“Do not draw, do not force others to draw. According to legend, the secrets to the technique were revealed to him during his stay at a shrine where the spirit of the shrine visited him in a dream and said to him: Developed over 450 years ago, iaido was founded by the famed swordsman Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu of whom sought to hone his technique to perfection in order to enact vengeance against his father’s killer. Similar to kendo, iaido is a traditional Japanese martial art that focuses on training the mind and body through developing a spiritual appreciation of the art of the sword and the spiritual relation the blade has in connecting life, death, movement, and stillness. Here, Abe-san and a handful of fellow iaido practitioners are devoted to assuring that in a world of smartphones, bullet trains, and skyscrapers that the ancient arts of the samurai are not only still being practiced, but that the skills and techniques bequeathed down to them by their predecessors will still be passed down from one generation on to the next. Less than 45 minutes away from Yamagata City by car, Murayama City is most famed as the birthplace of iaido (pronounced ee-Ay-doe), a traditional Japanese sword art dating back to the 15th century. Nestled into a fertile river valley enclave of the Mogami River, with snow-crested mountains looming on all sides is the quiet town of Murayama. With nearly 30 years of training and experience, 21st-century samurai Yoshihiro Abe is carrying the traditional Japanese swordsmanship art of iaido into the modern era preserving not only the past but also embracing the future.
In one swift movement, the head of the rolled tatami mat suddenly tumbles to the floor and the swordmaster resheaths his katana. The blink of an eye, the flash of steel, and the flutter of the blade.
0 kommentar(er)
