labeled. Such elements of expressive culture invariably reflect qualities of
self-image and worldview, and thus merit attention.
These materials frequently exist apart from written media (although
committing a narrative, for example, to print does not change the folk sta-
tus of those versions of the tale that continue to circulate by oral or other
traditional means). While orally transmitted narratives have the potential
for maintaining thematic consistency, factual accuracy in the oral trans-
mission of historical information over long periods of time is rare. Oral tra-
dition tends to force events, figures, and actions into consistency with the
worldview of the group and the group’s conventional aesthetic formulas
(seen, e.g., in plots, character types, or narrative episodes). Also, since the
goal of these genres is rhetorical, not informative, history is manipulated or
even constructed in an effort to legitimize the present order.
Moreover, in the martial arts information equates to a kind of power;
the purveyor of information controls that power, and others will seek to
benefit from it. Some martial arts myths seek to elicit patriotic sympathies
or, at a minimum, to identify with familiar popular symbols. One should
also keep in mind that some of these myths may be intentionally deceptive
and may have a political agenda. Often, the possible motives behind the
myths are more fascinating than the myths themselves.Origin Narratives
Probably the earliest martial arts–related Chinese myth is the story of the
origin of war and weapons. This narrative goes back to the legendary
founder of Chinese culture, the Yellow Emperor, and one of his officials,
Chi You, who rebelled against him. Chi You, China’s ancient God of War,
who is said to have invented weapons, is depicted as a semihuman creature
with horns and jagged swordlike eyebrows. The story describes the sup-
pression of Chi You’s rebellion and the attaining of ultimate control over
the means of force by the Yellow Emperor. Symbolically, it reflects the per-
petual conflict between authority and its opponents.
Such mythic narratives substantiate the claims of smaller groups
within larger cultures as well. The origin narrative orally perpetuated
within Shôrinjin-ryû Saitô Ninjitsu is representative. Oppressed by
raiders, a group of northern Japanese farmers sent a young man to find
help. Reaching a sacred valley, he fasted and meditated for twenty-one
days, until the Shôrinjin (the Immortal Man) appeared and granted him
the art of “Ninjitsu Mastery, the ‘Magical Art’” (Phelps 1996, 70). While
returning home, he was swept up by tengu(Japanese; mountain demons)
who took him to Dai Tengu (king of the Tengu), who bestowed upon him
the art of double-spinning Tengu Swordsmanship. He then returned to his
village to defeat their enemies by means of the system he had acquired, a124 Folklore in the Martial Arts