Book
Zen in the Art of Archery
Original title: Zen in der Kunst des Bogenschießens
1948GermanySpirituality
GermanyA 1948 book by German philosopher Eugen Herrigel on his study of Japanese archery, kyudo, under master Awa Kenzo; later critics disputed its account of Zen.
Zen in der Kunst des Bogenschießens is a book by the German philosopher Eugen Herrigel. It was published in Germany in 1948 and in English in 1953 as Zen in the Art of Archery. From 1924 to 1929 Herrigel taught philosophy at Tohoku Imperial University in Sendai and, at that time, studied kyudo, Japanese archery, under master Awa Kenzo. After returning to Germany he became a professor in Erlangen. The book grew out of his essay of about twenty pages from 1936, which a German journal of Japanology printed. The title alone links kyudo with Zen. Awa Kenzo, however, did not teach the mainstream kyudo of the time but his own system, Daishadokyo, formally founded in 1927. The book's account is disputed. Yamada Shoji claims that Awa never practised with a Zen priest and that the mystical episodes of the book arose from misunderstanding and translation. D. T. Suzuki, according to available sources, at first supported the book, but later declared that Herrigel had not really understood Zen. Besides English, the book was also published in a Japanese translation.
Martial arts in this work
Origin
The precursor of the book was Herrigel's essay Die Ritterliche Kunst des Bogenschiessens from 1936, about twenty pages long, which a German journal of Japanology published. Expanding the essay produced the book published in 1948. Herrigel drew on the years 1924 to 1929, when he taught philosophy in Sendai and studied kyudo under Awa Kenzo. Awa taught his own system, Daishadokyo (Teaching of the Great Way of Archery), formally founded in 1927. According to Yamada Shoji, this religious organisation ceased to exist after Awa's death in 1939.
Fact and fiction
Yamada Shoji presented the most detailed critique in a study published in 2001 in the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (Japanese original 1999). According to him, Awa never practised with a Zen priest, and the mystical episodes of the book arose from misunderstanding and translation. Yamada also cites the testimony of the interpreter Komachiya Sozo, who translated the conversations between Herrigel and Awa. According to Yamada, Komachiya admitted interpreting deliberately freely and silencing Awa's contradictory statements. D. T. Suzuki, who at first supported the book, later declared that Herrigel had not really understood Zen.
People and martial arts
Editions
- 1948 · DE · Zen in der Kunst des Bogenschießens · Curt Weller Verlag · 92 pp. · first edition
- 1953 · EN · Zen in the Art of Archery · Pantheon Books · 109 pp. · translation
- 1953 · EN · Zen in the Art of Archery · Routledge & Kegan Paul · 107 pp. · translation
- JA · translation