Another form subscribed to combat simulation by conducting duels using
wooden or bamboo swords in sportslike duels, which included exhibition
matches and formal recognition of winners, eventually evolving into mod-
ern kendô. Yet other schools chose to try and preserve swordsmanship in
its early Tokugawa form, that of a real battlefield fighting skill. Though
schools of swordsmanship combined all of these forms in their teachings,
individual schools emphasized one form over the others, allowing for a
clear separation of swordsmanship forms after the fall of the Tokugawa
shogunate and the abolition of the samurai class.
Another important feature of Tokugawa swordsmanship was the as-
sociation of swords and swordsmanship with divinities and related reli-
gious practices. As mentioned earlier, the establishment of a school was ac-
companied by compiling written records concerning its origins. These
records normally included the founder’s biography and some historical in-
formation relating to the school, but often they also included legends and
myths of sacred secret transmission of knowledge from legendary warriors,
supernatural beings, or from the divinities themselves to the founder’s an-
cestors. Such divine connection provided the school with authority and
“proof” of superior skills in an increasingly competitive world of swords-
manship. More importantly, the divine link to Japan’s history and mythol-
ogy, in addition to the symbolic role of the sword as a mark of a samurai’s
identity, instilled the notion of the sword as the mind and soul of the samu-
rai. Practicing swordsmanship, then, took on the added importance of be-
ing a way to bring back and strengthen samurai ideals of earlier genera-
tions of warriors.
The Meiji Restoration (1868), which marked the end of warrior rule
and the start of civil government in Japan, declared the Tokugawa practice
of wearing two swords illegal. Centuries of warrior rule and culture came
to an official end, sending traditional schools of swordsmanship into a de-
cline, while swordsmanship itself evolved into a modern version in which
the practitioners use sturdy protective gear and bamboo swords and follow
prescribed rules of engagement in competition. When the Taishô
(1912–1926) government added this modern swordsmanship (eventually
called kendô) to the school curriculum, it immediately set it on a course to
become a national martial sport. However, to preserve swordsmanship in
its pre-kendô form, some schools of swordsmanship emphasized the sole
practice of kata using metal swords that resemble real blades.
The practice of swordsmanship by focusing on kata is now known to
many as iaidô.Some kendô practitioners who reach advanced levels in
kendô turn to iaidô as a higher, more realistic form of swordsmanship. At
any rate, the preservation of swordsmanship in kata practice follows the
example of many other traditions, namely ikebana and Kabuki, among
Swordsmanship, Japanese 595