ABSTRACT
Daisetsu Suzuki devotes a chapter in his book Zen and Japanese Culture to the relationship between swordsmanship and Zen Buddhism. Tengu-geijutsu-ron, the art of the Tengu, dominates Chozan Shissai's observations, yet there are no technical directions or suggestions for attaining perfect skill in handling the weapon. The Tengu-geijutsu-ron makes clear the important role played here by Confucianism, which, as mentioned previously, had provided the samurai class with its ethical beliefs after its rise to the upper strata of the social order during the upheavals of the Kamakura Period. Confucianism rose in importance and increased its range of acceptance only through the relatively close relationship that it established with certain aspects of Buddhism after being forced into the background during the Tang Period by the hegemony of Buddhism. The Tengu-geijutsu-ron is more than an informative and essential source for gaining an understanding of the interplay of Confucian and Buddhist elements in swordsmanship.
