Dojo and Kamiza

Dōjō and kamiza

Early in 2020, when the Covid-19 virus started to spread in Europe, the French government ordered a lockdown of the country, including the closing of all “nonessential” activities, including businesses, sport venues and dōjō. It is clear to me–having practiced and trained in Aikido for fifty years–that the dōjō is an essential part of my life; without it, my life would not be what it is.

The term “dōjō” is familiar to people who train in martial arts. Originally, it derives from the Sanskrit term bodhimanda, which according to Haribhadra, a Buddhist philosopher, is “a place used as a seat, where the essence of enlightenment is present”. Bodhimanda refers to the place under a tree where Buddha Sakyamuni experienced his awakening (bodhi). In Chinese, bodhimanda is written as 道場 and reads dàochǎng in pinyin transcription, dōjō in Japanese. Therefore, the dōjō–the manda–is the seat of enlightenment.

However, in Japan, until the end of the Edo era, martial arts training places were called budōjō (武道場) or keikoba (稽古場), and the word dōjō apparently only became of general use from the end of the 19^th century, after the Restoration of Meiji.

The Restoration of Meiji marked the end of the Samurai class ruling of Japan, and with that, the end of the rule of the sword. With the transition from a feudal system and the liquidation of the four traditional social divisions [bushi (warriors), nōmin (farmers), kōgyō (craftsmen) and shōnin (merchants)], the country entered a phase of uncertainty and disarray. The shōnin class soon climbed to the top of the social ladder, while the bushi began to quickly disappear with the abolition of their privileges.

Japan then witnessed the appearance of a multitude of sects (of Shinto allegiance) in which people hoped to find answers to their social anguish. And with the fading of teaching and training in sword mastery, Japan also witnessed the emergence of new empty-handed Martial Arts. In 1882, Jigorō Kanō opened his Kōdōkan (講道館, literally “school for the study of the way”), a dōjō dedicated to Judō training, and Ueshiba Morihei’s Aikido Kobukan opened in 1933. Some weapon studies even resurfaced and in 1885, Negishi Shingorō founded the Yushinkan where Nakayama Hakudo studied Shindō Munen-Ryū and the Kendo Noma Dōjō was created in 1925.

The dōjō reproduced the social organization the Japanese people knew before the Meiji Restauration. The master acting as the clan leader and the dōjō members recreating the hierarchical system of sempai (senior) and kōhai (junior). The master and his family lived on the dojo premises and took care of his or her disciples or uchideshi (live-in students) and, in turn, were fully devoted to the master. After the Second World War, this system all but disappeared except in the world of Sumo where the heya still operate in a similar way, even to this day.

The Japanese spiritual life is based on both Buddhism and Shintoism. The dōjō, as a place where body, mind and spirit are trained as one originally borrowed from the Buddhism philosophy but true to its Japanese roots, the dōjō became consecrated by the Shinto rituals and inhabited by a kamiza (literally, “deity seat”) hosting the shin kyo or sacred objects (kagami (mirror)[1], ken (sword)[2] and hoseki (jewel)), and a kamidana (house of the deities) where Takemikazuchi-no-kami, the warrior and thunder god sometimes resides, in a house decorated with a shimenawa (hanging rope) and gohei (jagged strips of white paper)[3]. Daily offerings of rice, salt and water[4] can also be found in the kamiza as well as evergreen sprigs (sakaki)[5] or flowers. All of these were symbols of a religion that the Meiji government strove to revive in a nation confused by revolutionary changes.

Yet most of these symbols are not always familiar to Westerners, let alone understood, even by those studying martial arts. In most Aikido dōjō in Western countries, the kamiza decorations have been stripped to a simple Aikido calligraphy kakejiku (hanging scroll) and a photograph of O-Sensei, the founder of the art. Sometimes, a picture of Kisshomaru Ueshiba, O-Sensei’s son and second dōshu (keeper of the way), who revived Aikido after World War II, also graces the kamiza.

Whether in full regalia or in its simplest form, the kamiza should be seen as an expression of gratitude by those who study Aikido toward those who created, and help developed it.

The viral pandemic that hit the world in 2020 and continued through 2021 has shown us how fragile and uncertain our way of living and even our lives can be. And consequently, the significance of the dōjō has then been fully revealed, its existence and survival more essential than ever.

But if the dōjō is the place where one might find enlightenment through study and practice, its materiality is irrelevant. A line of the Vimalakirti sutra that reads: Jikishin kore dōjō (直心是道場), can be translated as “When the mind is straight, there is the dōjō”. In other words, no matter the conditions or the surroundings, only training and practice are relevant.

[1] The significance of Kagami (mirror) is very important. Its first reference may be found in the Nihon Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters). The main point for us to understand is that the mirror reflects ‘everything as it is’. It cuts through all thoughts and labels that have been placed upon us, by us and others, to show us as how we truly are. Equally, if not more importantly, it represents the ‘pure heart and mind of that which we call God’. In essence “you may fool yourself, but you cannot fool God”. (Spiros G. Drossoulakis, (Martial Arts Instructor in Athens, Greece)

[2] Either a sword, a sacred gift from the Kami, or a spear, with which Izanagi O’Mikoto stirred the waters below the Floating Bridge of Heaven (the Milky Way), the droplets from which formed the islands of Japan. Or in some cases a bow (Floating Bridge) and a humming arrow (dispelling negative energies). (Spiros G. Drossoulakis, (Martial Arts Instructor in Athens, Greece)

[3] The Gohei, originally made of white silk, mark or show the entrances to sacred places or objects and may be found either placed on the Sakaki or on the straw rope (Shimenawa) marking the entrance to a shrine (Jinja). (Spiros G. Drossoulakis, (Martial Arts Instructor in Athens, Greece)

[4] Salt is a natural purifier and should retain its natural energy, thus the kind of typical daily table salt is not used. Rice is the largest, naturally grown, food product in Japan, carrying people through the Autumn, Winter and Spring months. Rice represents strength and forms the central part of the Kanji for Ki. In many cases, rice was given as payment for work or service. A Samurai for example, received measurements called Koku depending upon his status, at the ending of each year. Water, a natural, powerful element is used not only to preserve life, but to purify it. Many Shinto ceremonies involve purification in cold water, called Misogi. Other foods and fruits are also offered seasonally. (Spiros G. Drossoulakis, (Martial Arts Instructor in Athens, Greece)

[5] The presence of greenery in the form of evergreen sprigs, called Sakaki, is common in the Kamiza. The Sakaki coming from nature reminds us that life is an ongoing process, always evolving, ever new. Pine is another acceptable form of green. The Sakaki is placed on the shelf, in bottles, below the main part of the altar which houses the Shin Kyo. Sakaki is sold in prepared bunches in Japan. Only the best is chosen, and any dead leaves or parts are removed. (Spiros G. Drossoulakis, (Martial Arts Instructor in Athens, Greece)