Kenjitsu

Kenjutsu
(剣術)

English: Woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada I (unsigned, the print is the upper part of a ’two scenes’ print, only the lower part is signed). The actors Seki Sanjūrō III and Bandō Shūka I as Inukai Genpachi and Inuzuka Kiba in the Play ’Satomi hakkenden’, performed at the Ichimura theatre in 1/1852.
Focus	Weaponry
Country of origin	Japan
Olympic sport	No

Kenjutsu (剣術) is the umbrella term for all (koryū) schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. The modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century included modern form of kenjutsu in their curriculum, too. Kenjutsu, which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, means "the method, technique or the art of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means "the way of the sword".

The exact activities and conventions undertaken when practicing kenjutsu vary from school to school, where the word school here refers to the practice, methods, ethics, and metaphysics of a given tradition, yet commonly include practice of battlefield techniques without an opponent and techniques whereby two practitioners perform kata (featuring full contact strikes to the body in some styles and no body contact strikes permitted in others). Although kata training was always the mainstay, in later periods, schools incorporated sparring under a variety of conditions, from using solid wooden bokutō to use of bamboo sword (shinai) and armor (bōgu). In modern times sparring in Japanese martial art is more strongly associated with kendo and is mainly practiced by students or the police force. Although kendo is common in Japan, it is also practiced in other countries around the world.

It is thought likely that the first iron swords were manufactured in Japan in the fourth century, based on technology imported from China via the Korean peninsula. While swords clearly played an important cultural and religious role in ancient Japan, in the Heian period the globally recognised curved Japanese sword( the katana) was developed and swords became important weapons and symbolic items. The oldest schools in existence today arose in the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573), known for long periods of inter-state warfare. Three major schools emerged during this period.