martial art diplomas at pseudoreligious rituals modeled after tantric initia-
tions: The student would perform ascetic practices (shôjin [118]) for a set
number of days, after which a chapel (dôjô) would be decorated, a special
altar erected, and Buddhist deities such as Acalanâtha or Marîci invited;
the student would present ritual offerings of weapons to the deities and
give a specified number of gold coins to his teacher as a token of thanks.
Sanctified in this manner, martial art lore became closely guarded secrets,
knowledge of which conferred social status. Many martial art documents
equated this lore with knowledge of the “one mind” (isshin [119]) under-
lying the infinite Buddha realms. Thus, it was widely proclaimed that suc-
cess in battle depended as much on religious devotions and ritual perfor-
mances as on fighting skills.
Chinese notions of cosmological and social order became widely in-
corporated into martial arts during the seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries. Establishment of the Tokugawa military government (bakufu) in
1603 ushered in an age of peace and stability that witnessed the spread of
literacy and the development of a new class of professional martial art in-
structors. These professional martial artists for the first time in Japanese
history composed systematic martial treatises (of which more than fifteen
thousand separate titles still survive) and published many of them for an
audience of avid readers. The authors of these treatises drew on systems of
Chinese learning concerning cosmology, military theory, Daoist (Taoist)
alchemy, and Confucianism to endow traditional kata with a veneer of lit-
erary and metaphysical sophistication.
Daoist alchemical practices were widespread because many of them
already had been absorbed by established Buddhist systems of resem-
blances. Chief among these was the Nine-Word Spell (kuji [120]) for
warding off evil spirits and enemy soldiers. The earliest Chinese version,
as described in the Baopu zi [121] (Pao-p’u tzu,in Japanese Hôbokushi;a
fourth-century alchemy manual), involves drawing a cross four times in
the air in front of one’s chest while chanting nine words, each one of
which corresponds to a Daoist deity. Japanese versions taught in Buddhist,
Shintô, and martial art lineages accompany each word with a tantric hand
sign (mudra) corresponding to one of nine Buddhas. The Steps of Yu (uho
[122]), another Daoist ritual from the Baopu zi,invokes the protection of
Pole Star (hokushin [123]) Master of Destinies by means of dance steps
that align the body with the Ursa Minor constellation (e.g., Sasamori
1965, 329–331; Ômori 1991, 267–269). These steps have been incorpo-
rated into many of the sword dances (kenbu [124]) still performed at
Shintô shrines. Daoist rituals such as the Nine-Word Spell and Steps of Yu
supposedly concealed the practitioner from his enemies and rendered him
safe from their weapons.
Religion and Spiritual Development: Japan 491