Review of "Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai"

Taiho - Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai
by Don Cunningham

Tuttle Publishing, First Edition, 2004

Hard cover, 6x9 inches, over 180 pages, over 210 ilustrations (grayscale photos and drawings)

Review by Dr. Ivica Zdravkovic, April 2004

It is always hard to write an objective review on something done by your friend. In this particular case, I have the privilege and honour of considering the author of fascinating "Taiho - Jutsu", Mr. Don Cunningham, a very dear friend of mine. Actually, the autographed copy of this book arrived to my home address as a gift - once more as a help from Don, who made it possible to read his book even here, in part of the world seldom seen from the distributors.

"Taiho - Jutsu" comes almost as a natural extension of Don's first book "The Secret Weapons of Jujutsu" - which also was a huge success. It is obvious that "Taiho - Jutsu" reaches even deeper in Japanese history, culture and martial arts in particular. This is outstanding and condensed presentation of Edo culture, evolution and organisation of juristic system, and at the same time, impressive presentation of civil authority, policing and arrest methods.

One of my first impressions while reading this book was that it was far beyond simple definition of martial arts books. It is giving much more than just a usual instruction in implementing weapons and body arts. The first 60 pages are so well composed that they deserve to be reprinted even as a separate textbook. It is a fruit of Don's long research work, travels to Japan and serious analysis of all the resources available. It is especially nice to see Don's list of acknowledgements - which reveals a truly impressive individuals and institutions who contributed to the final look of "Taiho - Jutsu": Nawa Yumio sensei, S. Alexander Takeuchi, Kusunoki Toshi, Mizutani Tonomori, Rich Hashimoto, the staff of Tokyo National Museum, Meiji University Criminology Museum, Keisatsu Museum, Fukugawa Edo Museum, and others...

Chapters 1, 2 and 3 are simply amazing: The rise of Edo as central city of shogunate is richly illustrated by original photos taken in Japan in second half of 19th century! Even brief descriptions on "small issues" such as cooking and dining habits of Edo population make the reader feel as transported directly to these ancient times. Organisation of fire fighters (hikeshi), detailed description of their methods used (with "matoi" banners, "hashigo" ladder etc.) - all of it is so well presented that one simply cannot resist continuing reading with no stops, from the first to the last page.

What happens when a feudal shogun's government banns the wheeled vehicles? Why would they do that? What is "sankin kotai" and how did it influence the political stability of Tokugawa era? Was there really a freedom for samurai to violently decapitate just about any lower ranked people ('kiritsutegomen") - or were there some limitations that actually made this "myth" very misinterpreted? What about legal vendetta? To these and plenty of other interesting question Don Cunningham is giving very precise answers and insights.

Then comes the description of criminal activities, organisations and famous criminals such as Jirocho "The Tokaido's Number One Boss" - immediately followed with fascinating illustrations of Edo justice, penalties, punishment and police officers.

One of the central parts of this book introduces a highly complicated structure of law enforcement in feudal Japan. Readers can learn about yoriki, doshin, komono, goyokiki and other official and "unofficial" members of regular police and law forces. Their clothing, weapons, social status, inter-relations and regular activities, duties and jurisdiction are described in details.

Starting with Chapter 4, the author focuses on weapons and arresting tools, as well as on exact techniques of jute jutsu (and taiho-jutsu in general - meaning "body restraining art"). Don Cunningham provided an incredible series of photos of original Jutte (iron truncheons) - which were practically the standard for all members of law forces, even those of high ranks who were allowed to carry and use long sword, or katana. To quote the author (page 64): "...In time, the jutte served as a badge of office, carried by all levels of police officers". It was, as one of the subtitles says, the "symbol of official authority".

Fascinating collection of jutte is followed with description of other commonly used weapons, including the so called "Three tools of arresting" (torimono sandogu) - which consisted of pole-arm arresting tools which provided a relative safety for the officers while dealing with a criminal armed with a sword. These three ingenious tools (used in slightly modified forms even in today's police forces in Japan) are: Sasumata (spear fork), Tsukubo (push pole) and the most interesting Sodegarami - or sleeve entagler - a large scary pole with iron head filled with hooks - which would simply trap the victim by entangling his kimono.

Starting from page 101, Don Cunningham as an experienced judo and jujutsu practitioner, offers very condensed, but fully sufficient description on use of jutte - and use of standard arresting methods often visible or recognisable even in modern police training around the world. This final and the most "martial" portion of "Taiho - Jutsu" book is splendidly illustrated with line drawings by Rich Hashimoto. As a jujutsu teacher and one who is occasionally involved in police and prison-guards courses, I warmly recommend it to all martial arts practitioners involved in restraining/arrest methods. It is also very useful as an addition to those practitioners who are involved in such weapon arts like kenjutsu, hanbo jutsu, jojutsu, etc. - because many of the techniques presented in here can be applied even with other weapons - not only the jutte.

Finally, author offers a list of some 70 "more unusual' Japanese terms, with their respective kanji characters referenced - including names of weapons described.

In conclusion: "Taiho - Jutsu" is one of those books which deserve the most accessible place on your book shelf. You will be proud to show it to your friends and you will be proud to quote it. Learning Edo history and numerous interesting facts about its justice and police system will be a pleasure for many readers, not only the martial artists or people involved in police tactics research. This book will definitely find its audience among many different groups, and that is one of its best qualities.