Author: Bret Gordon
 | In a previous article entitled "Jujutsu: The 'Best' Unarmed Martial Art, And Hardest To Spell (Part 1)," I discussed the proper romanization of the kanji 柔術 into English is jujutsu. Period. There is no alternate spelling. I know when the arts were first brought over from Japan, numerous other spellings were used. However, they all ignore the Hepburn system of romanization used to properly translate kanji into English. If you are teaching a Japanese-based system and use anything other than jujutsu or even just the suffix jutsu, please just stop it! Progression is our friend, and we should all be striving to do things properly. I understand that is how your instructor wrote it and you do not want to be disrespectful. But there is nothing wrong with updating the spelling of an art so that everything is translated properly. Now in the case of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, that's another matter. |
When you translate 柔術 into Portuguese, the native language of Brazil, then the proper spelling would be jiu jitsu. But at that point, if we're spelling it in Portuguese the name of the art should be Brasileiro Jiu Jitsu. We don't say "The Great Eastern School for the Gentle Art of Harmonious Energy" or even "The Great Eastern School of Aiki Jujutsu," we say Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu. It only makes sense if you're going to use the language of the origin of the art, you wouldn't bastardize it. It's a respect thing, and as a community built upon respect, this should seem like a no brainer. From now on, when referring to BJJ I will always spell it Brasileiro Jiu Jitsu.
So with all of this drama, what exactly is the Hepburn romanization system? The Hepburn romanization system is named after James Curtis Hepburn who used the system in his third edition of his Japanese-to-English dictionary, published in 1887. The revised edition by Romaji-Hirome-Kai in 1908 is called "standard style romanization" and is currently used in Japan as well as the Hepburn system. It is the standard by which we translate anything written in kanji to English. By following the Hepburn and standard style romanization systems, both clearly define the proper English spelling of 柔術 is jujutsu. End of story.
Now, in the real world, we are arguing over semantics and the attacker shoving a gun in your face doesn't care how you spell it. The most important thing is that we train, and train hard. Everything else is just a pet peeve, and probably my OCD seeping through the cracks. That being said, I can't understand not wanting to present yourself in the most accurate manner possible. Written language is one of the things separating us from the animal kingdom and just like with poor grammar, if you write to me using improper spelling I will immediately begin to discredit everything you've just said. Sorry.
So with all of this drama, what exactly is the Hepburn romanization system? The Hepburn romanization system is named after James Curtis Hepburn who used the system in his third edition of his Japanese-to-English dictionary, published in 1887. The revised edition by Romaji-Hirome-Kai in 1908 is called "standard style romanization" and is currently used in Japan as well as the Hepburn system. It is the standard by which we translate anything written in kanji to English. By following the Hepburn and standard style romanization systems, both clearly define the proper English spelling of 柔術 is jujutsu. End of story.
Now, in the real world, we are arguing over semantics and the attacker shoving a gun in your face doesn't care how you spell it. The most important thing is that we train, and train hard. Everything else is just a pet peeve, and probably my OCD seeping through the cracks. That being said, I can't understand not wanting to present yourself in the most accurate manner possible. Written language is one of the things separating us from the animal kingdom and just like with poor grammar, if you write to me using improper spelling I will immediately begin to discredit everything you've just said. Sorry.
