From TENRYU by jorgevaccaro

KAMON

家紋

能ある鷹は、爪を隠す

“The virtuous hawk hides it’s nails”

Japanese Proberv.

During our trip to Japan on abril 2012, I brought Soke a present in gold painted wood, that I made off his “Kamon”

The Kamon is the japanese simbol highlighting the badges of the diverse clans that existed during the feudal period of Japan.

They correspond to symbols, most of them rounded, with designs of flowers, birds, plants, and nature phenomenons, even arrows, that represent the “trademark” of a family. Those designs are attached to history and philosophy of the ascendants. It is estimated that these days there are over 20.000 kinds of Kamon.

They go back to the Heian Era (794 a 1192) when it was simply used to distinguished the oxen floats from nobelty. Later on, the symbol was used on several family belongings.

Later, on the Kamakura era (1192-1333) the kamon showed up on flags and standarts that samurai used when they fought in mass and where riding horses. In the battlefield using armours and helmets (kabuto), the different emblems served to distinguish their own people. Some Kamon where also used on the chest of the armor or in the helmet. The emblems of war where more simple compared to those at home, because they had to be recognized from afar.

The Kamon 家紋, could also be called with other names like ”Mon 紋 “, ”Monshō 紋章 ” y ”Mondokoro 紋所 “.

The Mon of the family of Sôke Masaaki Hatsumi is designed with two hawk feathers crossed. The name of the Kamon is “Maruni chigai takanoha” 丸に違鷹羽. The hawk is a symbol of the samurai from ancient times.

Image: Over the Kabuto (helmet) of Soke Hatsumi, one can appreciate the Kamon.

“Hawk Feather”, was used as decoration on the moments of thriumph and victories, as also for special ceremonies such as New Years Eve. On some ancient clans became to be one of the most important symbols on battle times.

This Kamon is also used by the family of Shihan Someya Kenichi, of Bujinkan Dojo.

All of the ancestors of the family of Sôke Masaaki Hatsumi, and also Shihan Someya Kenichi, are connected to ancient Samurai linages.

While we appreciated the Kamon, Shihan Someya told me that it’s also a symbol of his own family, he told me the information that the Kamon came from Daimyo Asano, from the Hiroshima area.

So with the investigation on the run about this Kamon, I truly found that there’s an enormeous inflouence at the zone of Hiroshima, that connects to Asano Naganori  (浅野長矩 1665 –1701) who was a Daimyo from the Akō Domain, a small feud between Okayama and Himeji, His Daimyo title was Takumi no Kami 内匠頭

Image of Asano Naganori with the Kamon on his Kimono

The Kamon is also registered within the family of the well known Saigō Takamori (西郷 隆盛 1828 -1877) who was a Samurai and Polititian, who lived during the last years of the Edo period and beginnings of the Meiji era. Initially, was one of the polititians who supported the elimination of the Tokugawa shogunato, and backed up the Meiji restoration, afterwards he got involved in the Meiji government. But in 1877, after the sistematic persecution of the samurai by the new government, he was in front of the Satsuma rebelion, that was going to be the last conflict headed by the samurai on Japanese History. To many people, Takamori is considered the true last samurai.

Image: original writing of Saigō Takamori – Soke Hatsumi collection.

There may be an interesting relation, because Sôke during 2011, showed us a caligraphy from the very Saigō Takamori

Three important points of connection:

1. The family of Asano ( 浅野氏 Asano-shi) where samurai names on the feudal times since the family that had control of the  “Han” (feude) of Hiroshima, centered in the castle of Hiroshima during great part of the Edo period . The Asano are descendants of the emperor Seiwa (850-880), of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (944-1021), and they’re a branch of the Toki family.

Minamoto no Mitsunobu, descendant of Yorimitsu in the 4th generation, established in Toki (Mino) and took the name of such place. The Toki where hereditary “Hugo” (governors) of the Mino province until the 16th century. The name of Asano maybe the most well known,as a result of the history of the 47 Ronin ( http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/47_r%C5%8Dnin) , whos lord was Asano Naganori , the leader of a branch of the feudal family in Ako.

2. The Kikuchi clan ( 菊池氏) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuchi_clan ) of the province of Higo was a poweful family of Daimyo within the zone of Higo, Kyushu. The Kikuchi linage was known of it’s brave service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invadors. The first clan was distinguished during the Kyushu inversion in 1019.

Image: Different evolution of the symbols of the Hawk feathers, until they became the known Kamon.

The Kikuchi family reached fame during the mongol invasion of Japan on 1281, when the Heroism of Kikuchi Takefusa helped to make the enemy back away.

This clan also had active partitipation during the Kenmu restauration (1333-1336), in the attempt to reaffirm the imperial authority by the emperor Go-Daigo against the Kamakura Shogunato. This also shows a tight relation with the history of the Kukishinden and the history of Kurando Yakushimaru on the rescue of the Godaigo emperor, well known history about the schools of Bujinkan.

3. Another of the odd but not surprising connections with this Kamon, comes from India, from the Handas Clan. The Handas, with other warrior clans as Kshatriya ( http://castesysteminindia.com/), have developed a crucial part  in the creation of India/Aria history. Aside of a very rich and prominent past in India, the Handas descendants can now be found in many parts of the world. Many Handa families are living in England, Canada, Japan, Australia, US, etc.

To finish, I’d like to remind everyone that Sôke with his teachings, have made of the Bujinkan a great family. Among the rules of the Shidoshikai of the Bujinkan Dojo, it’s authorized to wear just one Patch or Mon, on the left side (heart) of the Gi. The same is the symbol of the “Bujin” which identifies us as a part of the same family, a same linage.

Let us protect the family, training with enthusiasm and doing battle with the gestures of the heart.

By Christian Petroccello

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From TENRYU by jorgevaccaro

There is a Japanes proverb that says 猿も木から落ちる Saru mo ki kara ochiru. Which means “Even the monkeys also fall from the tree”

I like to sometimes change it for 龍も空気から落ちる Ryu mo kuki kara ochiru, “Even the dragons fall from air”

The nature of the dragon is to fly in an oscillating and changing wat throughout the air and throw fire on ocasions. The fire is one of it’s weapons, to drive off the bad spirits, protecting the weak from evil and powerful.

It’s fire may sometimes be it’s words and techniques, trying to take care and teach, even though sometime by fear of human conscience, ends up being misinterpreted.

There are no dragons of water , earth, sky, fire, clouds, struggle, etc… those are simply variants of the endless manifestations that an honorable White Dragon may have during certain state of divine awareness, giving life to thousand of dragons all around the world.

The features are individual, but the manifestations are changing according to lifes. Infinite changes of conscience ar the result of millions of manifestations of human conscience, but it all ends in a position of the escential point of life (Kaname no Shisei).

Those dragons filled with hunger tend to burn the tail of other dragons, to delay their flights and take advantage onto their roads, who have been confused with the role to protect, by the role of colonizing in a state of competition.

A dragon with the burned tail, just comes around to check itself on how  bad it’s body is, but knows that it can auto-regenerate itself instantly in the sinergic force of it’s flight, on the giving and protecting. A Dragon comes from the sky, it’s escential nature doesn’t belong to earth, however takes care and plays with people.

If today you feel that your tail has been burned, just continue your path, in the direction of giving and protecting, not just those who believe, come and follow their flights in action, but also to those who even asleep ignore the force of the dragons.

 

Komyo no satori wo sagashite “Seeking within the light of hope”

Tenryu, fall of 2012 in Buenos Aires.

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From TENRYU by jorgevaccaro

Regarding the Bujinkan Ranks

By Sôke Masaaki Hatsumi.

DVD HIMON BUJIN DEN

必問 武神 伝

 

There are off course, levels, ranks and casts everywhere.

I believe this cast of zones is important for human existance in earth.

I feel this things are necessary for those who adapt. The creation of a territory is also what adapts on each individual. I believe  that is not something that produces an impediment, but also what is free. This is some matter to understand on each position. Those who not have this strenght and aim to high, will certainly fail.

On my 5th Dan test, there’s an attack from behind. This is the beginning of the Kihon Happo. Please this means that you must understand the Happo and the Juppo. This is what is called Juppo Sessho no jutsu. You don’t know where an opponent may come. You don’t know what kind of dissaster will come and from where.

You must be able to deal with things  when they come from certain way, and it’s not just a question of protecting from a blow from behind – Please know about Juppo Sessho no jutsu and Kihon Happo. The ways in that Kihon Happo can be applied on this kinds of situations, are the tipe of things that are though on 5th dan. The test isn’t about just try to avoid an attack from behind.

Three people are bound to propose someone for the 10th dan. This in a sence, is Sanshin No Kata. This is the meaning of Sanshin no Kata that I’ve mentioned before. A person cannot become a 10dan without 3 people as sponsors.

There are individual differences on people, that’s why there are ranks until the 15th dan -This isn’t a question of ryuha-

I’ve created the ranks of 15dan, off course, with the meaning that people can take notice that they are in fact human beings. You could say that is to leave the abode.

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From TENRYU by jorgevaccaro

As many of you may know, the teachings of Sôke during 2001, where focused in Gyokko Ryû and Daisho. Inside Gyokko Ryû Sensei Hatsumi tought the concepts of IN/YO (opposite polarities) applied to the In Ryoku 引力 concepts (gravity force, attraction),Jû Ryoku 重力 (gravity),  Ji Ryoku Sen  磁力線  (magnetic force line) among others.

Last night, we had a wonderful class with Sōke. Outside of the Dojo, the wind and the rain blew strongly in Taifu 台風 way, inside of the dojo the wind of the Bufu kept us moving from the hands of Sōke, while he shared with his Kuden the theory of relativity of Einstein  相対性理论, applied to Taijutsu. During the class, as Sôke showed techniques with Katana, Daisho, Kodachi and long weapons (Bo), he explaines the importance of moving freely taking advantage  the skillness of being able to use any weapon, even firearms. Throughout  the enlightening skills of  Sôke, while Uke fell naturally over the sword, that was naturally unsheathed by letting if fall down (In ryoku), he started to introduce us into the theory of relativity of Einstein, Everything happens so fast in the Dojo when Soke teaches, but at the same time seems very slow and hard to understand.

The escencial idea, of vital point (Kaname) of the theory of relativity, is for example that two observers that move relatively side by side with different speed, (if the difference is much minor than the speed of light, it’s not appreciable), often will have different measures of the time (time frames) and space (distance – maai) to describe the same series of events. That is, the perception of space (kukan) and the time depend of the state of movement (Taijutsu) of the observer or its relative to the observer. However, despite of the relativeness of space and time, there’s a more sutile form of physic invariance, as the content of the physical laws will be the same for both observers. This last thing means that, despite that the observers differ on the result of concrete measures of temporary and space magnitudes, they’ll find that the equations that relate physical magnitudes have the same form, with independence of his state of movement. This last fact is known as principle of covariance.

I feel that beyond what’s relative on each observer and the variance of perceptions, we can all find a vital point (Kaname要)  that can connect us to the escense of Budo, even though there are infinite changes (Banpen) and if the Mushin mind is kept, the escencial point appears by itself. Maybe that’s the Gokui of martial arts, though if we try to understand it, it’ll loose it’s escense.

Soke said, The Kaname can be understood, or it cannot be understood, it’s simple”

Bufu ikkan Banpen Kaname !!!

Christian

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From TENRYU by jorgevaccaro

平静 Heisei; is equanimity, from latin “aequanimitas”: balance, fairness, consistency and fairness in mind. We can understand it as keeping a balanced and serene attitude. It can also be translated as neutrality, balance or justice.

Antonyms of Fairness: imbalance, Inequality, obsession, paradox, bias, perversion, goodwill, prejudice, injustice.

If anyone saw pass  “equanimity” please let it notice and don’t let it get away!!

Train daily both inside and outside of the Dojo is one of my targets, to achieve “Kokoro no heisei (心の平静), an equable mind.

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