The Logic of Ba as Life Knowledge: The Theory of Co-Creation as Seen in Yagyū Shinkage Ryū Swordsmanship

How does a newborn animal learn to survive in the wild, where it　cannot rely on just trial-and-error? How do humans, as individuals and　organizations, learn to act in complex, unpredictable situations that cannot be covered in a manual? How could a samurai hope survive the infinitely variable state of combat, when one’s opponent could be stronger and faster?In this book, Shimizu Hiroshi explores the universal principles for how lifeforms constantly emergently acquire “life knowledge” needed to survive in complex environments, where “intellectual knowledge” is insufficient. In this he turns to two conceptual models: improvisational performances, and the Japanese concept of “basho”, an understanding of an environment that does not make a distinction between the environment and those acting within it.He further explores how these ideas are found in the approach to combat of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, a 450 year-old school of swordsmanship that survives to this day. It includes a discussion with the late Yagyu Nobuharu Toshimichi, the twenty-first lineal headmaster of that school, about its technique and principles.First published in Japan in 1996, this book is presented for the first time in English translation by the Yagyukai, the organization founded by the Yagyu family to maintain the teachings of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu in the present day. This translation, drawing on the linguistic, scholarly, and classical Japanese swordsmanship experience of over 30 members in and outside Japan, presents a unique approach to engaging with an ever-changing world, and shows a practical application of that approach found in one expression of Japan’s vibrant traditional culture.