Hattori Hanzo is probably the most famous ninja in history thanks to the media. His name became known in pop culture with the film Kill Bill. Fans of Japanese martial arts can visit his resting place in Tokyo.
Hattori Hanzo
Tag Archives: temple
Nikko and the Procession of Warriors
The “procession of warriors” is a biannual event at the Nikko shrine. This event hosted each year in May and October. It commemorates the Tokugawa Shogunate, specifically Tokugawa Ieyasu who founded the Shogunate which ruled in peace for 250 years. The complex which contains over a dozen buildings, is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Buddhist temples and Shintoist shrines here are nothing less than spectacular. The sense of samurai history is even overwhelming.
The high point of this days in May and October feature a procession of 1000 samurai. re-enacting the re-internment of Tokugawa remains at Nikko.
A thousand samurai for a procession
Each group samurai are in authentic costume
During this festive occasion there are also demonstrations of martial skills such as Japanese archery (Kyudo) from horseback. Samurai were often expert horseman and had extraordinary combat skills in mounted archery.
The Tokugawa shogunate was the last feudal Japanese military government, which existed between 1603 and 1867. Nikko is a World Heritage Site with five major temples and shrines and several minor facilities. Nearby is the Imperial summer palace. (or villa). The villa has 106 rooms and was erected in Nikko in 1899, using parts of a Tokyo residence that originally served the Tokugawa family and then was part of the Imperial Palace.
Nikko is located in the mountains and is a 90 minute train ride from Tokyo. It is a must see for the martial artist (or anyone else) visiting Japan.
Samurai at the Imperial Palace
For over two hundred years samurai protected the Imperial Palace in Edo (now Tokyo). One of the more notable parts of the palace grounds is the complex of Samurai guard houses. There are three guardhouses (bansho) remaining all generally located near the East Gate of the Imperial Palace grounds. The East Gate was the main gate for the Edo Castle during the Tokugawa reign.
Just behind (and above) this guard house one can see another building protruding. This smaller building actually lies just outside the gate (but still on the Palace grounds). The building is a large Dojo and Imperial Palace guards train there daily in Kendo.
The guard house pictured above is the largest of remaining guard houses and located just inside the East Gate entrance area. It is called the “100 person 3rd guardhouse” – Hyakunin Bansho. As its name would imply this building housed approximately 100 samurai, chosen from the four main branches of the Tokugawa clan. The 100 samurai housed in this building and worked in shifts.
Samurai were assigned to one of three duties at the Palace: The stand and return (tachi-kaeri) retainers accompanied each diamyo from his domain to Edo. The samurai stationed in Edo (edo-zume) served the diamyo while at the Edo estate and back to his domain. The samurai permanently stationed in the capital (joofu) served exclusively in Edo.
Next to the East Gate guard house (on top) is a small garden. The gate house is on the way to the East Gardens.
The Imperial Palace grounds are a must see during the Sakura blossom season (mid March – Mid April). The views at this location are stunning during that time of year.
Budo Seminars for Foreigners
International Budo University
Each year in early March the International Budo University in Chiba, Japan hosts a three day seminar on Budo Spirit. During this three day seminar martial artists receive intensive instruction on Japanese martial arts (Kendo, Judo, Kyudo, Sumo, etc.) and the spirit of Budo. Seminar participants are allowed to pick two Japanese martial arts for intensive instruction.
The IBU campus overlooks the Pacific Ocean from the mountains above Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture. The train station is a fifteen-minute walk from campus, and Tokyo is about one and a half hours away by Limited Express train (That’s the fastest of the local trains).
Since its founding in 1984, International Budo University has evolved into one of Japan’s top-tier private sports school as well as one of the world’s few research institutions in the field of Budo studies (I’m guessing all the rest are also in Japan). IBU has over 2000 students. Teaching and research encompasses a wide variety of Budo related subjects including Budo culture, Budo education, the internationalization of Budo, Budo and the impaired, and Budo history. The university also offers programs in sports science, sports management, coaching science, athletic training, exercise science, health science, sports education, and sports business.
IBU is an attempt to internationalize the Japanese philosophy of Budo. The University conducts seminars for foreign Budo practitioners. Also, their one-year intensive course (plan on hard training at least six hours per day) is designed to give twenty foreign practitioners of Judo or Kendo the requisite knowledge and training to teach Budo in their home countries.
Martial Arts of Japan 