Another thought about kihon 基本

There’s an interesting paragraph in Soke’s unarmed fighting book regarding kihon.  In the first chapter Soke uses four different kanji to render the “ki” of kihon. Here’s the paragraph:

“If you think that the character Ki (基) of Kihon Happo is simply one character and stop there, you will miss the real attitude of Budo Taijutsu.  Writing the four characters of  Kihon Happo (基本八法) as Kihon Happo (起本八法) you will feel the beginning of Taijutsu; as Kihon Happo (奇本八法) you will see something like kyojitsu, tactics, or strategy of ten-chi-jin; if you write Kihon Happo (鬼本八法) you will see the play of demons; and if you write Kihon Happo (生本八法) you will perceive the origin of life.”

I think it’s really cool how Soke takes something simple like kihon 基本 and plays around with it to see what else can be discovered.  So I figured I would take a closer look at the four new kanji Soke introduced in his book.  But before I do I want to delve into the “happo” 八法 of kihon happo.

八 ha

Writing this kanji is pretty simple; here’s the stroke order:

Ha 八 also serves as the eight radical. It’s on’yomi is “ha”ハ or “hachi” ハチ, and it’s kun’yomi is “ya” や or “you” (pronounced yo) よう*.

This kanji 八 of course is the kanji for the number eight.  However, when applied as a compound with other kanji it’s applications are various.  For instance, 八方美人 (happo bijin はっぽうびじん) means “an affable person”.  八つ当たり(yatsu atariやつあたり) means “anger without reason”.  お八つ (oyatsuおやつ) means “afternoon snack or refreshment”.  一か八か (ichika bachikaいちかばちか) is the Japanese equivalent of the English phrase “sink or swim”.  The bamboo flute played during Linkin Park’s “Nobody’s Listening” is called a 尺八 (shakuhachiしゃくはち).  And finally, the Japanese god of war is Hachiman 八幡 (はちまん).

法 ho

In the case of “happo”, “ho” becomes “po” due to the use of the plosive voice, which applies to Japanese syllables that use the “h” sound.  When hiragana is used it’s easy to know when to use plosive voice because the plosive mark is used (i.e. ほ=ho, ぽ=po).  But diacritical marks aren’t used when writing kanji, and I haven’t learned how to read kanji yet.  Still learning. Anyway, heres the stroke order for 法 ho.

The first three strokes on the left are an abbreviated form of the water radical 水, and strokes 4 though 6 form the earth radical 土.  As best as I can tell both the on’yomi and kun’yomi readings are pronounced “ho” ほ, both with and without glottal stops and vowel elongation.  It can also be read “ha” with a glottal stop ハッ, as well as “furan” フラン and “nori” のり.  I can’t wait for when this stops being confusing.

This kanji 法 means “the law, a rule, a regulation, a method, a way, reason, manners, etiquette, mood, dharma”.  This kanji appears to be used in compounds to represent laws, systems, and methods.  兵法 (hyouho ひょうほう) art of war or strategy, 主法 (shuho しゅほう) main laws,  乗法 (jouho じょうほう) multiplication, and 法事 (houji ほうじ) Buddhist memorial service are just a few examples.  Ho 法 also appears in “koppojutsu” 骨法術. 

八法 happo

So taken together these kanji can mean “eight methods” or “the way of eight”.  When we think of “kihon happo” 基本八法  it’s easy to think of this as meaning “the fundamental eight methods”.  This is a literal interpretation, and I think it’s a good one.  In the truest sense of the word “kihon” 基本, the eight techniques that make up the 基本八法 serve as a foundation on which further exploration of the ryuha waza can be accomplished.  My favorite example of this is Koku, which is the first waza of the Joryaku of Gyokko ryu kosshijutsu.  A careful observation of the correct execution of Koku will reveal that all three of the kosshi sanpo are embedded in Koku.  Consequently, in order to perform Koku well one must have a solid foundation in the kosshi sanpo.  I think I can safely venture to say that most, if not all, of the waza of the ryuha are built this way, using the 基本八法 as building blocks.  I may be way off with that last sentence, but it felt good saying it anyway.  I do believe that this is what Soke means when he says that the 基本八法 are the root of all martial arts. 

It is interesting to note that the way the Japanese view the kanji for eight 八 is the same way we view the number 8.  When placed on its side the number 8 becomes the universal symbol for infinity.  If you look at “ha” 八 from a pictographic standpoint what you see is two beams opening out and delineating an ever-widening expanse below the kanji, which suggests to the Japanese mind the idea of infinity.  From this etymological standpoint, the kanji 基本八法 could be taken to mean “the fundamental law of infinity”.

Now, on to those four other “ki” kanji Soke was talking about.

起 ki

This is the stroke order for this kanji:

 

The first seven strokes form the radical for “run” 走, as in running.  Its on’yomi is of course “ki” キ, and its kun’yomi is “okiru” おきる, as well as “okoru” おこる, and “okosu” おこす.

 

This kanji 起 means “get up, wake up, awake, rise, pick up, arouse, raise, happen, occur, break out, arise, originate, the origin”. Examples of its compound uses include 起原 (kigen きげん) “origin or beginning”, 起因 (ki’in きいん) “cause”, 起動 (kidou きどう) “start up, as in an engine or a computer”, and the phrase 何が起きたの (nani ga okita no なにがおきたの) “what happened?”. 

Soke said that with this kanji 起 as “ki” in kihon happo “you will feel the beginning of Taijutsu”.  Since this kanji means “to wake up”, I take this to mean that as you learn the kihon happo you will “wake up” to a whole new range of possibilities in your taijutsu.  I think everyone in their budo journey experiences some kind of “awakening”. Maybe this awakening is the real “beginning” of one’s budo journey.

奇 ki

This is the stroke order for this kanji:

 

The first three strokes form the “big” radical 大.  The on’yomi is “ki” キ.  The kun’yomi readings include “kushiki” くしき, “ayashi’i”  あやしい, “kushi”  くし, and “mezurashi’i”  めずらしい. 

This kanji 奇 means “uncommon, unusual, unconventional, strange, queer, odd, mysterious”.  Its compound uses are interesting in light of how Soke uses this kanji.  They include 奇跡 (kiseki きせき) “a miracle, a wonder”, 奇数 (kisuu きすう) “an odd number”, 奇術 (kijutsu きじゅつ) “magic, conjuring art”, 奇瑞 (kizui きずい) “auspicious omen”, 奇策 (kisaku きさく) “clever scheme”, and (my favorite) 奇勝 (kishou きしょう) “unexpected victory, a victory by unusual stratagem”. 

Soke said that with this kanji 奇 in kihon happo “you will see something like kyojitsu, tactics, or strategy of ten-chi-jin”. There’s definitely a lot of room for exploration with these concepts.  It’s intriguing how something so orthodox as “kihon” can be the root of something so unorthodox as “kyojitsu”.

鬼 ki

This is the stroke order for this kanji:

 

This kanji 鬼 is also a radical, the “devil” radical.  The on’yomi is “ki” キ, and the kun’yomi is “oni” おに. 

This kanji 鬼 is probably familiar to a lot of people in the Bujinkan.  It means “ogre, demon, ‘it’ (as in a game of tag)”, and as you may well know or have guessed it’s the “ki” 鬼 in “kikaku ken” 鬼角拳, the “ki” 鬼 in “Kukishin” 九鬼神, and the “oni” 鬼 in “oni kudaki” 鬼砕.  Some of its other compounds include 鬼門 (kimon きもん) “the demon’s gate” (also “a person who is hard to deal with” can be referred to as a “demon’s gate”), 吸血鬼 (kyuuketsuki きゅうけつき) “vampire, bloodsucker”, 鬼火 (onibi おにび) “will-o’-the-wisp, or jack-o’-lantern”, and 鬼面(kimen きめん) “devil’s face, or mask of the devil”.

Soke said that with this kanji 鬼 in kihon happo “you will see the play of demons”.  On the first page of chapter eight of Soke’s unarmed fighting book, where he discusses Kukishin ryu, there is a calligraphy of his wherein he writes the characters 九鬼大笑 (I think these are the right kanji; his calligraphy is hard for me to read).  Anyway, it reads “kuki taisho” (nine demon big laugh) meaning “nine demons laughing loudly”.  It is said that demons are playful and wily, causing discord and mischief.  Maybe this is what we should be doing to our opponent as we use the kihon happo.  

生 sei (ki)

Whew, last one.  Here’s the stroke order for this kanji:

This kanji 生 is also the “life” radical. Its on’yomi is “sei” セイ, as well as “shou” ショウ.  I honestly don’t know how many kun’yomi this kanji has.  One kanji dictionary listing I found numbered forty-three kun’yomi readings (that’s right folks, over forty-three different ways to pronounce this kanji).  Suffice to say that one of the kun’yomi was “ki” き. 

This kanji 生 has many meanings, most of them similar.  They include “life, living, existence, live, exist, raw, unripe, uncooked, underdone, impertinence, pure, undiluted, unmixed, genuine, generate, produce, yield, cause, happen, arise, accrue, bear, be born, result, revive, grow, come out, sprout, a student”.  When compounded with other kanji the number of various words and meanings that can be produced is enormous.  Just a few examples include 生きのいい (ikinoi’i いきのいい) “very fresh” (as in food), 再生 (saisei さいせい) “rebirth, reincarnation, resuscitation, regrowth, resurrection, or a narrow escape”, 中生 (nakate なかて) “mid-season crops”, 七生 (shichi shou しちしょう) “seven lives” (as opposed to “nine lives”), and this phrase 生粋のポーランド人です (kissui no pourandojin desu きっすいのぽーらんどじんです) “born and bred in Poland, pure-bred Polish”.

Soke said that when this kanji 生 is used to write kihon happo, “you will perceive the origin of life”.  I’m still thinking about this one.  I’m not sure exactly what Soke is trying to get at; that is to say I don’t know his mindset or perspective on what he means by kihon happo 生本八法 and the origin of life, so my surmising is probably way off.  But to me, this seems to go beyond the idea of building on a foundation or growing strong roots and then blossoming up.  I believe the real essence of bujutsu is the preservation of life, for true warriors fight to defend the lives and liberties of those they love.  Also, a cultivation of martial awareness helps one to develop an appreciation for peace and the beauty of the world around them.  But maybe this isn’t just about defending and cultivating life, but also about creating life, at least life in the sense of lively things or ideas, dreams, visions, goals.  This blog, for instance, was born out of my devotion to budo taijutsu and my love of Japanese language and culture.  At the risk of sounding way out there, I’ve heard tell that Soke has told us to look for the kukan, because it is in the void that things are born.  Maybe this is what Soke is talking about.  Certainly food for thought.

Hope this post isn’t too long.  頑張って (ganbatte! がんばって).

*To the serious student of Japanese who is just starting out, I highly advise you to learn hiragana and katakana (collectively known as the kana).  The kana is a writing system that the Japanese use in conjunction with the kanji.  It is basically a collection of 46 syllables, each one represented by a hiragana character and a katakana character, equaling 92 characters (46 hiragana, 46 katakana).  There are, of course, various sound combinations (known as dipthongs) as well as the use of glottal stops, vowel elongations, and diacritical marks one needs to learn.  Still the brute of the work is in learning the 92 characters.  92 characters may seem like a lot to learn, but compare that to the challenge learning over 2000 kanji in order to be considered “literate” in Japanese and the task of learning the kana doesn’t seem so daunting.  Using James W. Heisig’s book “Remembering the Kana” I learned the kana in three weeks (it was really only two weeks; I just gave myself an extra week of practice just so I could confidently say “yea, I really know this stuff”).  Anyway, learning the kana will help in learning the kanji because very often kanji dictionaries use the kana to give the pronunciation of the kanji (just like I have in this post).  Plus, with learning the kana there’s an early payoff from the satisfaction of being able to read some Japanese. It’s really cool.

The kanji information used to make the above graphics comes from the KanjiVG project. The kanji data is copyright (C) Ulrich Apel 2009 and is used under the terms of a Creative Commons licence. Please see the project page for more details.