“Swords Are Not For Fighting.”

Shugendo to Gassan Sadatoshi:   There be wild animals on Mount Gassan.  

800 years ago in the mountains of Yamagata the Gassan family made swords for Shugendo monks who used them for protection from wild animals as they treaded the steep ridges and valleys of Mount Gassan. In the 1820’s the family moved to Osaka. From there they moved to Sakurai City, Nara where they can be found today.

Photo credit: Gassan Sadatoshi (from his website)

Following our visit to Gassan Sadatoshi at his home in Sakurai ... his words began to slip into the microscopic spaces between the cells of my mind.

“Swords are not for fighting.”

Words that echo in a whisper when I think of him or see a Japanese sword.

“Swords are not for fighting.”  

Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手, "Tender Hands"), is the name

of a sword made by the  legendary Gorō Nyūdō Masamune circa 1264-1343, recognized as one of Japan’s greatest swordsmiths. Also a priest he named the sword:

Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手,

Click HERE for the Legend of... “Tender Hands").

Photo credit: http://gassan.info/ 4 photos on this page.

Like the Shugendo monks 800 years ago, Gassan Sadatoshi crafts swords to  not for fighting, but to protect family and the innocent. I don’t think Sadatoshi used the term Samurai Sword at all during our visit. I imagine this term conjures the sword fighting that does not reflect the mindful philosophy of his work. 

Gassan Sadatoshi’s father made the sword for the newborn who would one day be Emperor Of Japan to protect the emperor’s family, the people of Japan and to guide the emperor in his duties as head of state.

How to visit Gassan Sadatochi’s Sword Studio 

... and if the planets align, you might shake the hand of the swordmaker, the same hand that crafts three million dollar swords.  Make sure to take Akiko with you.  See below. Once each week Gassan Sadatoshi opens his Tsukiyama Japanese Sword Training Memorial House to visitors 10am- 4pm Saturdays from March to November. (closed in August).

Located at:  228-8 Chihara,  Sakurai City, Nara, Japan. Inquiries; 0744-42-3230  Click HERE for details at his website.

Since Sadatoshi speaks only Japanese, my friend and most excellent tour guide Akiko Murakami will be your translator.  Click HERE for Akiko.

Click HERE for Akiko’s Yamato Tours website.

Next time I visit Gassan Sadatoshi I plan to walk the ancient road Yamanobe no Michi, connecting Omiwa Shrine to Gassan’s Memorial House via Sai Shrine. 

The Shugendo monks trekked Mount Gassan, we can walk the Yamanobe no Michi trail to Gassan’s home.

400 years later comes the Legend of Masamune, one of the three peerless sword makers of Japanese history.

Once or twice a year there are round trip flights from LAX to Narita International for as little as $500. From your country of origin, fly into Osaka, Japan and board a train to Nara Station.  I’ve stayed at the affordable Nikko Nara Hotel at Nara Station and invite my family and friends to stay there as well. Last we were there, we had dinner at each of it’s three most excellent restaurants. From Nikko Nara it is 42 minutes to Gassan, including the 15 minute walk. 

Here is the short walk from Miwa Station. Yes you can enlist a taxi to get to Gassan, but in the spirit of the Shugendo monks, hike the ancient trail.

Click HERE for an excellent article about the Gassan Tradition

Gassan Sword Workshop & Museum  https://www.visitnara.jp/venues/A01191/

Meeting Butsudan

Ancestral Reflections

So inspired by the people we have met in Japan that Patricia and I have just placed a busudan in our home. 

 

A butsudan is an elemental feature in the life of a traditional Japanese family, it is the center of respect for remembering our ancestors. 60 percent of city dwelling families in Japan possess a busudan. The rate of possession rises to 90% farther away from cities. 

Masamune: The Legend of Tender Hands”

 

Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手, ”Tender Hands"),

is a sword made by the  legendary Gorō Nyūdō Masamune circa 1264-1343, who is recognized as one of Japan’s greatest swordsmiths. Also a priest he named the sword:

Yawarakai-Te,  meaning ”Tender Hands"),

What do we make of a sword named “Tender Hands”?

Photo credit Wiki commons

The legend begins with a swordsmith named Muramasa, a challenger to Masamune, the greatest sword maker in Japan.  Accepting the challenge the two master swordsmiths worked without letting up to see who would make the finer sword.  

After months the swords were to be tested by suspending them in a small creek, the cutting edges facing upstream.

Photo credit Wiki commons

Muramasa’s sword: (Juuchi Yosamu 十千夜寒, "10,000 Cold Nights") cut through passing leaves, fish, everything floating down the stream, “even the very air that blew on it.” 

Masamune, highly impressed with Muramasa’s work lowered his sword into the current. Patiently they watched Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手, "Tender Hands")... only leaves were cut. Later, a fish swam up, the air hissed as the fish floated by the blade.  As the shadows lengthened, Masamune smile, pulled his sword from the stream, dried and sheathed it.

Impatient, Muramasa scoffed at his master’s lack of skill in the making of his sword heckling Muramasa for his sword’s inability to cut anything but leaves.

One of the monks witnessing the challenge walked over, bowed to the two sword masters and described what he saw to the other monks.

“The first of the swords was by all accounts a fine sword, however it is a blood thirsty blade which does not descriminate as to who or what it will cut. It may just as well be cutting down butterflies or severing heads.  The second was by far the finer of the two, as it does not needlessly cut that which is innocent and undeserving.”

When the legends of Gassan Sadatoshi’s sword making are written, they will end with what he said to me in 2015:

“Swords are not for fighting.”

... and you’ll hear the sound of air hissing by the blade

When I visited Gassan Sadatoshi he invided our group to sit with him for tea. We had a wonderful chat during which I began to know his purpose in life. 

Click on the video below, sit with us for tea in Gassan Sadatoshi’s home.

Yawarakai-Te,  meaning ”Tender Hands"

 

Shikake: The Art of Understanding Behavior. Found by Patricia Vining

April 11, 2021, Interesting discussion topic .....

We know we should exercise regularly or eat more fruit and vegetables but how do we make our decisions last longer than new years resolutions. We buy treadmills and stationary bikes but after a few months they begin to gather dust.

Instead of dust we can use shikake to shape our behavior to do what we should do, to get back on the horse, so to speak.

Whisper the word “Shikake. Click HERE for more.” 

    Shikake is an intrinsic trigger to change behavior (the staircase below).

Start video at 1:31

Naohiro Matsumura teaches Behavioral Economics at the graduate school of economics at Osaka University. Click HERE for his website

Naohiro Matsamura

Photo credit Robin Haseba