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Sokushin no Gyo-Bell Misogi

Sokushin no Gyo or Misogi no Suzu (Bell misogi) is a vigorous meditative

exercise that involves sitting seiza,chanting,controlled breathing and ringing

the suzu (handholded bell). a!anese term Misogi re"ers to "orm o" !hysical

or mental !uri#cation. $n Sokushin no Gyo, the combination o" chanting andbreath control is used to clear the mind and to reoxigenate the body. %he

!ractice o"ten test the endurance o" both mind and body. $t is im!ortant that

the Sokushin no Gyo !ractitioners learn to !ractice &ith e'ual amounts o"

vigor and relaxation.

lthough its origins can be trace back to ancient a!anese amabushi,

modern Sokushin no Gyo, as !racticed by martial artist is entirely secular.

%he "amous s&ordsman and caligra!her, amaoka %esshu (*+-*+++) is

thought to have introduced the !ractice o" Sokushin no Gyo into the martial

arts. amaoka%esshu &as kno&n "or !uting his students through marathontraining sessions. e a!!lied the same kind o" dedication to Sokushin no

Gyo. t the $chikukai /o0o, &hich &as "ounded by amaoka students, a -day

long Sokushin no Gyo !ractice session is still held every month.

ikido sensei 1oichi %ohei &as a regular !ractitioner o" Sokushin no Gyo and

attributed much o" his success in ikido to his Sokushin no Gyo !ractice.

2$ &ent to the ikido do0o "or every !ractice, but $ "ound that $ couldn3t even

measure u! to the high school students &ho &ere training there. "ter a

&hile, ho&ever, $ noticed that &henever $ came to ikido !ractice com!letelyexhausted a"ter a session at the $chikukai, nobody could move me. $ also

noticed that &hen $ thre& !eo!le &hile in that exhausted state, they &ould

really go 4ying. %hese t&o !henomena made me realize that the trick &as to

let go o" strenght. t that !oint $ realized that relaxation &as an im!ortant

key.2

Many o" the bene#ts o" Sokushin no Gyo can obtained &ithou marathon

!ractice sessions and !ractice session &ith duration as shorts as 56 minutes

are common.

%he basics o" Sokushin no Gyo !ractice are very sim!le and involve the

re!etition o" + vocable sounds. %hese are7

8ocable7 %o o 1a Mi 9 Mi %a Me

:ronunciation7 %oe oe 1ah Me 9h Me %ah May

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%here are di;erent inter!retation o" the original meaning o" the sounds.

%y!ically they are thought to re"er to the s&ord, mirror and 0e&el &hich are

!art o" the a!anese im!erial regalia and are national symbols o" a!an.

o&ever, "or !ur!oses o" the !ractical bene#ts o" Sokushin noGyo, the

simbolic meaning o" the vocables is not im!ortant.

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By this time, the !ractitioners have reached the highest intensity and volume

o" their chanting. %he accent is again on the #rst syllable o" each count (i.e.

%A, 9). %he leaders kee!s ringing the bell in time &ith this t&o count,

re!eating the se'uence about every 5 seconds, until the end o" session.