The exhibition, entitled The Spirit of Budo, contains about 50 objects in a single room, but it acts like a magnet for anybody who has ever been curious about the spirit, strength and logic behind Japanese martial arts.
At first, it is difficult to find a connection between the objects, which span a period of a thousand years, other than the fact that each and every one presents a fantastic spectacle: a helmet from which pieces of bamboo stick out like rays of the sun, a bamboo sword covered in fine white leather, and a two-metre high, asymmetric bow. Relatively little information is offered exhibition-goers beside the type of object and the time around which it was made. One is left to marvel at the objects themselves.
Over the course of the 20th century, the Japanese martial art known as Budo has enjoyed increasing popularity in the West for its perfection, as for its intellectuality and aesthetic appeal, the Japan Foundation says on its website.
Modern forms of Budo, however, have deep roots in the past. The road from the development of various armed and hand-to-hand combat techniques (bujutsu) to a modern martial sport and method for the development of mind and body has been centuries long. The Spirit of Budo acquaints the visitor with the major milestones involved through the display of original and reproduction weapons and accessories, the first section dealing with changes in weaponry from the 8th through the 19th centuries, and the second covering various forms and schools of study via the presentation of the equipment they involve.
The Spirit of Budo
runs until September 6.
Author: Eszter Götz / Photo: MTI
