Advice on Background Reading Material
New students coming fresh to Kendo frequently ask if there books that can be recommended to help them understand. Of course, they fully expect the titles to include some sort of ‘How to Do’ basic guide with lots of pictures on technique. It is difficult for them to grasp the fact that the short answer is that there are no suitable books of this type and that instruction and learning should only come in the dojo. While such ‘physical instruction’ books are interesting and often contain very good photographs, the only way to learn – and absorb the teaching – is through hands-on experience.
New students coming fresh to Kendo frequently ask if there books that can be recommended to help them understand. Of course, they fully expect the titles to include some sort of ‘How to Do’ basic guide with lots of pictures on technique. It is difficult for them to grasp the fact that the short answer is that there are no suitable books of this type and that instruction and learning should only come in the dojo. While such ‘physical instruction’ books are interesting and often contain very good photographs, the only way to learn – and absorb the teaching – is through hands-on experience.
The next question, if the student accepts this argument, and some Westerners may find that difficult, is to recommend what category of book will be useful. This is a problem that many Kendo Renmei have thought about for years. There are a number of excellent works written in Japanese language but, unfortunately, few of them are available in translation. These mainly deal with the philosophical background to Budo and Kendo but are aimed, in the original, at people already having a good number of years experience and not at novices. There are two or three excellent Budo histories but these, too, are not readily available and are in Japanese!
Within this Renmei we would advise the novice to go to his or her library and look for any reasonable general works to give them a broad ‘feeling’ for Japanese culture and if they are so inclined, follow this background material up with a general working understanding of Japanese medieval history because it is entirely from the warrior background that the major classical arts and ways sprang. The better your working knowledge of old Japan, the more you will enjoy the study of ‘proper’ Budo; the two things are inseparable.
Recommended material:
Then, specifically, you should acquire for your own bookshelf all or some of the following:
| Draeger, Donn F. | Classical Bujutsu , The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan, Vol I. |
| ” “ | Classical Budo , The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan, Vol. II. |
| ” “ | Modern Bujutsu and Budo, The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan, Vol. III.All published by Weatherhill, New York and Tokyo, 1973 and 1974.Still available with any luck, but persevere in your search. Excellent background material by a down-to-earth expert who spent half his life gaining direct experience in Japan. Draeger will give you the proper perspective, entirely cutting out the overblown dross! |
| Sanson, Sir George | A History of Japan.3 Vols. London 1958, but available in paperback.Useful to dip into but otherwise heavy going, of course! |
| Sinclaire, Clive | Samurai, The weapons and spirit of the Japanese Warrior. Salamander Books, London 2001.Excellent and colourful background survey by an acknowledged sword expert. Very useful for reference should you start a modest collection of Japanese militaria or are just curious. |
| Sugawara Makoto | The Ancient Samurai, The East, Tokyo, 1986.Sound historical survey up to 1336 or so; very readable, by an excellent Japanese authority. Available through the British Kendo Renmei if you wish. Hardback. |
| Sugawara Makoto | Lives of Master Swordsmen, The East, Tokyo, 1985.Highly recommended material; biographical study of nine plus famous swordsmen from Tsukahara Bokuden in the 16th century to the end of the 19th century. Lively and informative and a ‘must’ for any serious student’s bookshelf. Also available through the British Kendo Renmei. Hardback. |
| Knutsen, Roald | Rediscovering Budo, From a Swordsman’s Perspective, Global Oriental, 2004.Quite possibly, this book will become a ‘must have’ for all students of modern Budo who wish to look ‘beneath the surface’ beyond mere technique. Perhaps not for the beginner but certainly for the medium and upper level practitioners not wholly blinkered by competition and the self-delusion engendered by ‘sport’. Available from the Renmei. Hardback. |
| Knutsen, Roald & Patricia | Japanese Spears, Polearms and their use in Old Japan, Global Oriental, 2004.Collecting and the field of Bujutsu and Budo has been dominated by the Japanese sword. At last an authorative study in English by two enthusiastic and informed budoka of the range of weapons that ruled Japanese battlefields for well over a thousand years and then became the status symbol of the samurai. The authors have studied the yari and the naginata for all their Budo careers both here and in Japan. This study covers not only the historical development of the spear in its many types but also much detail on their practical use. A superb book for your bookshelf. Available from this Renmei. |
| Knutsen, Roald | SUN-TZU and the Art of Japanese Warfare, Forthcoming: Global Oriental, November 2005.This is a study of the development of the Japanese understanding and interpretation of Sun-Tzu’s Ping Fa (Art of War) amongst the master swordsmen during the mid- to late- Muromachi period (ca. 1400 – 1600). It focuses on the application of these ancient principles, particularly in ‘unconventional’ tactics and their incorporation into the bujutsu (bugei) of the period. This is an authoritative and lively work well-worth adding to your bookshelf. |
Note: If you wish to order any of the books available through the British Kendo Renmei, please contact us for further details.
Titles by Roald and Patricia Knutsen will be signed copies by the author(s).