Modern Japan brings to mind images of steaming noodle bars, teeming streets, cutting-edge fashion, world-class technology and innovation, and, of course, stunning natural landscapes. Beneath the surface of this diverse culture, however, there beats a very ancient heart. The battlefield arts that have existed in Japan for millennia have greatly influenced Japanese culture, thinking, and history but, in the context of martial-arts history, the permutations that have become incredibly popular around the world-such as karate, aikido, and judo-are relative newcomers.
Japan is one of the major regions from which most of the martial arts practiced today originate. Only China and Korea can boast a similar heritage. In addition to the influence of its ancient traditions and battlefield arts, Japan has also made many important contributions to modern martial-arts practice. Perhaps the most well-known and widely adopted is the colored belt system-used to grade students according to rank and experience. Belts range in color from white through the spectrum of the rainbow to black, after which different degrees, or "dans," are awarded. Devised in the 19th century by Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo, the system is now used in many fields of martial art.
Judo was also one of the first of the martial arts to be thoroughly codified. By combining the throwing and grappling aspects of jujutsu with elements from other wrestling arts, and standardizing the new art into a coherent system, Jigoro sowed the seeds for the sporting phenomenon that judo has become. Although many of the techniques were already prevalent in wrestling arts around the world, the standardization of the judo training syllabus allowed it to be taught easily, and to a good standard. This undoubtedly led to judo's widespread and rapid popularization.
Voices from the past
The ancient warriors of Japan left behind a fascinating legacy of literature devoted to the martial code and the philosophical thought of the warrior. Bushido: The Soul of Japan, written in 1899 by Inazo Nitobe, popularized the term "bushido," meaning "the way of the warrior." As a code, bushido cites seven virtues that are held in the greatest regard within the warrior culture: honor, loyalty, courage, benevolence, justice, veracity, and politeness.
The Forty-Seven Ronin, the true story of an event that came to represent the ideal of how warriors should behave, provides an earlier example of Japan's martial literary legacy and the ethical code of bushido. The story revolve; around 47 samurai warriors in the service of Asano Naganori, the Lord of Ako, on the island of Honshu. While on a visit to the court of the Shogun of Tokyo, Naganori was insulted by another Lord, at which point he unsheathed his sword and struck the man had offended him. It was considered extremely bad manners to draw a sword in the court of the Shogun, Naganori was ordered to commit "seppuku," a ritualized form of suicide. On his death the 47 warriors became ronin - samurai without a master - and vowed vengeance on the man who had insulted their master and provoked his suicide. They left their homes and families to enact a plan of revenge. To avoid raising suspicion, they posed as drunkards on the streets Tokyo for almost two years, until an opportunity arose on December 14, 1702. They crept into the Lord's home and killed him, immediately surrendering themselves to the authorities, even though they knew their actions were punishable by death. They then committed ritual suicide at the tomb of their late master.
Although today we may consider this to be an extreme example of loyalty, it highlights the tradition from which martial artists fashion their attitudes and underlying philosophical principles.
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