right|thumb|Japanese jō, tall and in circumference, made in the form of a large walking stick A is an approximately wooden staff, used in some Japanese martial arts. The martial art of wielding the jō is called jōjutsu or jōdō. Also, aiki-jō is a set of techniques in aikido which uses the jō to illustrate aikido's principles with a weapon. The jō staff is shorter than the six-foot rokushakubō. Today, the jō is still used by some Japanese police forces.
Article
5 sectionsContents
- Legendary origin
- Subsequent history
- See also
- References
- Further reading
right|thumb|Japanese jō, tall and in circumference, made in the form of a large walking stick A is an approximately wooden staff, used in some Japanese martial arts. The martial art of wielding the jō is called jōjutsu or jōdō. Also, aiki-jō is a set of techniques in aikido which uses the jō to illustrate aikido's principles with a weapon. The jō staff is shorter than the six-foot rokushakubō. Today, the jō is still used by some Japanese police forces.
==Legendary origin== The techniques for jō were reportedly invented by Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (夢想 權之助 勝吉, fl. c.1605, date of death unknown) after he was defeated by the famous swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, 1584–1645). They fought each other in a duel sometime between 1608 and 1611, according to Kenji Tokitsu. The record mentioning this duel, the , recounts: