|
|
Menkyo Kaiden |
Do you know that one of the major innovations Jigoro Kano has introduced to judo and it was spread then to the whole spectrum of gendai (modern) budo arts, is the dan ranking system? As strange as it sounds the koryu (old) budo system did not had such a hierarchical ranking system. Why? For many I would say reasons. Keep in mind that in koryu teaching was much more restricted in terms of students, as well as to who was eligible to accept instruction. Therefore instead of the dan ranking system, the menkyo kaiden system was used.
"What is a menkyo kaiden? A menkyo kaiden is a document handed down by a sensei to a single student, which the sensei believes is most capable of carrying on the teacher’s art. Of course there are questions related to the subject, such as, what are the actual responsibilities of the person that holds his sensei menkyo kaiden? are there multiple menkyo kaiden, which meaning an instructor may have awarded menkyo kaiden to many students? does each student create one if the didn't receive one? These as well as other relevant questions I will try to explain today.
The menkyo-kaiden as described by Richard Kim sensei, a well known martial artist and author, in his book "Weaponless Warriors" (page 25) is "a certificate of full proficiency in an art, usually given to a student deemed most suited to carry on the art of his sensei. A master customarily issued only one menkyo-kaiden in his lifetime."
From a linguistic point of view, the word menkyo means ‘’license’’, while kaiden means "initiation in all the mysteries and secrets of an art." In past times a master or soke of a particular ryu ha, kept his art or at least certain parts of it in secret. The master would reveal some or all of his secrets, before he died, to one or quite a few individuals, his son or more rarely daughter, or a few senior students. To prove the veracity of such a transfer of knowledge, as well as the fact that this knowledge has been absorbed, the master issued a menkyo-kaiden, proving that the secrets of the art had been passed to the named person.
It was customary for a master or soke to pass only one menkyo-kaiden. Of course if you consider the meaning of the menkyo kaiden, "licence for initiation in all the mysteries and secrets of an art", it is possible and had happened, that a sensei could do this to more than one student, however tradition dictates that the sensei pass on only one menkyo kaiden of his own. The issue of more than one menkyo kaiden has become the case of splits in the lineage of koryu schools, every part claiming the authenticity of succession.
The person who received the menkyo-kaiden held the priviledge and responsibility of carrying on the art. Other contenders for the master's art were to respect the follower and holder of the menkyo-kaiden, in the context that it was their sensei wish. In a certain way, the menkyo-kaiden is a means of assuring the correct passing of information from one generation to the next; the master decided which individual would carry on his art, and that individual was given the priviledge and responsibility of continuing the tradition of the art onward to the future. In many times students, for their own reasons, have split off of their sensei line, to start their own lineage in martial arts, because they did not receive the menkyo-kaiden, which in their opinion they deserve (any similarity with today world is a coincidence or a proof that history repeats itself, as you prefer it).
There have been also cases that a master has received the menkyo-kaiden of more than one master. In this case he customarily passes all these plus his own to one individual who appears to be the greatest hope to carry on the tradition. On the other hand, the oriental culture, being as secretive as it is, often causes a master to choose to die with his "secrets", thus depriving the future generations of the glorious past. In such cases the menkyo-kaiden ends with the master who did not pass it onwards
While menkyo kaiden was traditionally passed to only one as it has been mentioned, another honor, called the mokuroku-sensei, was passed on more frequently. It was verification by the master, that the student has learned all what was necessary in the curriculum of the art and was certified as capable of representing the master's art in just about any circumstance. The difference is that the menkyo-kaiden is the master's foremost hope for his art and the mokuroku-sensei, although very accomplished, may not be the master's foremost hope for his art.
The way a master handed down his menkyo kaiden was not a standardized one and varied among the various ryuha. In general each master creates the menkyo-kaiden and passes it on to the student of his choosing in a manner which the master feels is best. A celebration may be the tradition in one dojo but not in another. It may be hand delivered to the student or it may be rolled and handed to the student with the instruction not to open the scroll until after the death of the master.
Today the menkyo kaiden system is
used by very few ryuha in Japan, since the vast majority has adopted the dan
ranking system. In a certain way, with the current expansion of the martial arts
worldwide, it could be almost impossible to maintain this system. However in
certain old schools, with a lineage dated back for 200, 300 or even 400 hundred
years, although they have adopted today the dan ranking system, they maintain a
menkyo system through which the sokeship is passed from one generation to the
other.