The Transmission of Martial Arts Culture in Tokyo during the Meiji Period

— Focusing on Asayama Ichiden-ryū and Kensō-ryū —

Abstract

＜Abstract＞ This study employs a methodology combining densho (traditional scrolls) comparison, statistical analysis, and oral history to visualize the structure of martial arts reorganization and the transformation of traditional culture in Meiji-era Tokyo, thereby reconsidering the framework of “discontinuity and succession” in modern Japan. It was confirmed that the actual techniques claimed to be ancient traditions (kuden) had lost their original forms during the Meiji period, and were instead transmitted as “new-style jujutsu” under the guise of classical schools (koryu). Furthermore, by examining the engagement with Zen found in the scrolls, this study demonstrates that martial arts were not merely technical arts but a cultural system involving spiritual cultivation.