Kajô Chikusei - Ninja fighter's characteristic

Michael Scherling, a friend and wonderful teacher from Denmark, wrote me something that was going on and used an expression that I didn't know (kajô chikusei), so I started digging and researching, I did AI and a search on search engines (through which I came to a wonderful and enlightening article by Paul Masse, a teacher. Another wonderful one from the Bojinkan, who lives in Japan, and the fact that it is a beautiful and interesting expression, which I think accurately defines one of the basic and main personal characteristics of every person who wants to engage in a field/method called "ninjutsu. I want to share this characteristic with him." This is important. So here it is:

The Chinese expression 花情竹性 (transliterated as Huā qíng zhú xìng) is a beautiful poetic expression that combines the qualities of nature and the world to describe a person's personality or state of mind.

​To understand it, it is worth breaking down the words:

The meaning of the components:

花 (Huā) - flower /花情 (Huā qíng): Symbolizes emotion ("heart of a flower"), beauty, vitality, delicacy and sometimes also romance or a tendency to enjoy the beauty of life.

竹 (Zhú) - Bamboo / 竹性 (Zhú xìng): In Chinese culture, bamboo is a symbol of integrity, resilience, modesty and flexibility. It is hollow in structure (which symbolizes openness and modesty) but very strong and does not break in a storm.

Meaningful meaning:

The expression describes a person who has a unique combination of qualities:

A poetic and delicate soul: on the one hand, he has the sensitivity and grace of a flower (the ability to feel, love and appreciate beauty).

Strong and moral character: on the other hand, he has the "nature of bamboo" - he is an honest, principled, morally strong and impossible to corrupt.

In essence: This is a description of a person who is both sensitive and delicate and strong and upright as a ruler.

Use in modern context:

This is often used to compliment a person on their nobility – someone who does not let the man of the world turn them into a man, but maintains a “blooming heart” and a “bamboo spine”.

Kajou Chikusei has a very fundamental and pillar meaning and place in ninjutsu, as can be read in an article written by Hatsumi Sensei in 1964:

The meaning of Kajou Chikusei is that if you wish to reach the highest levels of ninjutsu, you must carry within your heart the kindness of the flower and the flexibility (Sunao), integrity and upright heart (Masugu) of the bamboo.

This is the heart of the martial way, the heart of the warrior. And the heart of the warrior is, as is almost self-evident, the pure heart (Magokoro).

If a ninja does not have this heart, his actions simply become a skillful manipulation of the forms of ninjutsu. Something quite ordinary, low, vulgar and physical (Zoku butsu).

​A note on the term Sunao: The term carries the idea of ​​being open-minded and flexible in an accepting manner, as opposed to being "hard-headed" or stubborn. For example, a person who is "Sunao" can accept well-founded criticism and new ideas.

In his book - Kimi ni mo Nareru Ninja (1984) - Hatsumi Sensei wrote:

"A ninja had to practice martial arts in a deep and consistent manner and have the temperament of a flower and the character of a bamboo. To have a heart that was considered delicate like a flower and a flexible or limp heart like a bamboo. A ninja had to be a person with a sincere heart. And those who move on also think that all is lost. He had to keep going until the end. He also had to have a very strong willpower. And a person with all these qualities was a true ninja."

Delicate as a flower, strong and flexible as a bamboo cane