Foreword

The Martial arts cannot be practised as a form of entertainment or distraction. They are a serious undertaking which does not necessarily mean a sad one-far from it. You cannot approach them tentatively with your fingertips, with a mere touch of the lips, or with superficial layers of thought or heart. It would be better never to become involved, but if you do, it is essential to carry on to the end, until one's being is regenerated to the point of being made man again-a real man. As soon as your naked feet have entered a Dojo, you have entered forever. If you give up, if you waver, you risk finding yourself weaker than before. An important risk and a handicap which is difficult to compensate for.

He who seeks, finds. The genuine Masters do exist; I have known some very great ones during the past thirty years. Michel Random writes about them and illustrates them excellently, his courage, his perseverance, his love of truth have opened up, for our pleasure, those doors most closed in the Martial Arts schools. His artistry, his poetry, his talent did the rest. I have actually seen the emotion of a great Japanese Master of Budo, whose eyes filled with tears at some of the subtle and mystic passages of Random's photography. He squeezed my arm wihout speaking a word: we looked at each other in a silent communion. In my opinion there could be no greater homaage.

Such a message of beauty and truth from the East brings, I believe, an understanding which is new because it is timeless, to all those (and they are many) who are drawn and fascinated by the virile and knightly Way of Budo.--Jean-Lucien Jazarin
President of the National College of Black Belts France

Contents

Japan from the Age of the Gods to the Age of Man
Shinto or the Way of the gods
The Japan of the Samurai
The way of the warrior or bushido
Historical Japan and the origin of the samurai
Story of the 47 ronin-Japanese armour
The Three Great Ways of the Spirit of Budo
The Spirit of Budo
The Way of nature and original energy
The Way of tactics
Conscioius energy and developing the powers
Bugei and budo
The Spirit of Zen
Calligraphy
The Way of the bow and the horse
The Way of the sword
Kendo
Naginata, bokken and staves
The Way of breathing and empty hands
Aiki-do
Karate
Judo
Sumo
Japanese Peasant Weapons
Glossary
Bibliography
Masters and Traditions Featured in the Photographs
Ryu
Chronology of Japanese History