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The Dainichi Effect: Japan Report Five 令和6年

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael


The Dainichi effect happened around midday, but first this morning I went to the 大江戸骨董市 Oedo Antique Market with Peter Crocoll. This market is quite large with many collectibles, art, and weapons. Many people bought and even wore vintage clothing. Peter found a book of 春画 shunga full of erotic woodblock prints as an amusing gift for one of his students back home.

From there we made a visit to 美術刀剣松本 Bijutsu Tōken Matsumoto. Peter brought another tsuka from home to be wrapped and restored. You may remember my trip last year when he had his first tsukamaki from Matsumoto. While we were there, a koshirae for a dagger caught his eye. The fittings had a rare decorative 海老鞘 ebisaya and Peter couldn’t resist adding it to his collection.

The Dainichi Effect

Later, seeking some inspiration, I returned to ponder the copy of Dojo Giga at the bookstore. When I randomly opened the pages, it fell open to Hatsumi Sensei’s painting of 大日如来 Dainichi Nyorai. Dainichi represents the center, and is the sun Buddha in Japanese esoteric Buddhism such as 密教 Mikkyō. 

Depictions of Dainichi often show the hand gesture or mudra of 六大 rokudai. Each finger is part of the 五大 godai: chi, sui, ka, fu, and ku. They enclose the sixth element, 識 shiki, which is consciousness.

In the text of the painting, Soke wrote the name of 運慶 Unkei (1148-1224)​, who was a famous sculptor among the warrior class during the Kamakura era. Soke did this because in the year he painted, a new sculpture of Dainichi had been discovered and attributed to Unkei. Hatsumi Sensei’s painting was influenced by this discovery. This sculpture sold at Christie’s Auction house for an unprecedented $14,377,000 US dollars. 

Hatsumi Sensei’s Dainichi painting hangs in the Bujinkan honbu dojo

Hatsumi Sensei’s Dainichi painting is currently hanging in the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo. The text on the painting is a sort of memorial. It has the posthumous Buddhist names of both Takamatsu Sensei and Hatsumi Sensei. I first learned of these names some years ago when I climbed a ladder to help install shelves for the gold 位牌 ihai, which are Buddhist mortuary tablet​s displaying the names above the Kamidana.

I have an emotional memory related to Dainichi in the Dojo. It was the day Hatsumi Sensei had to move his wife into a care home. They had been married for many decades and Soke provided care for her in recent years. But he couldn’t manage it anymore.

When he entered the Dojo, he skipped his usual, jovial conversation, and walked straight to the altar of Dainichi under the Kamidana. He sat with his back to all of us and spent many minutes in private prayer. Afterwards, he began to quietly describe some items,

I bought that green tengu when Takamatsu Sensei passed away. At the end of 42 years, I got the one below it here. And here is Dainichi Nyorai. I was born in the year of Dainichi. At this 50 year anniversary maybe it’s some kind of divine message that these things come. This 50 year anniversary just came very suddenly, and next year with this completion of mutō dori, everyone will become a Daishihan and start teaching for themselves. That’s why all of the Daishihan should become friends and have a close community.

While Hatsumi Sensei was talking, I sat maybe a meter behind on his right side. I listened carefully since his back was to me. All of the sudden he asked the entire room who should be the next Daishihan. Several people pointed at me. Hatsumi Sensei turned to see who they were pointing at and he instantly agreed, exclaiming “Ok, ok!”

Senou Sensei reads Michael Glenn's Daishihan for presentation by Hatsumi Sensei

The very next class he called me up to the front of the Dojo to sit before him. Senou Sensei read the new certificate and passed it to Soke, who then bestowed it on me. I bowed and everyone applauded. Hatsumi Sensei said, “There is a time for these things and when the time is right they should be given.” That this happened on the same day Hatsumi Sensei experienced a very personal life change makes me very humble and reflective. Maybe this is the Dainichi effect.

Training with Furuta Sensei

After these moments of reflection, I went to class with Furuta Sensei. Of course he gave me a ride from the train station. Training was in the school gymnasium, which is very large and has nice mats set up for Jūdō.

During the drive, he explained that he had just come from a meeting with Hatsumi Sensei and all of the new Soke. He wanted to share details, but I think he felt he couldn’t tell us everything. But he did share a few things.

He said that there was a new website (bujinkanhombuoffice.com) in the works for the Bujinkan. It will have official rules and rank order forms in an effort to streamline this process. There is also a new Daishihan lapel pin if you feel like showing off. Furuta Sensei also said that for someone to be recommended for Daishihan, they need letters from at least 3 current Daishihan.

Furuta started class with Ukemi, Sanshin, and Kihon Happō to warm up. He began to focus on the details of the 表逆 omote gyaku. He used some of his characteristic 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū angles. He showed this against a resisting opponent. Whereupon he emphasized how even one finger can break the resistance like a “push button.”

Furuta Sensei explains details of Oni Kudaki

Pushing the button transitions into 裏逆 ura gyaku. And even further into 手枕 temakura, which he also showed as 袖枕 sode-makura. Then the last henka was 鬼砕 oni kudaki.

He changed to 半棒術 hanbōjutsu against a knife stab. He grew very energetic during this portion of the class. I think the Starbucks caught up with him. He yelled, jumped, and charged at opponents using very big swings of 八文字振りhachimonji furi. It was very funny and we had a lot of laughter. He described this energetic feeling as 気魄 kihaku, which is a fighting spirit.

Furuta Sensei next gave us a lesson about making mistakes. When you try to hit 小手 kote with only the tip or edge of the hanbō, you might miss. This is very natural. But you don’t want this mistake to be your defeat. Instead, you embrace the mistake and turn it into something useful. 

Furuta Sensei uses a Hanbo against two knives

He said that people don’t train for mistakes. They try to do perfect technique (which is impossible), but we should train for mistakes instead. Because we will always make some. Real combat is a clumsy, chaotic affair, so we should train for that reality. As Furuta Sensei said in his blunt English, “Mistake is good.”

The class had a lot of laughter and a good feeling. I think that is really the spirit that Hatsumi Sensei has given us. People try to be so serious, but training with a good heart and lots of laughter is best.…

How Do I Prepare for a Bujinkan Class?

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Leandro Erlich's "The Classroom" at 森美術館, photo by Michael Glenn
Michael in Leandro Erlich's "The Classroom" at 森美術館, photo Michael Glenn

I probably prepare more than most Bujinkan teachers. In fact, I spend 1-2 hours before every training session setting my lesson plan. But when Hatsumi Sensei made me a Daishihan, my prep changed.

I had 5 steps before there were two big changes. Step one was easy for me, but step seven I didn’t even know about until recently. Let’s talk about the easy change first. 

One: It starts with a Bujinkan theme

As you know, Soke used to set yearly themes for the whole Bujinkan to follow. This made it easy to decide what to study every class. For example, If the theme was Gyokko Ryū, we could study the techniques and strategies from that school.

But one Fall night in 2017 I showed up to the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo in Japan and change was in the air. Hatsumi Sensei’s wife was ill and Soke had made the difficult choice to move her into a care facility. He sat in front of the Kamidana and said a private prayer at his family shrine.

Then he began class talking about change. He told us,

We have lots of Daishihan around the world now. Being able to change is the way of living. Our Tradition continues because it changes. It’s the same feeling as mutōdori. People change as they get older. Now is the time for the Daishihan to take the Bujinkan into the future.

Little did I know I would feel that weight of taking the Bujinkan into the future in less than an hour.

It happened right after the break. Hatsumi Sensei sat on the floor as they cleared away his ink and brushes. Then he looked at some of the Daishihan and said, please nominate anyone you think is worthy to be a Daishihan. Two of them immediately pointed at me. 

I was relaxing on the mat behind Soke, so he turned quickly to see who they were pointing at. His face lit up when he saw me and said, “Ok!” I think he noticed my shocked expression because he smiled and quickly called Furuta-San over to talk to me.

Hatsumi Sensei Awards Bujinkan Daishihan to Michale Glenn
Senou Sensei reads Michael Glenn's Daishihan certificate. photo Peter Crocoll

In the following class on Sunday Hatsumi Sensei made the formal announcement and presented me with the certificate in front of the whole dojo. I bowed and then Soke said to everyone,

There is a time for these things and when the time is right they should be given.

He continued,

Next year is the start of a new Bujinkan. I started Togakure Ryū with Takamatsu Sensei in Showa 33 (1958). But I hadn’t been training long. But Takamatsu gave it to me to grow into it. Please think about these Daishihan not as coming from me, but from Kamisama. To make a community of great people. 

The rest of my trip was filled with thoughts of what did it all mean? One thing it meant when I got back home was that I still had to teach my classes. But Hatsumi Sensei was no longer setting clear themes for us to follow.

I decided it was my responsibility to set themes for my dojo. So far, this has been easy for me. I basically decide what subject I'd like to do a deep dive on and set the theme accordingly. My current theme is Juppō Sesshō and we are using a variety of weapons to explore this.

Two: Bujinkan students are the focus

When preparing to teach a Bujinkan class I must consider what my students need. I anticipate which students will be there that day and what I think will help them the most. Some are beginners, some are advanced and they all need different things from me.

Three: Review the Bujinkan 伝承 Denshō

Knowing the theme enables the next step where I review the 伝承 Denshō. I do this to get as close to the original forms and traditions as they were passed down to Hatsumi Sensei. This step is tricky, because translations and copies of the kata are not always accurate.

I use several trusted sources and compare and contrast them to get as close as I can to the “proper” form. I use multiple translations because each one has a different flavor depending on the pedigree of the translator. Then, I even do my own translation to confirm. This takes a long time.

Four: Hatsumi Sensei's Books

Next, I consult Hatsumi Sensei’s books. In a recent class about the use of jūji sabaki and the jūtte, I have 3 different books with 3 different approaches to the same kata. I compare them with the Denshō to try to get as close as possible to a “kihon” version of the kata.

In each book, the version of the kata that is shown will differ depending on the era the book was written. Or maybe Hatsumi Sensei had a specific focus for that book. I bring that all together with the next step.

Five: Hatsumi Sensei's Videos

After I get the steps down in my class notes, I watch Hatsumi Sensei’s videos. We are lucky that Soke has made a lot of videos. Over the years, I have made notes about where a kata appears in a video so I can fast forward to the exact moment it was shared. Again, the same kata will be presented differently depending on the era and the focus on the day the video was made.

Six: My Personal Bujinkan Training Notes

From here, I reflect on my own personal experience and training notes. In normal years, I would make 3 trips to Japan every year. This worked out to about 6 weeks of training with roughly 2-3 classes every day.

This means that there is a good chance I studied any particular kata with Soke or the Japanese Shihan in Japan. I made many detailed notebooks from these studies. Reviewing these notes will trigger a specific memory or insight that will change how I teach the class.

An idea of 以心伝心 Ishin Denshin

The final step is one that I only recently realized was an essential part of how I prepare for class. This is the idea of 以心伝心 ishin denshin, a direct heart to heart communication between teacher and student. I received this from Hatsumi Sensei.

And I feel like I just woke up to my responsibility as a Daishihan when I discovered this next step.

Seven: What would Soke do?

What is the best way for me to convey Soke’s feeling to my students? This is the final step of my preparation for Bujinkan training. When he awarded me the Daishihan certificate he said,

This year is the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Bujinkan dojo. During this time, there were a lot of people out there who don’t understand what real budo is. And teaching without knowing real budo. Recently, I have been teaching mutōdori and this is 上層部 Jōsō-bu, the highest echelon or essence of budo. Some people understand it and some don’t, but it’s very important.
Who can say they understand Hatsumi Sensei's movement? I don't make any claims. But what I can do is try to share the feeling I got from him. 

Like the time I tried to grab him and he disappeared. Or the time when he struck me with one finger, moving a bone behind my larynx and I was hoarse for a week. He thought that was quite amusing... Or another time when he threw me on the mats in Ayase and I blacked out. I came to with his face over mine, laughing again.

He gave me a feeling too when he made me a Daishihan. He told us,

It’s important to transmit these things by word of mouth and in person. The Daishihan can teach people how to live around the world. The gokui of mutōdori is really nothingness and very pure. I feel fortunate that I could teach people up to Daishihan level and they can now take over.

This is the future of the Bujinkan right in this room. 

I didn't know it that day, but his words still guide me many times a week as I go through these steps to prepare for class. I made a video about all of these steps called Bujinkan Kuden: How I Prepare for Class with the 十手 Jutte if your curiosity drives you to dive deeper.



 

 





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