Visiting the Machida Toyama Ryu Dojo

By Mike Femal

Elder Sensei had talked about the Machida Toyama Ryu Dojo, but the stories never prepared me for the personal experience of training there. In October of 1999 I got my first chance. The trip from Florida to Tokyo is a long tiring one. Daisuke San drove us straight from the airport to the dojo. After driving through the urban sprawl of Tokyo, it was an almost surreal experience to arrive at the Shinto shrine. We quickly transitioned from modern westernized Japan to an older more traditional version.

The atmosphere was overwhelming. It felt like I was treading on sacred ground. The Japanese seemed strangely oblivious to their surroundings. They welcomed us like we were all hanging out in someone's back-yard. They apologized that we could not practice inside the dojo building but would instead use the pea gravel courtyard. The Seven-Five-Three Festival was approaching and the dojo was filled with photographic equipment. The festival honors girls who are three and seven and boys who are five. They are dressed in their finest and brought to the shrine were prayers are offered for good fortune.

The Japanese were already dressed for class. They had been waiting for us to arrive. We quickly dug our swords and uniforms out of the baggage. I was expecting a wood floor and was still wearing dress shoes. It felt strange walking around in my hakama, gi, argyle socks and dress shoes. Oh well, it was time to train. I was so nervous that I forgot how to do the first kata ippon mei and wound up finishing on the wrong foot. I felt that the Japanese were resisting the urge to snicker at the tall American sliding around in dress shoes on the pea gravel who could not remember the very first kata we were ever taught.

I started to relax some after making that great first impression. Hey, it could only go up from here. I was glad that our classes are run exactly like those in Japan. I could not understand what the Japanese were saying, but they were doing that same things we do every week. There was a connection of shared experiences that existed between us all. It was almost like our normal class.

One thing was quite different from my normal training. I feel a reverence when I enter any dojo, but the feeling was amplified in this place. I could not shake an eerie feeling. I could imagine the spirits of ancient Samurai watching us. I kept wondering what they would think of these foreigners swinging katana in their shrine. I hoped they would approve of me, or at least not disapprove.

The training continued. It was now my turn for tameshigiri (test cutting). I drew my sword and approached the target. At that point I became aware of the procession of Shinto priests entering the shrine grounds. There were about twenty priests dressed in white and walking two abreast. The sound of their chanting voices froze me. I had absolutely no idea of how to deal with this situation. Would I be committing some huge sacrilege by continuing to hack apart the target in their presence. The books on Japanese culture had not mentioned anything like this.

There I stood. Frozen in place with my sword raised above my head. I wonder how much my face showed the absolute terror that I felt. I heard Hataya Sensei lean over to Elder Sensei and ask in english "What is wrong, does he not know what cut he should do?". I let a long sigh out with the breath that I had been holding. Well at least I knew that it was okay to continue cutting. I don't remember how well my cutting was that night. I do remember that procession of priests continuing to purifying the shrine grounds.

Religion seem such a basic part of Japanese life. Daisuke San told us that he was not a religious person. This was right after he attended the Shinto and Buddhist shrines in the small apartment. I have also seen him offer prayers in every shrine and temple we visited, but he does not think of himself as being a religious man. I came back the trip with a different view of Japan and our Toyama Ryu brethren. The experiences will be with me forever. Perhaps those ancient Samurai would approve after all.