Secrets of the Samurai. Oscar Ratti

      

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       Our core mission at Tuttle Publishing is to create books which bring people together one page at a time. Tuttle was founded in 1832 in the small New England town of Rutland, Vermont (USA). Our fundamental values remain as strong today as they were then—to publish best-in-class books informing the Englishspeaking world about the countries and peoples of Asia. The world has become a smaller place today and Asia’s economic, cultural and political infl uence has expanded, yet the need for meaningful dialogue and information about this diverse region has never been greater. Since 1948, Tuttle has been a leader in publishing books on the cultures, arts, cuisines, languages and literatures of Asia. Our authors and photographers have won numerous awards and Tuttle has published thousands of books on subjects ranging from martial arts to paper crafts. We welcome you to explore the wealth of information available on Asia at www.tuttlepublishing.com.

      Please note that the publisher and author(s) of this instructional book are NOT RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from practicing the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Martial arts training can be dangerous—both to you and to others—if not practiced safely. If you’re in doubt as to how to proceed or whether your practice is safe, consult with a trained martial arts teacher before beginning. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers, it is also essential that a physician be consulted prior to training.

       Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

       Copyright © 1973 Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc. Acknowledgments, Foreword, Portfolio of Drawings in new edition Copyright © 2009 by Futuro Designs & Publications/Adele Westbrook.

       All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Ratti, Oscar.

       Secrets of the samurai : the martial arts of feudal

       Japan / by Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook.

       399 p. : ill. ; 27 cm.

       Includes bibliographical references and index.

       ISBN 978-4-8053-0960-5 (hardcover)

       1. Martial arts--Japan. I. Westbrook, Adele. II. Title.

       GV1100.77.A2.R37 2009

       796.815--dc22

       2009014305

       ISBN 978-4-8053-1405-0

       ISBN 978-1-4629-1900-0 (ebook)

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      TO THOSE RARE MASTERS OF BUJUTSU

       who revered the arts of the warrior—

       but who revered human life even more;

       and

      TO THOSE SCHOLARS

       without whose reflections

       and painstaking recollections

       this book would not have been possible

      If we open ourselves up to the divine Life Force in its physical and spiritual manifestations we are all right, as individuals and as societies of individuals. If, on the contrary, we turn our backs on the God-made universe and insist on living in the home-made, verbal universe of fancies and ideals, imagining that we can improve on nature and make God in our own image, then we ruin our private lives, physically and spiritually, and create societies such as we live in today. Our habit of doing most of our living in a home-made world of words, fancies, and illusions is so deeply ingrained that it requires hard work with special techniques to “get back to where we have always been”—that is to say, to the given reality of Nature and Grace, to things as they really are, in themselves, and quoad nos , in relation to our egos.

      Aldous Huxley

       The Selected Letters of Aldous Huxley

       James Sexton, editor

       Ivan R. Dee. 2008

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

       FOREWORD

       PORTFOLIO OF DRAWINGS

       ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

       PREFACE

       INTRODUCTION : The Martial Ethos

       Definition of Bujutsu and Its Specializations

       The Qualification “Martial” (Bu) and the Exponents of Bujutsu

       The Qualification “Martial” (Bu) and the Art of War

       The Military Tradition in the History of Japan

       Origins of Bujutsu

       PART I EXPONENTS OF BUJUTSU: THE BUJIN

       1. The Bushi

       The Rise of the Military Class

       The Military Structure of Tokugawa Society: The Shogun

       The