www.hanako.co.

uk

February 2008 Volume 12 Number 2

Providing information to Bujinkan members
In 71 different countries around the world

1 - February 2008

Newsletter for the Bujinkan Lincoln Dojo

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As of April 2008 the UK government will bring into force a law that will ban the sale and use of
Japanese swords. This ban will however have various categorise that will take into consideration
for collectors and Martial Artists.
The ban is aimed mainly at the cheap nasty wall hangers that are bought as decorative items and
not essentially at the more expensive versions that martial artists tend to buy and use.
I myself have taken some interest in this proposal, mainly because I do own many swords
including several antiques. I have also in the past on and off sold many swords.
There is n need for a panic by people in the UK to get rid off their swords. If the law falls within
the criminal Justice act you will be allowed to keep all the swords you own with out any worries,
The following information has been taken form the UK Government web site. I will public more
as and when I manage to get further information.
Press Releases

Consultation On Samurai Sword Ban

5 March 2007
The sale, import and hire of samurai swords could be banned by the end of the year, Home
Office Minister Vernon Coaker said today.
The proposal, outlined in a consultation paper issued by the Home Office, will help to take
dangerous weapons out of circulation and protect the public.
Banning Offensive Weapons A Consultation recommends that replica samurai swords should
be added to the offensive weapons order, meaning the sale, hire and import would be prohibited.
There have been approximately 80 serious crimes involving imitation samurai swords in England
and Wales over the last four years.
Those who breach the prohibition would face up to six months in prison and a maximum fine of
5,000. Carrying a samurai sword in a public place already carries a maximum jail sentence of
four years.
At present there are 17 weapons, including knuckle-dusters and batons, on the Offensive
Weapons Order.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:

2 - February 2008

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Public safety is our greatest priority. Samurai sword crime is low in volume but high in profile and I recognise it
can have a devastating impact. Banning the sale, import and hire will take more dangerous weapons out of
circulation, making our streets safer.
We recognise it is the cheap, easily available samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine,
more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts. As such as we are
putting forward exemptions for these groups.
Knife crime and sharp instrument homicides have remained stable, while violent crime has fallen by over a third in
the last nine years. It is already illegal to have a samurai sword in a public place but I want to restrict the number of
dangerous weapons in circulation to enhance community safety.
The consultation proposes exemptions for groups such as the To-ken Society of Great Britain and the British Kendo
Association. These exemptions would cover genuine collectors swords made in Japan before the existing licensing
regime came into force in 1953 or those made by licensed Japanese swordsmiths since that time. It also suggests that
specific weapons used in martial arts or samurai swords used in sport should be exempt. It is the sale, import and
hire of all cheaper imitation samurai swords the type of weapon that is used in violent crime and which is not made
in Japan under licensing arrangements which would be banned.
Notes to Editors
1.

2.

Banning Offensive Weapons A Consultation is on the Home Office website at

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/haveyoursay/current-consultations/ (new window) The deadline
for responses is Monday 28 May 2007
The Offensive Weapons Order was created by the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

Source:
http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/samurai-sword-ban?version=1

Shidoshi Database

All Shidoshi please read this important information

There seems to be some confusion regarding an email containing information about a Shidoshi Database that is
being sent to everyone in the Bujinkan.
This email contains information about the Hombu dojos wish for all Shidoshi to register on a new database to help
them run the Hombu office.
As good as it may seem this email should be ignored and then deleted.
The email tells you to complete the form then email it to George Ohashi the Hombu dojo administrator. If you look
at his web site which contains up to date Bujinkan news in Japan, he informs you that this email must not be sent to
him and that the Database scheme is not authorised by Hatsumi Sensei.
Until we receive official notification and see it either as a letter mailed or emailed direct to you as a Shidoshi, or
Ohashi san places it on his web page please ignore it.
For more information please Look at George Ohashis web site.

http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/bujinkan/index.html

3 - February 2008

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Takamatsu Senseis grave

There has been a lot of activity on the internet regarding the recent news that the cemetery where
Takamatsu sensei has been sold and completely destroyed and was now a parking lot.
I have asked several people I know for some information regarding this matter and it seems that
this is correct.
Basically what has happened is the area was not being maintained properly and for some reason
the owner of the cemetery decided that it should be sold. In Japan land is very rare in some areas
and fetches some very high prices.
There is a lot of conjecture on the web as to what has happened or what may have happened.
The truth is the grave stones for Takamatsu sensei have been moved and relocated intact at a new
location. The location is not going to be made public knowledge. The Takamatsu family are still
alive and doing well and are living in the area still and are no longer in anyway connected with
martial Arts. It really does not interest them. This is something we should respect.
I did get the impression from my conversations with some people that the family may have got a
little tired of people they have no knowledge of, visiting the grave and using it as a place of
worship when those people had never even met Takamatsu sensei. It really is understandable if
the family have gotten a little tired of finding foreigners at the grave or organised parties by
organisations standing at the grave or for people in their community to tell them that groups of
people are at the grave again. In some cases this can really be very unfair to them.
In Japan as well as the West, graveyards can be a very private
place, how would you feel to find a group of people you have
never met stood over your grandparents grave, especially if
these people never knew your grand parents.
Photo: Hatsumi sensei at the original grave site of Takamatsu
sensei
I think this is a time when we should be starting to respect the
Takamatsu family more, and that no one should go and search
for the grave. The family still know Hatsumi sensei and if they
wish to make the location public and allow us to visit the grave
then they will inform Hatsumi sensei of their wishes and then and only then should we go and
visit the grave, I will also add if this does happen visiting the grave should only then be done
with permission.
Its been a long time since the death of Takamatsu sensei and we should respect his families
wishes.

4 - February 2008

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KYOKETSU SHOGE

Springing over, mountain traversing, water crossing, hair

Tozawa Hakuunsai from Gyokko Ryu is rumoured to have created it. Gradually the rope gave way to the chain.
Another change was the use of a weight instead of the iron ring. Later the 5th Soke, Togakure Daisuke of Togakure
Ninpo took and developed the idea of the weighted chain even further. Instead of one end, he weighted both ends
and developed techniques that allowed free movement. With such one could quickly disappear, this is a Kuden

The name of the Kyoketsu Shoge expresses the meaning of running freely, jumping through the
mountains and fields.
The length of the rope should be from one hand to the other, with the arms out stretched. Use this to control the
ropes distance.
The Kyoketsu Shoge is also known as a Shinobibundo
It is important to use Taijutsu.
Use it like a Jutte, then throw the rope so that it wraps around the Kote, and Tsuka. Also hold the ring and throw the
blade.

SEPPUKU
Ritual Suicide
Seppuku, (Sape-puu-kuu) the Japanese formal language term for ritual suicide (Hara-kiri (Har-rah-kee-ree) is the
common language term.), was an integral aspect of feudal Japan (1192-1868). It developed as an integral part of the
code of bushido and the discipline of the samurai warrior class.
Hara-kiri, which literally means "stomach cutting" is a particularly painful method of self-destruction, and prior to
the emergence of the samurai as a professional warrior class, was totally foreign to the Japanese.

5 - February 2008

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The early history of Japan reveals quite

clearly that the Japanese were far more
interested in living the good life than in
dying a painful death. It was not until well
after the introduction of Buddhism, with
its theme of the transitory nature of life
and the glory of death, that such a
development became possible.
To the samurai, seppuku--whether ordered
as punishment or chosen in preference to a
dishonourable death at the hands of an
enemy--was
unquestionable
demonstration of their honour, courage,
loyalty, and moral character.
When samurai were on the battlefield, they often carried out acts of hara-kiri rapidly and with
very little formal preparation. But on the other occasions, particularly when it was ordered by a
feudal lord, or the shogun (as was directed of Lord Asano in the Tale of the 47 Ronin.), seppuku
or hara-kiri was a very formal ceremony, requiring certain etiquette, witnesses and considerable
preparation.
Not all Japanese samurai or lords believed in, even though many of them followed the custom.
The great Ieyasu Tokugawa, who founded Japan's last great Shogunate dynasty in 1603,
eventually issued an edict forbidding hara-kiri to both secondary and primary retainers.
The custom was so deeply entrenched, however, that it continued, and in 1663, at the urging of
Lord Nobutsuna Matsudaira of Izu, the shogunate government issued another, stronger edict,
prohibiting ritual suicide. This was followed up by very stern punishment for any lord who
allowed any of his followers to commit hara-kiri or seppuku. Still the practice continued
throughout the long Tokugawa reign, but it declined considerably as time went by.
Honour for the samurai was dearer than life and in many cases, self destruction was regarded not
simply as right, but as the only right course. Disgrace and defeat were atoned by committing
hara-kiri or seppuku. Upon the death of a daimyo loyal followers might show their grief and
affection for their master by it.
Other
reasons
a
samurai
committed seppuku were: to
show contempt for an enemy; to
protest against injustice, as a
means to get their lord to
reconsider
an
unwise
or
unworthy action and as a means
to save others.
The ritual for disembowelment
was to be performed calmly and
without flinching. If condemned
to death, it was held to be a

6 - February 2008

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privilege to execute the sentence on one's own body rather than to be a disgrace and die at the
hands of the public headsman.
The location of an officially ordered seppuku ceremony was very important. Often the ritual was
performed at temple (but not Shinto shrines), in the garden or villas, and inside homes. The size
of the area available was also important, as it was prescribed precisely for samurai of high rank.
All the matters relating to the act was carefully prescribed and carried out in the most meticulous
manner. The most conspicuous participant, other than the victim, was the kaishaku (kie-shahkuu), or assistant, who was responsible for cutting off the victim's head after he had sliced his
abdomen open. This was generally a close friend or associate of the condemned.
Although suicide is deplored in Japan today, it does not have the sinful overtones that are
common in the west. People still kill themselves for failed businesses, involvement in love
triangles, or even failing school examinations, death is still consider by many as better than
dishonour.

This is the place where we let you know what has

been happening in the Dojo over the past month.

Newsletter for the Bujinkan Lincoln Dojo

6 Jan - The first session of the year. To start with Paul explained that he wished to cover all
aspects of Togakure Ryu this year that he has been shown and that on Sundays we will cover the
7 - February 2008