View source for Budō

{{more citations needed|date=January 2011}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
{{short description|Japanese martial arts}}
{{infobox martial art term
| pic = Budo1.jpg
| picsize = 150px
| kanji = 武道
| hiragana = ぶどう
| revhep = budō
}}
{{Nihongo|'''''Budō'''''|[[wikt:武道|武道]]}} is a [[Japanese language|Japanese]] term describing modern [[Japanese martial arts]].<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Armstrong| first = Hunter B.
  | title = The Koryu Bujutsu Experience ''in'' Kory Bujutsu - Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan
  | publisher = Koryu Books | date = 1995
  | location = New Jersey | pages = 19–20
  | isbn = 1-890536-04-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | last = Dreager| first = Donn F.
  | title = Modern Bujutsu & Budo - The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan.
  | publisher = Weatherhill | date = 1974
  | location = New York/Tokyo | page = 11
  | isbn = 0-8348-0351-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | last = Friday| first = Karl F. |author1-link=Karl Friday
  | title = Legacies of the Sword.
  | publisher = University of Hawai'i Press| date = 1997
  | location = Hawai | page = 63
  | isbn = 0-8248-1847-4}}</ref> It is commonly translated as "Martial Way", or the "Way of Martial Arts".

==Etymology==
{{lang|ja-Latn|Budō}} is a compound of the root {{lang|ja-Latn|bu}} ({{lang|ja|[[Wiktionary:武|武]]}} or {{lang|ja|ぶ}}; {{langx|zh-Latn|wǔ}}), meaning "war" or "martial"; and {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Dō (philosophy)|dō]]}} ({{lang|ja|[[Wiktionary:道|道]]}} or {{lang|ja|どう}}; {{lang|zh-Latn|dào}}), incorporating the character above for head and below for foot, meaning the unification of mind and body "path" or "way"<ref name=Sanchez-2013>{{cite book|last=Sanchez|first=Cayetano |title=Budo for Budoka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn0XAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|year=2013|publisher=Cuervo|pages=52–53}}</ref> (including the ancient Indic [[Dharmic]] and Buddhist conception of "path", or {{langx|sa-Latn|[[Buddhist Paths to liberation|mārga]]}} in [[Sanskrit]]<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Morgan| first = Diane
  | title = The Best Guide to Eastern Philosophy and Religion
  | publisher = Renaissance Books | year = 2001
  | location = New York | page = 38
  }}</ref>). {{lang|ja-Latn|Budō}} is the idea of formulating propositions, subjecting them to philosophical critique and then following a "path" to realize them.<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Kyoto
  | first = Minoru
  | title = Kendo, Its Philosophy, History and Means to Personal Growth
  | publisher = Kegan Paul International
  | year = 1995
  | pages = 15
  }}</ref> {{lang|ja-Latn|Dō}} signifies a "way of life". {{lang|ja-Latn|Dō}} in the Japanese context is an experiential term in the sense that practice (the way of life) is the norm to verify the validity of the discipline cultivated through a given art form. Modern {{lang|ja-Latn|budō}} has no external enemy, only the internal one: the [[Id, ego and super-ego#Ego|ego]] that must be fought.<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Craig
  | first = Darrell Max
  | title = Mugai Ryu – The Classical Samurai Art of Drawing the Sword
  | publisher = YMAA Publication Center
  | year = 2002
  | location = Boston, Massachusetts
  | pages = 2
  }}</ref>

Similarly to {{lang|ja-Latn|budō}}, {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} is a compound of the roots {{nihongo3||武|bu}} and {{lang|ja-Latn|jutsu}} ({{lang|ja|術}} or {{lang|ja|じゅつ}}), meaning technique.<ref>Henshall, Kenneth G. (1998), ''A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters'', p. 220 (Tuttle).</ref> Thus, {{lang|ja-Latn|budō}} is translated as "martial way",<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Armstrong| first = Hunter B.
  | chapter = The Koryu Bujutsu Experience |title=Kory Bujutsu - Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan
  | publisher = Koryu Books | date = 1995
  | location = New Jersey | pages = 19–20
  | isbn = 1-890536-04-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | last = Dreager| first = Donn F.
  | title = Modern Bujutsu & Budo – The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan.
  | publisher = Weatherhill | date = 1974
  | location = New York/Tokyo | page = 11
  | isbn = 0-8348-0351-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | last1 = Friday | first1 = Karl F.
  | last2 = Seki | first2 = Humitake
  | title = Legacies of the Sword
  | publisher = University of Hawai'i Press
  | year = 1997
  | location = Hawaii
  | page = 63
  | isbn = 0-8248-1847-4}}</ref> or "the way of war" while {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} is translated as "science of war" or "martial craft". However, both {{lang|ja-Latn|budō}} and {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} are used interchangeably in English with the term "martial arts". {{lang|ja-Latn|Budo}} and {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} have quite a delicate difference: whereas {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} only gives attention to the physical part of fighting (how to best defeat an enemy), {{lang|ja-Latn|budo}} also gives attention to the mind and how one should develop oneself.{{cn|date=August 2023}}  

The first significant occurrences of the word {{lang|ja-Latn|budō}} date back to the {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Kōyō Gunkan]]}} (16th century) when it was used to describe the [[samurai]] lifestyle rather than the practice of martial techniques. The word was later re-theorized and redefined to the definition we know today, first by Nishikubo Hiromichi and the Dai Nippon Butokukai when the name of their vocational school for martial arts was changed from {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu senmon gakkō}} to {{lang|ja-Latn|budō senmon gakkō}}; and later by [[Kanō Jigorō]], [[judo]]'s founder, when he chose to name his art ''judo'' instead of ''[[jujutsu]]''.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ZUT2Vh_b-Jk Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200421102829/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUT2Vh_b-Jk&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media|last=Seido – Budo Equipment & Practice in Japan|title=[Interview] Alex Bennett - Budo, a modern concept of education (S01E10)|date=2017-08-19|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUT2Vh_b-Jk|access-date=2018-05-03}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Typical budo styles ==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Aikido]]
* [[Iaido]]
* [[Jodo]]
* [[Judo]]
* [[Jujutsu]]
* [[Karate]]
* [[Kendo]]
* [[Kūdō]]
* [[Kyūdō]]
* [[Shorinji kempo|Shōrinji kempō]]
* [[Sumo]]
{{Div col end}}

=={{lang|ja-Latn|Bujutsu}}==
{{see also|Wushu (term)}}
In [[modern history]] usage, {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} translates as [[martial art]], [[military science]], or [[military strategy]] depending on context, and is typified by its practical application of technique to real-world or battlefield situations. {{lang|ja-Latn|Budō}}, meaning martial way, has a more philosophical emphasis, but in actual usage, {{lang|ja-Latn|budo}} is considered the general term for all martial arts in Japan.

===Civilian vs. military===
Many{{weasel inline|date=June 2025}} consider {{lang|ja-Latn|budō}} a more civilian form of martial arts, as an interpretation or evolution of the older {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}}, which they categorize as a more militaristic style or strategy. According to this distinction, the modern civilian art de-emphasizes practicality and effectiveness in favor of personal development from a fitness or spiritual perspective. The difference is between the more "civilian" versus "military" aspects of combat and personal development. They see {{lang|ja-Latn|budō}} and {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} as representing a particular strategy or philosophy regarding combat systems, but still, the terms are rather loosely applied and often interchangeable.

===Art vs. lifestyle===
One view is that a {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}} is the martial art one practices, whereas a {{lang|ja-Latn|budo}} is the lifestyle one lives and the path one walks by practicing a {{lang|ja-Latn|bujutsu}}. For example, one could say that judo and jujutsu practised as a martial art are one and the same, meaning that the practice of the art jujutsu leads to obtaining the lifestyle of judo. (Judo was originally known as {{lang|ja-Latn|Kanō jujutsu}}, after judo's founder [[Kanō Jigorō]].) That would also be true for arts such as [[kenjutsu]]/[[kendo]] and [[iaijutsu]]/[[iaido]].

===Recreational sport===
{{lang|ja-Latn|Budō}} was featured in the [[Summer Olympic Games]] demonstration programme in [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964]].<ref>{{cite book |author1-link= Bill Mallon |title= Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mM0XzW03AcC&q=Historical+Dictionary+of+the+Olympic+Movement|year=2011|page=69|isbn= 9780810875227 |last1= Mallon |first1= Bill |last2= Heijmans |first2= Jeroen |publisher= Scarecrow Press }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.archbudo.com/ Archives of Budo]

{{Wiktionary|武道}}

{{Japanese martial arts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budo}}
[[Category:Japanese martial arts]]
[[Category:Japanese martial arts terminology| ]]