| We define Kenshibu as a dance to the recital of Shigin( traditional Japanese song ) with a sword or a fan. But Kenshibudo is deeper than this definition. There are many levels of understanding to be achieved. |
| Dances with a sword existed in the Nara and Heian Periods.(710-1191) But it was a different type from modern Kenbu.The history of modern Kenbu is not so old. It is said the beginning of modern Kenbu dates back to "Gekiken Kogyo" by Kenkichi Sakakibara in the Meiji Restoration(1874). Toyoda Ryu Kenshibudo comes from Kinbusa Ryu established in 1877 by Kanichiro Kinbusa and Hayabuchi Ryu.There are two Japanese words that mean "a dance", the one is "odori" and the other is " mai". "Odori" is for an ordinary dance. "Mai" has something more refined. In Toyoda Ryu, students regard Kenshibu as a " Mai " and try to perform an artistic dance on the stage . |
Kenbu(Sword Dance)
A brave dance to a recital of Shigin with a sword. Kenbu requires an air of dignity and spirit along with a powerfullness and bigness as a Samurai. It is nessary to master many aspects of Iaido since we use a Japanese sword.
| A dance to a recital of Shigin with a fan.Some people sometimes regard Shibu as a womanish dance. Hpwever,we just use a fan instead of a sword. Shibu requires us to use the same air of dignity such as Kenbu. |
| We dance to the
Shigin poem in class. The instructor demonstrates a dance to the students
and the students follow the dance.After repeating many times the body
naturally begins to respond and remember the movements.We learn how to
move our body efficently and keep trying to improve the motions. We are
pursuing a dance full of poetic sentiment. So we learn classic Chinese
poems and understand the meanings together with a histarical background. Even when we think we have improved a lot, we can still find another higher level of the dance.This is the depth of Kenshibu world. |
