Topics in East Asian Religions (318-0-22)
Topic
Martial Arts, Religion, & Philosophy in East Asia
Instructors
Antonio Terrone
847/467-1636
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall #4-439
Office Hours: times vary by quarter, please contact instructor
Meeting Info
Locy Hall 318: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
This course offers the opportunity to investigate martial art culture in Japanese society in the centuries between the Tokugawa shogunate takeover in the sixteenth century until the aftermath of WWII. Students will learn how samurai military culture and the Japanese art of sword fighting (kenjutsu) evolved conceptually from a system of fighting to cut down an adversary to one aimed at personal spiritual growth and cultivation of the mind. Course readings include treatises, essays, and poetry (waka, haiku) by several expert Japanese swordsmen including feudal lords, samurai, Buddhist monks, and philosophers who highlight not just actual combat techniques, but also the inward aspects that can lead to psycho-spiritual realization.
Grounded in Confucian virtues, Buddhist doctrine, and the Shinto worldview, these figures discuss martial arts not only as mere external techniques of death, but also as inner techniques of life. In this course students will read works in English translation by and about several authors including Yagyu Munenori (1571-1646), Soho Takuan (1573-1645), Miyamoto Musashi (1582-1645), Kaibara Ekiken (1630-1714), Yamamoto Tsenetomo (1659-1719), Daidoji Yuzan (1639-1730), Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1888), Takahashi Deishu (1835-1903), Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (1870-1966), Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), Taisen Deshimaru (1914-1982), and Omori Sogen Roshi (1904-1994).
Some of the probing questions we will address are: what instigated the separation between traditional martial systems (bujustu) and modern martial arts (budo)? Where do the spiritual and the physical intersect in martial arts? What is the relationship between Buddhist doctrine and violence in the art of the sword? What does it mean for Aikido to be promoted as an "art of peace"? What kind of values can modern martial arts instill in their practitioners?
Learning Objectives
Understand the difference tradition and modernity in East Asian martial arts.
Understand where spirituality and violence intersect in the practice of martial arts in Japan.
Grasp Buddhist, Confucian and Shinto values that martial culture instill(ed) in practitioners.
Understand the role of Buddhist philosophy in the elaboration of modern Japanese swordsmanship.
Discuss the content of some of the most famous treatises of Japanese martial art.
Evaluation Method
Weekly Response paper; in-class presentation; in-class discussion; term paper.
Class Materials (Required)
Takuan Soho. The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman. 2012 - ISBN 978-1590309865
Musashi, Miyamoto and Thomas Cleary - The Book of Five Rings: A Classic Text on the Japanese Way of the Sword (Shambhala Library) Mass Market Paperback - ISBN 978-1590302484
Yagyu Munenori and Hiroaki Sato - The Sword and the Mind - Overlook Press 1986 - ISBN 978-0879512569
William S. Wilson - Budoshoshinshu (Paperback) - Shambala ISBN 978-1569571897
Taisen Deshimaru - The Zen Way to the Martial Arts - ISBN 978-0140193442
Morihei Ueshiba - The Art of Peace: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido (Paperback) - Shambala ISBN 978-0877738510
Class Materials (Suggested)
PDFs and additional material will be provided in class.
Class Attributes
Ethics & Values Distro Area