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Jojutsu

Also known as	Art of The Jo Staff, or Way of The Jo Staff
Focus	Weaponry
Country of origin	Japan
Creator	Musō Gonnosuke
Olympic sport	no

Jōdō (杖道:じょうどう^?), meaning "the way of the jō", or jōjutsu (杖術:じょうじゅつ^?) is a Japanese martial art using short staffs called jō. The art is similar to bōjutsu, and is strongly focused upon defense against the Japanese sword. The jō is a short staff, usually about 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) long. The martial art of jōdō was the province of professional warriors, so it was usually not used by travelers to ward off aggressive bandits or swordsmen, as one might expect.

Legendary origin of the first school of Jōjutsu[link]

Shintō Musō-ryū jōjutsu (sometimes known as Shinto Muso-ryu jōdo - "Shindo" is also a valid pronunciation for the leading character), is reputed to have been invented by the great swordsman Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (夢想 權之助 勝吉, fl. c.1605, date of death unknown) about 400 years ago, after a bout won by the famous Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, 1584–1645). According to this tradition, Gonnosuke challenged Musashi using a bō, or long staff, a weapon he was said to wield with great skill. Although there are no records of the duel outside of the oral tradition of the Shintō Musō-ryū, it is believed that Musashi caught Gonnosuke's bō in a two sword "X" block (jūji-dome). Once in this position, Gonnosuke could not move in such a way as to prevent Musashi from delivering a counterattack, and Musashi elected to spare his life.

Gonnosuke then withdrew to a Shinto shrine to meditate. After a period of purification, meditation, and training, Gonnosuke claimed to have received a divine vision. By shortening the length of the bō staff from roughly 185 cm to 128 cm (or, in the Japanese measurements, four shaku, two sun and one bu), he could increase the versatility of the weapon, giving him the ability to use techniques created for the long staff, spear fighting and swordsmanship. The length of the new weapon was longer than the tachi (long sword) of the period, but short enough to allow the reversal of the striking end of the jō in much tighter quarters than the longer bō. Gonnosuke could alter the techniques he used with the jō stick, depending on the opponent he faced, to provide himself with many different options of attack. He named his style Shintō Musō-ryū and challenged Musashi again. This time, when Musashi attempted to use the jūji-dome block on the jō staff, Gonnosuke was able to wheel around the other end of the staff (because of the reduced length), forcing Musashi into a position where he had to concede defeat. Returning the courtesy he received during their previous duel, Gonnosuke spared Musashi's life.

This may be a fabricated origin of the creation of jōjutsu, as the oral tradition of the Shintō Musō-ryū is the only mention of this duel, or for that matter, a person defeating Musashi in combat. Witness accounts of Musashi's life, as well as his own writings, insist he retired from dueling undefeated. What is known, however, is that Gonnosuke eventually became the martial arts instructor for the Kuroda clan of northern Kyūshū, where jōjutsu remained an exclusive art of the clan until the early 1900s, when the art form was taught to the general public.

Modern practice[link]

The modern study of the jō, known as jōdō (way of the jō), has essentially two branches. One is the koryū, or "old school" jōdō, which also incorporates other arts and weapons, such as the short staff (tanjō), the chained sickle (kusarigama), the police truncheon (jutte), and a lesser-known art called hojōjutsu, the art of tying up one's opponent after subduing him. All of these point to jōdō's strong connections to law-enforcement, which is probably what it was originally used for. The other branch is called Seitei Jōdō, which is practiced by the All Japan Kendo Federation (全日本剣道連盟 Zen Nippon Kendō Renmei) in conjunction with kendo, the art of Japanese fencing, and iaidō, the art of drawing and cutting with a real blade. Seitei Jōdō starts with 12 pre-arranged forms (kata), which are drawn from the koryū system. After mastering these 12 kata the student continues with the study of the koryū. Today, jōjutsu has also been adapted for use in the Japanese police force, who refer to the art as keijō-jutsu, or police stick art.

See also[link]

• Zen Nihon kendō renmei Jōdō (Seitei Jōdō)
• Stick fighting
• Aikido - Martial art that incorporates jō training. Note that this is not the jō training practiced in jōdō.
• Shinto Muso-ryu
• Aiki-jō
• Shugijutsu
• Jogo do Pau

References[link]

• Michael Finn: The Way of the Stick Paul H Crompton, 1984, ISBN 0-901764-72-8
• Pascal Krieger: Jodô - la voie du bâton / The way of the stick (bilingual French/English), Geneva (CH) 1989, ISBN 2-9503214-0-2
• Matsui: Jodo Nyuumon (Japanese, with illustration of all seitei gatas, kihon) Tokyo, 2002, ISBN 4-88458-018-4

Lists of martial arts that include Jodo/Jojutsu[link]

• Aikido
• Hoten-ryu - jojutsu
• Jigen Ryu - jojutsu
• Keijojutsu - jo for Japanese Riot Police
• Kukishin-ryu
• Muhi Muteki-ryu - jojutsu
• Nagano ryu-"Jojutsu"
• Owari Tenshin Koryu - Jojutsu
• Shinto Muso-ryu
• Sho Bu Do Bu Jitsu Ju Jitsu
• Shojitsu Kenri Kataichi-Ryu
• Suiō-ryū - Koryū whose curriculum includes jojutsu
• Takenouchi-ryu
• Takeda Ryu Nakamura Ha
• Taura Muso Ryu kobudo
• Tendo-ryu
• Toda-ha Buko-ryu
• Yamate-ryu

External links[link]

• European Jodo Federation
• Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo Website
• http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_taylor_0900.htm
• http://koryu.com/library/wmuromoto1.html
• Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi article in Fight Times magazine
• Jojutsu article in Fight Times magazine
• Jodo information at Jikishin-kai Organization Website
• Takeda Ryu Maroto Ha - Jodo and Shugi Jutsu
• Some Jodo and Aikijo Clips - Romania Takeda Ryu
• - Jojutsu Seminar
• - Nihon Bugei Demo in 1988, Tokyo which includes also Jo demonstration from various Koryu
• - Joshin Dojo - Enseignement du Jôdô à Bâle, Suisse
• - hokujoukai
• - Katsushika Jodokai

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Nishioka Tsuneo

Nishioka Tsuneo (西岡常夫) (born 1924) - is a Japanese martial artist and the founder of the Shinto Muso-ryu Jōdō group Sei Ryu Kai (清隆会). As of 2002, Nishioka has been teaching at the Bunbukan in Tokyo, Japan.

Nishioka Tsuneo started his training in Shinto Muso Ryu (神道夢想流) under Shimizu Takaji (清水隆次) in 1938 at the age of 14. Nishioka studied constantly with Shimizu Takaji until Shimizu’s death in 1978. Nishioka received his first scroll of transmission (Oku-iri) in 1941, the second (Shomokuroku) in 1943 and (Gomokuroku) in 1966. In 1975 Nishioka received his Menkyo Kaiden or "license of full transmission" from Shimizu Takaji.^[1] During the above timeline Nishioka started teaching and training with the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei (ZenKenRen) but has ceased to be involved with them and has only returned to teach occasionally ^[2]

Nishioka created the Sei Ryu Kai in honor of Shimizu Takaji after his death by using the kanji found in his name to form Sei (or Shi) 清；Ryu 隆 –and Kai 会, which could be interpreted as “Shimizu Takaji’s” group ^[3] Nishioka actively teaches people in Japan and hosts several students from around the world. He heads several international groups and through them has traveled the globe several times through the years to teach Shinto Muso Ryu Jo and spread the art.

References[link]

1. ^ Nishioka Shishou – SMRJ Personal History. (n.d.) Retrieved December 3, 2006 from: http://www.jodojo.com/eng/sensei.htm
2. ^ Tsuneo, N. (2006, December 3). Personal interview. Conducted by the Ai-jo-kai in Nagoya, Japan.
3. ^ Tsuneo, N. (2006, December 3). Personal interview. Conducted by the Ai-jo-kai in Nagoya, Japan.

External links[link]

• Official site of the Sei Ryu Kai Dojo (English) (Japanese) (Spanish)

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