"Komagome dojo" is the dojo of "the Institute of Physical Education," which is part of "the Seitai Association" of Japan.
The bodywork performed here is called classical bodywork,
It is different from the bodywork that is wildly practiced in the modern world.
You may think they are the same in that they deal with the body, but the definition of the word "body" is different.
"We are not touching the body."
This is where the practice begins.
The body we see here and now is a temporary appearance, and the body lurks behind it.
The brain that has pursued rationality and sought convenience and efficiency has sealed off the body's movement and deprived the body of its freedom.
The "arm" in front of us now.
Have we been listening to the demands of this "arm"?
Have we not treated the arm as a convenient tool, like a cooking utensil or stationery?
Babies look at their arms with interest. It is as if they are staring at a creature that is separate from themselves. Gradually, it learns that it is subordinate to its own will, and learns to use it dexterously.
You could say that the "arm" became part of his body, but you could also say that it became subordinate to his will.
There is a word "monoganasii”; if you search for it on Google, the AI will answer, "a feeling of being somewhat sad or feeling sadness without any clear reason or cause."
I feel the moon on a long autumn night, and I feel a sense of apology there much less often now.
I have become much less apologetic about it. Is there any reason for the events happening in the body at that time, the feeling of instability?
No. Through practice, I have come to understand that such physical sensations are the power that is calling forth the life force and bringing about complete fulfillment.
Nowadays, the term "Japanese culture" is used with much fanfare. I think that the Japanese culture that is being talked about is the Japanese culture that was created in the modern era and is strangely mixed with the classics, as expected by people from overseas.
I think it is fine to have Japanese culture for tourism, but Japanese culture here is a style in which the body communes with the body, with nature, and with the gods and Buddha.
It is a so-called "kata," but I am sure it is not a kata as you imagine it, but a certain antagonistic state of the body.
Water rots when it does not flow," they say.
Many Japanese things have now been fused with Western and Oriental things and have become new things in a new and pleasant guise, but Komagome Reikojo is a dojo that pursues the Japanese things that existed in the past.
When we concentrate deeply and profoundly on the body in practice, we find neither a winner nor a loser, neither an act with a purpose, but rather a quietly breathing classical body that is like a bamboo boat floating on the water, celebrating life, floating and singing.
There is an ancient Japanese tradition of "iroha-uta," which, when read out loud, reveals something extraordinary in the body.
Of course, not everyone can do this, and it is necessary to train one's body through practice, refine one's sense by learning technical skills, and adapt to the nature of being flexible and able to improvise without being tied down by anything.
If you are interested in the Japanese body, which is almost impossible to learn nowadays, please contact us.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
5-27-11 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Hilltop Honkomagome 201
Komagome dojo Instructor Sousuke Imaeda
www.imaedadoho.org