The Life of Nakamura Tempu (4)

AWAKING FROM THE WANDERING DREAM—
THE LIFE OF NAKAMURA TEMPU
(Part Four)

By H. E. Davey
Photos courtesy of Sawai Atsuhiro

Western and Eastern Influences
Nakamura Sensei’s stress on experimentation and comprehension through direct insight echoes his background in science and medicine. He supervised experiments to study the effects of Shin-shin-toitsu-do; to this day, prominent Western-style doctors in Japan are well-known practitioners of this art. His processes of autosuggestion, which you can read about in Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation, are borrowed from his study of psychology in Europe.

Practices like autosuggestion were in vogue during Nakamura Sensei’s time in the USA and Europe, where they were popularized via the New Thought philosophy. Some New Thought groups emphasized 19th century semi-scientific theories such as mesmerism, while others promoted the autosuggestion, affirmations, and self-help methods of Emile Coue. Some advocated meditation, while others taught positive thinking as a jumping off point for teaching the "law of attraction," or how to attract personal/financial success by visualizing these conditions. Some stressed vegetarianism, others taught the significance of willpower and directed thoughts, and still others focused on psychophysical healing and affirmative prayer.

Despite “New Thought” being an umbrella term for various occasionally diverging movements and philosophies, it has certain universally accepted principles. A primary tenet is that thinking itself creates one's experience of the world. A philosophy of idealism and optimism, New Thought professes the central role of the mind in relation to experiencing the physical world and emphasizes positive thinking, affirmations, and meditation. These methods are commonly taught using books and courses.

New Thought's proponents birthed various self-development, self-empowerment, and self-help offshoot philosophies, such as those advocated by writers Napolean Hill and Charles F. Haanel, with their focus on training willpower for success. One prominent New Thought influenced author was Orison Swett Marden, who Nakamura Sensei met, and some of whose teachings are clearly echoed in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. In researching this article, it became clear that the New Thought movement had a profound effect on Shin-shin-toitsu-do, much more than is sometimes acknowledged in Japan.

And unquestionably, Japanese influences can be discerned in Nakamura Sensei’s teachings. Shinto, the native Japanese faith, underscores purity and union with nature; it impregnated every aspect of Japanese civilization. Similarly, Zen Buddhism made an impression on Japan with its appearance from China myriad years ago. Since Nakamura Sensei grew up in Japan, which has been tinged for hundred years by Zen and Shinto, ambient factors and aesthetics of these doctrines are detected in what and how he taught.

He enjoyed the books of Dogen, a famous Zen monk. While he dismissed most of the religious trappings, rituals, and regulations Dogen mentioned, he found a kindred spirit in Dogen’s spiritual insight and concept of meditation. When Nakamura Sensei’s students indicated that the wording of these texts was different from his (and for loads of people incomprehensible as well), he was unabashed. He explained he identified not with the writing as much as the spirit behind it, adding that yoga and Zen sprang from the same Indian soil. He felt the yogic meditation of Kaliapa and the Zen of Dogen lead to the same place, but he was also clear about his desire to create new explanations for both Indian meditation and Japanese Zen that modern people could more easily relate to.

In addition, “Japanized” Chinese influences can be discovered in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Nakamura Sensei spoke Chinese and lived in China at several points in his life.

Chinese Taoism originally stressed existing in friendship with nature and the cosmos. Over time it evolved meditations and health practices aiming at not just wisdom, but also long life, and in some sects even outright deathlessness. Hundreds of years ago, like copious aspects of Chinese civilization, these teachings shifted to Japan, where Taoism was proclaimed Dokyo. Advanced Taoist mystics, who’d accomplished elevated spirituality and physical health, and according to ancient legends eternal life as well, were called Hsien in China and Sennin in Japan. Although modern Japanese often mistakenly fail to distinguish between man and myth when they think of the Sennin, real life Sennin mystics practiced Sennin-do, the Japanese version of Taoist yoga, which underscores developing life energy via chi-kung exercises (kiko in Japanese). The Sennin have been characterized as Japanese equivalents to the yogi, and several of their techniques are comparable to methods found in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, which some believe is also a form of Sennin-do. Nakamura Sensei mentioned the Sennin and Sennin-do (a.k.a. Senjutsu) in his books, and his methods of self-healing and some of his breathing practices are too close to esoteric Taoist disciplines to be mere coincidence.

Although Shin-shin-toitsu-do isn’t a martial art, Japanese budo (“martial Ways”) also made an impression on Shin-shin-toitsu-do. Nakamura Sensei was exceptional at Zuihen Ryu swordsmanship, and the power of the martial arts can be felt in forms of dynamic meditation taught in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. It can likewise be witnessed in the vigorous and disciplined atmosphere in Shin-shin-toitsu-do classes.

During the Russo-Japanese War, he utilized his sword in combat, earning the somewhat dubious handle “Man-Cutting Tempu.” However after returning from India, he stressed compassion for all living things and during World War II earned the ire of Japan’s government by speaking against war of any kind. While he drilled solo sword exercises throughout his life, he imagined no adversary when using a sword for mobile meditation. His ability, nonetheless, remained so immense that he could easily slice through fat sections of bamboo. And he could do it using a wooden sword.

Inspiring? Certainly, but more inspiring still was the fact that the bamboo was suspended from hollows incised in two ribbons of paper, which in turn hung from two upturned knives clutched by two assistants. The bamboo would be split without ripping the suspending top and bottom holes in these paper ribbons. (When bamboo is carved in half with enormous speed, the middle part drops, permitting the outer ends to slide from the holes without disturbing the paper.) And Nakamura Sensei, using mind and body coordination principles, taught average folks with no swordsmanship training, to accomplish the same feat. He even taught students to slice through a pair of chopsticks with a business card or postcard, by visualizing ki energy passing through the utensils. Such is the power of mind and body unification.

Moving from the shita hara, a natural abdominal center, and concentration in the same region, has a heritage in both Zen and martial arts. In some of his dynamic meditation drills we can notice imprints of judo as well. Because Nakamura Sensei was friends with the originator of aikido and had important aikido instructors as students, we can notice aikido influences in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, especially in the art’s contemporary spin-offs.

All of these disciplines relate to Shin-shin-toitsu-do, but they aren’t Shin-shin-toitsu-do. A respected exponent of this art once criticized part of my history of Nakamura Sensei in Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation by saying Shin-shin-toitsu-do was the creation of Nakamura Sensei and that it shouldn’t be related to other disciplines. I agree . . . up to a point.

Shin-shin-toitsu-do is undoubtedly an outgrowth of the creativity of Nakamura Sensei. Nonetheless, everything comes from something. Nothing just spontaneously appears, and to imply that Shin-shin-toitsu-do evolved solely from the mind of its founder—with no historical ties to other cultures and meditative disciplines—won’t go over with readers versed in Asian culture and spirituality. For people like myself, who’ve spent their lives researching Asian religion, culture, art, and meditation, it isn’t difficult to see that yoga, Zen, Shinto, Taoism, martial arts, and Western sciences relate to Shin-shin-toitsu-do.

But make no mistake; I’m not stating that blending the disparate subjects above culminates in Shin-shin-toitsu-do. We could repeat everything Nakamura Sensei did and still not attain realization or even arrive at identical practices. He studied a glut of methods before traveling to India. It didn’t help him much. In truth, it was only when he stopped shopping for a fresh remedy or discipline that he could behold the Way of the universe.

Teaching the Way of the Universe
Nakamura Sensei taught for about 50 years. He gradually evolved exercises and mind-body unification principles that encapsulated his realization in India, and his teachings transformed countless people. The students directly taught by Nakamura Sensei numbered more than 100,000.

One of his favorite pupils, Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei, remembers him having the vigor of a twenty-something in his late eighties. Sawai Sensei often comments on how even as he aged his extraordinary intelligence and acutely heightened senses never dimmed.

Shortly before his death, he noticeably weakened. He counted among his students leading doctors. They were consulted, and they indicated that something unusual was happening—each of his organs and bodily systems were slowly declining. No cause could be determined. But his clarity of consciousness never paled.

At 92 years of age, on December 1, 1968, he called his family and students together. Sensing the end was near, or perhaps consciously deciding to leave, he said in a clear and calm voice, “Thank you. I’ll see you all again.” With that, like the fading note of an immense and ancient bell, he closed his eyes and merged with the universe.

Shin-shin-toitsu-do Today
It’s Nakamura Sensei’s unadorned perception of existence that made him beneficial to others. To reveal his insight, he employed different practices with which he was well-versed; but this is nearly incidental, as everything he communicated and every individual he moved with his statements, was inspired more by the strength of his link with ultimate reality than by anything else. It’s futile to only mimic the original methods he studied, to accumulate a compilation of such arts ourselves, or to blindly copy what he developed. Instead, we should personally perceive the truth as he did.

After his death, Tempu-Kai attempted to preserve and consolidate his teachings, creating official versions of exercises and methods. Easier said than done, as Nakamura Sensei taught “according to the person,” meaning different students sometimes learned different things, with exercises performed in different ways. Because he wasn’t promoting a dogma or religious tradition, when he was alive his teaching was not fixed and “official versions” were in flux. He continued learning and growing, which caused the way he taught and practiced various exercises to change and grow as well.

Thus, early students learned different approaches than people joining Tempu-Kai later in Nakamura Sensei’s life. Likewise, people in Kyoto didn’t always get identical instruction as individuals in Osaka or Tokyo. Over time, especially after his death, certain teachers made discoveries of their own concerning mind and body unification, discoveries that caused them to teach and practice in new ways. A case in point, Tohei Koichi Sensei, a top proponent of aikido, Zen, and misogi breathing exercises as well as one of Nakamura Sensei’s senior students, gave birth to a new group called Ki no Kenkyukai. He created his own style of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, modified by his experiences with other arts, and he created a new martial art called Shin-shin-toitsu aikido.

Like Tohei Sensei in aikido, other students mixed the principles of mind and body unification with their particular interests or jobs. This isn’t surprising as Nakamura Sensei encouraged pupils to apply his teachings to their daily lives. For instance, in addition to being a practitioner of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, my teacher Hirata Yoshihiko Sensei was a musician. Even after retiring from teaching Shin-shin-toitsu-do, he made his living offering music lessons based on coordination of mind and body principles.

Nakamura Sensei attracted leaders from various fields including fine arts, sports, healing arts, and other disciplines. A number of these teachers integrated mind and body unification exercises and concepts into their particular subject. (They haven’t, unfortunately, inevitably acknowledged their debt to Shin-shin-toitsu-do.) This represents another direction taken by some of Nakamura Sensei’s pupils after he passed away.

Tempu-Kai has published a multitude of books and audio tapes of his ideas; they’re generally accepted by the average Japanese as the “public face” of his teachings. Many talented people at Tempu-Kai devoted many hours, for many years, to preserving Shin-shin-toitsu-do. And in many ways, they’ve succeeded. Nevertheless, there isn’t now, nor has there ever been, a single, concrete, and universally practiced standard for this art.

Moreover, during Nakamura Sensei’s life, and to a greater degree after he passed away, some folks deified him as a god-like being, whose words cannot be altered and whose methods shouldn’t be allowed to evolve. This quasi-religious approach to Shin-shin-toitsu-do would have dismayed their sensei, who stated that organized religions frequently divide people, where he wanted to bring them together. Nakamura Sensei further emphasized that Shin-shin-toitsu-do seeks the source from which all spirituality emerges—before it’s organized and altered by institutions. Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei, one of his close students, writes:

First, Nakamura Tempu Sensei was really broadminded enough to accept all persons as his students, including Buddhists, Christians, non-religious people, agnostics, and atheists, if they sincerely wanted to learn and practice his Shin-shin-toitsu-do (Japanese yoga). This is the reason why the Tempu Society is a zaidan hojin (nonprofit educational organization) for promoting our mental and physical human condition. It is not a religious foundation of any sort, and this organizational direction is based upon the generous intention of its original founder Tempu Sensei.

Secondly, Tempu Sensei used to call himself “a finger pointing at the truth” and not the truth itself. Therefore, he strictly instructed us not to worship him.

Thirdly, Tempu Sensei also used to encourage us by saying, “You can and must start from the point I have reached.” Therefore, he would be most happy if his disciples, thankfully believing in his words, try to go beyond limitations of any kind, regionally, racially, culturally, etc. In other words, you do not have to enter the Himalayas as he did or become Japanese. You can make use of Shin-shin-toitsu-do in your own way, but you must not forget that you are encouraged to surpass the achievements of our teacher. (4)

Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei also quotes Nakamura Sensei as saying:

Each of us was born with a unique mission and role in life, which we must personally discover. I don’t desire to tell you what to do in your lives. I teach methods to help you find the strength and creativity to be able to do anything you decide you’re meant to do. There’s no need to copy me. (5)

According to Sawai Sensei, his teacher hoped Shin-shin-toitsu-do would spread outside of Japan, which is also a long cherished dream of Mr. Sawai’s. Yet Shin-shin-toitsu-do cannot be understood by Westerners who merely read articles like this one. We need to actually practice mind and body unification to discover our connection to the universe as Nakamura Tempu Sensei did. (6)

About the Author: H. E. Davey Sensei is the Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, located in the San Francisco Bay Area (http://www.senninfoundation.com/). In 2001, he wrote the first and only book in English about Nakamura Tempu Sensei and his system of Japanese yoga and meditation. The book is out of print, but autographed BRAND NEW copies can be purchased exclusively from the Sennin Foundation Center. Supplies are limited, and if you’d like to read more about how Japanese yoga can help you improve your health and realize your full potential, order a copy of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation here: http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

Notes
1. Nakamura Tempu, Shokushu—Shuren Kaiin Yo (Tokyo: Tempu-Kai, 1957), p. 46.
2. A yogi is a practitioner of yoga.
3. Changing names to commemorate key moments in one’s life has a long tradition in Japan. While less common today, it is still practiced by some traditionally minded Japanese.
4. Hashimoto Tetsuichi, The Sennin Foundation 25th Anniversary Commemorative Booklet (Albany, Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, 2006), page 6.
5. Sawai Atsuhiro, personal conversation, 2006.
6. Much of the biographical material and quotes in this article comes from The Life of Nakamura Tempu, an unpublished manuscript written by Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei. It is used with the kind permission of the author.