Why so many Japanese martial arts end in 道

The “do” at the end of judo, kendo and aikido is the kanji 道 (dou), the way. On its own it’s read michi, a road or path, and in the name of a martial art it means a way of life you follow: 柔道 (juudou) is the gentle way, 剣道 (kendou) the way of the sword, and 合気道 (aikidou) is often translated as the way of harmony. The kanji itself looks like 首, a head, travelling along 辶, a road.

What the kanji say

道 (dou, michi) is a road, a path, a way. The part that wraps around the bottom left, 辶, is a radical for walking and moving, and you can picture it as a winding road. Riding on it is 首 (kubi), a head or neck.

柔 (juu) means soft, gentle or flexible: 柔らかい (yawarakai) is soft. It’s 矛, a spear, over 木, a tree.

剣 (ken) is a sword, especially a double-edged one. The 刂 on its right is a knife, the shape 刀 takes on the side of a kanji.

合 (ai, gou) means to fit or come together, as in 合う (au), to match. In 合気道 it joins 気 (ki), which means spirit, mind or energy.

Where it really comes from

As history, the head on the road is probably just a memory aid. Most modern dictionaries describe 道 as 辶, walking, for the meaning, and 首 for the sound: in Old Chinese, the two words sounded close. The same goes for the spear in 柔: the Shuowen Jiezi, a Chinese dictionary from around 100 CE, explains 柔 as wood that can bend and straighten, with 矛 there for its sound.

The idea of 道 as a “way” is much older than judo. It’s the Tao of Taoism, and in Japanese it came to mean a path you follow through life, not just a road.

The martial arts took it on more recently. Many older fighting styles ended in 術 (jutsu), art or technique: 柔術 (juujutsu), 剣術 (kenjutsu). When Kano Jigoro founded his school in Tokyo in 1882, he called his art 柔道 instead of 柔術. He felt jutsu suggested a set of physical techniques, and dou something broader, closer to a philosophy. Other arts followed: fencing with bamboo swords was renamed 剣道 in 1920, and aikido became the official name of Ueshiba Morihei’s art in 1942.

So the video’s “every” is a small stretch. Japan’s budo council, which works under the Nippon Budokan, counts nine modern 武道 (budou), Japanese martial arts, and three of them don’t end in 道: sumo (相撲), naginata (なぎなた) and Shorinji Kempo (少林寺拳法). The other six do: judo, kendo, kyudo (弓道, archery), karate-do (空手道), aikido and jukendo (銃剣道, bayonet fighting).

“Harmony” is a short translation, too. 合気 (aiki) means joining or blending 気, energy: meeting an attacker’s force and redirecting it.

How to use it

• 柔道を習っています。

  Juudou o naratte imasu.

  I'm learning judo.

• 子どもの頃、剣道をやっていました。

  Kodomo no koro, kendou o yatte imashita.

  I did kendo as a kid.

• 合気道の道場はどこですか。

  Aikidou no doujou wa doko desu ka.

  Where's the aikido dojo?

• 駅までの道を教えてください。

  Eki made no michi o oshiete kudasai.

  Could you tell me the way to the station?

• On its own, 道 is michi: a road, a street, or the way somewhere. In compound words it’s usually dou, and in 神道, Shinto, it’s tou.
• The vowels are long in Japanese. English writes judo, kendo and aikido, but they’re juudou, kendou and aikidou.
• A dojo is the “place of the way”: 道場 (doujou), with 場, place. The training uniform is a 道着 (dougi).
• The arts are ways too. 書道 (shodou) is calligraphy, 茶道 (sadou) is the tea ceremony and 華道 (kadou) is flower arranging.

Words with the same kanji

Remember it

A head (首) travelling down a winding road (辶). Walk the same road every day for long enough, and a set of techniques becomes a way: 道.

The kanji in this lesson

Tap Draw it to watch the stroke order. Numbers show where each stroke starts.

Draw it

Draw it

Draw it

Draw it

Sources

• Dong Chinese: 道
• Wikipedia: Judo
• Wikipedia: Aikido
• Wikipedia: Kendo
• Wikipedia (Japanese): 日本武道協議会, the nine budo

Written by the Chirami team with the help of AI, then checked against JMdict and KANJIDIC2. How we write lessons. Spotted a mistake? Email support@brightsmilesolutions.org.