"Let's Ask This Person" (Hatsumi M.): In Order to Protect and Pass Along the Traditions of Budo, One Needs to Separate It From Life's Means to Prosper

Translated by Sayo Owada

It is not something as easy as being laid off; people now are living in an age where they are being "thinned out".

Budo is something that you do in order to survive in a crisis situation. It is not just for self-protection or for fighting but also for world protection. Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is everything that is necessary to fight to live. To win, to protect, and even running after you lose is protection.

Generally speaking, when one thinks of budo, judo, or kendo, it gives a feeling of "sport" - but budo is completely different. Historically, unlike the peaceful world that we live in now, parents have killed their children and children have killed their parents to gain power. There is no theory or reasoning behind all of this, but it is not unusual for something like this to happen when there is an increase of people who desire power.

When I look at the world today, I see that reasoning does not work and people cannot live as a group. We are starting to see "natural providence" ("the law of nature") - the way we see the animals of Africa living in our society. There was a period a long time ago where children were thinned out to survive; however, now adults are being thinned out. It is not something as easy as being laid off.

One who is in position to have to protect tradition should not use tradition as a tool to make money.

When I go abroad, I notice that countries that have rich tradition seem to be happier. They say that French people have strong characteristics but speaking of tradition and arts there is a lot left to appreciate. France is a country that is self-sufficient and therefore the country blossoms itself. At the rate that we are going, a small island country like Japan will have a scarcity of food soon I think. I don't think that we currently have the environment in which to preserve tradition and culture. Supplying food that blossoms the country, as farmers and farms do so are important. The land policy that we have now which enables us to use our land for farms is not right. Although Japan is a small country, I think that rebuilding of Japan starts by making good use of the land that we have.

With economic policies, if you put the changing economy as you[r] first priority you will with out a doubt fail. You should always put the economy as your second priority. It is the same with budo. I have no intentions on making my ryu ha any bigger than it is now. Writing books and lecturing is my main source of income, however I have no intentions on making money out of that. One who is in position to have to protect tradition should not use tradition as a tool to make money.

What is Budo? I would like people to understand the real value of what budo is.

I travel all over the world to speak about Budo but I do not intend spread or expand budo. I just want people to know what it is about.

International exchange is the same as knowing your next-door neighbor. Japan is known as a country of "appreciation" but at the same time there are very few that know what "appreciation" really means. You never have a deep relationship with people.

I do not think that the person who takes my place will necessarily be Japanese. It will have to be someone who is also financially stable as well so that they will not use Budo to make money. Even a single sword can cost up to hundreds and thousands of dollars. Someone who can separate his or her work from budo and take care of budo (is necessary).

Even though Japan is a budo country, Japanese people do not know the answer to "What is budo?" They also do not know the value of budo. My dream is to build a budo museum. That is one of the reasons that I make so many videos.

To protect and teach the tradition of budo, I would like to have people understand the true value of budo.