"Kenshi" and meister of Nihon Butokuin, Yuta Kurosawa talks that "Bushi-do
is aesthetics". It is not a tragic story of showing guts nor it does not have an
air of masculine rugby style. What is it when he maintains that he is pursuing aesthetics?
The words in the web site says; "Spirit and flesh are always coexisting, but always
changing and influencing each other. Or at times, make loose one's balance. Holding
the Katana, wielding by the Katana drags oneself to earth. Standing with pride, not
being arrogant, nor being aware of anything, just with natural attitude, without
strength but a stature filled with spiritual air."
Once Yuta Kurosawa started a rock band, became a photograph model, and now he is
a 36 old Kenshi with one eighth of Irish blood. Extremely close to today's young,
Kurosawa's aesthetics is not simply being fashionable. When Kurosawa appears in his
training room with a black "Hakama" and a "Montsuki", his stature suddenly changes
from a young man in fashionable clothes and turns into a man with sophistication
and strong pride. Practicing the form in front of a mirror with a Japanese Katana.
Step forward, swift the Katana, and silently step back. In the back of his shoulder,
the students are practicing the form with their Katanas as well. With a real Katana
in his hands, it was obvious from Kurosawa's body that his nerves are stretching
in every direction. The sound of a slash of wind made one's back straight.
After practicing the forms, the time to wield the virtual target begins. It is told
that more than 90 percent of Iaido schools do not actually cut things. It could mean "a
form for a form". There is a beauty of the forms when the eyes follow the Katana's
movement. However, for a person who really cuts the target, their gaze rests not
at the target, nor emptiness, but a point where nobody can see. The gaze when Kurosawa
cuts the target bores an extreme air of tense. |
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