Hiromichi Nakayama

2021/10/27

Image: Commemorative group photo of the 1891 Kendo Tournament. Fukuzawa is in the center of the front row, and Nakayama is on the far right. (From "Tsurugi No. 5" (published August 1931))

Hiromichi Nakayama was a martial artist who was active across the three eras of Meiji, Taisho, and Showa. He was also the first person in history to be awarded the title of Hanshi in three disciplines: Kendo, Iaido, and Jodo. Known as the "Last Martial Artist" and the "Sword Saint of Showa," he has been featured in Kendo magazines and serials, and his name remains well-known among Kendo enthusiasts today.

Yukichi Fukuzawa practiced Iai-nuki as a daily exercise, and Nakayama witnessed this and later reminisced about it. How did Fukuzawa's Iai appear in the eyes of the "Sword Saint" Nakayama?

Nakayama later served as a Shihan (master instructor) at many locations, including Keio University, the University of Tokyo, Chuo University, Hosei University, Meiji University, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Imperial Guard, the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu, and the Mitsui Zaibatsu, and inherited the Yushinkan Dojo. However, many details of his career remain vague. We must rely on the "Oral Collection" compiled by his son, Zendo Nakayama, based on Hiromichi's conversations and notes.

Nakayama was born in present-day Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, in either February 1872 or March 1873, as the eighth son of Gennojo Nakayama. His childhood name was Otokichi. It is said that he left home at the age of eight and studied Kenjutsu and Jujutsu while working. Later, he moved to Tokyo and entered the Yushinkan Dojo led by Shingoro Negishi. After training at Yushinkan, Nakayama was adopted by Shingoro, renamed himself Yoshinobu Negishi, and devoted himself to practice.

Nakayama pursued the path of Kendo and studied Yamaguchi Itto-ryu, Shinto Muso-ryu, Omori-ryu, Hasegawa Eishin-ryu Iaido, Tendo-ryu, and Musashi-ryu Bojutsu, obtaining the highest license (Menkyo Kaiden) in all of them. There are also records of his broad experience in martial arts, including Kyudo practice, research into Western swordsmanship, bayonet techniques, and spear techniques.

When the Keio University Athletic Association Kendo Club looks back on its history, one photograph remains. It is a group photo taken to commemorate the 1891 Kendo Tournament (see the opening photo). In the front row of this group photo, Fukuzawa, Kendo club students, and Nakayama are lined up. The Kendo Club, founded in 1878, began welcoming Shihan in 1890. In 1894, Shingoro Negishi became the Shihan, and Yoshinobu Negishi (Nakayama) also became involved with the Kendo Club as an assistant. Nakayama eventually succeeded Shingoro Negishi as Shihan and instructed the Keio University Kendo Club.

In his "Oral Collection," Nakayama mentions that he became a Shihan at Keio at the age of 25, attaining the position of "Shihan" at a young age. This was around the time Yukichi Fukuzawa was approaching 60. Although there was an age difference of over 30 years, how did they perceive each other?

Nakayama attended a roundtable discussion held by Keio University Kendo Club alumni on June 26, 1934, where he recalled the time he met Yukichi Fukuzawa as follows:

"At that time, I was still quite young and did not fully realize how great Yukichi Fukuzawa was. (...) When I first met him, Yukichi Fukuzawa asked me, 'What do you intend to become in the future?' I replied, 'I want to make my way through Kenjutsu'—nowadays we call it Kendo, but back then we still called it Kenjutsu. When I said that, he replied, 'That's an interesting thing to say. What do you plan to do by practicing Kenjutsu now?' However, he simply said that everyone has their own thoughts and didn't say anything else at the time. (...) He was truly gentle; whenever he spoke to us, I believe there was always a smile on his face."

Nakayama was also approached by Fukuzawa, who had come to watch at the dojo, using his own academic experiences as an example to ask about Kendo. Fukuzawa reportedly spoke about how he finally understood things like "trains" and "steamships" only after seeing them firsthand during his travels abroad.

Nakayama says that when he first met Fukuzawa, he didn't understand at all what Fukuzawa was trying to convey. However, as he grew older, he began to feel that Fukuzawa's teachings were truly wonderful for martial arts. According to Nakayama, Kendo is something that can be understood visually to some extent through form, but beyond that, it is metaphysical and cannot be well-conveyed through language. He stated, "I believe Yukichi Fukuzawa included both the physical and the metaphysical in his stories to caution me based on his own studies, and I still keep that in mind today."

Fukuzawa learned Iai while in Nakatsu, and in his later years, he never missed Iai-nuki as part of his daily routine, along with walking and pounding rice. When Kendo meetings were held at the Mita Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall), Fukuzawa would sometimes come and demonstrate his Iai. Nakayama spoke about Fukuzawa's Iai as follows:

"When we held Kendo meetings, Yukichi Fukuzawa would come to watch. He would say to the Kendo Club Director at the time, Sadashiro Hamano (who also served as President), 'I'll give it a try too.' (...) Then, he would tuck his sword into his sash and perform Iai. I wasn't practicing Iai at the time, but I thought the whistling sound of the blade every time he swung the sword was truly magnificent, and I felt then that I wanted to learn Iai and do it like that. To reach the point where the sword makes a sound in Iai, even with daily practice, one must train for ten years. Yukichi Fukuzawa showed that right before our eyes, performing about six draws. Looking back now, I think his sword technique was truly excellent."

At the roundtable, Nakayama also recalled Fukuzawa saying that because the Keio students of the time had become very weak, they had to cultivate their spirit through martial arts:

"I believe he said something like, 'It's all academics, academics, and there is no spirit of the warrior, so there is no decisiveness; they are soft and it's no good. Therefore, one must master martial arts to make academics come alive.' He reportedly said that doing only academics makes one spineless and amounts to nothing."

Nakayama reflected that during the time he served as Shihan at Keio University, the general trend in the world of swordsmanship was that Kendo was equivalent to physical education, and students were truly dedicated to this physical education-style Kendo. However, he feared that this would gradually change into Kendo being solely about winning or losing. Nakayama believed that while it was inevitable for interest to shift toward competition as Kendo developed and times changed, he personally wanted to maintain the belief that Kendo is not a tool for competition.

The record of this two-hour roundtable discussion is a valuable asset that allows us to understand Nakayama's connection with Fukuzawa, his view of Kendo, and the Keio University of that time.

Nakayama appeared twice in the magazine "Shonen Kurabu" (Boy's Club). Let's introduce one of them. In the New Year's extra-large issue of 1935, a four-page article titled "Listening to Kendo Stories from Hanshi Hiromichi Nakayama" was published.

"Shonen Kurabu" was a magazine for children (late elementary to early middle school) first published in 1914. The cover of the issue featuring Nakayama's interview shows a dignified illustration of a young swordsman. I will introduce three themes from this article.

First, in the article, Nakayama says that at the same age as the readers of "Shonen Kurabu," his father strictly trained him every day on how to take off his geta (wooden clogs).

Based on his father's belief that "before gripping a sword, one must first firmly grip one's own heart," he was made to undergo "geta training" and was scolded when he failed to follow the proper way of taking them off. He spoke about how much this geta training helped him and, with a touch of humor, recommended it to the boys, saying, "Everyone, why don't you try this geta training? Since many people wear shoes now, I suppose it would be 'shoe training.'"

Second, as "The Unforgettable Words of Master Negishi," he introduced the words his Kendo teacher, Shingoro Negishi, often said while patting Nakayama on the shoulder: "Nakayama, if you can't work hard at practice without being praised, you won't become great. Practice is for yourself; there's no rule that says you need others to flatter you to forge yourself." He then said that while being praised is certainly happy, it's not manly to sulk, get discouraged, or be lazy just because you aren't praised. If you're going to do it, see it through to the end. Whether you are praised or not is not the issue.

Third, regarding "Kendo-style Studying," Nakayama said the following:

"When you take up a shinai and face an opponent, all of a person's power is concentrated in that one shinai. Thinking of nothing else but striking the opponent, not thinking, not wavering—that feeling is a precious thing granted only to those who practice Kendo.

I always hope that you will study with this Kendo-style serious mindset. If you face your desk with this seriousness, what normally takes three hours can be done splendidly in two. No, it might be finished in an hour and a half. (...) People who skip practice saying they are busy or have exams are unfortunate souls who, while doing Kendo, have not realized the great virtues of Kendo."

There are records indicating that Nakayama did not attend elementary school. However, it is clear that he was a person who could speak about Kendo not only in technical terms but also educationally and clearly in terms of the spiritual aspect. One can feel his spirit of wanting to convey what he learned through his own experience to young boys.

After the end of World War II, Kendo practice was prohibited for a while. Nakayama was held in the Yokosuka Detention Center on suspicion of being a war criminal but was later released as innocent. In 1958, he passed away from cerebral softening and was buried at Tenshin-ji Temple (Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku), the same temple as Shingoro Negishi.

The teachings left by Nakayama explain how one should be as a human being, not only in Kendo practice but also in daily life and spiritual philosophy. One can see his side as an educator who possessed the essential elements for the position of "Shihan." It is even more interesting to consider what kind of influence his contact with Yukichi Fukuzawa had on him.