Ame no Ukihashi Hime no Mikoto
Ame no Ukihashi Hime no Mikoto is the patron Kami of the Art of Ninzuwu. Her name means ‘The Floating Bridge of Heaven’.
She is popularly known as the Yuki Onna (Snow Maiden) as she appears in a white dress and is known for freezing perpetrators who try to cause harm to the forest she protects.
The Pine Tree and conifers in general are sacred to Ame no Ukihashi. Her ability to cast the Dream of Winter upon the land puts all lustful, emotional and mental chatter to sleep except for the most divine quality of emotions. This is symbolized by the conifer’s ability to maintain green foliage throughout the winter while everything else is dormant.
Ame no Ukihashi hime no Mikoto is the founder of the Martial Art of Ninzuwu which is a dance called Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi or ‘Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds’. This is the same Sword of Susano’o no Mikoto mentioned in the Kojiki.
Astral Martial Arts
The origins of all Martial Arts is shamanic. The basis of which is the meridian pathways also called nadis and various other names. The energy which flows through the meridians is also known in various cultures as qi, chi, prana, lom, ect.
Regardless of the cultural lens describing this energy, the fundamental principles observed remains the same. The cause of emotional, mental, spiritual and physical imbalance can be traced to an energy blockage somewhere along the meridian pathways.
Acupuncture began from warrior shamans that would strike a person along the vital points to release energy blockages. The artforms of Yoga, Qigong, Taichi et all are exercises used to iron out these energy blockages gradually and open up the meridians so that the energy can flow freely. Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi serves the same aim of turning the practitioner into a pure Force of Nature.
Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi
The Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi dance has its roots in the Miko (shrine maidens) that developed the Hiragana Script from the kagura (ecstatic dances) used to shake and purify the body for union with the Kami.
Ame no Ukihashi Hime no Mikoto is the Kami of these Miko who’s ways are maintained in the Art of Ninzuwu Martial tradition. The katas (martial positions) based on the Hiragana Script pair with intonation of the letters as a mantra to remove energy blockages from the meridians of the practitioner.
The process is to become a free flowing force of nature, as one holds the katas while meditating the living elements of nature; the clouds, thunder, wind, rain, trees and ect.
