 THE
MEANING OF DANZAN RYU
The
characters read Dan Zan Ryu Ju Do Moku Roku which translates
to Catalog of the Cedar Mountain System of Judo or Catalog
of the Sandalwood Mountain System of Judo. Either translation
is correct. They are the first characters written by Professor
Henry Seishiro Okazaki on the scrolls he presented to selected
students of his teachings.
The Sandalwood, a fragrant cedar tree from Hawaii, which had been
exported to China during the 1800's. The Chinese used the trees
to build their Buddist Altars. Thus, Hawaii became known as the
Sandalwood Mountain, or Danzan. In essence, Danzan Ryu Jujitsu
is the Hawaii System or Hawaiian School of Jujitsu. Just as in
the English Language, a single word may have several different
meanings. When one refers to Hawaii, he may say Hawaii, The
Sandwich Isle, The Aloha State, or in this case Danzan, and
in every case, he would be refering to Hawaii. The scroll is interpreted
to mean "Catalog of Hawaiian Style Judo".
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