Shinmyōken

Pursuing the ancient Shinmyōken

Pursuing the Ancient Shinmyoken Written by Munenori Yagyū ( 柳生 宗矩 1571 – 1646) , Translated by Hiroaki Sato,

Transcribed by Luke Crocker

Shinkage-Ryū Heihō Mokuroku (The New Shadow Tradition’s Catalogue of the Methods of War;新陰流兵法目録) Shinmyōken (Divine Sword; 神明剣) When the opponent assumes the katsuninken1 posture, do the same and move forward to attack. When he tries to dodge, move up to him, lay your sword across his chest, put your left leg between his legs, and by pushing your knee against his, force him down. [No illustration.]

Katsujin-ken (The sword that gives life; 活人剣) Shinmyōken2 神明剣 Shinmyōken, or divine sword. Addendum: the attention to the “seat” must also be given to the body and the legs. Shinmyōken is of ultimate importance. The body has a spot so designated.3 In referring to your own body, the ken (sword; 剣)4 of shinmyōken should be understood to be the actual sword. This is because the sword doesn’t leave its “seat,” whether you hold it to the right or to the left. In referring to your opponent’s body, the ken (sword; 剣) should be understood to be ken (observation; 見). Observation is vital because you cut into your opponent by giving close attention to the seat of his sword. Hence, the ideographic differentiation. (Hiroaki, 1985, p. 84)

Shin and Myō 神と妙 Interpretations of the two ideographs, shin and myō.

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活人剣構 Katsuninken-gamae, a form of Gedan-gamae. Different from the fighting technique of the same name. See p. 51 of the Sword and the Mind. 3 Mitsuyoshi explains: Shinmyōken “is where the sword settles. It is the six-inch area around the navel.” He adds that shuji shuriken, suigetsu, and Shinmyōken are the basics of swordsmanship, “from which all other schemes derive.” 4 Modern term for sword, 剣 often used in reference to the katana. Oldest examples of this refer to the Assembly (sen; 僉) of the sword (tō; 刀), referring to metallurgy. At this time period (around 1200’s) the term Tōjutsu (刀術) was used to refer to the use of curved swords. Some documents, usually from China, use 剣 to refer to doubleedged straight swords, at this time called Tsurugi (剣). (Hinatsu, 1715) 2

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Pursuing the ancient Shinmyōken

“When shin exists inside, myō appears outside. This is called shinmyō.” Take a tree. Because it has shin (divinity, core; 神) inside, the flowers bloom and emit fragrance, the green rises, and the leaves and branches flourish. These outward manifestations are myō (subtlety, exquisiteness; 妙). The shin of a tree cannot be pinpointed as such even if you split the tree; but without shin, neither the flowers nor the green will show on the outside. Likewise, the shin of a man cannot be pinpointed as such even if you tear his body asunder; but because he has shin inside himself, he can perform a variety of skills. Because he has shin installed in the seat of shinmyōken, a variety of myō appear through his hands and feet, enabling the flowers to blossom in a fight, so to speak. For the mind, shin is the master. Shin remains inside and uses the mind outside. The mind, in turn, uses the services of the spirit (ki; 氣). If the mind, which uses the services of the spirit while staying abroad for shin, were to stay in one spot, the purpose would not be achieved. For this reason it is vital not to let the mind tarry in one place. Suppose a master sends his servant on an errand and the servant stays put at his destination; his errand won’t be done. If your mind stays with an object and does not return to where it belongs, your ability as a swordsman will be compromised. Because of this, not letting your mind tarry in one place is vital not only in swordsmanship, but in everything else.”5 (Hiroaki, 1985, p. 85)

Transcriber’s Note: The term shinmyōken appears through numerous sources in Japanese classical manuscripts and documents, mostly pertaining to heihō (Methods of Warfare; 兵法). In Natori Masazumi’s writings of the Shoninki (Correct Enduing Writings; 正忍記)6 we find the following passage: “Suppose you have to face the enemy without any weapons or armor, you can issue forth good speech when it is needed and keep your nerve and wits about you. He may never assault you because of this and it may turn out that nothing happened at all. This is because your mind is working properly to fulfill the purpose and it shows what is called shinmyōken 心妙剣, this is the ability to face an enemy and understand, by sensitivity, his mind and intentions and penetrate his intended plan. With the finest of speech you can kill people without a blade or revive them without medicine; all because of the true value of your mind, wits and speech. When you master this, you can glide on the edge of a sword or run up an icy hill. All these things can be attained because of the dynamics of your mind.” (Cummins, 2011. P.170) Already we see a number of different kanji used to write shinmyōken, and each brings a new perspective to the principle.

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See Fudōchi, p. 111 of same source. Authored in 1681.

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Pursuing the ancient Shinmyōken

Now if we are to trace this term back to the earliest use, it can be found in a bujutsu tradition of NenRyū (念流), founded in 1368 by Sōma Shirō Yoshimoto (相馬四朗義元). Their use of the term shinmyōken can be found in the manuscript “Nen-ryū Heihō Shintoku (念流兵法心得) as thus: “The school (Nen-ryū; 念流) conforms to the order of the universe. The art of our school is practiced through multitudes of things. When a disciple manages to acquire the shinmyōken (心 明剣)7 of our school, he can understand and control the things before they occur and thus follow what is intended for him. This destiny lies in each thing and action, which we must correctly achieve without any negligence.” (Imamura, 1982, p.393) It’s interesting to see these variations of the same word, yet even with each of these variations, there’s the same common denominator: observation of the subtle, or subtle observation, as would be demanded of the shinobi in the shoninki, where the spy would gather information in a way that is undetectable, and thus, be able to “win” or leave without physical confrontation. For Nen-ryū, the perspective of shinmyōken is the observance of one’s own life, to learn deeply from life’s experiences, and to build a sort of spiritual armor that not only allows one to keep his nerves in situations of extreme stress, but also bring this experience to a stage where he may “understand and control [these] things before they occure.” In the Shinkage-ryū heihō mokuroku, we have shinmyōken as 神明剣, for the movement described in the kata, it would be necessary to be able to observe the enemy’s intentions in order to read their evasive maneuver and cut them. While in the Shinkage-ryū Katsujin-ken no maki, we find the suggestion of reading 神明剣 as 神明見, again, observing the enemy’s form, sword position, grip, etc. and in a way that they don’t know what you’re up to. Then in the next entry 神と妙 it returns to the emphasis of the subtle. All this would appear to have a weak connection to each source if it weren’t for the fact that all these sources are connected by the influence of Nen-Ryū. This tradition has been identified as influencing such traditions as Kage-ryū (影流), Shinkage-ryū (新影流), Nitō-ryū (二刀流), Chūjō-ryū (中條流), Toda-ryū (富田流), and more. It would appear that by the evidence provided, there is a rather strong connection between each of these sources, implying perhaps, that each one of these are different perspectives on the same principle, and though the ages, these each grew and developed in their own environment.

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“The shinmyōken is a state of mind, a bodily attitude that rises from the control of three fundamental principles that one finds in the very first school of bujutsu to begin with Nen-ryū. It is about the Kako no jutsu (過去の術), the technique of the past, genzai no jutsu (現在の術), the technique of the present, and finally mirai no jutsu (未来の 術) the technique of the future. It’s a whole practical knowledge based on life experience that makes it possible to avoid danger and to sense what is about to occur. It is about the wisdom to apply knowledge in the moment in order to be able to envisage and to avoid the things to come. It results in a state in which the behavior of the sword reflects a luminous heart.” (Zoughari, 2010, p. 172)

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Pursuing the ancient Shinmyōken

Works Cited Cummins, Antony and Masazumi Natori. True Path of the Ninja (Translation of the Shininki 正忍記). Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2011 (1681). Hinatsu, Shigetaka. Honchō Bugei Shōden, Short Historie of the Martial Arts of Japan. Tōkyō, 1715. Hiroaki, Sato. The Sword and the Mind (Translation of the Hyōhō Kadensho 兵法家伝書). Trans. Sato Hiroaki. New York: Overlook Press, 1985 (1571-1646. Imamura, Yoshio. Nohon Budō Taikei. Vol. 2. Tōkyō, 1982. 10 vols. Zoughari, Kacem. Ninja, ANcient Shadow Warriors of Japan. Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2010.

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