Bushido and Christianity

Bushido and Christianity

Is Christianity compatible with the martial arts and the samurai code of Bushido? The Reverend Takemi Sasamori, Methodist minister and founding pastor of the Komaba Eden Church in Tokyo, Japan, and inheritor of three ancient martial arts traditions, unequivocally answers: “Yes!” In Bushido and Christianity , the Rev. Sasamori weaves together elements of Japanese history, lessons from the Bible, and his own personal experiences growing up in a samurai family to trace where Bushido, the martial arts, and Christianity intersect and shows how following these ‘Ways’ can lead to a more fulfilling life. The Rev. Sasmori served for over forty years as a pastor and spent over seventy years training in traditional Japanese martial arts. He was regularly featured in the media in Japan and was a sought-after lecturer on the connection between Bushido and Christianity worldwide. His life’s mission was to bridge the cultural divide between East and West. Born in Hirosaki City, Japan, as the third and youngest son of martial arts legend Sasamori Junzō, the Reverend Sasamori Takemi was raised in a household where the ethics of the samurai, martial arts, and Christianity were part of daily life. After graduating from Waseda and Aoyama Gakuin Universities with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology and Theology, he continued his studies in the United States where he attended Duke University School of Divinity and the Hartford Seminary Foundation, earning Masters of Arts Degrees in Christian and Religious Education. He also served as both Assistant and Associate Minister at the United Church of Christ in New York City for nine years.  Upon returning to Japan in 1969, he became the founding minister of the Komaba Eden Church, Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. In 1975, he was officially recognized as the 17th Sōke of Ono-ha Ittō-ryū, as well as the Sōke of the Shinmusō Hayashizaki-ryū school of iaido and the Chokugen-ryū school of naginata. Regularly featured in the Japanese media, he has published or been featured in nine publications and four videos on both Christianity and the martial arts. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Japanese Traditional Martial Arts Association for over 35 years and was awarded a Doctor of Divinity from the California Graduate School of Theology in 1989.