Mythological foundations of Japanese martial arts

The mythological foundations of Japanese martial arts are discussed in details in the article. The important part of mythology and the principles of the classical school of martial arts is divine origin of the art or a magical story about acquisition of knowledge of the art by the Creator. Mythology of the school has an impact on all aspects of the school: history, technique, concept, terminology. In the article, it is discussed myths concerning the origin of the martial arts. The article also represents the main Gods that were the patron of warriors and the creators of martial arts. The transformation of a character of a warrior based on the analysis of myths shows how he changes from an unrestrained archaic warrior into a warrior who is a defender of a State. Such kind of the transformation is appropriate to a traditional evolution of society.

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