Masago Takeshi on nito

In the previous instalment I wrote about the holding of the 1st Asia-Oceania Kendo Championship (1AOKC). Among the points worth noting, I mentioned that a large number of two-sword (nitō) competitors took part.

Here in Japan, too, there are swordsmen who wield two swords, and we even have several hachidan in nitō. In practice, however, nitō kenshi are a rare sight at tournaments. At this year's AOKC no fewer than 12 two-sword competitors took part (9 men and 3 women). The very fact that twelve competed in nito in a single tournament is something I cannot help marvelling at. As I noted last time, it is impossible to predict whether this was a one-off or whether their numbers will go on growing.

Many schools use two swords, but by far the most famous is the Niten Ichi-ryū of Musashi Miyamoto. In Musashi's The Book of Five Rings (Gorin no sho; Iwanami Bunko edition, annotated by Ichirō Watanabe), in the 'Earth' scroll (Chi no maki), in the section entitled 'On why this school is named after two swords', it says:

'The way of this school is that, from the very outset, the beginner trains in the Way while holding both the long sword (tachi) and the (short) sword in his hands — this is its true essence. When one is to lay down one's life, one should make full use of all one's equipment, leaving nothing unused. To die with one's weapons unused, left tucked at one's waist, cannot be one's true intent. Yet to hold something in both hands and wield it freely on either side is difficult — hence (one trains) so as to learn to handle the sword with one hand. (…) In order to learn to swing the long sword, one trains with two swords and learns to wield the sword one-handed — such is this Way.'

What is set out here is Musashi's thoroughly rationalist theory of technique for life-and-death combat. He also states that 'one must not adopt the attitude — as some do — of regarding this as a heterodox or false path (jadō)'. I suspect that present-day nitō kenshi, too, train with just this way of thinking as their foundation.

As a guide to nitō, the All Japan Kendo Federation published, in December, 2009, A Guide to Kendo Instruction: The Two-Sword Volume (Kendō shidō no tebiki: Nitō-hen). In the foreword, 'On Publication', the then president, Takeyasu Yoshimitsu, wrote:

'Two-sword kendo does indeed have its distinctive aspects, but in the history of swordsmanship there were many schools, and the two-sword technique continued to be taken up and to spread even after bamboo-sword (shinai) kendo came into being. (…) On the other hand, it is also true that a harmful trend became conspicuous: on the grounds that two blades are advantageous in a match, competitors were turned out shoddily and en masse (sosei-ranzō) who did not even grasp the basics of kendo. It was through this very course of events that, in post-war kendo, those who practise nitō came to be fewer than before the war. Even so — should well-trained nitō kenshi emerge, it will also help to ensure that proper instruction in the fundamentals reaches kendo practised with the shinai as well.'
Likewise, the same guidebook states, in the section entitled 'Modern Nitō' (Gendai nitō):

'The traditionally practised two-sword kendo, too, aims at the formation of people through the cultivation of high-level kendo practitioners grounded in the "Concept of Kendo"; and even in its "attitude towards training and instruction" it in no way differs from that of kendo with a single sword held in both hands (morote ittō).'

Furthermore, in the section entitled 'How Nitō Ought to Be', under the heading 'The Pursuit of Principle — a Correct "Ippon" —', it says:

'In two-sword kendo as well, it is imperative to cultivate rationally grounded methods of handling the shinai and to systematise them, so as not to fall into the mindset of "anything goes so long as the competition rules are observed". This is not about arbitrarily restricting the content of the activity; rather — while maintaining respect for the opponent's character and fighting fair and square by ethical means — it is about seeking what the proper form of the principle (rihō) of both the long and short swords ought to be, and putting it to use in unceasing training and correct instruction.'

The All Japan Kendo Federation continues to place nitō on this footing today. In countries and regions where kendo has only recently taken root and where a proper instructional framework is not yet in place, however, there is a danger that the basics may be neglected and that an 'anything goes' swordsmanship, practised by shoddily mass-produced (sosei-ranzō) nitō kenshi, might run rampant.

In future, therefore, adequate measures must be taken to ensure that proper instruction in the fundamentals reaches these new kendo countries and regions as well.

The term 'nitō-ryū' (二刀流, literally 'the school or style of two swords') has now come into very wide use. For example, the baseball player Shohei Ohtani, who combines the roles of pitcher and batter, is known worldwide as 'nitō-ryū' (a 'two-way' player).

'Nitō-ryū' has become a word that means not merely the literal 'holding of two blades' but also 'excelling at two abilities simultaneously at a high level'; it has come to designate a person active in two specialised fields.

In kendo, however, calling a nitō kenshi 'nitō-ryū' is taboo. The reason is that a school by the name of 'nitō-ryū' has never existed since ancient times. Even The Book of Five Rings speaks of 'Niten Ichi-ryū' or 'Nitō Ichi-ryū', and Musashi himself also called his two-sword art 'Enmei-ryū'. Two-sword techniques are handed down in other schools as well — Shintō Musō-ryū, Kashima Shintō-ryū, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, and others — yet none of these, whatever name it bears, calls itself 'nitō-ryū'.

It seems that the 'ryū' (流) in the commonly used 'nitō-ryū' does not denote a school (ryūha) at all, but rather carries the sense of a 'method' (shuhō) or 'style' (yōshiki) of handling two swords. Let us therefore, from now on, leave the appellation 'nitō-ryū' to fields outside kendo.