THE DEVELOPMENT OF JU-JITSU IN THE MIDDLE AGES
The office of Shogun was not in contrast with the figure of the Emperor, even if, in reality the actual power would remain in the hands of the Shogun until the Meiji imperial restoration of 1868. The rise of local powers forced a skillful game of alliances with the strongest Daimyo (feudal lords). In 1274 and 1281, several local feudal lords strenuously defended themselves from the invasion attempts of Kublai Khan who sent the Mongols, without success, to conquer the archipelago. Up until 1600, Japan saw repeated dynastic struggles for succession to the throne and to the shogunate, continued attempts by the Shogun to centralize the power against the growing influence of the feudal lords. Basically, it was a devastating period of civil wars for the rise to power that persisted for centuries.

In such a scenario it was inevitable that the arts of combat develop quickly and to the best of their ability. Many combat techniques were studied, practiced and perfected on the battle-field and they evolved in a sort of natural selection.

The form of training aimed to prepare the Samurai against adversaries armed and protected by armor, therefore numerous techniques were created and mastered for both armed (kobudo) and unarmed combat. The Samurai carried with him the spear, the bow, the halberd and other weapons, though the central nucleus of his armor was always made up of the inseparable katana (sword).

The sword, in fact, perfectly incarnated the Samurai’s ethic and his spirit. Samurai fighting required courage because one fought short-range and it demanded an ability that the other social classes did not possess. The foundation of a formal Ju-Jitsu art is often attributed to Takenuchi Hisamori through the creation of his school in 1532 where he taught both armed and unarmed combat techniques. In 1559 a Chinese monk, Chin Gen Pinh, came to Japan with his knowledge and experience of Kempo (“Chinese hand”) that was adopted in part by the school of Ju-Jitsu, as were other styles originating from China and Korea.