Japan's First Government Sanctioned Budo Association
~by Pat McCarthy
The samurai warriors of ancient Japan lived with a philosophy unique in the annals of mankind: they pledged their very lives as an act of loyalty to their lords. To sacrifice one's life for one's master was, for the samurai, the most glorious death. They lived each day with the constant desire for beauty in perfection while preparing for death.
This same samurai philosophy also penetrated the lives of the common people. And it is through this code of the ancient Japanese warrior that the martial arts of Japan have been handed down to this day.
Modern practitioners of the classical Japanese disciplines owe a debt of gratitude to Japan's first martial arts association, responsible for the revival of this ancient tradition - the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai. The Dai Nippon Butoku Kai(Japan's Great Martial Virtues Association) was established in April of 1895 in Kyoto, and sanctioned by the government to control, regulate and standardize the various martial ryu (traditions) in the country. It immediately organized a committee to grant budo/bujutsu menjo (martial arts rank certification) and shihan menjo (teaching licenses) throughout the land.
[caption id="attachment_3564" align="alignleft" width="300"]
big role in karate's quest for recognition by the Butoku Kai.[/caption] Respect, compassion, gratitude, integrity and honor are the virtues of this age-old institute, which traces its origin to Emperor Kanmu (A.D. 781-805), for it was he who first conceived this now-monumental alliance. On September 5, 1896, the emperor selected Akihito Komatsumiya to be the association's sosai (general manager), and during that next busy year he secured financial assistance in the form of government grants from the emperor. During Komatsumiya's term as sosai, the plans were laid for the construction of a college within the association that would represent a milestone for bujutsu (warrior arts) achievement. It was the organization's chore to develop an institute to house and produce Japan's new military mind. In 1899, its first building, the Butoku Den, was completed and opened adjacent to the Heian Shrine in Kyoto, located close to the Imperial Palace grounds. This building served as the physical and cultural headquarters for the organization, and soon attracted Japan's leading and most respected martial artists. In 1906, a second substantial grant was secured from the emperor for the establishment of a military college, the Budo Semmon Gakko.




An impressive host of Okinawan karate masters assisted Gichin Funakoshi in launching a lengthy campaign for recog· nition by the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai. They included: Hana· shiro Chomo (1); Chojun Miyagi (2); Mabuni Kenwa (3); Kyan Chotol<u (4); and Motobu Choki (5).Being an Okinawan, Funakoshi understood that Japan, unlike Okinawa, was pro-militaristic in its approach to bujutsu training, only recently having made the transition from feudalism to democracy. He realized that if the association accepted tode jutsu, there would be many changes, as Japan had no room for an imported, Okinawan/Chinese martial art in its repertoire. But after several impressive displays of this art, the Butoku Kai did take notice of Funakoshi's applications. Funakoshi, along with an impressive host of other Okinawan masters, began a lengthy campaign that included demonstrations that read like a Who's Who of Okinawan budo, with experts like Mabuni Kehwa, Motobu Choki, Hanashiro Chomo, Mateyoshi Shinko, Chojun Miyagi, Kyan Chotoku, Uechi Kanbum and Yabiku Moden all playing a significant role in the unfolding of this little-known art of hand-to-hand combat. This group eventually accomplished what it set out to do: the Butoku Kai set forth the criteria and prerequisites for tode jutsu to gain entrance into the association. It was apparent that with the various splintered factions from Okinawa struggling for recognition, they would have to become more organized In their efforts. They would also have to change the ideogram kanji (writing style) of tode so it would not connotate or refer to China, as it was presently written. This created a major disturbance with the old masters on Okinawa, who were against the move from the first place. But with a more contemporary eclectic group now the real strength and foundation behind Ryukyu tode jutsu, it was merely a matter of an aesthetic facelift o fit the changing times. The newly selected kanji prefix "kara" (empty), which replaced to, had a dual definition: a martial art without the use of weapons, and achieving a state of "no mind" (mu); the long-term objective to training. The suffix of do (way) was also added, indicating training was geared toward a philosophical, classical way or path which one may follow to enlightenment. In addition, the Okinawan groups would have to adopt standard practice uniforms similar to other ryu, and establish an academic curriculum for the testing of degrees of proficiency within the art. And finally, the most difficult task would be setting up and organizing a format for competition like that of kendo and judo. Thus, the new art of karate-do was born. These new sets of rules were very confusing for the four separate arts of Okinawa: kobujutsu, tode jutsu (kenpo), naha te, and shuri te. Some practitioners made the adjust ments, some did not. Even to this day, there are small groups on Okinawa that have no ties to competition-oriented associations and could care less about them. These men of budo view trophies and titles as mere passing trends, serving only to bring out the worst (ego) in human nature, and contradictory to the ultimate goal and underlying foundation of the ancient arts of Okinawa. While the new art of karate was beginning to flourish throughout Japan, hybrid methods started to surface, developed from the original Okinawan ryu. Names like shito-ryu, shotokan, wado-ryu, and goju-ryu would eventually become known as the four major styles of Japanese karate. The Buto ku Kai even established a branch in Naha, Okinawa, where the arts of kendo and judo were taught along with karate. Karate had already been taught in the public school system since 1905, when karate pioneer ltosu Yasutsune introduced it. During this era, the Butoku Kai witnessed the creation of what we now know as the four major styles of Japanese karate, which reflected a much more militaristic attitude than what was originally known on Okinawa. With innovations and further refinements to the native art, it gradually lost many of its Okinawan characteristics. Right up until the end of World War II, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai set the guide lines for karate and, along with the institution of bushido, ka rate finally became a Japanese discipline. In December of 1941, the association created a board to report on the progress of the synthesis of budo groups,and in the following year, the old association was reorganized under five new governmental ministries-welfare, education, war, navy, and national affairs. Shortly after Japan had unconditionally surrendered to the allied forces in 1945, General Douglas MacArthur brought about the prohibition of all institutions considered to be "the root of militarism." This resulted in the banning of the Busen and the Butoku Kai, along with all its affiliates. But in January of 1946, the Japanese Ministry of Education was given charge of budo on a limited basis; it was to continue as a physical education program only. Later that year, the Butoku Kai applied for reorganization as a private group and surprisingly received permission. However, when the allied forces senior government officials reviewed this application, approval was denied. The association laid dormant for seven years, the site changing hands from the occupied forces, to the Japanese Ministry of Legal Affairs and Finance, to the Kyoto municipal government. The Kyoto law enforcement department utilized the Butoku Den as its private budo training facility for its agents. The site was declared a national treasure in 1970 by the Japanese municipal government, and refurbishing will begin before 1990. It wasn't until 1953 that the association was re-established and re-activated on a limited-membership basis with Ono Kumao as chief instructor. These were difficult times for Japan, with the war just behind it, a tenuous economy, and occupation forces watchful for the upspring of any institute that could be construed as having militaristic overtones. Over time, Japan's reconstruction led to various martial arts groups being established without the support of the government. By this time, many were sure the Butoku Kai ceased to exist altogether, as the new government gave no support to any budo groups. It was even said the association was at the top of the American list of subversive organizations. [caption id="attachment_3569" align="alignleft" width="176"]
