Tessue, Yamaoka

Yamaoka was born in Edo (now Tokyo ) named Ono Tetsutaro. His father was a servant of the Tokugawa Shogunate , and his mother was the daughter of a Shinto priest in . Yamaoka was fencing with swords from the age of nine, starting with the Jikishinkage-ryu tradition, and then he studied the martial art of Hokusin Itto-ryu . Later, his family moved to Takayama , where he began to practice the style of fencing Ono-ha Itto-ryu . When he was 17 years old, he returned to Edo and entered the Kobukan government military institute and the Yamaoka Spear Fencing School headed by Yamaoka Seizan. Soon, after Yamaoka came to this school, Seizan died, Yamaoka married his sister, to continue the name Yamaoka. From an early age, Yamaoka showed devotion and talent to the martial arts . As he developed, he became famous for his art of fencing with swords, calligraphy , his love of drinking and sleeping.

In 1856 he became an observer instructor in fencing with swords in Kobukan. In 1863, he became an overseer of the Roshigumi (the military forces of the ronin , or samurai without their patron, who served as an additional hired force for the Shogunal army). In 1868, he was appointed head of the Seiyitai, the elite bodyguard of the 15th Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu . He went to Sunpu (now Shizuoka ) to negotiate with Saigo Takamori and held a meeting between Saigo and Katsu Kaishu , thus surrendering Edo Castle to the imperial forces. After the Meiji Restoration, he became an employee in the Shizuoka area, then received a short-term governorship in Imari Prefecture. Later he served at the court of Emperor Meiji as a chamberlain and close adviser. Yamaoka died at the age of 53 years on July 19, 1888 from stomach cancer . Before his death, it is claimed, he first wrote a deathbed poem, then sat down, taking an official posture and, closing his eyes, plunged into death ^[1] .

Yamaoka, in his search for higher skills in the art of the sword, came to the idea of ​​combining martial art and Zen - Buddhism - this is evidenced by the very name of the school (“muto” means “without a sword”, which cannot but be reminded of the famous Zen expression “musin” - “without of consciousness ”,“ lack of consciousness ”), as well as the name of his dojo -“ Syumpukan ”-“ Hall of the spring wind ”, borrowed from the poem of the 13th century Zen master Bukko Kokusi. In his youth, Yamaoka Tessu went through a very harsh training session in the dojo of one of the best Ken-Jutsu masters Tiba Shusaku. Tessu did not know defeat, until he encountered in the battle with the master Asari Gimei. Yamaoka attacked first, violently striking with all his might, but the whole explosion of aggression did not make any impression on his opponent, he did not even change his face. In this fight, Tessu suffered the first defeat in his life, but he was not offended - just the enemy turned out to be a master of a much higher flight.

To achieve the same level of skill, Tessu became a student of Asari. At that time he was 28 years old. Being engaged under the guidance of a new teacher, Yamaoka became more and more convinced of his strength. Asari was impossible to force to retreat, to impose defensive tactics on him. His body was like a rock, and an awesome look as if imprinted in the minds of opponents. One of the most important methods of achieving a breakthrough (prepared by many years of training according to a special method) in the knowledge of the truth of being is hyakunin kumite .

Asari simply suppressed his spirit, even when Yamaoka closed his eyes, his inner gaze was the intrepid face of a mentor and his smashing sword, from which there was no salvation. Yamaoka long struggled unsuccessfully with himself in search of a state of consciousness that would allow him not to break under the heavy gaze of a mentor. In search of a solution to this problem, he turned for help to the famous Zen master Tekishu of Monastery, in Kyoto .

Takisui offered him a koan , which was supposed to lead to the desired insight. This koan was a short poem of five lines:

When two shining swords meet,
Nowhere to run.
Move calmly like a lotus flower
Flourished in the midst of a roaring flame
And with all your might, pierce Heaven!

For many years, Yamaoka could not comprehend the essence of this koan. But once, when he was already 45, during a sitting meditation, the meaning of the monk's poem suddenly revealed to him, and he experienced insight. Tessus momentarily lost his sense of time and space, and Asari’s threatening sword vanished from his memory.

The next day, Yamaoka went to the teacher to check the effectiveness of his new state of consciousness in a duel with him. But as soon as they crossed their swords, Asari Gimei unexpectedly lowered his bokken and said: “You have reached the desired state!” After that, he declared Tessu to be his successor as head master of the Nakanishi ha school Itto-ryu .

Yamaoka thoroughly studied the art of Kendo until the morning of March 30, 1880 , when at the age of 45 he received enlightenment during meditation ^[1] . From this point on, Yamaoka worked to develop a dojo in his own fighting style, known as “no-sword” —the moment when a samurai realizes that the enemy does not exist and that purity of style is all that is needed. Yamaoka Tessu is famous for his amazing works in the style of Zen art, which he, for his life, according to estimates, created about 1 million.

• -禅 書 Ken-Zen-Sho: The Zen Calligraphy and Painting of Yamaoka Tesshu
• Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps - contains the three koans listed above
• Collected Scholarly Works on Yamaoka Tesshu
• 門 山 全 生 庵
• 鉄 舟 研究 会
• A Critical Biography of Yamaoka Tesshu (2012) by Anatoliy Anshin
• Zenshōan (Buddhist temple built by Yamaoka in 1883. Contains a lot of materials about Yamaoka Tessii, including images.)
• TEN SHIN KAN - SCHOOL OF FIVE ARTS