by Manon Soavi & Romaric Rifleu

Part 2: The “Edo” Style

In the first part of this article on Niten ichi ryū, we traced bujutsuka and martial arts researcher Hirakami Nobuyuki’s investigation into Musashi’s art. His work on the almost extinct lineages of Niten Ichi ryū led him to discover the Iori lineage, which had preserved some characteristics typical of the koryūs of the Edo period. This discovery, which shook him up, led him to a better understanding of the kyokugi (lit. prowess, performance, art, ability), the potential of Musashi’s art. The very “Edo-Style” peculiarities of Ioriden Niten Ichi ryū make sense in a given martial system, in line with its era. We will now discuss some examples of these peculiarities.

Uchitachi is the teacher

In a koryū, unlike in modern budōs, uchitachi – the one who attacks (uke we would say in Aikido) – has a teaching role. It is essential that they give the right intensity and control the speed and rhythm of the kata. They must adapt their attack to the abilities of shitachi (tori in Aikido), who is in the process of learning. Gradually, uchitachi will modulate their attack to help the beginner to progress, to challenge her/him or to help the beginner work on a particular aspect. This role is therefore played by the teacher or an experienced student.

This is why, whenever Hirakami came to Akimitsu sensei’s dojo to practise Ioriden Niten Ichi ryū, the latter, despite being 92 years old, always put on a keikogi and practised directly with him. This way of doing things is the essence of the transmission from master to student in the koryūs (this has also been maintained in the Niten Ichi ryū lineages that were modernised after the war).

Omote – Ura

Just as characteristically, Hirakami discovered that in Ioriden each kata has two faces, an omote face and an ura face. Again, the meaning is different from Aikido, where this distinction roughly refers to going in front of or behind uke. In the Edo style of traditional koryūs, the omote katas refer to a basic version of the kata that it is essential for beginners to master. It is also this version that will be used in public demonstrations. In a context where it was vital for each school to keep its secrets, the omote kata was very useful. Sometimes, final cuts were added in order to blur the audience’s memory. Since it is easier for the brain to remember the beginning and end of a sequence, this made it possible to hide the decisive technique in the middle. At the same time, omote katas give the students the key principles, they do not actually hide them – they are, as Ellis Amdur would say, ‘hidden in plain sight’ ¹.

The ura face in Japan means what is inside, behind, but also what is not directly visible. It touches on all aspects of Japanese culture: architecture, art, combat, human relationships, etc. For katas, the ura form can be a more pragmatic version or one with variations that are sometimes minor, sometimes quite significant. While the omote kata sets out the principles, the ura kata gives the keys to “open the door”. In fact, this is very much part of the ancient Japanese cosmovision since there is no black without white, no negative without positive, no yin without yang. It is a dynamic tension between two poles that nourish each other.

Again, the riai of the katas – their principles – are best understood when there are both omote and ura versions. In Ioriden Niten Ichi ryū, there are five two-sword omote katas and their five ura counterparts – so are there for the one-sword katas.

Breathing

Ioriden Niten Ichi ryū places great importance on breathing. This is worked on through the five breathing exercises performed with the two swords and through rei – the salute. Each kata begins and ends with a particular way of doing the salute, working on the opening of the body at shoulder height and the suppleness of the wrists. While it is clear that the art of swordsmanship is often about breaking the rhythm, seizing the breath to get out of sync with it, to be able to do this you have to start by harmonising yourself. And to get in synchrony with the other, breathing is the key.

Maintaining calm breathing in order to maintain a certain inner calm, even in the face of a blade, was of course a crucial point. Breathing is the royal road to refocusing and staying clear-headed, not to mention all the benefits that a number of physical practices also make use of. So it makes sense in this martial tradition to have explicit exercises and postures that allow you to work on breathing and coordination.

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