The Way of the Sword and Ancient Ruins

Since I began living in Japan, I have been itching to try my hand at some form of martial art. After mentioning this at my Board of Education, I am now officially taking kendo lessons at a nearby dojo every Wednesday and Saturday evening! 

For those that are unfamiliar, kendo, which roughly translates as "the way of the sword," is a Japanese martial art that concerns itself with swordsmanship (albiet with bamboo replicas called shinai and not the real deal) and cultivating a focused mind.

The shinai

Kendo is similar to western fencing in that competitions are about gaining points by being the first to strike against ones opponent in certain areas of the body. In kendo, there are four basic pieces of equipment that one wears and is allowed to strike. The first is the men that covers the face and shoulders. 

The men

The next is the do (pronounced like Homer Simpson's iconic d'oh) that covers the chest. 

The do

Next is the tare ( pronounced like a Canadian saying "tar" then "eh") that covers the waist. 

The tare

The last pieces are the kote (pronounced like a Candian saying "coat" then "eh") which cover the hands.    

The kote

Yet, kendo slightly differs from western fencing in that it not only encourages physical self-cultivation, but mental discipline as well. This concern with ones mental state can largely be attributed to kendo's history. Kendo's origin's can be traced to two key points in Japanese history, the development of Buddism and the origins of the Samurai warrior class. Back in the day (around 1000-1600 A.D.) Japan had yet to become a unified country and thus suffered from chronic civil war. This period of warfare and instability lead to the proliferation of an increasingly influential militaristic aristocratic class. These warriors would later developed in to the renowned Samurai we all love today. Developing at roughly the same time as the Samurai class were new sects of Buddhism in Japan. One of the most influential Buddhist teachings to emerge during this period was Zen (heavily influenced by Buddhism in China), which emphasized awareness with ones surroundings and the ephemeral nature of life. Since warfare and battle were constants in the nasty, brutish and often short life of the Samurai, it was only natural that Zen had a lot of appeal. Thus, swordplay in the Samurai way of life emphasized not only physical training, but training ones mental state of being as well. Although the Samurai are long gone, many of the ideals of the warrior code survive in modern kendo. Indeed, the point of kendo, as I am often told by my sensei, is more concerned with calming and preparing ones mind and spirit rather than on winning a match. 

Having never done kendo in my life, I am currently practicing with elementary-age kids (many are my students) and so far, practices have consisted of the following:

We start by doing a series of taiso or exercises and warm ups.

Next, all the students line up and sit in the proper seika poistion (where one sits on their feet, which I daresay is quite painful on the hardwood floor we practice on at the moment) followed by chanting the names of the various pieces of armor, the men, the do, tare, and the kote (why this is I have yet to figure out). After that, we place our hands on the floor and do a low bow towards the sensei to show respect and humility.

Since I am a novice I usually get a private lesson from the second in command while the sensei leads the rest of the class. Thus far, I have learned how to hold the shinai properly, how to step properly, how to yell properly, how to bow properly, and how to sit properly as it seems there is a right way to do virtually everything in kendo (part of the mental discipline I assume). So far, everything I have done has been greeted with a coy smile from my instructor followed by a it`s difficult isn`t it so I can only assume I am blundering my way through at the moment. Nothing to do but practice, practice, practice I guess. Also, as the whole class is conducted in Japanese, I will naturally be a bit of slow learner, seeing as I can only understand about 50% of what my instructor says at any given moment.

We then end the class the same way as we began, by doing exercises and bowing again to the sensei. Anyway, here's hoping my warrior spirit will increase in the coming days.

As I had a whole day to myself and the weather was gorgeous (around 65 degrees!) last Sunday, I decided to do some self-exploration around my town. My first stop was the Makaki Ruins, which are about a 20 minute drive from my house. This site boasts one of the few archaelogical ruins of the Jomon culture, which thrived in Japan around 6,000 years ago.  Although the museum itself turned out to be closed for the day, I nevertheless got to see the excavation site and a few reconstructions of some the remains found around the surrounding area.

Beautiful autumn day at the Makaki Ruins

Reconstruction of a Jomon era Monument at Makaki Ruins

The wood circle

Excavation Site

After my excursion at the ruins, I stopped by the grocery store for lunch and to my pleasant surprise, someone was carving up a fresh tuna right at the entrance. Since there was a huge crowd of locals clamoring to get some tuna, I decided to do as the romans do and buy some myself (it was quite delicous).

Giant tuna at the grocery store (there was a stampede of people behind me)

After returning home and storing my precious tuna, I decided to take a little hike around my village. My first excursion was the area behind my apartment, which until 2005 was a railroad. Evidently, the railway became defunct as the population in my town became too low to merit continued service.

Old railroad by my apartment

Tunnel of doom! Kind of reminded of Miyazaki`s Spirited Away

My next path lead me along the ocean and some of the country roads Noto has to offer.

Mountains across the sea

Country road by the ocean

All in all a beautiful day

On a final note, I will definitely be keeping my eye on the election tomorrow. Thus far, none of my coworkers have even acknowledged that there is an election happening in 'murica so I might be the only one looking/caring at the office.