Kyu - Butokuden
Home of Japanese Martial Arts:
Crisis and Revival
Kyoto once prospered as the capital of Japanand there are many historical cultural assetsthat remain in the city today. Among theseis Kyu - Butokuden, Japan’s oldest martial arts
competition hall, which, along with the Heian - Jingu Shrine, was built in1899 as part of a project to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of theestablishment of Heiankyo (present - day Kyoto). The hall was designed byMATSUMURO Shigemitsu, who is also responsible for the architecture ofthe former main building of Kyoto Prefectural Government Offices (anImportant National Cultural Property). The Martial Arts School was later
founded beside Kyu - Butokuden.
These facilities became the home of
traditional Japanese martial arts, andproduced many noted martial artists
and educators. Following WorldWar II, however, U.S. military forces
took over the facilities andthe Martial Arts School was closeddown. Even after American troops
pulled out, Butokuden stood unused for an extended period of time.
However, as calls for preservation andrehabilitation of this historic hall grew, its restoration
was completed in 1987 with support from manymartial arts enthusiasts. Being an important venue
in the long history of Japanese martial arts,
Kyu - Butokuden was designated as an ImportantNational Cultural Asset in 1996. Surviving for
more than one hundred years, it still remains
a stately architectural structure. This martial arts
hall of fame is now also used as a venue forinternational martial arts competitions, presentingvisitors with a feel of the precious essence ofThe ‘imperial seat’
Japanese martial arts.

Kyoto City Budo Center is a venue forvarious martial arts competitions and practices
Tatami mat seats surround the wooden floor forspectators to view sports. The ‘imperial seat’ isarranged at the center, on the north wall under thekokerabuki shingled gable.

■Kendo (Way of the sword) / Iaido
Kendo is a martial art that descends from
Kenjutsu (Technique of the Sword), whichdeveloped among samurai communities
in medieval times. The purpose of Kendo isto train the mind through the acquisitionof varied techniques. Bamboo swords areused to train, instead of Japanese swords.
Each practitioner wears protective armor
with features that include a helmet(men), gloves (kote), breastplate (dō) andflaps (tare).

A strict glarein the eyeof the instructor,
fiercely mounting
tensions, and sweat
spouting ontoa polished wooden
floor as the shouts ofdedicated fans fill
the room – this is
the spirit of Japanesemartial arts,
in which both sides
are required to begin
and end witha ceremonial bow.

that has made its way to the Olympic
Games, and is currently practiced
throughout the world. One attractive
feature of this martial art is that by using
throwing and ground fighting techniques,
even a practitioner who is physicallyquite small is able to defeat a larger
opponent.
■Sumo
This national martial art involves ritualelements adapted from Japan’s
traditional Shinto religion. Nowadays,
fans of Sumo wrestling exist throughout
the world.

noticeable feature of this martial art isthe length of the weapon.
The practitioner manages to takea strike while making thrust motions,
beating down a weapon that is twometers or more in length.
■KaratedoThis martial art developed in Ryukyu(present-day Okinawa) and wasintroduced to the main islands of Japanin the Taisho Period (1912-1926). It spreadthrough interactions with Judo and was
finally established as Karatedo in
the Showa Period (1926-1989). One
major difference between this martial art
and Judo is that the Karatedo
practitioner uses strikes to punch andkick opponents.

While in Kendo the intention is tosword-fight against an opponent, Iaido isbased on gracefulness and technicalaccuracy of motion – the process ofdrawing the sword from its scabbard,
defeating an imaginary opponent andreplacing the sword in the scabbard are
the main assessments in competition.
■Judo
Judo is a martial art based on Jujutsu. Itis the only Japanese national martial art

originated in the 1640s.
In Japan, Tai Chi Chuan
has been practiced forsome 40 years by many.
In recent years, thismartial art is being
enjoyed by both theyoung and old,
as a means of managing
health and forcompetition. Chinesemartial arts areinternationally known as “wushu.” In Japan,
the generic term “bujutsu taikyokuken” isused to refer to Tai Chi Chuan and othervarious Chinese martial arts.

■Kyudo (Japanese archery)
The aim of Kyudo is to achieve a total
integration between stabilization of thebody, the mind and the bow techniques.
Even the slightest agitation of the mind
will affect shooting. To improve precisionhits, an archer needs to maintaina completely steadfast mind.
■Naginata (Japanese pole arm)
Naginata resembles Kendo in the style ofclothing that is worn and follows a similarmanner of competition. The most

■Wushu Tai Chi Chuan
Tai Chi Chuan is based on ancient Chinesemartial arts and is believed to have

■AikidoThis martial art was created througha combination that encompasses
the strengths of all the various martial arts.
Here, the outstanding feature is that one
does not attack first. A practitioner is able
to defeat an opponent regardless ofphysical differences by combining
the opponent’s
force with hisor her own
force so as tohandle attacks
and apply
reversaltechniques.
There are nocompetitions
held. Aikido
practice
concentrates
on training
forms andtechniques.
■Shorinji Kempo
This is a martial art first created in 1947
by SO Doshin in Japan itself. Through its
teachings, techniques and training
system, Shorinji Kempo aims to develop
individuals who are confident, brave,active, kind and beneficial to
the society they live in. Shorinji Kempo
offers students a basic method fordeveloping personal discipline, throughthe practice of helping one another andliving in harmony with others.