Book Review-KIAI
(Kenjutsu International Association of Instructors)

Editor's Note: This review was written by Dr. Ivica Zdravkovic, a medical doctor as well as a founding member of Ju jutsu Federation Serbia and KIAI (Kenjutsu International Association of Instructors). It is reprinted here with his kind permission.

Taiho - Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai
by Don Cunningham

Tuttle Publishing, First Edition, 2004

Hard cover, 6x9 inches, over 180 pages, over 210 illustrations (grayscale photos and drawings) 

Review by Dr. Ivica Zdravkovic, April 2004

It is always hard to write an objective review on something done by your friend. In this particular case, I have the privilege and honor of considering the author of fascinating Taiho-Jutsu, Mr. Don Cunningham, a very dear friend of mine. Actually, the autographed copy of this book arrived to my home address as a gift - once more as a help from Don, who made it possible to read his book even here, in part of the world seldom seen from the distributors.

Taiho-Jutsu comes almost as a natural extension of Don's first book Secret Weapons of Jujutsu - which also was a huge success. It is obvious that Taiho-Jutsu reaches even deeper in Japanese history, culture and martial arts in particular. This is outstanding and condensed presentation of Edo culture, evolution and organization of juristic system, and at the same time, an impressive presentation of civil authority, policing and arrest methods. 

One of my first impressions while reading this book was that it was far beyond simple definition of martial arts books. It is giving much more than just a usual instruction in implementing weapons and body arts. The first 60 pages are so well composed that they deserve to be reprinted even as a separate textbook. It is a fruit of Don's long research work, travels to Japan and serious analysis of all the resources available. It is especially nice to see Don's list of acknowledgements - which reveals a truly impressive individuals and institutions who contributed to the final look of Taiho-Jutsu: Nawa Yumio sensei, S. Alexander Takeuchi, Kusunoki Toshi, Mizutani Tonomori, Rich Hashimoto, the staff of Tokyo National Museum, Meiji University Criminology Museum, Keisatsu Museum, Fukugawa Edo Museum, and others...

Chapters 1, 2 and 3 are simply amazing: The rise of Edo as central city of shogunate is richly illustrated by original photos taken in Japan in second half of 19th century! Even brief descriptions on "small issues" such as cooking and dining habits of Edo population make the reader feel as transported directly to these ancient times. Organization of fire fighters (hikeshi), detailed description of their methods used (with "matoi" banners, "hashigo" ladder etc.) - all of it is so well presented that one simply cannot resist continuing reading with no stops, from the first to the last page. 

What happens when a feudal shogun's government bans the wheeled vehicles? Why would they do that? What is "sankin kotai" and how did it influence the political stability of Tokugawa era? Was there really a freedom for samurai to violently decapitate just about any lower ranked people ('kiritsutegomen") - or were there some limitations that actually made this "myth" very misinterpreted? What about legal vendetta? To these and plenty of other interesting questions, Don Cunningham is giving very precise answers and insights.