The morning times., 1896-05-27
WRESTLING IN JAPAN
Some Curious StyIes-Jututsu Value
of It.
Nor York TrR,sne.

of It.
Nelr York Tribune.
The national athletic exercises Of the
Japanese are few in number. TheS are
not, as people, fond Of outdoor sports.
Cricket and baseball have been introduced,
but only faint enthusiasm is exhibited
for either, the majority condemning both
games as childish and unmanIy Rowingi Is
coming each year into greater favor, yet
regattas are held by the students of only
two or three government schools, the
publicity necessarily attendant upon such
exhibitions being disHked.
There are, i'll fact, only three kinds OF
athletic exercises in which the japanese
consent To take part, OF which they deem
worthy or cultivation. The first. kind OF
polo, Is now known TO very few people
It's game requiring much skin, constant
practice, steady eye, and no mean knOwL
edge OF craftsmanship There are few old
families in which this fine sport is stilL
kept up, forIt has always been Il game pat
ronized exclusively by nOblemen or
samurai Of higher rank
Then comes kenJutsu, the sword art
or fencing, an athletic exercise OF the
highest value, and one which has been
developed IN purely national manner,
the whole art being totally different from
Is held in both hands, the attacks and
parties are novel and subject TO unusual
rules. yet il is an exercise eminentIy cal
culdted TO bring every muscle of the body
into play, to train tn eeye and quicken
the perceptiye faculties. For, Japanese
swOrdsInen are wont to say, the secret
Of success Is to perceive what stroke the
opponent is about to give before he actu-
ally lUUEeS: or. in other words. to read tie
opponents thoughts Prior 10 the reStOra-
ton, knowledge of fencing was vastly
more important than an acquaintance with
reading and writing. Every samuTai was
taught that his treuchanu blade was as
his very soul, and even merchants and
craftsman. such as had no right to wear
swords. We're given TO practiCing the art
as the best form OF self-de5enSe. But
fencing has gone greatly out Of vogue,
though it is still kept up. and in quiet
streets one can often hear the clash OF the
split-bamboO fencing stick mingling with
The shouts OF the COmbatantS.
Yet. The art offenCing will never again be
what it once was. With the secret Of forg-
ing these matchless blades of Bzen, the
masterpieces OF such men as MaSamune
and HOriUitSu. the great love for the art
has passed away. IL is now praCticed
mostly by youths who take u up as a sort
of hygicuic exercise There used to be
hundreds OF celebrated masters OF the
sword, az present there are not 50 many
Score.
There IS. however, one form Of athletic
sport that is still kept alive. and this, IN
I the opinion OF the greatest and most pa
triotic men OF Japan, should become StiIt
more pOdlar and enjoy widespreaa favor.
! This is ''iujUtsu, - literally the gentle art
a uisuomer indeed, If II is supposed 70
imply any passive condition. for OF all
athletic exercises it demands the greatest
muscle into play and requires years OF
constant and assiduOus practice 10 be un-
decStOOi- II is, in word. a kind OF wTeSt-
ling which teaches not only how To throw,
disable or MAIN an antagonist. but which
also and in part icular teaches how to be
thrown without injury. or how seemingly
to Weld tn superior strength. and finally
/ to win. or at least TO hOli ones own by t!int
/ OF admirable address, muscular supple
ness AMI undaunted courage
1t teaches, first OF all, a remarkable de-
| gree of presence Of mind. There IS no at
/ taCk. however adrOit, which an adept tu-
/ jutSukee. though of puny physique, does
/ not know how to meet and parry. II the
| hundreds OF tricks, twists, turns or falls
! he has been taught prove Of no avail, he
| knows where To plant a blow. which, not
| given with much force. will lay his stronger
| opponent unconscious, or Kill him outright.
| There are secrets taught, after u long
course OF study, which not only show a pro-
| found knowledge Of the physical form huu
| would even do credit to past master OF
| anatomy. The muscles are so perfectly
| trained that blow will fan harmless. even
| IN the pit of the stomach Juiutsu t.saIS
| prC-eminently with what wOulf be deemed
| foul blows and foul catches in Western
l lands. It's professors are simply ready to
! meet any kind of attack, and proceed to any
| extremity themselves in order to secure q
7 e u
| only in so far as it teaches those who are not
| physically strong to cope successfully with
! vastly superior force. As such it is in
| finitcly more scientific, more thorough and
1 more valuable a knowledge than any kind
of wreSt ling taught elsewhere, though in its
| principal features it has marked resem-
blancetO the eCOrnishsystem.
1t is generally held that in the early days
| Of the Ming dynasty a ChinaEan named
Chin Genpin came as q political refugee
| TO Japan and taught the rudimentS of the
| juiutSu to three sanUral named FukunO,
| ISObe, and Mura, each of whCm founded
! special system on what he had learned.
| Others again say that AkIyama, a physi-
| clan of NagaSaki, visited China about two
| uhndred and fifty years ago. and that dur
ing his sojOurn in the latter country hs
| acquired a knowledge of certain kicks and
| falls. blows and the recovering Of q man
| temporarily suffOCated, or of one from whom
| life had apparently fled, and that finally
the whole system of jUiutSu was afterw9rd
| developed from these three arts. A third
| opinion is that the origin of the gentle
! art' dates from NEUROLOGICAL time, aud is
| a purely Japanese invention. Chin Genpin
came to Japan in 1854, and died there in
| 1871; all that he taught was several re-
| margable kicks and fatal blows. But q
| system of dangerous falls and deadly blows
was known under the name Of "takenOu
chi-ryu'' as early as 1882. the founder OF
| this style being a famous SwOrdSman.
Some OF the fOIms of this art are kit
rvu." the standing and failing style; the
"faushin-shinyO-ryu, the willow style,
and the ''shingan-ryu," true face style.
Moreover, each and every style includes
the two departments of ''satSu'' OF ''ate-
mi, ~ the art of nde ring an opponent power
less. of SuffOcating, laming or otherwise
putting him hOrs de combat. and ''katSu, =
the art of reviving an unconscious pc rSOn or
Que. apparently dead
In both these departments really mar
veIouS things are taught, many OF which
wonld surprise even medical adopts. Bone
setting. after q peculiar and secret fashion,
is also included in the mysteries OF the art.