Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Page 126

Arts of Japan

Text: Joho Goemon Kawazuki

Graduation Party of new Joho
(Shidoshi) of the Kawa lineage
in the Kaze no Ryu Ogawa Ha school,
directed by Shidoshi Jordan
Augusto Oliveira
The Shizen cultural tradition has its great paladin in the
figure of Shidoshi Jordan Augusto, one of the last
authorities in that deep knowledge that has remained
secret to our day. Its rich cultural background, including
its own language, Shizengo, with its dialects and three
types of different scriptures, its vast teachings in the field
of philosophy, strategy, medicine, fighting arts, etc.,
stems from the original inhabitants of the islands of
Japan, prior to the arrival of the Yamato, with which they
mixed after the destruction of the villages, being able
nevertheless to maintain their collective memory and
traditions up to this day.
Perhaps Shidoshi Jordan is the last exponent of this
cultural lineage (we haven't heard of anybody else so far),
but he certainly is the first non-Japanese who has
continued to teach the ancient wisdom of a people
exceptionally elusive to any type of recording, who always
kept their knowledge secret. Among all their cultural
baggage, possibly the most beautiful and hidden gem was
their knowledge of the unseen, called E-bunto in Shizengo
(O-chikara in Japanese), which means "The Great Force”,
an issue of which our director Alfredo Tucci has been
passionate for years and, because of his training in
anthropology, has dived on it to the point of having already
written two books: "On the threshold of the invisible. The
Japanese shamanism of the Shizen culture", and the
recently edited "The framework of the invisible. The

“Celebrations were an
essential part of the
everyday village life.
Their purpose was that of
bringing together the four
villages, at least four times
a year, coinciding with
seasonal changes”

“Valencia's starry night was
full of great magic,
charm and exceptional
strength; part of all that
energy transcends
in the photo essay that
illustrates the article”
construction of the Universe of the Shizen shamans",
already translated into English (the first) and both into
Portuguese and Italian. Until then, oddly enough, nothing
had been published on this subject; even today nothing
else appears on Google, such was the zeal with which the
Shizen have always kept their secrets. The article we
present today reports the great festival held in Valencia,
Spain, which took place in two parts: the spiritual
celebration on the feast dedicated to Shojobu Tengu, and
the staging of an original play that featured, under the
name of "The People of Tengu", an exhibition of the history
and cultural peculiarities of "The Naturals", English
translation of their Japanese name, "Shizen".
The party was attended by guests and E-bunto initiates
worldwide. During celebration, dances and honors to all
Tengu were performed, along with the right and proper
ceremonial bow shot, enthronements and offerings, that is
to say, all the ancient ceremonies that framed such an act
within the Shizen in tradition. For such a celebration, rituals
must begin to be prepared seven days before the feast,
with various ceremonies and a special care so that
everything goes the right way.

A little approach to ceremonials
Celebrations were an essential part of the everyday
village life. Their purpose was that of bringing together the
four villages, at least four times a year, coinciding with
seasonal changes. Each village could provide more feast
days if deemed appropriate, because in these
celebrations, the abundance of food assured the caring of
all their members, including the most disadvantaged ones,
thus creating a positive framework of coexistence and
sharing. The idea was not only establishing a meeting