miyamoto Musashi notwithstanding, are not designed as weapons. They would do in a pinch, but the normal practice type are a touch too light, and are not as versatile as something like a jo, the short staff used by the riot police here.
That is not to say they are not capable of serious damage – getting whacked around the head by a piece of oak is not going to be good for anyone’s health, but their length makes them susceptible to grabbing and less effective in close quarters.
The other interesting feature of this bokuto is that it has a squared-off tip. This is slightly unusual these days – most bokuto have kisaki (tip) resembling that of a real blade. I don’t mind this, but I certainly wouldn’t choose this design for my main practice bokuto.
As there are more than 100 different designs of bokuto, (https://www.seidoshop.com/blogs/the-seido-blog/01-the-different-types-of-bokken-a-visit-at-the-horinouchi-workshop), it would not be surprising if among them, there was something like this. On the other hand, the tip looks quite banged about, and it is possible it got damaged somehow and was cut off. It also looks as if it might have been cut down purposely to its current length – this is certainly not a standard length, and the tsuka (the end of the hilt) has been cut off square, without the edges being rounded at all (unlike the kissaki).
Careful examination shows evidence of use – a few marks on the mine (spine), and some marks on the side – some of these have clearly been done with a sharp blade, more likely a practice sword than a real one.
Some koryu styles have bokuto specific to their style, (and there are differences within styles, too) but many make do with what is available. Kendo and aikido tend towards the standard types for kata work and heavier types for developing strength and body connection, but I’m sure there are variations there as well. I have tried some rather poorly balanced bokuto in the past – no doubt mass produced, probably for kendo(?), (although you get poor quality ones sold as souvenirs) and I would not be very happy if I had to use them on a regular basis.
I have seen comments online about issues connected with weight – I never had any specific instruction on this from my teacher, but on the subject of swords, he once explained that it was good for lighter, less strong practitioners to start with heavier swords to develop the structure to be able to handle them well, and for stronger practitioners to use lighter blades, so they could develop their sensitivity for the weapon. This was under supervision, of course, and with the unspoken corollary that they would eventually progress to a sword that suited them better, if necessary. (Having used several quite heavy swords of varying balance, I can say I have benefitted, but they were not always comfortable to use).
Bokuto occasionally make it to the movies, too. There have been a few noteworthy scenes. Perhaps, the one that most western audiences would know best is in The Last Samurai, where Tom Cruise earns the respect of Sanada Hiroyuki by refusing to give up as he is pounded into the ground again and again.
Round 2
A more conventional encounter is depicted in Ame Agaru (see below) where Akira Terao proves his worth to the local lord. (You can see it here: https://youtu.be/KaiZBey83rk?si=W3NfRVlwh9mHIrbS)
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| This scene was choreographed by Otake Risuke, the head of the Tenshin Shoden Katori Ryu, and reflects the swordplay of that school. Other scenes (e.g. solo practice ) are based on Mugai Ryu, the style the character is supposed to have studied. |
There were also interesting scenes in Gohatto (where new members of the Shinsengumi are tested in the dojo - see picture at the top of the page) and Zatoichi (2003).
In Zatoichi, the character played by Asano Tadanobu, a wandering swordsman who makes short work of most of his opponents, thinks back to when he was in steadier employment and learnt, to his dismay, the shortcomings of thinking a bokuto is the same as a sword – a lesson, perhaps for everyone.
Are you allowed to do that?
Anyway, if any of you have seen a bokuto like this, I’d love to hear about it.
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