TOKUMEIKAN

Sugino Yoshio

1904-1998

I have had the good fortune to have studied directly under Sugino Yoshio Sensei. I must say from personal experience that he was a great man. Even at 90 years of age, he was still practicing, full of vigour. And he was not particular. He would work with all students, from senior instructors to new beginners. He was equally animate when teaching basic kamae (stances) to a total beginner as he was when discussing high-level techniques with the senior members of his dojo. Of all my discussions and experiences with O-Sensei, two events stand out.

One summer day, we had just finished training and all students were congregating around. At that time, there was a group visiting the dojo from France or Belgium (I can’t recall which country) and some members of this group were high-ranking martial artists. One of the visiting sensei, a European, who was wearing his black belt, noticed that Sugino sensei was wearing a white belt under his hakama. He asked Sugino sensei, “Why do you wear a white belt?” Sugino sensei waited for the translation and then smiled and replied in Japanese, “Well, I am still a beginner.” I was floored and the visiting sensei was humbled by these words.

On another occasion, after a big demonstration in Tokyo, all the participating demonstrators were treated to a dinner and drinking celebration at a restaurant. After the dinner, while people were enjoying drinking sake with their compatriots, many people asked Sugino sensei for his autograph. I was standing there when a high-level swordsman asked him for his autograph. Sugino sensei drew a circle with his brush, except the circle did not close at the bottom. I thought this odd. The swordsman was grateful and the two exchanged kind words. I was perplexed by this symbol. Beside me was my sempai, also watching the proceedings and talking with people, and I asked him about it. He smiled at me and said in his best English, “Finish is start…circle…again.” What he meant to say was that the beginner becomes a master and the master once again becomes a beginner. In other words, the beginner, who knows nothing, works hard to become a master. Once he becomes a master, he realizes how little he knows and is once again a beginner.

What do I recall of Sugino sensei? Great humility and great effort. I feel deeply grateful and blessed to have met and known such a great man.

Douglas Tong

Sugino sensei (in the background) with Kurosawa Akira and Mifune Toshiro on the set of Yojimbo.  Sugino sensei designed and supervised the fight choreography.  Sugino sensei also served as the swordfight choreographer for Kurosawa's other celebrated films, Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress as well as Inagaki Hiroshi's Miyamoto Musashi (retitled the Samurai Trilogy in North America).  Incidentally, Mifune Toshiro was also a student of Katori Shinto Ryu under Sugino sensei.

The Last Swordsman: The Yoshio Sugino Story

"Yoshio Sugino, swordsman of Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu, is respected worldwide as one of the elder statesmen in the world of Japanese kobujutsu (classical martial arts). Born in 1904, his life has paralleled much of the development of modern Japan, and during that time he has been fortunate enough to know and study under many of this century's legendary martial artists.

He has also provided martial arts instruction for many of Japan's most popular historical movies, including Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, adding dynamism and reality to what had been staid and poorly stylized fight-scene choreography. He has also appeared frequently in the media as a representative of the world of Japanese kobujutsu. In such ways he has contributed much toward introducing the truly wonderful aspects of Japanese martial arts to the public. But despite Sugino's tremendous service to the budo world, information on him has been limited to fragmented interviews and popular articles that do little toward painting a realistic portrait of the man himself, his origins and his history. In this series I look back on Sugino Sensei's life and the paths he has taken, along the way presenting some of the thoughts on bujutsu he has developed during his 92 years."

The above passage is courtesy of the Aikido Journal   To read the full article please visit The Last Swordsman: The Yoshio Sugino Story

Sugino sensei instructing Mifune Toshiro on the scene of Inagaki Hiroshi's Miyamoto Musashi.