The long-term development of Japanese martial arts 1

This chapter analyses the long-term development of Japanese martial arts in different stages: (1) the early development of martial traditions connected to warfare, as the power balance tilted towards the warrior group in the transition from the Heian to the Kamakura period; (2) the stabilisation, transformation and specialisation of martial traditions during the Tokugawa shogunate; (3) the emergence of modern martial arts during Meiji and Taishō and the progressive militarisation of martial arts during the early Shōwa period. After WWII, Japanese martial arts projected a public distance from military views and spread around the world, mainly through global sport circuits in both the amateur and professional versions.