Jujutsu Becomes Judo #1
Turning to the origin of jujutsu, as is to be expected various
accounts are given.
In the Bugei Sho-den, which is a collection of brief
biographies of eminent masters of the different arts of fighting practiced in
feudal times--accounts are given of kogusoku and ken, which is equivalent to
kempo these two being distinguished from each other, the former as the art of
seizing, and the latter as the art of gaining victory by pliancy. The art of
kogusoku is ascribed to Takenouchi, a native of Sakushiu. It is said that in
the first year of Tenbun, 1532, a sorcerer came unexpectedly to the house of
Takenouchi and taught him five methods of seizing a man; he then went off and
he could not tell whither he went.
The origin of the art of ken is stated thus: There came to
Japan from China a man named Chingempin, who left that country after the fall
of the Min dynasty, and lived in Kokushoji (a Buddhist temple) in Azabu in
Yedo, as Tokyo was then called. There also in the same temple lived three
ronins, Fukuno, Isogai and Miura, One day Chingempin told them that in China
there was an art of seizing a man, which he had seen himself practiced but had
not learned its principles. On hearing this, these three men made
investigations and afterwards became very skillful.
The origin of ju, which is equivalent to jujutsu, is traced
to these three men, from whom it spread throughout the country. In the same
account the principles of the art are stated, and the following are their free
translations:
1. Not to resist an opponent, but to gain victory by
pliancy.
2. Not to aim at frequent victory.
3. Not to be led into scolding (bickering) by keeping the
mind (empty) composed and calm.
4. Not to be disturbed by things.
5. Not to be agitated under any emergency but to be
tranquil.
6. And for all these, rules for respiration are considered
important.
In the Bujutsu riu soroku, a book of biographies of the
originators of different schools of the arts of Japanese warfare, exactly the
same account is given of the origin of kogusoku, and a similar account of
jujutsu; and it is also stated that the time in which Miura lived was about
1560.
In the Chinomaki a certificate given by teachers of the Kito
school to their pupils, we find a brief history of the art and its main
principles as taught by that school. In it, reference is made to a writing
dated the 11th year of Kuanbun (1671).
According to it there was once a man named
Fukuno who studied the art of fighting without weapons and so excelled in the
art that he defeated people very much stronger than himself. The art at first
did not spread to any great extent; but two of his students became especially
noted, who were founders of
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