The Martial Arts Education in Akita Hanko

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Other Title
  • 秋田藩校における武芸教育
  • アキタ ハンコウ ニ オケル ブゲイ キョウイク

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The Akita-han (the feudal fief of Akita) founded hanko as an institution for educating its clansmen, and it continued to exist until 1872 (the fifth year of Meiji). This paper examines, drawing upon documents, at that time, what kind of place was assigned to martial arts in hanko education. The summary is as follows: 1. The object of founding hanko was nominally to encourage sons of samurai as the ruling class to be well up both in literary and military arts, but its real aim was to train them in administrative and other practical affairs. 2. Although most other hanko in those days provided both literary and martial lessons, only civil affairs only were taught, to the exclusion of military affairs. 3. The hanko was concerned in martial arts in that it had attached bugeisho (Martial Arts Hall) within the precinct of the school. But it seems that bugeisho which was built with the intention of encouraging and training martial arts did not play any significant role 4. In those days such a great variety of martial arts as gunnery, swordsmanship, archery, spearmanship, horsemanship, jujutsu (ancient style of judo), the art of war were practiced in Akita-han. The biggest martially-oriented official event of the Akita-han was the drill by gun guards, which was annually submitted to the inspection of the lord of the clan. Swordsmanship, archery, spearmanship and horsemanship in addition to literature were compulsory to the sons of samurai for being appointed to offices. But horsemanship was assigned only to those who obtained a grant of 70 koku (1 koku corresponds to 180.5 liters) of rice a year. The han appointed the bugei-todori, or the Chief of the Martial Arts, to supervise the martial arts education. He took charge of joran and naiken (official and unofficial inspections by the Lord), the exercises in bugeisho as well as occasional financial aids to masters of martial arts. 5. In 1864 the Akita-han founded the gunnery house (hojutsu-kan), but it served merely as a military organization rather than educational. organization. In the second year of Meiji hanko was reestablished under the name of the Emperor to promote the education of both literary and martial arts further, but the concrete curriculum of military training was not specitically directed.

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