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Dynasty). 1961. Seoul: Gwahakwon.Koryû Bugei, Japanese
The koryû bugeiare the classical styles or systems through which the samu-
rai acquired their military skills, as well as many of their key values and
convictions. They are distinguished from the better-known and more
widely practiced modern cognate arts of Japan, such as kendô and jûdô, by
their origins, organizational structures, and senses of purpose.
To be classified as a koryû, a school must be able to trace its origins
to at least the early nineteenth century. Most are in fact considerably older
than this, and the traditional histories of some profess roots in the twelfth,
tenth, or even the seventh century—although scholars generally view such
claims as hyperbole.
Military training in Japan dates back to before the dawn of recorded
history, and organized drill can be documented by the early eighth century,
but the solidification of martial art into systems, or ryûha,was a develop-
ment of the mid to late medieval period, a part of a broad trend toward the
systemization of knowledge and teaching in various pursuits. In the late
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, virtuosos of poetry, the tea ceremony,
flower arranging, music, Nô drama, and the like began to think of their ap-
proaches to their arts as packages of information that could be transmitted
to students in organized patterns, and began to certify their students’ mas-
tery of the teachings by issuing written documents. Thus, samurai began to
seek out warriors with reputations as expert fighters and appeal to them for
instruction, even as such masters of combat began to codify their knowledge
and experience and to methodize its study. During the Tokugawa period
(1600–1868), bugei training became increasingly formalized and busi-
nesslike, with adepts opening commercial training halls and instructing stu-
dents for fees, turning the teaching of martial art into a full-time profession.
The opening to the West and rapid modernization of Japan in the late
nineteenth century brought dramatic changes to the role and status of the
Koryû Bugei, Japanese 301