景道片山流 · Keidō Katayama-ryū · Shunkaen（春花園BONSAI美術館）
勝讓武古
Masaru Buko
先輩 神保泰史（Jin Yasufumi）より授かった名の由来 Origin and meaning of the name received after a year and a half of remote study, with the authorization of the III Iemoto Kobayashi Kunio（小林國雄）, at the time of the presentation of the first accreditation diploma.
The name took shape at the time of the presentation of the first diploma, when Jin Senpai (神保泰史先輩) initially proposed a full phonetic transcription of the name "Marcial" into kanji (ateji):
真亜紗留 由素天 武羅素胡
これはMarcialの名前を漢字に直したものです。もっと短く4字にすると、勝讓武古。
This is Marcial's name converted into kanji. Shortened to 4 characters, it becomes 勝讓武古.
From that longer form came the short, definitive version, 勝讓武古 — the one that would from then on identify Marcial within the Keidō Katayama-ryū school. Some time later, Marcial wanted to know whether those four characters had been kept only for their sound, or also for their meaning:
先輩、いつもご指導ありがとうございます。私の名前の漢字（勝讓武古、Masaru Buko）についてお伺いしたいのですが、音に合わせて選ばれたのは理解していますが、漢字の意味も考慮されて選ばれたのか、それとも音だけでしょうか。このことを知るのは私にとってとても重要です。
Senpai, thank you as always for your guidance. I would like to ask about the kanji of my name (勝讓武古, Masaru Buko): I understand they were chosen to match the sound, but was their meaning also taken into account, or was it only the sound? Knowing this is very important to me.
Jin Senpai (神保泰史先輩) replied that it was not only for the sound: the four definitive characters were deliberately chosen for their meaning, and above all for the mission entrusted to him through them — to use Keidō to steer bonsai away from the merely superficial and commercial, and return it to its ancient value. That explanation, character by character, is set out below.
First pillar — attitude and principle
勝ちを譲ることは段落期的に見れば損なようでいて、やがて譲られた側に心あればいつか徳が返ってきます。日本では謙虚さは美徳として考えられます。それは二元論を超えた東洋的な美意識であります。
Ceding victory may look like a loss in the short term, but if the one who receives it has heart, that virtue eventually comes back around. In Japan, humility is considered a virtue — an Eastern aesthetic that transcends the duality of winning and losing.
To illustrate this, Jin Senpai brought a citation from a classic of Japanese literature:
勝つと思うな、思えば負けよ
"Do not think of winning; if you think of it, you will lose."
「勝ちたい」と強く思うと、力みや視野の狭さからかえって実力を発揮できず負けてしまう。だから、「負けないように」「負けじと」と、平常心で臨むこと（謙虚さや危機感）が、本当の勝利につながるという、逆説的な意味の言葉です。
When you want to win too badly, the tension and narrowed vision it causes keep you from performing well, and you end up losing. That is why facing things with composure — without fixating on "not losing" — is what leads to true victory. A paradoxical teaching, often cited also in the martial arts and in sport, about how one's state of mind affects performance.
Second pillar — action and purpose
武とは本来、成り立ちから戈と足を意味し「武器を持って戦いに行き平和を取り戻す」こと。今は景道飾りを通じて園芸的な造形美だけが求められる盆栽を変革させる願いを「武」に込めました。
武 (Bu), by origin, literally means 戈 (halberd) and 足 (foot): "to march into battle bearing arms in order to restore peace." That character expresses the wish to transform today's bonsai — for which, through Keidō decoration, only formal, horticultural beauty tends to be sought.
そして、「武」を古くなるまで極めること。これが最も大切です。
And to deepen "武" until it reaches its fullest maturity over the years — this is the most important thing.
This statement refers specifically to deepening 武 to its full maturity — the second pillar — and not to both principles equally.
勝ちを譲り、武を古く極める。
Cede victory; bring 武 to its full maturity over the passing years.
勝 讓 武 古
Masaru Buko
いずれ経験を積めば、家元からより正式に名前の一字をいただくことが可能になるかもしれません。
In time, with enough experience, it might become possible to receive a character (一字) for the name from the Iemoto in a more formal way.
In December 2025, while preparing for the second period of study at Shunkaen （春花園BONSAI美術館）, Marcial raised the matter again with Jin Senpai, who confirmed that the promise still stood ("了解です"). Marcial then put in writing, for confirmation, exactly what this "succession from the Iemoto" (家元継承) would consist of:
私が申し上げている「家元継承」とは、この流れを受けて、今回の研修修了時に以下の二点を正式にいただけることを指しております。一、家元より景道片山流の系譜上における一字を、家元直筆の掛軸として授与いただくこと。二、その一字の授与と系譜上の位置づけ、およびその意味を記した正式な巻物（マキモノ形式）の発行。なお、これは指導免許や教授資格の取得を意味するものではございません。景道片山流への帰属と、系譜上の位置づけを示す認定を意味しております。最終的な判断はすべて家元にお任せいたします。
By "succession from the Iemoto" I mean formally receiving, upon completion of this period of study, these two things: first, a character (一字) from the genealogy of Keidō Katayama-ryū, granted by the Iemoto as a kakejiku in his own hand; second, the issuing of a formal makimono recording that character, its position within the genealogy, and its meaning. This does not mean obtaining a teaching license or a professorship — it means belonging to Keidō Katayama-ryū and being recognized with a position within its genealogy. The final decision rests entirely with the Iemoto.
On April 6, with the trip dates already fixed, Marcial wrote to Jin Senpai to explicitly confirm the terms in writing before booking non-refundable flights and accommodation:
正式なプログラム書面につきまして、引き続きお待ちしております。ただ、私はスペイン人でございますので、払い戻し不可の航空券と宿泊の手配を進めるには、明示的なご確認が必要となります。以下の三点につきまして、ご確認いただけますと幸いです：一、滞在日程：10月2日〜7日（春花園） 二、経済的枠組み 三、授与文書：掛軸（一字）および巻物（マキモノ）
I am still awaiting the official program document. As I am Spanish, arranging non-refundable flights and accommodation requires explicit confirmation. I would appreciate your confirming these three points: first, the stay dates — October 2–7 (Shunkaen／春花園BONSAI美術館); second, the financial framework; third, the documents to be granted — the kakejiku (with a character) and the makimono.
上記問題ありません。
No problem with any of the above.
With this confirmation, everything was settled: from October 2 to 7, 2026, at the Shunkaen（春花園BONSAI美術館）, the ichiji-hairyō（一字拝領）will take place — the presentation of a kakejiku（掛軸）, written in the Iemoto's own hand, bearing the gō（号）— the artistic or symbolic name within the genealogy of Keidō Katayama-ryū — together with the inscription of the four-kanji name, Masaru Buko（勝讓武古）, on the school's makimono（巻物）. Members of the school share as their root the character 一 (Ichi); in this case, the character carrying the greatest symbolic weight within the name is 武 (Bu). Everything points, as a hypothesis not yet confirmed with full certainty, to the resulting gō being Ichibu（一武）— following the same pattern as the master's own name, Ippū（一風）.
Transmitted orally by Jin Yasufumi（神保泰史）先輩,
on behalf of the III Iemoto Kobayashi Kunio（小林國雄）,
Keidō Katayama-ryū（景道片山流）, Shunkaen（春花園BONSAI美術館）, Tokyo.
Summer 2024 · A4-size diploma, with partial digital printing; the
recipient's name, the master's name, and other elements hand-brushed in black
ink, along with the hanko（判子）stamped in red ink for the occasion.