13「下段をば陽の心を陰に見て打突く剣を清眼と知れ。」- 植芝盛平
Original Waka
下段をば
植芝盛平 (Ueshiba, 1977)
陽の心を
陰に見て
打突く剣を
清眼と知れ
Translation
“Regarding gedan’s guard: cloak a yang heart in yin’s shade; know the sword that strikes and thrusts as seigan’s clear eye.” – Morihei Ueshiba
Waka Translation
Regarding gedan:
yang’s own heart and mind, itself,
as yin, it is seen—
the striking-thrusting sword, here—
know it as Clear Eyed—Seigan.
Morihei Ueshiba
歴史的仮名遣い（語構成を明示）
下段をば （げだんをば）
陽の心を（ようのこころを）
陰に見て（いんにみて）
打突く剣を（うちつくけんを）
清眼と知れ（せいがんとしれ）
植芝盛平
Bungo Romanization
gedan oba
yō no kokoro o
in ni mite
uchitsuku ken o
seigan to shire
Ueshiba Morihei
Aikikai Romanization1
“Gedan oba yo no kokoro wo in ni mite uchitsuku ken wo seigan to shire.” – Morihei Ueshiba
Aikikai Practice Notes1
funekogi, furitama, nipo ikkyo*
Notes
1 Referenced in Aikido at Home #6 during Covid Crisis May 26, 2020
Translation, Notes, Commentary, and Research by Latex G. N. R. Space-Coyote
Ueshiba, M. (2025). 植芝盛平道歌–013: A striking blade is seigan (L. G. N. R. Space-Coyote, Trans.; OpenAI ChatGPT-5 Pro, Ed.). Shugyokai.org. (Original work published 1977) https://shugyokai.org/q3m2
下段（げだん; gedan）— lower tier; column; under step; in kenjutsu / kendō, gedan no kamae is a posture with the tip lowered; historically it functions as a “guarding / enticing” stance that can draw an attack and set up counters; modern descriptions vary by school, but all treat it as a legitimate guard distinct from chūdan and jōdan.
をば（oba）— classical emphatic object marker (を + は → をば, with voicing); hallmark of bungo diction; many grammars note its frequency in premodern texts (cf. Shirane, 2005); see pedagogical notes and dialectal reflexes where ば functions as an object marker.
陽 / 陰（よう / いん; yō / in）— yang / yin framing; Ueshiba’s “see a yō heart as in” invokes East Asian cosmology adopted in Japan (Onmyōdō): yō connotes bright / active / expansive qualities; in connotes shaded / receptive / hidden ones. The injunction is strategic—mask active intent (yō) beneath a receptive exterior (in) while in gedan.
心（こころ; kokoro）— “heart-mind”; heart, core, mind, spirit, wick. etymologically the four ventricles.
見（み; mi）— to see (eye on pair of legs).
陽の心…陰に見て（ようのこころ…いんに見て; yō no kokoro; in ni mite）— “regard the yō (yang) intention as in (yin)”; strategically, conceal assertive intent (yang) under a yin appearance—an onmyōdō‑inflected polarity familiar in Japanese traditions.
打（うち; uchi）— hit, strike, slap; beat up; act of beating up; changes noun to verb.
突（つ; tsu）— to dash forward; to stick out; suddenly, abruptly, unexpectedly, chug, pit-a-pat (hole, grave, cave, cavern, lair, den + man with arms stretched out as far as possible).
打突（うちつ; uchitsu）— “strike-and-thrust”; in kendō, datotsu denotes valid striking/thrusting actions to designated targets; here “the sword that strikes and thrusts” points to decisive offensive engagement.
剣（けん; ken）— sword.
清眼 / 正眼（せいがん; seigan）— the ‘clear eye’; classical sources gloss seigan no kamae as a center guard directing the point toward the opponent’s eyes; it is often written 正眼 (“correct/true eye”), though dictionaries also record variant graphs such as 清眼 (“clear/pure eye”), which is the form Ueshiba uses—underscoring clarity and purity of perception. In practice, seigan names both posture and a way of seeing that reads the opponent without distortion.
知（し; shi）— knowledge.
…と知れ（としれ; toshire）— classical imperative “know (this) as …”; quotative と + 知る imperative 知れ—a bungo hallmark.
Translation. This keeps the semantic sequence line‑for‑line: gedan → yō‑heart → see as in → strike/thrusting sword → recognize as 清眼; and it holds the traditional upper (5‑7‑5) / lower (7‑7) bipartite structure of tanka.
Particles & imperatives. Use of をば (focus), the conjunctive ～て clause (見て), and the imperative 知れ are textbook bungo features (compare classical manuals/grammars).
Quotative. と before 知れ is the classical quotative marker introducing what something is “known as,” again standard bungo usage.
Orthography. Ueshiba’s choice of 清眼 (vs. the common 正眼) is fully intelligible in budō lexicon and foregrounds purity/clarity of vision. Historical sources and contemporary budō explanations attest multiple “seigan” graphs.
Sino‑Japanese polarity. Pairing 陽 (yō) with 陰 (in) is a learned, Sino‑Japanese register that bungo accommodates seamlessly; it resonates with the long Japanese reception of yin‑yang / onmyōdō.
Budō technicality in waka. Casting a technical budō line as waka aligns with the Edo–modern tradition of dōka / kyōkaused to memorize teachings in martial lineages (e.g., Hōzōin‑ryū, koryū densho culture).
Yoin (after‑echo). Closing on 清眼 invites lingered interpretation (clarity vs. targeting). Such semantic aftertaste is a hallmark of waka reception (c.f. Brower & Miner, 1961).
Shugyokai Note. This is absolutely the case! CRACK! SEIGAN!
解説; Commentary
このページの第13首は、原文「下段をば陽の心を陰に見て打突く剣を清眼と知れ。」を掲げ、英題を 「A Striking Blade is Seigan」 としている。批判的口語訳でまとめると――「下段に構え、内には『陽』の気持ちを保ちながらも外観は『陰』として見せ、その構えから打ち出す一刀こそ『清眼（Seigan）だ』と心得よ」――という指示だ。ページの英訳も「Holding gedan, regard a yō (yang) heart as in (yin); know the sword that strikes …」という趣旨で、下段（gedan）／陰陽（yō–in）／清眼（Seigan）の三語を要所に据えている。ここでのポイントは、「見せかたは陰、芯は陽」という二重構造の整え方と、その集中から生まれる決定的一刀を「清眼」と名指していることだ。
語義面を軽く押さえると理解が深まる。清眼は本来「澄んだ眼」を意味しつつ、古来の兵法用語では正眼（中段に構え、切先を相手の目に付ける構え）の異表記としても用いられてきた語である。一方で本句はあえて「下段」に言及しつつ「清眼」を立てるので、単に「型の名称」としての正眼に矮小化せず、澄み切った見（まなこ）＝機を見極める一刀というニュアンスを帯びさせていると読める。つまり、低くおさめ（下段）、陰に見せて陽を保ち（陰陽）、澄んだ眼で割る一刀（清眼）――この三拍子がこのページの核だ。なお、下段が五方の構えの一つであることも補助線になる。
これをこれまでの糸に通すと、プライマーの第一原理〈武＝宇宙原理〉とプライマーの第三原理〈心魂一如〉が「芯は陽・表は陰”の調整軸を与え、プライマーの第四原理〈和合美化〉は見せ方（陰）の品位を担保、プライマーの第五原理の〈体＝道場、心＝修業者／修行者心／学び手〉は下段＝低く構える身体運用を日常に据え、プライマーの第六原理〈「至愛」の源に順う〉は清眼＝澄んだ判断の拠りどころを定める。直前の三首――第10首〈唯一筋に決める〉は陰陽の揺れを一本化し、第11首〈襲うすべなし〉は清眼で間合いを制し攻撃の起点を立たせない帰結を示し、第12首〈天地の息に委ねる〉は呼吸で下段の沈みと陽の芯を同期させる運転法を与える。こうして本ページは、低く静かに（陰）見せて、澄んだ眼と一本の陽で“打ちどころ”だけを割るという、合気の剣の作法を一行で言い切っている。
口語要約のひとこと
「下段に構え、陽の心を陰に見せて、打ち突くその剣を『清眼』と知れ。」
発話行為理論
オースティンの言語行為論に寄せれば、本首は「下段—陰陽—清眼」という命題を述べるだけでなく、その述べ方自体が稽古の作法になっている。上の句（下段／陽の心／陰に見て）が状況と操作を置き、下の句（打突く剣／清眼と知れ）がそれを名指しで確定する。ここに「折り（折り目）」が立ち、1–2句と4句は「を／をば」の反復で身体・心・剣を同じ枠に収め、3句と5句は「見て—眼—知れ」の視覚語彙で認識の軸を揃える。
この構造はillocution（発話内行為）として、命令形「知れ」によって「心得」を成立させる働きをもつ。「清眼」は単なる型名の指示に留まらず、同音の層（正眼の技術語／清い眼の比喩）を引き込み、掛詞的に上と下を懸け渡す。切れ字が句に曲折や言い切りを与えると説明されるのと同様に、末尾の言い切りが稽古上の規範を硬く固定し、判断を曖昧に残さない。
Perlocution（結果として起きること）は、理解の転回が身体操作へ移植される点に集約される。陰に見せる操作が、結果として濁りではなく「清さ」を生むという逆説が立ち、打突の瞬間に“見抜き”が同居しやすくなる。要するに、外の陰が内の陽を消すのではなく、外の陰が内の陽を通すための器となり、その器の透明度が「清眼」として名付けられている――という受け取りが成立したとき、構えと一刀の結び目が変わる。
References
All Japan Kendo Federation. (2019). Kendo match & referee regulations (打突部位). https://www.kendo.or.jp/wp/wp-content/themes/kendo/assets/library/pdf/kendo-shiai_regulations.pdf
All Japan Kendo Federation. (2023). Handbook for Kendo Shiai and Shinpan Management. https://www.kendo-fik.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FIK-Handbook-for-Kendo-Shiai-and-Shinpan-Management-20230726-1.pdf
Austin, J. L. (1962). How to do things with words. Oxford University Press.
Bennett, A. C. (2015). Kendo: Culture of the sword. University of California Press.
Brower, R. H., & Miner, E. (1961). Japanese court poetry. Stanford University Press.
Classical Martial Arts Research. (2015, Jul. 3). Seigan‑no‑kamae 正眼之構. Retrieved from https://classicalmartialartsresearch.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/seigan-no-kamae-%E6%AD%A3%E7%9C%BC%E4%B9%8B%E6%A7%8B/
Frellesvig, B. (2010). A History of the Japanese language. Cambridge University Press.
Greenhalgh, M. (2003). Aikido and spirituality: Japanese religious influences in a martial art (Master’s thesis). Durham University e-Theses. https://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4081/
Hayashi, M., & Hayek, M. (2013). Editor’s Introduction: Onmyōdō in Japanese history. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 40(1), 1–18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41955528
Heinrich, A. V. (n.d.). What is a waka? Asia for Educators (Columbia University). Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_600ce_waka.htm
Imabi. (n.d.). The particles ga & wo. https://imabi.org/the-particles-ga-wo/
Kobe University Repository. (2022). 民俗文化・古武道の伝承活動における教歌の検討 [on dōka/kyōka in martial transmission]. https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780939657483/bungo-manual/
McCullough, H. C. (2010). Bungo manual: Selected reference materials for students of classical Japanese (Cornell East Asia Papers, No. 48). Cornell University Press.
Nanzan Institute for Religion & Culture. (2013). Chinese religion and the formation of Onmyōdō (yin‑yang/wuxing in Japan). https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/journal/6/article/1363/pdf/download
Nogawa, M. (2023, February 13). 五正眼の構え (list of seigan graph variants in usage). Note.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://note.com/kendo_chudoku/n/ne4656686485e
Pranin, S. (2002). Morihei Ueshiba and Onisaburō Deguchi. Aikido Journal. Retrieved from https://aikidojournal.com/2002/08/02/morihei-ueshiba-and-onisaburo-deguchi/
Queeney, M. (2020, April 9). Tanka and renga: Looking through windows. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/157323/tanka-and-renga-looking-through-windows
Shirane, H. (2005). Classical Japanese: A grammar. Columbia University Press.
Stalker, N. K. (2008). Prophet motive: Deguchi Onisaburō, Ōmoto, and the rise of new religions in imperial Japan. University of Hawai‘i Press.
Ueshiba, M. (1977). 合気道奥義（道歌）(S. Abe, Ed.). 阿部, 醒石. Retrieved from http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~yp7h-td/douka.htm
Vovin, A. (2003). A reference grammar of Classical Japanese prose. RoutledgeCurzon.
Appendix I: Change Modification Log
24 JAN 26 - Phase V Speech Acts (Austin, 1962) analysis added in Japanese.
21 JAN 26 - Added a note on をば (oba) as emphatic object marker.
13 JAN 26 - Updated Poetry Foundation article to Queeney (2020); reordered All Japan Kendo Federation for proper date order.
21 DEC 25 - Phase V styling applied to waka.
07 DEC 25 - Updated quotes to Japanese quotes and back propagated English "Primer" to Japanese "プライマー" for Japanese readability.
26 OCT 25 - Phase III completion; Phase IV completion. Added commentary.
14 APR 20 - Initial notes transferred.