
13 martial arts schools gather at Kobujutsu Festival "Samurai Technique and Spirit" in Hirosaki
The ancient martial arts festival "Samurai Techniques and Spirit" will be held on January 11th at the Hirosaki Civic Cultural Exchange Center Hall on the 4th floor of the complex commercial facility "Hiroro" (Ekimae-cho, Hirosaki City).
This event will feature demonstrations of ancient martial arts by 13 martial arts schools, mainly from Aomori Prefecture. The event is organized by the martial arts research and training group "Shubudo." The event was planned because 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of Shubudo. The event was organized by inviting martial arts schools in Aomori Prefecture and schools with ties to Hirosaki to participate.
Takahide Koyama, head of Shubudo, who has served as an instructor of Bokudenryu swordsmanship, an intangible cultural asset designated by Hirosaki City, said, "I believe this is the first event to bring together all of the existing schools within Aomori Prefecture. It is also the first time that Shubudo has held an event as part of Hirosaki City's 1% Citizen Participation Urban Development System."
The morning session will be titled "Samurai Sounds," and will feature performances on the Tsugaru Koto and Shakuhachi, which are intangible cultural properties of Aomori Prefecture. "It's not an instrument that was played for people to hear, but a rare piece of music that samurai played to deepen their breathing training and meditation," said Koyama.
In the afternoon, there will be demonstrations with explanations of each school. Each will last about 15 minutes. "Each school has a different worldview, so the content is left up to each school, so we won't know until the day. There may be some parts that are difficult to understand, but I hope you will enjoy it, including those," said Koyama.
Koyama says, "I want to make this an event that will help broaden the base of awareness of kobudo, which generally has few opportunities to learn about. As kobudo forms and techniques are passed down, they can change, so there may still be people out there who know the original forms. I hope this will also be a place where such people can meet."
The event will be held from 10:30 to 15:45. Doors open at 10:00. Admission is free.