Niju Kun
 

  1. Karatedo wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuru na

    karatedo - karate way
    rei - courtesy, salutation, salute, bow, gratitude, return present
    hajimari - beginning, start (noun)
    owaru - to end (verb)
    koto - thing
    wasuru na - do not forget (another form of wasureru)

    "Do not forget that the karate way begins with a bow and ends with a bow."

    Don't forget that Karate begins with a bow and ends with a bow.

  2. Karate ni sente nashi

    karate - empty hand
    sente - first move, initiative
    nashi - to not to exist, to not to be there

    "In karate the initiative does not exist."

    In Karate, never attack first.

  3. Karate wa gi no tasuke

    karate - empty hand
    gi - justice, righteousness, loyalty, meaning, significance
    tasuke - rescue, help

    "Karate is a helper of justice."

    One who practices Karate must follow the way of justice.

  4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikashite to wo shire

    mazu - first of all
    jiko - one's self
    shire - to know (command)
    shikashite - and, also, then
    ta - others

    "First of all, know yourself, then know others."

    First you must know yourself. Then you can know others.

  5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu

    gijutsu - technique, technology, skill, art
    yori - more than
    shinjutsu - spirituality

    "Spirituality more than technique."

    Spiritual development is paramount; technical skills are merely means to the end.

  6. Kokoro wa hanata n koto wo yosu

    kokoro - heart, mind, core
    hanata n - separate, set free, release, emit, let go
    koto - thing, stuff
    yosu - require, need (verb, another form of yo-suru)

    "The heart/mind requires that you let go."

    You must release your mind.

  7. Wazawai wa ketai ni shozu

    wazawai - calamity, misfortune
    ketai/kaitai - lazy, negligent
    shozu - produce, bring about, come about (verb, another form of shozuru)

    "Misfortune is brought about by negligence."

    Misfortune comes out of laziness.

  8. Dojo nomi no karate to omou na

    dojo - a place for the art, way place, training hall
    nomi - only
    karate - empty hand
    omou na - do not think (command)

    "Do not think karate is only for dojo."

    Karate is not only dojo training.

  9. Karate no jugyo wa issho de aru

    karate - empty hand
    jugyo - training, instruction
    issho - life, lifetime
    de aru - literar, very polite form of desu (to be)

    "Karate training is a lifetime."

    Karate is a lifelong training.

  10. Arayuru mono wo karate kaseyo, soko ni myomi ari

    arayuru - all, every
    mono - thing(s), stuff
    karate - empty hand
    kaseyo - make into, transform (verb, command)
    soko - there, not too far away
    myomi - charm, exquisite beauty

    "Change everything into karate, that is where the exquisite beauty is."

    Put Karate into everything you do.

  11. Karate wa yu no gotoshi taezu netsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru

    karate - empty hand
    yu - hot water
    gotoshi - like, as if
    taezu - always, continually, continously, incessantly
    netsudo - degree of heat, enthusiasm
    ataezareba - unless given, unless you give
    moto - origin, previous state
    mizu - water
    kaeru - return

    "Karate like hot water, will return to original cool water if you dont continually give it a degree of enthusiasm."

    Karate is like hot water. If you do not give heat constantly it will again become cold.

  12. Katsu kange wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo

    katsu - to win
    kangae - a thought
    motsu na - do not have (command)
    makenu - to not lose (another form of makenai)
    hitsuyo - required

    "Do not have thoughts of winning, thoughts of not losing are necessary."

    Do not think you have to win. Think that you do not have to lose.

  13. Teki ni yotte tenka seyo

    teki - enemy, rival, competitor, opponent
    ni yotte - depending on
    tenka seyo - change (command)

    "Change depending upon your opponent."

    Move according to your opponent.

  14. Tatakai wa kyojutsu no soju ikan ni ari

    tatakai - fighting, war
    kyojutsu - truth or falsehood, clever fighting, trying every strategy
    soju - control, pilot
    ikan - what, how

    "Fighting is in how well you control trying every strategy."

    Victory depends on your ability to tell vulnerable points from invulnerable ones.

  15. Hito no teashi wo ken to omou

    hito - people
    teashi - arms and legs
    ken - sword
    to omoe - think
    "Think of people's arms and legs as swords."

    Consider your opponent's hands and legs as you would sharp swords.

  16. Danshi mon wo shuzureba hyakuman no teki aru

    danshi - man, male
    mon - door, gate
    shuzureba - (conditional) if [someone] goes out (unusual form of derareba using the ON reading of the kanji - shutsu
    hyakuman - 100 man ( 1 man is 10,000. 100 man is 1,000,000)
    teki - opponent, enemy

    "If men go out a door, there are one million enemies [out there]."

    When you leave home, think that millions of opponents are waiting for you.

  17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai

    kamae - posture, stance, structure, appearance
    shoshinsha - inexperienced person/people, novice(s)
    ato - later
    shizentai - natural body

    "Stance is for novices, later [use a] natural body."

    Ready position for beginners and natural position for advanced students.

  18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono

    kata - shape, form, karate exercise routine
    tadashiku - correctly
    jissen - real fighting, real combat, real war
    betsu mono - separate thing, something else

    "Correctly [doing] kata [is one thing], real combat is something else."

    Kata is one thing. Engaging in a real fight is another.

  19. Chikara no kyojaku, tai no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna

    chikara - power
    kyojaku - strength + weakness, relative strength
    tai - body
    shinshuku - expansion and contraction, elastic, flexible
    waza - technique
    kankyu - relative speed, slow + fast
    wasaru na - do not forget (form of wasureru na)

    "Do not forget about relative strength of power, flexibility of the body, and the relative speed of techniques."

    Do not forget (1)strength and weakness of power, (2)expansion and contraction of the body, (3)slowness and speed of techniques.

  20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo

    tsune ni - all of the time
    shinen - thought
    kufu - device, contrivance, invention, means
    seyo - do it (command)

    "At all times devise."

    Devise at all times.

This is what the niju kun looks like written in Japanese. This is read from top to bottom, from right to left. The first three characters on the right say Nijukun = "Twenty Teachings/Precepts". The top of each line has a _ followed by a , This the the number one being counted at the top of each line. It says, "Hitotsu." It indicates a "point" or "thing" (its sort of a bullet point).

The Nijukun are the 20 rules for studying Shotokan Karate left behind by Funakoshi Gichin, the founder of the art, for his students to follow. The source of this writing is probably a wall hanging of calligraphy that he created during his more lively years.

 
Copyright © DarioTek 2001
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