Boston Public Library 

7r.:5 book is to be returned tc 
Library on or before the date last sta 

 THE 

JAPANESE SCHOOL 
OF JU^JITSU. 

Chief I list I'll dors 
Mr. MIYAKE and Mr. TANI. 

Iiistnictoi's 
Mr. EIDA and Mr. KANAYA. 

Assistant Instructors 

Messrs. COLLINGRIDGE, McDONNELL 

AND HOBDAY. 

Instructor for Ladies 
Miss ROBERTS. 

The School will be open for lessons from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

According to the hour of the day there will be two or three 
or four instructors at work. 

The day is divided into lesson periods. Pupils who desire to 
do so may book in advance (at the School or by telephone) 
any particular period with any particular instructor. 

M. ALLERDALE GRAINGER, 

Secretary. 

D t: 

THE FIGHTING MAN 
OF JAPAN 

THE TRAINING AND EXERCISES 
OF THE SAMURAI 

F. J. NORMAN 

J.ATE IITH AND I4TH HUSSARS, r.ATK INSTRUCTOR IN GOVERNMENT COLLEGES OF 
JAPAN — CIVIL AND MILITARY 

IflTH 32 ILLUSTRATIONS 

LONDON 
ARP|IIB>1LIX aONia-ABLH, &" CO Ltd 

^u 

BRADBURY, AONEW, «& CO. LD., PRINI'KRS, 
LONDON AND TONBRIDGE 

INTRODUCTION 

The author of the following brochure is an old soldier, who 
has been for many years resident in Japan. AVhile acting in 
that country as an instructor in some of the leading colleges, 
both military and civilian, he has had what are, perhaps, 
unrivalled opportunities of making a thorough and systematic 
study of the two noble sciences of heitjiitsii and jiijutsK. 
The author is, so far as he is aware, the first Occidental who 
has gone at all deeply into these two branches of Jaj^anese 
education. The benefit he has derived from their pursuit 
has led him to the conviction that much advantage might 
accrue to his native country from the introduction of exercises 
so admirably calculated to improve the physique and also the 
morale of its youth and manhood. The favourite games of 
young England are necessarily restricted in practice to the 
few, owing to the expensive nature of the requisite ajipliances, 
the time-expenditure involved, and the cost of preparing the 
ground. The majority can enjoy them only in the rnJr of 
spectators. Lookers on, it is said, see most of the game; 
but neither yy/or«Zr nor physique are thereby greatly benefited, 
and looking on is apt to degenerate into a dull pastime unless 
relieved by betting. No such costly appliances are required 
in connection with these Japanese exercises, in which all can 
participate, without risk or danger to life, purse, or limb, but 
with great benefit both to body and spirit. The following 
INTRODUCTION 

brief notes ou the historical and practical side of jujntsu 
and Jicnjatsu make no pretence to being exhaustive, having 
been written rapidly with the express object of illustrating 
the general ideas and aims of the Japanese school of jajntsii. 
The author was unexpectedly summoned to assist the 
members of this school in giving a public demonstration of 
the art of ju.jutsu in Great Britain. The time placed at his 
disposal for writing and issuing the following brochure was 
limited, and he claims the indulgence of its readers both on 
that score and in consideration of the fact that the ground he 
has covered has hitherto been practically untrodden. 

CONTENTS 

PAGK 

COMMEXCEIIENT OF JAPANESE MILITARY IIlSTORY 1 

The Education of the Japanese Military and Naval 
Officers, etc 16 

C!HAPTER III 

Japanese Wrestling; — Sumo and Jujutsu .57 
JUJUTSU <is 

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

A Group of Officers axd Instructors at the Imperial 
Naval College, Etaji.ma. with the Author among 
them Frontispiece 

Prince Yamatodake, one of the most famous of the 
Ancient Warriors of Japan 

A Medieval Warrior 

A Vessel built bv Will Adams for the J 

VPANESE about 

A Fight to the Death 

A\ Eta.tima Cadet 

A Cavalry Lieutenant of the Imperial Bodyguard 

A Samurai about to perform Seppuki' 

A S.vMTMiAi IN Ceremonial Costume 

Ill-timed Point and Eesult 

The Author and Umezawa-san 

A Side-slip, and what would Happen 

I. Onoda 

MKMIiKRs OF the TaKANAWA FENCING SCHOOL 

Prior to the Salute 

The Engage 

Corps a Corps a la Japonaise 

Kaw.\.dsu-no-Saburo and AEatano-no-Goro, Two celebrated 
Wrestlers of Old 

o 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

MiGI-YOTTSU, OR FoUR GeIPS." RiGHT HANDS INSIDE 59 

A Posturing Exercise for Strengthening the Thigh 
Muscles GO 

A Group of Budding Aspirants for Pal^stral Honot^rs, 
WITH A Young Umpire standing among them 62 

Tachi-ai, or "Watching for an Opening" .63 

Do-HYo-iRi, OR "Ceremonial Apron," as worn by firstclass Japanese Wrestlers 65 

SiKi-KABURi. A Back Throw Foiled 66 

A Group of Famous Wrestlers, including Ex-champion 
AND Present Champion of Japan .67 

KO-MATA-DORI, OR LeG-PULL ThrOW 69 

Kata-sukashi, a Side-slip followed by a Neck-grip 
Throw 70 

Setting-to 71 

Tai-otoshi, or "Standing Side-throw" .72 

HiKi-OTOSHi, or "Pull-do-u'n Throw" 74 

Kekaishi, or K1CK-B.-1CK Throw" 76 

Miss Roberts, Lady Instructress, the Japanese School of 
JiijKtsii, applying the "Arm-break Lock" .78 

THE FIGHTING MAN 
OF JAPAN 

Commencement of Japanese Military 
History 

Theke would appear to be little doubt tbat tbe two main 
causes contributing toward tbe figbting and sea-faring instincts 
of tbe Japanese are — first of all, tbe strong strain of Malay 
blood tbat runs in tbeir veins and secondly, tbe favourable 
climatic conditions under wbicb tbey bave been bred and 
brongbt up. Tbe Malay strain bas given tbem evidently tbe 
necessar}^ fire, bravery and dasb for tbe calling of warriors 
to tbe second or climatic cause tbey owe tbose pbj^sical 
qualifications witbout wbicb tbe advantage of race is often of 
so little avail. 1 As regards tbe peculijir discipline and loyalty 
for wbicb tbe Japanese bave now become so famous, tbese 
traits would appear to be tbe outcome of tbeir Mongoli;in 
blood and teacbings for if tbere is one tiling for wbicb Far 
Orientals are distinguisbed more tbau anotber it is tbat 
marked deference and loyalty to tbe wisbes of a superior, 
witbout wbicb discipline can rest on no sure basis. It was 

the introduction of Buddhism into the country, however, that 
gave the finishing touch to the character and ways of the 
Japanese warrior, as evolved in the shape of the samurai. 
Buddhistic teaching civihsed and made a gentleman and a 
scholar of him, hut never succeeded in spoiling him altogether 
for the rougher life of camps. For a century or so, it is true, 
the Japanese warrior appears to have been quite content with 
the newer ideas and teachings brought over from the mainland by the disciples of Shaka, yet, thoroughly and always 
manly at heart, he eventually got disgusted with their priestly 
rule; and so, taking the government of the country into his 
own hands again, he set to work applying his newly-gained 
knowledge to the feudalising of the national institutions. 

With the introduction of feudalism into the country, the 
study of military arts and sciences spread apace among the 
 soldier gentry of old Japan, and that is just what the 
samurai of old were. Japan has always turned to China for 
initiation and instruction upon the higher planes of thought 
and sentiment. And so it was to China that the samurai 
went in order to perfect themselves in their studies, but it 
was not long before they improved upon the teachings and 
methods of their models. And just why this should have 
been so may be gathered from the fact that while a 
Chinaman says: "One does not make a horse-shoe out of 
good iron, nor a soldier out of a good man,'jfthe Japanese 
say: Hanaira sakura hito wa huslii; or, What the cherry is 
among flowers, so the husJti is among men." Or in other words 
— the cherry blossom being, in the estimation of the Japanese, 
the purest and noblest among flowers, so the huslii, or warrior, 
is the purest and noblest among men 

As a result of such high ideas, hushido, or the way of the 
warrior," soon became, as it still is, a most important factor 
ill the education, guidance and training of the Japanese 
soldier and official. But about this ssimehnsliido a great deal 
of nonsense has been written of late for, comparing it with the 
chivalry of the West, we find that while the European knight 
considered it his duty to respect women and the weakness and 
unpreparedness of a foe, the hioilii, on the other hand, held to 
the maxim that all is fair in love and war,"' and scrupled not 
to resort to devices of the most dishonourable kind in order to 
gain a desired object. And then, again, his sense of giri, or 
duty, never prevented a biisJii from committing an evil act if 
such an act were only done in the service of his feudal lord. 
And much the same sort of thing held good even among the 
samurai women as for instance when a mother sacrificed her 
younger children to save the life of her first-born, or a 
daughter consented to sell her chastity in order to pay the 
debts contracted by a dissipated father. All such, and many 
similar acts, were, and are still, allowable in Japan. It may 
be said, indeed, of our Japanese allies that the}' are firmly 
convinced that "the end justifies the means." 

Until lately the husJii or sauiiirai were easily distinguishable from the remainder of their fellow-countrymen, not less 
by their peculiar carriage of the body, begottenjbj thej;onstant 
practice of martial exercises, than by the two swords stuck in 
those girdle sashes without which they never appeared in 
public. The longer of these two swords, the katana, was the 
bushi's main weapon of oft'ence and defence, and the shorter, 
the wakizasJii, or dirk, with a blade of from eight to twelve 
inches in length, was what they committed hara-kiri with. 

[For an explanation of this see Chapter III.] Beside 
learning how to wield their swords aright all hushi underwent instruction in archery, the use of the halberd and lance, 
and in jiijiifsu while many were, also, taught how to handle 
a boat, to swim, and to ride a horse. How to keep their 
weapons in order, how to bear pain, heat and cold, starvation 
and thirst, how to put up Avith the fewest possible wants — 
these are a few of the subjects of instruction included in the 
physical education of every true J)tisJii. Along with his 
instruction in all these soldierly accomplishments every ])ushi 
received a scholastic and literary education, and in the case 
of many of them this was by no means of an inferior order. 
At first, as has already been noted, it was Buddhism and its 
teaching that attracted their allegiance but later on, as 
Chinese became the classical language of the country, the 
Confucian Classics, the "Four Books" and the "Five 
Canons took the place of the Sutras, and so continued to 
do until the advent of European ideas and civilisation. 
With the arrival of Mendez Pinto, the Portuguese navigator 
and discoverer of Japan, in 1542, the Japanese first learnt 
the use of firearms and fortifications. But while they appear 
to have readily adopted the Western sj'stem of fortifications, 
they were decidedly chary in taking to the musket 
and why this was so may perhaps be explained by 
the fact that the harquebus of those days could have 
been little if at all superior to a well-strung bow, such 
as the Japanese seem to have had at that time. In range 
alone it may have been superior, but it is as likely as not that 
the Japanese bow possessed qualities superior in many other 
respects to that cumbersome and slow loading and firing 

shoulder piece. The precise character of the defensive works 
employed by the Japanese before 154'2 is wrapped up in a 
good deal of mystery, though judging from the remarkable 
skill with which they now handle their wonderfully effective 

PRINCE YAMATODAKE, ONE OP THE MOST FAMOUS 
OP THE ANCIENT WARRIORS OP JAPAN 

timbers, baml)oos, and vines, and considering their Malay 
origin, it is most probable that stockades played a by no 
means unimportant i)art in them. I have been in many 
lands, but nowhere have I seen a country folk so clever in 
handling and rough-dressing timbers, and in making lashings 

out of creepers, as the Japanese, and certainly no creeper I 
have yet come across is so effective and generally useful for 
this last purpose as the wild wistaria of Japan. Freshly cut 
it is as pliable as a hempen cord, and when a lashing made 
of it has dried and hardened, then steel bands alone are 
superior to it. 

wit may, perhaps, be just as well to hark back here a little 
in order to show that the gift of military organisation is by no 
means a newly acquired art so far as the Japanese are concerned. For leaving out accounts dealing with the more 
apocryphal times, it is recorded of the aptly named Empress 
Jingo, that she organised and led an expedition against 
Korea in the year 200 a.d. But though the Emperor Sujin, 
97-31 B.C., is said to have paid considerable attention to the 
subject of shipbuilding, yet there appears not to have been a 
sufficiency of sea-going craft in existence in Japan at that 
time for the warlike lady's purpose. Nothing daunted, she 
set to work building a perfect navy of transports just what 
they were like it is difficult to say, though there can be no 
doubt none of them were propelled by sail power. 

Jingo Kogo's son Ojin, who is now worshipped in Japan as 
the Spirit or God of War," is reported to have built a ship 
one hundred feet long. When completed it was tried at sea, 
and is said to "have been able to go through the water 
faster than a man could run on shore," and for this veason 
it was named Kanino, or the "Light One." When its 
timbers gave signs of giving out it was broken up, and with 
the exception of one piece, which was made into a koto, the 
so-called Japanese harp, the remainder was used as fuel for 
the production of sea-salt, the proceeds being applied to the 

building of new vessels. According to Japanese records 
there were at this time, upon one memorable occasion, no 
less than five hundred vessels collected in the harbour of 
Muko, but the tribute-bearer from Shiragi, one of the ancient 
divisions of Korea, that had been subdued b}' the dauntless 
Jingo, set them on fire — accidentally, it is said and in his 
anxiety to assist in repairing the mischief caused by his 
servant, the King of Shiragi sent over to Japan a number of 
clever naval architects. From that time," say those same 
records, the art of naval architecture became much improved 
and largely extended in Japan." 

With the exception of a few short intervals of internal 
peace the Japanese appear to have passed their time, from 
the days of Jingo Kogo to the year 1'275 a.d., in fighting 
among themselves, with the result that while families rose 
rapidly to power others sank no less rapidly. But in that 
year the Mongol Tartars, under Kublai Khan, having overthrown the reigning dynasty of China, and obtained the 
submission of all the surrounding states, commenced making 
haughty and unjust demands upon the Japanese. Eightly 
treating them with the contempt they deserved, the plucky 
islanders set to work preparing for the threatened invasion. 
The first attack made by the Mongols was upon Tsushima, 
but as this appears to have been repulsed without either side 
having incurred much loss, it may be taken for granted that 
it was nothing more than a feint in order to see of what stufi' 
the defenders were made. Realising that he had to face a 
task of the most formidable character, Kublai Khan caused 
a number of warships to be built, of sizes and armaments 
unknown to the Japanese, and collecting an army of a 

hundred thousand fighting men he approached, in the fourth 
month of the year 1281, the castle town of Daizafu. Nothing 
daunted, the Japanese attacked him, and, helped hy a mightj^ 
typhoon, which drove a number of the Mongol ships ashore, 
they literally wiped out the great armada. Of the whole 
invading force, it is said, that only three men returned to 
China to tell the tale. So great was the renown won by the 
Japanese as the result of tbis, that, with the exception of a 
few European and American marines, Japan has never since 
then been offended by the sight of a successful invader. 

For the next two and a half centuries, until the arrival of 
Mendez Pinto, the Japanese busied themselves with fighting 
among themselves, each feudal lord in his fastness being a 
law unto himself. But the arrival of Hideyoshi upon the 
scene, that Napoleon of Japan as he has been called, resulted 
in the centralising of the authority of the State in a single 
person. The many years' civil war had, however, let loose 
upon the country a host of armed men, inured to fighting, 
and too proud to work, with the result that something had 
to be done, and so tbe sapient and masterful Hideyoshi 
decided upon an invasion of Korea, as a preliminary to an 
invasion of China. What his undertaking was like may be 
realised from tiie fact that over half a million of men took 
part in his Korean adventure, and that this immense force 
kept the field for over two years, during which time it so 
harassed and devastated the country that when Hideyoshi 
died, in 1592, his generals were only loo glad of an excuse 
to return to Japan. Following this event a series of civil 
wars again broke out in the country, and were only brought 
to a conclusion at the great battle of Sekigahara, when 

lyeyasu, in 1603, having defeated all bis foes, seized the 
reins of power. For over two and a half centuries the 
Tokugawas, as lyeyasii's family name was, ruled Japan with 
a sufficiently strong hand to prevent any undue disturbances 

A MEDIEVAL WAIiUIOU 

breaking out. Among one of the many means they devised 
to ensure this was the forcing the daiinj/os, or feudal lords, 
to repair to their capital once a year, and to leave hostages 
there while absent from it. 
THE fi(;hting, man of japan 

The arrival of Europeans in the country gave an immense 
impetus to the art of shipbuikiing in Japan but, true to 
their nature, the Japanese employed their newly gained 
knowledge more for other purposes than for peaceful pursuits, 
and their piratical raids upon Chinese shipping and along 
the China and Korean coasts developed to such an extent, 
that, to avoid a rupture with the governments of those 
two countries, the Shogun lyemitsu, grandson of lyeyasu, 
promulgated a law forbidding the building of ships above 
a certain tonnage. Had this law not been rigorously put 
into force, there is no saying what the Japanese empire might 
now have been. Siam, for instance, was for some years 
completely under the rule and guidance of certain Japanese 
adventurers, and a party of them even had the temerity to 
carry oft" into captivity the Dutch governor of Batavia. Some 
of them made their way to Madagascar and India, while 
others, joining hands with the Chinese pirates of Formosa, 
simply ruled that island and the waters about it. Just how^ 
these Vikings of the Far East w^ere dreaded is amply exemplified by the numerous watch towers that still dot the whole 
of the North China coast, and also from the fact that despite 
the existence of many otherwise advantageous positions, all 
the coast towns and villages in Korea are — to use an Irishism 
 — situated a few miles inland. 

That the Spanish, Dutch, and other vessels which visited 
Japan from time to time were armed with cannon, may be 
taken for granted but, curiously enough, the Japanese do not 
appear to have taken to these weapons or ordnance so readily 
as might have been supposed. Hideyoshi's troops certainly 
did use both large and small guns in their expedition against 

the Koreans, tut Leyond mentionin*:^" tlie fact, none of the old 
records give satisfactory accounts of their so doing. We 
must not, however, lose sight of the fact that the Japanese 
have always been keen in-fighters, and that while all their old 
battles opened with discharges of arrows from both sides, this 
was invariably and quickly followed up by an advance of men 
skilled in the use of the spear, halberd and sword. Later on, 
toward the end of the seventeenth century, cannon were most 
effectually employed against the Christian rebels sheltering 
in the castle of Shimabara, but the guns in question were 
served (to their shame be it said) by Dutch gunners engaged 
by the Japanese authorities for this special purpose. 

The arrival of the American squadron under Commodore 
Perry, in 1853, and its evolutions and gunnery practice, 
which that astute commander took very good care the 
Japanese should have every facility for seeing, opened the 
eyes of the Far Orient to the immense superiority of 
Occidental methods of warfare over their own and the result 
was that factories were at once established at Yedo and elsewhere for the manufacture of arms and ammunition on the 
Western plan. Some of the wealthier feudal lords, not 
content with the slow progress made by these local houses in 
turning out arms and munitions of warfare, secretly purchased 
a quantity from the foreign merchants then commencing to do 
business in Japan. Perceiving the trend of Japanese thought, 
and recognising that much profit might accrue to their respective compatriots by cultivating it, the foreign representatives 
commenced a series of negotiations which ended in the 
Shogun's government applying for and obtaining the services 
of military and naval instructors from abroad. The first 

military mission was entirely French but tliougli it did 
excellent service, and undoubtedly laid the foundation for 
the present-day Japanese army, yet the revolution of 1868 
and the disastrous result of the war of 1870 to the French 
colours induced the imperial authorities — -who had by then 
taken the place of the Shogunate in the government of the 
empire — to engage German instructors in their place as the 
contracts of its various members lapsed. That these last did 
their duty tbere can be no doubt, but they achieved nothing 
liive the success that has been so generally claimed for them, 
for there can be no disputing the fact that the Japanese army 
gained greater advantages from the swarm of officers sent to 
study in Europe than from any instructions it may ever have 
received fi-om its imported instructors. And to say tbat tbe 
Japanese army tactics or organisation are copies of the 
German is to advance a claim that is absurd for if they 
have not adopted more from the French, they certainly have 
adapted so much from other and various continental armies 
that the German share in it is but a fraction of the whole. 
Fighters and military organisers the Japanese have always 
been, as I have endeavoured to show and so all they had to 
learn, though that certainly was all-important, and yet not 
so difficult considering their military instincts, was how to 
employ to the best advantage the new arms and tactics then 
adopted by them. How quickly and how intelligently they 
picked up the knack of so doing may be gathered from the 
fact tbat when the rebellious Nagato forces invaded Buzen 
and Buugo, in 1866, the commander and officers of the gunboat Slancij, who witnessed the embarkation and disembarkation of the force, declared afterward that it was 

all executed in a maimer that would have done credit to the 
best European troops." 

Contrary to generally-accepted ideas upon the subject, to 
the Dutch, and not to the English, must be credited the first 
foreign attempt at training a Japanese naval force; though, at 
the same time, to the Portuguese and Spanish friars of the 
sixteenth century must be credited the first instructions 
given to the Far Easterners in the art of ship-building, as 
understood in the West, and in the science of navigation. 
What may justly be considered as of peculiar interest to 
all Englishmen is the fact that AVill Adams, a fellowcountryman of theirs, who landed in Japan in April, 
1600, was retained at the Court of lyeyasu, the then 
Shogun, as a ship-builder, instructor of navigation, and 
as a sort of diplomatic agent when other P^iiglish and 
Dutch traders began to arrive in the country. Considering 
how very much the Japanese are indebted to British instructions, help, and advice Avith regard to their naval matters, 
it is a curious coincidence, surely, that Will Adams's grave, 
at Hemi, is situated on the heights overlooking the present 
great naval yard of Yoliosuka. 

Not until two years after the abolition of feudalism, in 
1869, did the Japanese think of organising a national navy, 
though just before this both the Shogun's government and 
the leading Daimyos possessed navies of their own. But 
these were composed of all sorts and conditions of vessels^ 
from those of purely native style to others of European build 
and armament, though when of the latter they were seldom 
other than converted merchant ships and steamers. One or 
two possessed by the Shogun were, how^ever, specially-built 

war vessels, and the first that was so built for him was the 
 Kaiyo-maru," a composite gun-hoat of about one thousand 
tons burden, built in Holland. In 1858 the steam-yacht 
"Emperor was presented to the Shogun by Lord Elgin, on 
behalf of the British Government, "as a token of its friendship and goodwill upon the signing of the first treaty 
between England and Japan. Ten years later the United 

A VESSEL BUILT BY WILL ADAMS FOR THE JAPANESE 

States Government handed over to the newly- constituted 
Imperial Government the iron-clad frigate Stonewall Jackson as a sort of sop for the scandalous treatment meted out 
to the then late Shogun, who had prepaid certain American 
contractors for a ship-of-war when this vessel arrived in 
Japan the Japanese authorities, seeing it was not worth a 
quarter of the sum advanced, refused to take it over, and 

getting no redress from the United States representative in 
Japan, sent a mission to New York about the matter, with 
the aforegoing result. That there was some very unpleasant 
scandal behind the whole affair there can be no doubt, for it 
is difficult to understand how the United States Government 
was reimbursed the difference between the value of the two 
ships. 

 vt i^ 

A FIGHT TO THE DEATH 

The Education of Japanese Military and 
Naval Officers. 

Leaving out of considei-ation the little knowledge the 
Japanese picked up of navigation from their early Portuguese, Dutch, and English visitors during the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries, it was not until the early part of the 
late eighteen-sixties that a small naval mission was despatched 
by the Shogun's government to Holland, and it was the 
members of this mission, assisted by some Dutch officers 
and men, who brought the "Kaiyo-maru," already mentioned, 
to Japan. In 1867 the same Shogun's government applied 
for and obtained the services of a number of British officers 
and men as naval instructors. Unfortunately, however, this 
mission, under the leadership of Commander Tracey, R.N., 
had to be wdthdrawn by the British authorities because of the 
revolution which broke out a few months after its arrival in 
Japan, leading to the effectual overthrow of the Shogun's 
power. During the troublous times antecedent to and 
following the revolution, when no one knew exactly what was 
to follow, certain of the great Daimyos set to work organising 
their forces, naval as well as military. One of them," as 
Professor Chamberlain says, the Prince of Hizen, eager to 
possess a navy of his own, engaged Lieutenant Hawes, of the 

Royal Marines, as guuiiery instructor on board a vessel 
named the Ryilj'") Kan and this officer, who had an 
nnusual talent for organisation, and who occupied himself, 
both on board tlie Ptyuj*"' Kan and later on in other 
positions, with many matters besides gunnery and the 
training of marines, may be considered the real father of 
the Japanese navy." 

When matters had somewhat quieted down, the new 
government, the Mikado's in contradistinction to the late 
Shogun's, applied to the British authorities for the services 
of a second naval mission, and as a result of this a party 
of officers and men under Commander Douglas, R.N., set 
out for and arrived in Japan in 1873. A naval college was 
formed at Tokyo, and after a certain number of picked 
officers and men had received the necessary instructions in 
gunnery, seamanship, &c., they were taken for a cruise to 
Australia and the islands between it and Japan. The work 
done was decidedly good, but needless to say some little 
friction arose at times between the instructors and the instructed, and more especially so with regard to matters of 
discipline. For it must here be explained that Japanese 
ideas of discipline at that time, though good enough in their 
way, were very different to what they now are. After putting 
in six years' service in Japan, this second naval mission 
returned to England, leaving behind, however, one or two 
officers and petty-officers as employees of the Japanese 
government. 

In the early eighties the Naval College was removed to 
Etajima, in the Inland Sea, and an Academy, or Staff 
College, for officers, was established at Tokyo at the same 

time, while gunnery and torpedo schools were also organised. 
Candidature to the Naval College at Etajima is open to every 
male subject of the Mikado, with certain limitations as 
regards age, character and ph^ysique. Aspirants must be 
between fifteen and twenty years of age, and after furnishing 
the authorities with the requisite "character certificates" 
they are called upon to undergo a physical examination at 
the hands of a committee of naval surgeons, after which the 
entrance examinations take place. As the majority of such 
aspirants have been thoroughly coached at schools which 
make a speciality of such work the competition between them 
at the annual entrance examinations is invariably particularly keen. From 20 to 25 per cent, fail to satisfy 
the demands of the doctors, and of the remainder only 
about 10 per cent, succeed in passing the entrance examination. Having taken a part in many such examinations I can 
safely state that they are absolutely fairly conducted. The 
compulsory subjects are — Under the head of mathematics — 
arithmetic, algebra, plane geometry, and plane trigonometry 
under the head of Japanese — literature and composition 
under the head of English — grammar, conversation, translation of Japanese into English and English into Japanese 
under the head of physics — chemistry, natural history and 
physical geography under the head of drawing and sketching 
— draughtsmanship both freehand and mechanical. There are 
besides a number of optional subjects, such as the Chinese, 
French, German, and Russian languages, marks awarded 
for which help the candidate — not so much to pass into 
the College as to secure a good position on the list of 
successful candidates. Once entered the College no cadet is 

allowed to resign under any pretext whatsoever but should 
the authorities find one of the cadets wanting either physically 
or in character and ahilitv, that cadet is at once dismissed, and 

AX KTA.IIilA CADET 

in my three years' experience of Etajima I only remember 
two of them being so dismissed the College. Both these 
two were discharged for physical reasons one because of 
failing eyesight, and the other because the surgeon in charge 

thought he detected signs of consumption in him. But, 
as a matter of fact, the surgeon was wrong, for young Beppu, 
u particuhivly nice lad, tlien went in for the army, and is 
now an artilleryman of great promise. 

A better situation for a Naval College than Etajima it 
would indeed be difficult to find, for, in the first place, it is, 
as the termination to its name implies, an island, and though 
within easy reach of Kure and Hiroshima, yet so placed as to 
be well off the beaten track. So irregularly shaped is this 
island that Etajima Bay is well-nigh land-locked, and the 
College stands in ample grounds, with hills to the north, 
south, and east of it, and the waters of the bay to the west. 
The staff of officers and instructors is particularly large, the 
President being an admiral. In my days the course was a 
four-year one, but it has now been reduced to three years. 
During the first year four hours a week are given to gunnery, 
four to seamanship, one to engineering, six to English, five 
to physics, six to mathematics, making a total of twenty-six 
hours' study a week. Besides all this the cadet has at least 
an hour's drill a day, and receives instructions in jujutsu, 
fencing, gymnastics, rowing, &c. He will be required to get 
up within half-an-hour of sunrise, and will be served with 
breakfast at 7.80, lunch at noon, and dinner at 5.30 p.m. 
All work and studies are carried out in clean and neat white 
slop suits. Only on Sundays are the cadets allowed out of 
the College grounds, and even then for never more than three 
hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. 
Each class has its own club outside the College grounds, 
usually a farm house, where members of it may and do 
indulge in a little extra feeding, drinking and smoking, and, 
EDUCATION OF MILITAIIY xVND NAVAL OFFICERS 

what is not allowed them whilst in the College grounds, in 
the reading of newspapers. The discipline kept is decidedly 
good, though to an average English youth it would be irksome 
beyond measure. Considering the advantages existing at 
Etajima it certainly is curious (and perhaps instructive) that 
none of the cadets ever think of going in for a little shooting 
or fishing but then the Japanese are not a sportinglyinclined people. On one or two occasions I took a cadet 
or two out shooting or fishing with me, but it was easy to 
see that his heart was never in the sport; and this was the 
more remarkable, for such children of the officers, boys or 
girls, as I took out from time to time simply revelled in 
the delights of a day's shooting or fishing. 

During the cadets' second year four hours a week are given 
to guimery, three to seamanshi]), one to torpedo instruction, 
three to navigation, three to engineering, six to English, 
three to physics, and five to mathematics. During the 
third, or final, year, three hours a week are given to gunnery, 
four to seamanship, four to torpedo instruction, seven to 
navigation, one to engineering, six to iMiglish, and three to 
mechanics. Under the heading of seamanship are included 
instructions in the international rule of the road at sea, 
signalling, shipbuilding, provisioning and other kindred 
matters, and under the head of navigation the cadet has to 
study meteorology, surveying and the like. Beside all this 
the cadet will from time to time attend lectures upon 
international and civil law his naval history he gets 
up mostly while studying English. The training ship, 
launches, boats, the battery and the model rooms at Etajima are all thoroughly u[)-to-date," and the instructions 

conveyed tlirougli their medium are practical and to the 
point. 

Passing out of the College the cadet is promoted to midshipman, and is then, with a numher of his class-mates, 
posted to one of the cruisers specially fitted up for the 
purpose. In my days the two cruisers that were so fitted 
up were the Hiyei and the Kongo," but as the classes 
have now grown from sixty to two hundred three vessels are 
detailed for this purpose: the Matsnshima," the Itsukushima and the Hashidate," sister ships of 4, '200 tons. 
When all is ready these vessels start on a cruise lasting 
from six to eight months, and on returning to Japan the 
midshipmen are distributed among ships in commission. 
Two very good points to be here noted are that while a 
certain number of civilian instructors are attached to the 
College the greater part of the i)istructional work is carried 
out by naval officers, and that when a class has finished 
its three years' course a number of officers who have 
worked with them at the College accompany them on their 
finishing cruise. 

At the end of a year or two the midshipman is promoted 
to a sub-lieutenancy, but only after having passed certain 
prescribed examinations. A Japanese naval sub-lieutenant 
is perhaps as hard worked an individual as exit^ts, for not 
only has he to take his full share of watches and drills, 
but he is constantly being called upon to write reports and 
essays upon all sorts of matters, professional and otherwise 
but despite this last fact it is truly remarkable how little 
the Japanese naval officer is capable of discussing subjects 
other than purely professional ones. 

111 two to four years' time tlie sub-lieutenant yets bis 
lieutenancy, and if after a wbile be is reported upon favourably be is sent to tbe Naval Academy at Tokyo for a course 
in bigber naval duties. Specially selected lieutenants go 
tbrougb a two years' course called Kosbu," and as tins is 
done witb a view to tlieir after employment upon tbe staff, 
tbe subjects studied are strategy and tactics — naval and 
military naval bistory fortitications law international 
law and di])lomatic usages and bistory military and naval 
administration political economy gunnery tori)edo navigation sbip building, and engineering. Wbile undergoing 
tbis remarkably tborougli and coniprebensive course tbe 
ofticers are sent from time to time to take part in various 
manoeuvres, to visit sbi})s, forts, naval stations and factories 
wben tbe same are being inspected by experts. Otlier 
lieutenants go tbrougb a course named Otsusbu," lasting 
one year, during tbe course of wbicb tbey go in for tbe 
bigber study of gunnery, torpedo and navigation duties. 
Tbe idea governing tbis course is to turn out specialists in 
some one of tbe subjects named. Captains, commanders 
and senior lieutenants wbo bave become a little rusty in 
certain subjects are allowed to attend a course called 
 Senka," but only so if it is considered tbey will truly 
benefit by so doing. Sliould an officer sbow special adaptability for a, certain subject, and yet be lacking in otliers 
tbat migbt otberwise tit bini for a staff appointment, be 
is put tbrougb a course called Kosbiuka." Besides tbese 
courses officers and men are constantly being put tbrougb 
practical courses at tbe scbools of gunnery and torpedo at 
Yokosuka, and in addition to all tbis, special courses are 

formed for instruction in new weapons and scientific 
instruments for use with the same. 

The non -executive branches of the Navy are particularly 
well provided for as regards instruction by special schools of 
their own. The Engineers' College at Yokosuka, and the 
rules regulating entrance to it, and the course of studies 
there, are based on lines similar to those that hold good 
with respect to the Naval College at Etajima. Yokosuka 
being a great dockyard and arsenal the College is therefore 
well situated for its purpose. Candidates for the Paymaster's 
Department are mainly recruited from graduates of the 
Imperial University, and after passing a course at the Paymaster's Training School at Tokyo they are first posted to 
ships in commission and later on to such as the exigencies 
of the service may demand. Petty officers and men, who are 
otherwise smart and useful but lacking in education, are 
also sent for a while to the Paymaster's Training School 
for educational 2:)urposes, as also are writers, cooks, etc. 

While the officers of the Japanese Navy are recruited 
mainly from the best families in the empire, the men are 
recruited from its fisher folk, sea-faring and farming classes, 
and the result is that its personnel is of a very high order 
indeed. And though there is a good deal of heart-burning 
at times among a large section of the commissioned class, due 
to the all-predominating influence of the Satsuma element, 
yet on the other hand one never hears of those disgraceful 
bullyings and scenes among the seamen that are only too rife 
among the Mikado's soldiery. This is probably due to the 
fact that while the bluejackets are all recruited from much the 
same type of men, his soldiers are taken from all sections of 

Japanese life, and so less cause for friction exists among 
the sailors than among the soldiers. That the Navy is the 
favom-ite hranch of the service in Japan there can be no 
doubt, and the result is that a very goodly proportion of 
the men in it are volunteers and not (as in the Army) 
conscripts. A fearful lot of gush and nonsense has been 
written recently of the joy with which the Japanese conscripts 
join headquarters but all who have lived among the people 
of the land know only too well that this joy is too often very 
much put on, and that while the majority of the bluejackets 
go back to civil life with some useful calling learnt while 
serving their time, the average soldier returns to it a spoilt 
and dissatisfied man. 

The education of the Japanese military officer is as 
thorough as is the education of his comrade in the navy, 
and like him, too, he is mainly recruited from the better class 
samurai families. Unlike the naval officer, however, he has 
more than one way open to him for gaining a commission, at 
least during the first stages of his career. He may commence 
by graduating out of one of the many recognised Cadet Schools 
of the empire or by graduating out of any Middle School, 
licensed and recognised by the government or if he can 
produce an educational certificate of the same value as that of 
a graduate's from a Middle School. In both these last two 
cases, however, an aspirant for a commission must obtain a 
nomination from the officer commanding the regiment or 
corps he is desirous of joining. Should he succeed in doing 
so, and is otherwise qualified, he then joins his regiment or 
corps as an officer candidate," and as such is required 
to put in at least tw'elve months' service in the ranks in order 

 
to gain a complete and practical experience of all the duties 

of a soldier. Having done so to the entire satisfaction of his 
commanding officer he will next be drafted to the Military 
<.'ollege, Tokyo, for an eighteen months' course in military 
arts and sciences, and should he at the end of it be approved 
by a committee of officers he will be granted his commission 
as a sub-lieutenant. While serving his twelve months in the 
ranks the "candidate has to perform his share of guards, 
drills, &c., but instead of living and messing in a common 
barrack room he will share one with other candidates," and 
though drawing no pay during the whole of that time he will 
be supplied with all the necessary kit, rations, &c., at the 
government's expense. 

The Military College is divided into a number of sections, 
in each of which special attention is devoted to a certain 
branch of the service, such as infantry, cavalry, field and 
fortress artillery, engineeriug and train, the officer 
candidate joining that section representative of his own 
particular branch. The candidate students," as they are 
then called, are divided into three companies, each under the 
command of a captain, and each company is divided into six 
sections with lieutenants in charge. The sections are from 
twenty-live to thirty strong, and each candidate student 
in it is in his turn head or chief of it, and the extraordinary 
seriousness and earnestness with which they then perform 
their duties must be seen to be duly appreciated. While 
the drill and exercises, &c., taught are in keeping with that 
branch of the service the candidate student aspires to 
be a member of, all the candidates alike study tactics, topography, military administration, field hygiene, &c., but no 

foreign language in particular, as is the case with their 
comrades of the navy. At the close of every year a grand 

A CAVALUY I.TEUTEXANT OF Till: I.MI'HUIAL BODYGUAKD 

graduating ceremony is held, which the Emperor and all his 
high ofticers of state malce a point of attending. 

THE FICHTINCI MAN OF JAPAN 

After two years' service as sub-lieutenant the Japanese 
officer receives his promotion to a lieutenancy, and should he 
have shown special keenness and aptitude for his calling he is 
then sent for a course of study to the Alilitary Staft' College. 
The course there is a three years' one, and a remarkably 
comprehensive one, too, the officers going through it being 
attached from time to time to branches of the service other 
than their own. Those that pass with success receive 
diplomas and distinctive badges that they wear ever afterwards these badges distinguish them most markedly from 
their brother officers who have not gone through a similar 
ordeal. From officers trained thus the stall' of the Japanese 
army is recruited with what happy results has been most 
signally shown during the late war. 

Besides the Staff" College each branch of the service in the 
Japanese army has its own particular school of instruction, 
and then there is for all of them the Toyama Alllitary College, 
where officers, non-commissioned officers and men iire put 
through courses of tactics, gymnastics, fencing, musketry, 
gunnery, &c. But while so much is done for the education 
and training of the combatant ranks the non-combatants 
are not forgotten. Military surgeons for instance complete 
their training at the Army Medical College, and this after 
graduating from the Medical College, Imperial University. 
The veterinary surgeons are recruited from graduates of the 
Agricultural College, Komeba, receiving an after and finishing 
educatiou at the Army Veterinary School, Tokyo. Military 
intendants and paymasters are trained at the Military 
Administration College. 

With regard to the training of the rank and tile of the 

Japanese army and navy, it may here be pointed out, little 
or no attention is paid by the officers to the teaching of 
parade and show movements to their men, or to what is so 
generally and so falsely termed smartness" among us, and 
perhaps more especially so is this the case when we come to 
suc-li matters as relate to the instructions given the recruit in 
the use of the sword and bayonet. F^oose play and plenty of 
it is invariably their rule, and so, though a squad of 
Japanese soldiers or sailors may not be able to go th rough 
the sword or bayonet exercise with the same precision as a 
squad of our guardsmen, it will certainly be found that far 
and away a greater proportion of them will know how to use 
the weapons they are armed with better and more effectively. 
Women not occupying the position in Japanese society they 
do in the West, little or no pains are taken by the military 
authorities of the ]Mikado to cater for their amusement, and 
the result is one never sees any "Agricultural Hall tomfoolery"" 
in Japan. 

Having decided, in 18()(S, upon Westernising the governmental institutions of the empire, the Japanese Government 
there and then adopted the continental system of universal 
conscription. What a bold step to take this was may be 
realised by appreciating the fact that, not only did the samurai 
of those days regard the following of arms as their own peculiar 
prerogative, but the country, as a result of the abolition of 
feudalism, was over-run l)y hordes of these men, whose chances 
of martial occupation seemed gone for ever. Unfortunately 
for themselves, however, not only were the lower class sdiiuirai 
averse to the bearing and use of Western arms, but they 
were also so imbued with the clan spirit and jealousies of the 

time that the gathering together of a numher oi them iu 
barracks would inevitably have resulted in fights and quarrels 
imiumerable. And so it came about that while the officers and 
non-commissioned officers of the newly organised national 
army were recruited solely from the ranks of the better-class 
samurai, the men were mostly recruited from the sturdy farmer 
and artisan classes of the land but as the necessity for a 
larger army arose, as a result of the French, German and 
Russian interference over the Liaotung Peninsula affiiir of 
1895, merchants and even the much despised actor and other 
classes were drawn upon to supply the necessary number of 
recruits for the Mikado's army. 

Sent on service for the first time in 1876-77, to suppress 
the Satsuma rebellion, the newly organised national army did 
not do quite so well as might have been supposed, but then, 
it must be remembered, it was called upon to face veteran 
soldiers of the same race as the men composing it, and, 
moreover, "veteran soldiers" belonging to the most warlike 
of all the clans of old Japan, and with all the prestige of a 
successful revolution behind them, and with much of the 
sympathy of the nation to encourage them. The result was 
that as the newly-raised troops had not then learnt either to 
shoot straight or to use their bayonets aright, the Satsuma 
swordsmen often proved themselves more than a match for 
them. Perceiving this, and being fully alive to the necessity 
for taking prompt measures, the government commenced 
enlisting a number of the old-time style of Japanese swoi'dsmen, and these with the police, who were all sdiiuinii, and 
therefore good swordsmen too, soon put an end to the revolution and the lives of thousands of their plucky but misguided 

fellow-countrymen. A few years later, however, the new army 
did remarkahly well in the Formosan affair, and what a good 
account it gave of itself in China in 1894-95, and again in 
1900, is now a matter for history its recent marvellous 
doings against the Russians have gained for it the worldrenowned fame it so well deserves. 

In few countries has the sword had so much attention and 
honour paid it as in Japan for regarded as being of divine 
origin, it has been worshipped as such. In the interests of 
veracity it must further be admitted that few swordsmen in 
other lands have, from a European standpoint, so deliled their 
blades as those of Japan. For instance, it was (|uite a 
common occurrence, even so lately as the seventies of the 
last century, for a samurai, or gentleman soldier of old 
Japan, to pay a small fee to the public executioner for the 
privilege of being allowed to test his blade upon the carcase 
of a criminal, and even at times upon the living body of one. 
And some Japanese swordsmen, with the same object in view, 
went farther than this, and hesitated not to resort to what 
they so expressively termed cross-roadcutting," the victim in 
such a case being generally a beggar — man, woman, or child, 
it mattered not which to them. 

The very old-time Japanese sword, the tsiinigi, was a very 
different sort of weapon to what one now sees in museums 
and on sale at curio shops in England. It had a straight, 
double-edged blade, some three feet or more in length, and 
was not so unlike the sword of the Western knight of old. 
The kataita, the mediieval and modern sword of Japan, is a 
much lighter and shorter weapon, with a single-edged blade 

 KENJTTTSU," OR JAPANESE FENCING 

slightly curving toward the point. Worn with the hataiia, 
but b}' miniivai alone, was the icahizasJti, a dirk with a blade 
of from eight to twelve inches in length, and it was with this 
that the hara-kiri, or "happy dispatch," as it has been 
termed, was performed. 

Cm'iously enough the word hara-kiri, though made up from 
two Japanese words, hara ox belly and or cutting, is of 
European invention. No Japanese, except in joke and at the 
expense of the foreigner, ever thinks of using the term, always 
preferring the synonym scppiilni. There were two kinds of 
seppnku, — obligatory and voluntary, and as Professor 
Chamberlain says, in his Things Japanese," wdth respect to 
this subject: — "The former was a boon granted by the 
government, who graciously permitted criminals of the 
Samurai class to destroy themselves instead of being handed 
over to the common executioner. Time and place were 
officially notified to the condemned, and officials were sent to 
witness the ceremony. This custom is quite extinct. Voluntary Itara-Liri was practised by men in hopeless trouble, also 
out of loyalty to a dead superior." And then the Professor 
goes on to give some well-known examples of this last — 
 Examples of this class still take place one was mentioned 
in the newspapers of April of this very year, 1901, and two 
others in ]\[ay. That of a young man called Ohara Takeyoshi, which occurred in 181)1, is typical. He was a lieutenant 
in the Yezo militia, and ripped himself up in front of the 
graves of his ancestors at the temple of Saitokuji, in Tokyo. 
Following the usual routine in such cases, Lieutenant Ohara 
left a paper setting forth the motives of his act, the only 
innovation being that this document was directed to be 

forwarded to the Tokyo News Agency for publication in all 
the newspapers. The writer, it seems, had brooded for eleven 
years over the likelihood of Eussian encroachment in the 
northern portion of the Japanese empire, and feeling that his 
living words and efforts were doomed to fruitlessness, resolved 
to try what bis death might effect. In this particular instance 
no result was obtained. Nevertheless, Ohara's self-sacrifice, 
its origin in political considerations, and the expectation that 
an appeal from the grave would move men's hearts more 
surely than any arguments urged by a living voice — all this 
was in complete accord with Japanese ways of thinking. The 
government had no sooner yielded to the demands of France, 
Eussia, and Germany, by giving up the conquered province of 
Liaotung, than forty military men committed suicide in the 
ancient way. Even women are found ready to kill themselves 
for loyalty and duty, but the approved method in their case is 
cutting the throat. Nowise strange, but admirable to 
Japanese ideas, was it that when, in 1895, the news of 
Ijieutenant Asada's death on the battle-field, was brought to 
his young wife, she at once, and with her father's consent, 
resolved to follow him. Having thoroughly cleansed the house 
and arrayed herself in her costliest robes, she placed her 
husband's portrait in the alcove, and prostrating herself 
before it, cut her throat with a dagger that had been a 
wedding gift." 

Just what gave rise to the custom of sc2)pi(hii it is difficult 
to say, but it probably had its origin in the desire of vanquished warriors to avoid the humiliations of falling into 
their enemies' hands alive. This was, undoubtedly, the case 
in the many instances one heard of at the commencement of 
"KEN.TUTSLT," OR JAPANESE FENCING 

the late war in the Far East, when Japanese officers and men 
committed scppukn by hundreds to escape being made 
prisoners of war by the Russians. The young samurai of 
old, besides learning how to use his weapons aright, was 
also taught how to perform scppakii in the approved fashion, 
which was as follows f Having bathed and taken leave of 

A SAMURAI ABOUT To rEKFOU.M SIU'PUKU 

his friends, the would-be suicide then spread a rug or sheet 
or something of the sort on the matted floor of his room, and 
sitting down in front of the alcove, facing his family tablets, 
he then unclothed the upper portion of his bod}' — down to 
the waist. Tucking the disengaged garments under and 
behind his thighs, he then took his icakizashi, and unsheathing it, pressed the blade to his forehead while he bowed 
forward, and toward the tablets. Then grasping the dirk by 

the right hand he plunged the blade deeply into his belly, 
and with the assistance of the left hand, helped to draw it 
across it. The disengaged garments tucked under his thighs 
prevented his falling backwards when he could no longer sit 
upright through pain and weakness, that being considered 
anything but a proper way for a scuxurai to fall. The women's 
sq)2mLu was carried out more by a stab in the throat than a 
direct cutting of it, and in their case their garments were so 
fastened around by a cord as to minimise all chances of 
the same ^becoming dissarranged during their final death 
struggles. J 

 ll'' Cherished by the samurai as almost part of his own self," 
aiiil considered by the common people as their protector 
against violence, what wonder," says Mr. McClatchie, "that 
we should find it [the sword] spoken of in glowing terms by 
Japanese writers as the precious possession of lord and 
vassal from time older than the divine period,' or as the living 
^oul of the samurai ? 'J And again, what wonder that tl: 
Japanese should have many a good sword story to tell. One 
told me by my old fencing master is not only interesting and 
amusing, but also thoroughly illustrative of the grim humour 
of the samurai with regard to the testing of sword blades, 
and is as follows According to him, there lived in days gone 
by a certain daimi/o, or feudal lord, who was a great patron of 
swordsmiths and swordsmen. One day a swordsmith in his 
service presented him with a beautiful blade he had bat just 
lately finished. Desirous of seeing it tested the daimyo sent 
for the crack swordsman among his retainers, and upon his 
arrival ordered him to test the blade upon the body of a fish 
hawker wdio chanced to be passing along a road lying within 

the precincts of the castle. Putting the sword iu his girdle 
in the place of his own, which he left heliind him in the 

A SAMURAI IX CERJ^MOXIAL COSTUME 

charge of a friend, the great swordsman strutted oft" down the 
road, met and passed the fish-hawker, and then returned to 

his feudal lord by another and shorter road. Furious with 
him the daiini/o asked why he had not carried out the instructions given him ? Begging his lord to have patience, the 
swordsman asked him to watch the fish-hawker carefully when 
he came to a certain sharp turning in the road. This he 
did, and to his wondering surprise saw him collapse all of 
a sudden, for while the upper portion of his body toppled 
over one way the lower half fell another. The moral attached 
to the story is, of course, that not only was the sword an 
unusually fine one, but the swordsman who wielded it so 
dexterous, and with so true an edge had he made his cut, that 
it only required the twisting swing of the fish-baskets to 
finish his job. 

I Up to 1876 all samurai wore two swords, that being their 
particular mark of distinction, and the difterent ways of 
carrying the weapon indicated the rank of the wearer. Men 
of high birth wore theirs with the hilt pointing straight 
upwards the common people, who were only allowed to 
wear one sword, and then too, only when on a journe}^ wore 
theirs stuck horizontally in the ohi, or girdle-like sash of 
the Japanese; while ordinary saiinirai wove theirs in a position about half-way between the other two. To clash the 
sheath of one's sword against that belonging to another 
person was held to be a grave breach of etiquette to turn the 
sheath in the belt, as though about to draw, was tantamount 
to a challenge while to lay one's weapon on the floor of a 
room, and to kick the guard with the foot in the direction of 
anyone else, was a deadly insult that generally resulted in a 
combat to the death. It was not even thought polite to draw 
a sword from its sheath without beggins' the permission of 

any other person present. A Japanese gentleman of the 
okl school calling on another, even though he might he his 
most intimate friend, invariably left his sword with the doorkeeper of the house, so little did such men, apparently, 
trust each other. 

As I believe that I was the first Occidental to make a 

ILL TIMHI) POINT AM) KESlM/l' 

study of Japanese swordsmanship, it may be of interest if 
I here describe my experiences in the fencing schools of 
Tokyo and so to begin the summer of 1888 found me established in Tokyo, and as the sedentary nature of my duties 
commenced to tell on my health, I decided to take up the 
study of Kciijiitsii, or Japanese fencing. Getting into 
touch with the authorities at the Keishicho, or head police 

station of Tokyo, I soon secured an introduction to Umezawa-san, the fencing master of the Takanawa Police Station, 
and then quite one of the best swordsmen in Japan. Never 

THE AUTHOK AND UMHZAWA-SAX. 

did a maitve tVavnicH take more interest and pride in a 
pupil than Umezawa did in me, and this was all the more 
commendable on his part, becanse the majority of the 
fencing masters in Tokyo looked upon his teaching me 
Japanese swordsmanship as a sort of renegade act. The 
"KEXJUTSU," OR JAPANESE FENCING 

first dozeu lessons or so were given me on the little lawn 
in front of my house, but after a while I used to attend 
daily at the Takanawa fencing-room, and for a couple of 

A SIDE-SLIP. AND WHAT WOl'Ll) HAI'PKX 

months or so fenced with, or rather took instructions from, 
the best fencers attending there. When he thought I was 
sufficiently advanced Umezawa set me to fence with some of 
the more indifferent and harder hitting swordsmen, but was 
always close at hand to give instructions and to correct 

faults. Writing as an old cavalry man, with plenty of 
experience of regimental drill grounds and gymnasiums, I 
can safely say that the Japanese system of teaching 
swordsmanship is far and away superior to the ahsurd swordexercise system in vogue in the British army, and that for 
rough dismounted work the Japanese system of two-handed 
swordsmanship is much superior to any of the systems of 
Europe. A first-class French or Italian duellist would, more 
than prohably, heat a first-class Japanese swordsman, but only 
so if fighting on ground thoroughly suitable to his own peculiar 
style of sword-play. On rough ground, on a hill side, or on 
ground covered with impedimenta, the Japanese swordsman 
would more than likely have the advantage or in other 
words, in positions where a rough-and-tumble fight is going 
on, and where men want to kill, and kill quickly, Avithout 
attending too much to details of form over it. 

As a weapon of oft'ence and defence a Lafaiia is ah infinitely 
superior one to the ridiculous, single-handed sword with its 
36-inch blade, with which British infantry officers are armed, 
and with slight modifications in its make and use the liatiDia 
could be rendered still more efi^ective. In the first place, its 
blade is considerably shorter — from ten to fifteen inches — thus 
allowing for the majority of men greater freedom of movement for nobody can deny that to a dismounted man a long 
scabbard is a horrible nuisance, and that to a shortishlyinclined man it is an absolute incumbrance. But though 
shorter in the blade the katami has a longer grip, and when 
one has learnt to use it aright it is truly wonderful what little 
length of reach is lost. This great length of grip permits of 
the use of both hands for the purpose of delivering a crushing 

blow or cut and, moreover, after practising the Japanese 
style of fencing, a swordsman becomes quite ambidextrous. 
How very disconcerting this last is to an opponent all swordsmen are fully aware, and when to this is added the fact that 
katana play is a closer play than that of the cut-and-thrust 
sword of the Occident, it must be admitted that it is an infinitely 
superior one to it for the one and great purpose of a fight to 
the death. It certainly is not so taking to the eye as — let us 

say — a French or Italian swordsman's play but while there 
is less ostentatious art and ceremony about it, there certainly 
is just as much science, and it may also be added as much, if 
not more, deadly intent. 

Among the many swordsmen who used to put in their daily 
attendance at the Takanawa fencing-room was one who very 
early attracted my attention. He was an elderly man, and in 
some respects a finer swordsman than Umezawa, who introduced him to me one day as his soisri or teacher. Onoda 
was his name, and though he was exceedingly tall for a 

Japanese he was quite the best built one I have come across. 
For a long time I could gather nothing more about him than 
that he did not like foreigners, and that it would be just as well 
if I did not thrust my acquaintanceship upon him. Later 
on I learnt that he was, or had been, the hereditary fencing 
master to the late Shogiin or generalissimo of Japan. All 
this, of course, helped to arouse my curiosity, but a grimmer 
or more forbidding-looking old man never lived than Onodasensei; and so what was my surprise when, some six months 
after I had begun learning keiijntsii, he came up to me one 
afternoon and, presenting his card, as shown on page 43, offered 
to take me on for a bout. Delighted at the thought, I w^as soon 
ready, but no sooner did the other fencers in the room see 
what was going to happen than they stopped fencing and, 
making quite a ring round us, stood looking on Avith what I 
could not help thinking were quite troubled faces. They 
knew well that Onoda-san had highly disapproved of 
my being admitted to the fencing-room, and I am not sure 
but that some of them did not think my days were about to 
be numbered. They were quite wrong, and Onoda-san and 
myself got on so well after this that, instead of keeping aloof 
from me any longer, he rather sought me out than otherwise 
for my company. In his way, he was a most peculiar old 
fellow^ a sort of Buddhist puritan, and when he found out I 
had spent some years in India he was for ever asking me 
questions about it, its people and their religions, &c. He did 
a thing one day I never knew another adult Japanese to do, 
(though I have known one or two of my very young friends 
among them do a similar thing), and that was to reprove a 
fellow-countryman of his for being rude to me and calling out 
"KEXJUTSU," OR JAPANESE FENCING 

after me in the streets. Being an old samuyal, with an exceptionally tine presence and manner, he did this in a way that 
sent that erring individual literally grovelling in the dust of 
the road. With such a man as my friend and instructor, I 

MEJIBEUS OK THE TAKANAWA FENCING SCHOOL 

soon was more than able to hold my own with the average good 
swordsmen of Tokyo, and remarkably useful I found the power 
of being able to do so, for it brought me into contact with a 
class of Japanese that few, if any other foreigners have ever 
had the chance of becoming acquainted \\\i\\. However, to 
revert to the kenjutsu. 

The kahuto, or helmet, is in many respects superior to the 
mask worn by the sabre-players of Europe, but while it gives 
ample protection to the face, neck, and throat, it does not 
sufficiently protect the sides of the head, nor yet its top or 
crown. It sits much firmer, however, than do any of our 
fencing helmets or masks, being tied, or rather lashed, on 
to the head. Under it is invariably worn a tenmiui, or small 
native towel, wrapped round the head in turban-like fashion, 
as shown in the photograph, in which I am seen standing by 
the side of Umezawa-san. The reason for this is of a purely 
cleanly or sanitary nature, and the result is that no Japanese 
helmets ever have an unpleasant odour. 

The do, or corselet, is a lighter, cooler, and in every way a 
far superior chest and body protector to the leather jerkins of 
European sabre-players. It is made of slips of the very best 
and soundest of bamboos, strung perpendicularly together in 
the required shape, and trimmed and strengthened with 
fastenings of leather, silk, or hemp. The best do are lacquered with the mon or crest of the owner, and remarkably 
handsome some of them are. They are worn hanging somewhat loosely, being suspended from the shoulders by soft 
cords of cotton or silk, but never so loosely as to prove a 
nuisance to the swordsman. 

The kusadzuri, or taces, is a light and efficient enough 
protector for the lower part of the body, but hardly as good 
as those in use in British gymnasiums. These are generally 
made of a tough cotton or hempen canvas, cut in five strips 
of about nine inches in length and four in width, two strips 
lying under, and three outside. Each of the strips is 
quilted, and bound round the edges with a leather. Though 

handuff loose the strips are fastened to a band that encircles 
the waist of the fencer, but in a way that does not impede 
his movements in the slightest degree. 

The kote, or gauntlet, is a hand, wrist, and forearm guard, 
much superior, in many respects, to anything of the sort to 

I'UIUi; TU Till; SALUTE 

be seen in our gymnasiums. A Lotc is made of strong 
cotton or hempen canvas, lined with bamboo shavings or 
horse-hair, and trinnned and strengthened with a soft, kidlike leather. One great advantage the Japanese loife possesses 
over our gauntlets is that its size can be regulated up to 
quite an appreciable degree by the loosening or tightening 
of the lacing running along and inside its forearm portion. 

The sldiiai, or practice sword, is made from four strips of 
bamboo, and though it undoubtedly looks clumsy enough at 

first, it is not so by any means. The length and weight of 
shinai vary according to the taste of fencers, there being no 
rule laid down about this — surely a fairer method than ours, 
which forces all men to use the same-sized practice sword, 
irrespective of their stature and strength. The four strips of 
bamboo being cut to fit each other are then brought together, 
and over the grip or handle end of the sldnal is drawn a strong 
leather covering. The grip may be of any length, say from 
eight to sixteen inches, or more. From the guard end of 
this covering runs a leather or gut sti-and to the point of the 
shinai, and is there fastened to a leather cup-like covering 
that keeps together the ends of the four bamboos, and forms 
a button over their points. The line along which the gut 
runs is considered the back of the sword, and as the sliiuai is 
strengthened and kept together by a fastening of leather at 
its cutting point, advantage is taken of this to run the gut 
through it, and so help to keep it all the tauter in its place. 
The tsuha, or guard, is a circular piece of stout leather, wdth 
a hole in its centre to permit of its being passed up and over 
the grip until it reaches the hilt, where it forms a circular 
S'uard, standinii' out from the sliiiiai an inch, or a little more. 
Sometimes, but not often, a fencer will use a secondary fswfca, 
made of thin leather and padded like a cushion. This will 
lie between his hand and the ordinary tsuha. The measurements of my favourite shinai are blade, twenty-six inches, 
and grip fourteen inches. But it must be pointed out here 
that I stand but a trifle over five feet six inches, and have 
somewhat small hands. 

The hakama, or divided skirt of the samurai, is a most 
comfortable article of clothing, which, while it affords a 
 

"KENJUT8U,' OR JAPANESE FENCING 

certain amount of protection to the legs and lower parts of 
the body, does not in the least impede a fencer's movements. 
It is light, airy, and cool, and might, with very great 
advantage, he introduced into England, in a modified form, 
for the use of young girls. 

Japanese fencing-rooms are all huilt on nioi'c or less the 

THi: KNGAGK 

same phin, and the Takanawa fencing-room was no exception 
to this. It was ahout thirty feet in length and about half 
that in width. Two of its sides were opened to the air, and 
along its other two sides ran a raised i)latform, a couple of 
feet or so above the floor of the fencing arena. The platform 
was furnished with mats, and on cold days with fire-boxes, 
and was used indiscriminately as galleries for spectators or 
dressing and resting-rooms for the fencers. Such men as 

liked to keep their fencing gear there coukl do so, hangingthe same up on pegs ak)ng the side of the gallery. Here it 
must be pointed out that all Japanese fencers have their own 
special kit, the fencing-room supplj'ing nothing. 

Two men agreeing to have a bout will, after donning their 
kit, step into the arena, and squatting down in front of each 
other, at about eight feet apart, will then proceed to salute 
one another by a bow. Rising slowly they will put themselves into position with sliiiial crossing at engage, as shown 
in the illustration. 

To go into details over all the cuts, guards, and points of 
a Japanese fencer's repertoirv is not the object of this 
article, but it is well to point out here that during a fifteen 
years' -experience of kenjiitsu I remember seeing only one 
man make use of a real back-handed stroke, and he — though 
one of the best sworsdmen in Japan — took the idea, I fancy, 
from seeing me use it. Another remarkable point about the 
Japanese system of«swordsmanship is that its votaries never 
deliver a point except at the throat but this is, perhaps, 
to be explained by the fact that until the seventies armour was 
largely used by them. This point even is more of a job than 
a lunging thrust, and is delivered from below upwards, with 
the very evident object of getting in between the gorget and 
the upper part of the breastplate. Though highly scientific, 
kenjutsu is a very rough-and-tumble sort of sword-play, 
absolutely free from parade and all theatrical touches, but 
wonderfully practical withal. As Japanese chivalry is most 
uncompromisingly based upon the idea that all is fair in war, 
so Japanese swordsmen resort to certain methods which are 
highly reprehensible from our point of view. Such a thing 
"KENJUTSU," OR JAPANESE EEXCING 

as giving anotlier man a chance never appears to enter their 
heads and so, should a fencer lose his sJtuiai, or fail in any 
way, his adversary immediately takes advantage of this to 
push home his attack with all the greater vigour. 

CORPS A CORPS A LA JAPOXAIS1-: 

The cuts most in favour with Japanese swordsmen are 
mainly of the chopping order, and mostly delivered at the 
head and right wrist. Some few, however, pay particular 
attention to their adversary's stomach, and, if skilful swordsmen, these are the most difdcult to tackle. The cuts at the 

head and wrist can be delivered from the engage position, 
and in the case of the former this is done by slightly raising 
the sldnai, stepping sharply forward, and as sharply bringing 
the s]ii)iai down upon the adversary's head with a chop that 
carries on. The wrist cut is made by a disengaging cut-over, 
with, if necessary, a sharp side tap against the adversary's 
shinai to throw it out of line. Both these cuts can be parried 
by a slight raising of the sliinai and an outward twist of the 
wrist, and from both parries return cuts can be made at 
either head or wrist. Ordinarily Japanese fencers stand 
much closer to each other than do those of Europe, and it is 
truly remarkable what little space a couple of good native swordsmen require for a fight to the death. Some on the contrary 
are very fond of keeping well away, and, if not followed up 
and brought to close quarters, resort to a widely different 
mode of attack, consisting mainly of slashing cuts, first 
with one hand and then with the other, the changes being 
carried out with wonderful rapidity. The principal swinging 
cut can be delivered for either side of an opponent's head, but 
if he is a good swordsman it is a somewhat risky one to resort 
to, for he can reply to it by either a stop thrust or a stop cut 
at the head. The guard for it is a mere raising of the sword 
to a sufficient height and in the right line. There is only 
one form of hanging guard known to Japanese swordsmen, and it is seldom resorted to, for it makes a smart return 
a matter of great difficulty. 

The Japanese inhabiting a mountainous country have from 
time immemorial accustomed themselves to fight more on 
foot than on horseback, while our knights of old, being 
differently situated, never fought on foot except and only 

 KENJUTSU,"' OK JArAXESE FENCING 

when absolutely obliged by circumsfcauces to do so. Tbafc tbe 
western systems of swordsmanship of the present day are relics 
of the old knightly days there can be no manner of doubt. 
The sword then was the weapon of the mounted man, of a 
one-handed swordsman, and to be of real use to him it was 
necessary it should be of a goodly length, but while a 
mounted man can use a fairly lieavy sword with considerable 
effect and advantage, a dismounted man is distinctly handicapped by being armed with such a weapon. Courtly ways 
succeeding knightly ways, men then took to wearing lighter 
made swords, but as it was still considered more honourable 
to fight on horseback than on foot, and as men could not for 
ever be changing their swords, and as a thrusting sword was 
just as effective under the newer conditions ruling the nonwearing of armour, so the rapier eventually came more and more 
into use in the West. With the rapier came the great reliance 
the European swordsman puts on the point, and with it also 
came the necessity for fighting on strictly straight lines in 
contradistinction to lines which enable and permit the breaking 
of ground by a rougher style of swordsmanship. To use the 
point to the best advantage a lunging thrust is required, and 
to deliver a lunging thrust aright it is essential that the 
ground underfoot should be free of impedimenta, and also on 
a plane. The existence of such conditions cannot, however, 
be relied upon, and the consequence is the more the sword 
approaches the rapier in construction the less suitable it is 
for use on rough ground. Now the katatia can be used as 
well on rough as on smooth and level ground, but though a 
wonderfully efi'ective weapon it is by no means a perfect one, 
nor is katana-play alone — pure and simple — a perfect system 

of swordsmanship. Such can only be arrived at by making a 
new style of sword and instituting a new style of sword-play, 
combining in them all that is best in the swords of the West 
and the swords of the Far East, and in the methods employed 
in their use. 

Some of the best points about keiijiitsu are, that from 
eve^-y guard or parry some two or more different returns 
can be made, and that such guards or parries are more 
of a fending-off order than strictly stopping ones, thus 
allowing the returns to be made more quickly find the 
guards with less exertion. Again, neither strength nor 
length of reach are of such great advantage in kenjutsii 
as they are in our Western systems of sword-play, and so 
men of varying sizes and degrees of strength are brought 
on footings of greater equality when practising it than 
they would be with us. And then again, while just as 
scientific as our systems of sword-play, the Japanese 
system is a much less artificial one, and so with the 
majority of men less time would be required for picking 
up a knowledge of it. 

Very naturally a good swordsman is held in high repute 
among the Japanese, but curiously enough a good sword 
smith is perhaps more so and the names of such men as 
Amakune, Kamige, Shinsoku, and Amaza of the very olden 
days, and Munechika, Yasutsuna, Sanemori, Yukihira, and 
Yoshimitsu of the middle ages, are known to all educated 
subjects of the Mikado and then as for Masamune, Yoshihiro, and Muramasa, their names are household words in 
every homestead of the land. The two best swordsmen I 
have met in Japan were Sakakibara and Henmi. The first 
"KENJUTSU," OK JAPANESE FENCING 

was a tall, rather slightly built man. but though a grand 
swordsman, somewhat inclined to play to the gallery, 
Henmi-san, on the other hand, was a most unobtrusive 
individual, standing about tive-feet-one, and quite the most 
graceful moving man I have ever seen but though Sakakibara had a greater following among the general public of 
Tokyo, there is little doubt Heumi was the better swordsman of the two. I have seen him, while fencing with a 
first-class swordsman, stop all of a sudden, drop his sJthiai, 
and then invite the other to attack him. But try as this 
other might, he could seldom get a cut into him, for where 
Henmi was the fraction of a second before, the spot would be 
vacant. 

The Japanese have always been very fond of giving names 
to their swords, such names being usually derived from some 
circumstance connected with their career. The Grassmowing sword," for instance, the most liiglil}' prized of 
all the swords of Japan, was so called because, when a brushwood fire threatened to destroy his army, Yamato Take 
mowed down the intervening brushwood with it, and so 
stopped the flames and saved his troops. Yamato Take, 
it may here be mentioned, was the son of the Emperor Keiko, 
71 — 131 A.D. The Hige Kiri and Hizamaru were 
two famous swords belonging to the Minamoto family, and 
owe their names to the fact that when they were tested on a 
couple of criminals sentenced to decapitation, one cut through 
the hi'je or beard of the victim after severing the head from 
the body, while the second cut through the Itiza or knee of 
the other luckless wretch as he sat or squatted to receive his 
death blow. 

The following among other mottoes are sometimes fonnd 
eiigraved on the hilt of Japanese swords — 
C There's nought 'twixt heaven and earth that man need 
fear who carries at his helt this single blade." 

 One's fate is in the hands of heaven, but a skilful fighter 
does not meet with death." 

 In one's last days one's sword becomes th^ wealth of 
sone's posterity, j 

5G 

Sumo and Jujutsu 
Few people are so keen about wrestling as the Japanese, who 
have for centuries past practised two distinct kinds — siiiiid and 
jujutsK. As regards the difference existing between the two, 
it is worth noting that this is something more than a mere 
difference of style as between two schools of the same art. 
For while the votaries of siiino rely as much upon their 
personal strength and weight of body as upon any knowledge 
they may possess of scientific grips and falls, those ofjiijtitsu 
aim solely at overthrowing an ojiponeiit by highly reasoned-out 
yieldings of self, or as a Japanese would put it, by yielding 
to strength." And then again, while the sin)intori are 
essentially })rofessional wrestlers, recruited mainly from 
the lower strata of Japanese society, among the devotees of 
jaintsii muster men of birth and education, and often, too, 
of high social position and standing. 

Without going into undue details as regards the history of 
wrestling in Japan, it may here be as well to point out that 
until thirty years ago the siiDidfori ranked next in social 
matters to the sdiimrdi, the soldier nobility of old Japan, for 
it was considered that their profession was a semi-military 
one. Now, however, all this is changed, and, instead of living 
lives of ease and liououi- under the protecting regis of some 

great feudal lord or high dignitary of State, the sumotoii 
of to-day have to content themselves with dangling after the 

KAWADSU-NO-SABURO AND l\I ATANO- NO-GORO, TWO CELEBRATED 
WRESTLERS OF OLD 

Leels of some one of their country's erstwhile despised slioiiiii, 
or ''merchants." But fortunately for them and the cause of 
aiDitn, the "Wrestlers' Gnild is still well to the fore, and 
not only helps and suceonrs them in trouble and sickness, hut 

r),s 

JAl^ANESE WRESTLING 

 exercises over them and tlieir calling a beneficent despotism 
not unlike that exercised by the Jockey Chib over horseracing in England. In days gone by the stinnltori enjoyed 
many privileges — such as immunity from bridge and ferry 

'immmM 

r 
I^Kp^ 

 

MIGI-YOTTSU, on FOUU (iKIPS." KHiHT HANDS INSIDK 

tolls, and they could also claim the hire of post-horses at 
specially low rates. Theatres, booths at faii-s, and otlie. 
places of amusement were policed by them, and w'ithout the 
permission of their guild the managers of such exhibitions 
dared not open. 

The Wrestlers' Guild has its headquarters in Tokyo, 
and the officers in charge of its ufiairs have always heeii 
recruited from the retired list of old wrestlers and umpires. 
Both siinidtori and umpires enter upon their calling when 

A roSTUKI^G EXEKCISK FOK STltllNdTil KNlXd THE 
THIGH MU>SCLES 

quite young, and in the generality of cases owe their first 
start in life to the benevolent infiuence of some famous 
wrestler or umpire. Once fairly started upon their career, 
however, they then come under the orders of the guild, and 
without the sanction of that august body no wrestler may 

compete in any tournament or match, with the result that 
such a thiu<,' as selling a match is an unknown thing 
among the siniinftiri of Japan. While the umpires retain 
their family nomenclature, the wrestlers have professional 
names bestowed upon them, as, for instance, Taiho, or 
"Great Gun," Nishi-no-Ume, or W^estern Ocean," &c., 
&c.,— all indicative of great size and strength. For the 
^nmdtori, it may here he remarked, are all huge men, almost 
giants in comparison to the ruck of their fellow-countrymen, 
and yet despite of their great paunches and the lumps and 
rolls of fat that encase their bodies, they are not only 
enormously strong, but active withal. Curiously enough, 
the training of the sumdtori is in strict opposition to all 
theories held upon such subjects by English athletes and 
trainers, for not only do they eat and drink excessively, but 
also any kind of food or liquor they may fancy. And then, 
as regards their work outside of the ring, it consists mainly 
in butting at posts with their shoulders and chests, and in 
lifting aiul flinging about and catching weights in the shape 
of sacks of rice, sand, and the like. 'J'hey also go through 
a good deal of posturing with a view to the loosening and 
suppling of their limbs, and, perhaps, too, as a sort of 
balancing practice. 

A budding aspirant for umpire honours is generally a 
member of a family that has followed that calling for generations, and commences his study of pahestral matters under 
the supervision of a thoroughly trustworthy senior. When 
deemed sutticiently advanced he will be put to umpire 
practice bouts and the bouts of novices, and he gets his 
promotion according to vacancies and his own competency. 

According to Japanese records, the first great umpire was 
Shiga Seirin, who umpired the wrestling matches fought out 
before the Emperor Shonin (7'2-i-749 a.d.). The baton of 
office wiekled by an umpire is a fan of the okl time military 
type similarly antique is his costume. His orders and 

A GROUP OF BUDDJNa ASJ:'1UA^'TS FOR PAL^STRAL HONOtTRS, WITH 
A YOUKG UMPIRE STANDING AMONG THEM 

injunctions to the wTestlers and his address to the spectators, 
are given in a peculiarly high-pitched tone, very dramatically 
and very penetratingly. Ranking next to a samurai, and 
often one, an umpire is allowed to wear a sword, and at all 
great matches he invariably does so. 

According to their skill so the HU))totori are divided into 
classes, weight having nothing to do with the matter, and 

the classifying of them is altogether in the hands of the 
guild. Their examinations for class honours are carried 
out twice a year, in January and May, within the famous 
temple grounds of Ekoin, in Tokyo, and excites immense 
enthusiasm among all classes of that great city's population. 
For days hefore the contest the streets are made noisier than 

TACHI-AI, OR 'WATCUINIl FOR AX OPEXIXO 

usual by men beating drums, announcing the day and hour 
upon which the matches are to commence, and, besides all 
this, a great drumming is kept u}) on a specially prepared 
tower called a YcKjHra, standing some forty feet high and 
immediately in front of the wrestling booth. An amphitheatre having been erected, in the centre of it is left a square 
arena, and in the centre of this again is built up an eighteen 
THE FIGHTING MAN OF JAP^\N 

feet square structure to a lieiglit of from two to four feet 
above the level of the ground. This is unrailed, though 
roofed over, the pillars supporting the roof being firmly 
planted at the four corners, and in the exact centre of all is 
pitched the wrestling ring, twelve feet in diameter, marked 
out by a plaited straw rope. The pillars and roof are 
adorned with draperies, flags, bannerets, S:c., and the whole 
turn-out makes quite a' brave show. 

When all is ready a tosliij/ori, or elder from among the 
retired wrestlers, steps into the arena and declares the 
meeting opened, and the siundttni, who are divided into 
two parties, then hie into it from opposite sides. One party 
is invariably called the east and the other the west, and 
when they have finished filing in they squat down, the 
members of each party on their own side of the arena. Two 
of the least skilful of the contestants then step into the ring, 
one from each side, being ushered in by a junior umpire, 
who, after introducing them to the spectators by their 
professional names and status, orders them to commence. 
Being low down the grade of wrestlers, they, as also the 
half-a-dozen or so couples that follow immediately after, 
dispense with preliminaries, as much, perhaps, because of 
their ignorance of them as for any more valid reason. Not 
so, however, their seniors, who, after having been ushered 
into the ring and introduced to the spectators by an umpire 
of an equal status to themselves, proceed to go through some 
of the most fantastic and extraordinary posturings and preliminaries imaginable, winding up by taking a pinch of salt 
and tossing the same in the air as an oblation to Nomi-no- 
Sukune, the tutelary deity of the wrestlers of Japan. 

A mawasJri, or "loin cloth," is all that covers a sumdtovi's 
nakedness while actually engaged in a bout. It is generally 
made of hemp, but sometimes of silk, and may be either 
white or red in colour. The aprons Avorn during posturing 

i)l)-llV()-ll;l. (lU CEUK.MUMAL APKU.N. AS WOK.V IIV 
P^IRST-CLASS JAPANESE WRESTLERS 

and preliminaries by the highest ranked sitmOtori are the 
Japanese equivalents of a British pugilist's belt, and being 
richly embroidered in gold and silk sometimes cost as much 
as 1,000 yen, equal to about £100. Siundtori invariably 
allow their hair to grow as long as possible, shaving oft", 

however, a portion of it in front, and tying it back into 
a queue fasten it on the top and back of their heads. 

When both wrestlers have done with their prehminaries 
they take up their positions within and on opposite sides 

SIKI-KAIU'RI. A BACK THROW FOILED 

of the ring. S(|uatting on their haunches the}^ watch for an 
opening, and when one of thcnii sees it he immediately makes 
a dart at the other, but the chances arc; his opponent will 
not recognise it as a fail' start. This may occur over and 
over again, but once fairly started a Japanese wrestling bout 

6G 

JAPANESE WKESTLIXG 

is a very short-lived affair indeed, seldom lasting over a 
minute, and the reason is that the men are as often as not 
alViiid to grapple for fear of heing pushed, butted, or thrown 

A GltOUP OF FAMOUS WRESTLERS, INCLUDING EX-CHAMPTON. 
AND PRESENT CHAilPIOX OF JAPAN 

out of the ring before they have well commenced. For, as 
has been already pointed out, the ring is but twelve feet in 
diameter, and the least possible throw, step or push outside 
of it loses a siDUdtori his bout and perhaps his rank and 
status also, and this means money to him, for according to 
their rank and status so the men are paid. 

There are forty-eight recoiyv.' methods or hands for 
coping with an antagonist, and' r^'^- -apanese claim they have 
remained unchanged for centuries. In addition to these, 
there are a hundred and sixty-eight possible or subsidiary 
hands. The orthodox hands are classified into throwing, 
grappling, twisting and bending, each having twelve hands, 
but these do not, of course, exhaust a good wrestler's resources, which, within certain bounds, depend upon his 
quickness of eye and decision. Should a wrestler employ 
methods dangerous to life and limb he is at once admonished, 
and should he do so again he is promptly ejected from out 
the arena and the guiJd, and this is a punishment that carries 
with it penalties similar in all respects to the suspension of 
a jockey by the Jockey Club of England. 

In the first rank of the siiniotori stand the Ozeki, then the 
Sekiwaki and Komusubi. Following them come seven gradations or classes of Mayegashira. Should an Ozeki prove 
himself superior to all his rivals of the same rank he is 
promoted to Hinoshita Kaizan, carrying with it the privilege 
of wearing the yohozuka, or side rope," a belt in the form 
of a rope. A*ccording to Japanese accounts Akashi Shigenosuke was the first to have this honour conferred upon him, in 
1624 A.D., and since his time there have been only sixteen 
kaizan, the latest being Hitachiyama, the present champion 
of Japan. 

Jujutsu 

As before explained, jujutsu is a very difl'erent art to suino, 
ranking considerably higher than it in the esteem of the 
more aristocratic portions of Japanese society. Its principles, 
JAR 

 ^E WRESTLING 

like so many other thi) >anese, were until lately handed 

down as a sort of esotei et from one great master of the 

art to another, and, unlike as in the case of stimn, there are 
many schools or styles of JKJKtsii. It is essentially a militar}' 
art, and in the feudal days instructions in it formed a no 
mean part in the education of a young sanitimi. For some 

KO-IIATA-UOKI, UK LEG-l'U J>L THliOW 

time after the abolition of the feudal system it looked as if 
it was going to become one of the many lost arts, but happily 
for the future prospects of Japanese manhood a revival took 
place, and at present it is extremely popular among all classes 
of the Mikado's subjects. JiijutnK is known to the Japanese 
under various names, such -as Judo, yunuira, taijutsK, JiOfiusokn, 
l-('i)ipn and haliuda, but jndo, jujutsu and jiatrara are the 

terms most commonly used. Considering the high esteem in 
which it has always been held, it is really wonderful what few 
books there are upon it, and still more wonderful that such as 
there are have not dealt as fully with it as they might have. 
Such books, or rather pamphlets, as have dealt with it have 

KATA-SUKASHI, A SIDE-SLIP FOLLOWED BY A NECK-GKIP THROW 

generally so done from the particular standpoint of some one 
of the many schools of jiiJiitHK, and there is absolutely no 
doubt the originators of certain new schools have made 
history to suit their own purpose. Still, there seems little 
doubt that, while hofiii^oLti and koiipo were originally two 
distinct arts, the former the art of seizing and the latter the 
art of fiaiuinfi victory hy pliduci/, the two were afterwards 
JAPAN KSE WKESTLINC 

this is gained without any undue hardeuin<jj and mis-shapingof the muscles. 

In conckision, it may he as well here to point out that it 
is hy no means necessary for an intending student oi jujiitsu 
to he an athlete, rather the other way for such athletes, 
unfortunately, when commencing a course of jnjntsu, are 
inclined to rely overmuch on their strength and activity, a 
fatal mistake if one hopes to attain to any degree of proficiency in the art. Unlike those muscle-trying exercises 
which necessitate the use of developers, dumh-hells, barhells, &c. (from the sale of which such enormous profits are 
derived by the proprietors of certain much-vaunted and 
advertised schools of physical culture), jujutHti is a natural 
art, an unartificial exercise, and one which, partly by reason 
of its superiority to all extraneous appliances, affords the 
very healthiest fun, emulation, and exercise in existence. 

THK EXI) 

lAl'liUKV, AGNJav, it to. l.n., PlilNI'KltS, LONDON AM) T0^1lilUlH;^ 

A JU=JITSU BOOK. 

JU-JITSU has suffered from its exploitation by a. literature 
of a somewhat low type. There has been spread abroad 
a false idea of its nature and of the reasons which justify 
and make valuable its introduction among the games and 
sports of England. 

It has become desirable, therefore, that a Ju-Jitsu book with 
some claims to common sense should be obtainable, and the 
School is therefore preparing a carefully written and carefully 
illustrated elementary work on the subject. This will be no 
collection of cut-and-dried recipes, the perusal of which will 
enable sedentary persons to encounter and overco.me large and 
violent men armed with knives. It will endeavour to outline 
Ju-Jitsu, the game. It will be the daily teaching of the School 
put on paper. It will be a book that, in places where no 
instruction in Ju-Jitsu can be obtained, may be studied 
together by two or three people, and from it they will be able 
to extract material for much sport and contest and healthy 
exercise. 

Details as to price and date of publication will be sent to 
enquirers. 

THE JAPANESE SCHOOL OF JU=JITSU, 

305, OXFORD STREET, W. 

A^ 

Boston Public Library 
Central Library, Copley Square 

Division of 
Reference and Research Services 

The Date Due Card in the pocket indicates the date on or before which this 
book should be returned to the Library. 

Please do not remove cards from this 
pocket.