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ABOUT THE BOOK

Dave Lowry juxtaposes his singular experience as an adept student of kenjutsu (the art of swordsmanship) under a Japanese teacher in St. Louis with a riveting account of the samurai tradition in Japan. Intertwining tales of the masters with reflections on his own apprenticeship in the samurais arts, he reveals in their time-honored methods a way of life with profound relevance to modern times. The result is a fascinating, singular autobiography. Lowry captures the sense of wonder and mystery that makes martial arts compelling to so many practitioners. Even those who do not practice martial arts will delight in this unusual coming-of-age story.

DAVE LOWRY is an accomplished martial artist, calligrapher, and writer. He is the restaurant critic for St. Louis Magazine and writes regularly for a number of magazines on a wide variety of subjects, many of them related to Japan and the Japanese martial arts. He is the author of numerous books including Autumn Lightning: The Education of an American Samurai, Sword & Brush: The Spirit of the Martial Arts, Clouds in the West: Lessons from the Martial Arts of Japan, and The Connoisseurs Guide to Sushi.

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Autumn Lightning

The Education of an American Samurai

Dave Lowry

Foreword by Daniel Furuya

Shambhala

Boston & London

2013

For my parents, who showed me the dream, and for my Sensei, who showed me the Way.

SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS, INC.

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Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

1985 by Dave Lowry

Cover art: Woodblock print by Nakai Yoshitaki (18411899)

Cover design: Jonathan Sainsbury

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The Library of Congress catalogues the original paperback edition of this work as follows:

Lowry, David.

Autumn lightning.

1. Lowry, David. 2. SwordsmenUnited StatesBiography. 3. SwordplayJapan. 4. Samurai. I. Title

GV1144.2.L68A32 1985 796.86. 84-23562

eISBN 978-0-8348-2331-0

ISBN 978-1-57062-115-4 (1995)

ISBN 978-0-87773-305-8 (1985)

The bamboo survives due to its resiliency. It can bend with the force of the wind and the weight of the snow because its roots grow deep and strong. The roots of Budo, the traditional Japanese martial arts, go back over a thousand years. But, in modern times, many of these roots have been cut, transplanted to other countries, or trampled upon by the march of time in their own homeland. To survive, Budo has changed and adapted itself to its new environment considerably. We must, however, always be mindful that by straying too far away from the original nature of Budo, we may be in danger of losing its essence. Change is the law of nature. But we must never forget that, in the face of the adverse winds of time, the resiliency of Budo, like that of the bamboo, depends on the strength and depth of its roots.

As a student of martial arts for many years, I fear we may be losing these roots altogether. Indeed, we may be sacrificing the tree for the fruit and achieving only a temporary gain. It is with great pleasure then that I note that devoted students and scholars of the martial arts such as Dave Lowry are making great efforts to recultivate these roots for the benefit of all. Mr. Lowry has undertaken two difficult projects: recounting his own personal experiences in martial arts training under a traditional teacher, and relating the development of the Yagyu Shinkage ryu, an outstanding school of traditional Japanese swordsmanship. I hope this unique approach will bring deep insight into the martial arts for all interested students.

Daniel Furuya

(Daniel Furuya, an aikido teacher in Los Angeles, California, is a leading authority on the culture of feudal Japan, with a particular interest in the classical martial arts of that country and in the swordsmanship of the Yagyu school of fencing. Furuya Sensei is at the fourth dan in hombu aikido and at the second dan in the Muso Shinden ryu of iaido.)

When I began to plan this book I knew that a good deal of material would need to be translated because there has been almost no serious literature written in English on the classical martial arts of Japan. For help, I went to a young Japanese man who had immigrated to the United States a few years ago and was lecturing on Oriental philosophy and teaching Zen at a nearby college. Our conversation on Zen was rambling, punctuated by long, companionable silences. Finally, I got around to telling him of my problem. Many of the older treatises I was using for research were couched in archaic Japanese, so if I stumbled during my efforts at translating them, I wanted to count on his assistance. He readily agreed and we talked on, discussing some of the difficulties of rendering ideas from one language into another. After a prolonged pause, he asked me why I practiced kenjutsu, the techniques of wielding the Japanese sword. Because Zen and swordsmanship have had a lengthy and intimate relationship in Japan, I was surprised at the question. I started to explain how a study of the art led to improvement in physical and mental capabilities, but the Zen man interrupted. No, he said firmly. Kenjutsu is only killing with the sword.

As attitudes and institutions progress so rapidly in our world, we risk becoming further alienated from previous generations. Even among the Japanese, it seems, appreciation of the traditional arts of the samurai is waning. I cannot speak for the whole of those who are still devoted to these arts, nor can I even speak from the perspective of a Japanese. Yet it is worthwhile, I think, to present modern society a personal account of an education in swordsmanship and the other classical arts of the samurai, revealing them as endeavors more meaningful in purpose and with deeper ends than just killing. From the experience, as I hope is found in these pages, they are indeed, very much more.

Naturally, whenever anyone devotes time to a particular discipline, he acquires knowledge and insights that give him a wider perception of it. My involvement with the martial crafts of feudal Japan has extended for over half my life. In an effort to put the events of those years into a sort of readable order, I have altered time and characters and places a bit. For that reason, I must say that while the contents of this book arent all factual, they are all trueembarrassingly so at times, for me. Additionally, I have ascribed conversations and personal details to historical characters to make their stories more understandable, but all of those individuals did exist and contribute to the development of the Yagyu Shinkage ryu, and their actions, as Ive recorded them, are a matter of fact.