Abstract
It has been considered that budo (the generic name for Japanese martial arts, reconstructed from bujitsu by the Meiji era) began to be spread overseas by elite budo experts from the 19th century, and this has now become a popularly held historical view. Meanwhile, bujitsu (the generic name for Japanese traditional martial arts) experts who had been overseas at that time were considered less significant. Because the difference between budo and bujitsu was fuzzy at the time, bujitsu was considered to lie within the same mission as budo in terms of being spread overseas.
By focusing on Shotaro Fukuoka's mission in Paraguay, and particularly on the recipients there, this study reconsiders the mission of budo overseas by non-elite jiu-jitsu (one kind of bujitsu art) experts. The study highlighted three points. Firstly, in the local newspaper, jiu-jitsu was considered to be an effective discipline, both physically and mentally, similar to swordplay and gymnastics. Secondly, jiu-jitsu was adopted by the local sports club as self-defense training. The present study considers that adoption of jiu-jitsu was smooth in the sports club. Thirdly, jiu-jitsu was used for show at mixed martial arts contests organized by the sports club for entertaining the local public.
The fact that jiu-jitsu was widely adopted by the local public in Paraguay suggests that Fukuoka's mission was not to seek a certain type of adoption but rather flexibility. Finally, the local sports club became not only a recipient of jiu-jitsu, but also a dispatcher by teaching public jiu-jitsu classes, which enabled various classes of people to participate in jiu-jitsu.
