Eastern Europe International Development through the Power of Budo Education

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K20809
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 9:Education and related fields
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: Sakai Toshinobu 筑波大学, 体育系, 教授 (40281711)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 武道 / 教育 / 東欧 / 精神性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study focuses on the educational power of Budo in Eastern Europe. Notably, the research results have organized the logic of Budo as education in Japan and found similarities with the case of soldier in the former Yugoslavia who overcame post-war mental health disorders through Budo practice, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of Budo as education in Eastern Europe.
Furthermore, in Japan, Budo has two types of spirituality: "artistic and seeking of a Way" and "ethical and moral." It is currently believed that these two types coexist. However, in the case of Eastern Europe presented in this study, it has been revealed that the spirituality of the former follows the latter as training progresses, or that the content of the artistic and seeking of a Way spirituality deepens and evolves over time.

Free Research Field

武道学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

海外において人間形成を担ってきたキリスト教の文化圏においてさえ武道による人間形成が可能であること、デカルト以来の心身二元論の世界においてもこの武道思想が機能していたことが明らかとなった点において、学術的新規性が非常に高い。
東欧の事例において修行が進むにつれ芸道的・求道的精神性についで倫理・道徳的精神性が顕現化する、あるいは芸道的・求道的精神性の内容が深まり進化する様子は、敵と命のやり取りをした場面と時間的に近い立ち位置でこの過程・順序を追体験しているとも解され、ここには武道がそもそも殺傷性を目的とした戦いの術であったものが人間形成を目的とする教育へと深化していく過程を説明しうるものである。