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Bunbu Ryodo, as with many wonderful budo-related phrases, encapsulates a very important concept in a way that is very difficult to accomplish in English (or other European languages).  In essence, it means the [connected] pursuit of Academic and Cultural, AND Martial Ways.  It is much important than that simple outline, though, as, at its heart, it is a statement and directive which is all about balance.

Background

If we look at how Bunbu Ryodo is constructed, we start to see a little more of the flavour of the concept itself. 

Bun 文 means, literally, writing.

Bu 武 means military or, most commonly “martial”.

Ryo 両 means both (same kanji as used in ryote dori, for example, double hand grab).

Do 道 means way or path. Many books and articles have gone into great depth about the philosophical nature of “do” but for our purposes, the natural interpretation is perfectly fine.

This term has apparently been around for centuries, with the combination of 文武 (pronounced as Monmu) being used as long ago as the 7^th Century in relation to the 42^nd Emperor[1], determining the emperor to be proficient in academic knowledge and military affairs. 

Over time the usage of Bunbu Ryodo has morphed somewhat and, in contemporary society, it is now more commonly used to describe “life balance”, especially in the context of achieving physical and mental equilibrium. It is especially drawn upon when talking about the encouragement of sportspeople to also focus on their academic studies (something not unique to Japan by any means).

In broad terms, therefore, Bunbu Ryodo infers the Warrior Scholar as the epitome of the well rounded or developed person. 

This, albeit rather superficial, overview is a reasonable place to stop - if that is as far as your interest goes. However, as is often the case, it is the underlying concept where the truly interesting and important elements lie, especially in relation to its place in the contemporary world, and not within the bare explanation of the phrase itself.

Modern Relevance

The relevance of Bunbu Ryodo to the modern Budo practitioner is far closer to its origin and a little understanding of Japanese history also helps to understand its enduring relevance and resonance:

After a period of continual civil war that extended for hundreds of years, Japan found its way to a prolonged period of peace known as the Edo period [1603 – 1867]. If you imagine that, up until this time, the warrior class – the Samurai – had been wholly devoted to war, clearly, they had a period of adjustment to find their “new normal” in  an era with different civil and social priorities emerging. As such, they were encouraged to develop other pursuits of a more cultural and literary nature alongside the development and maintenance of their martial studies. Obviously, of course, the martial arts (as such) themselves were also evolving at the same time to reflect changing norms. 

In addition to this cultural interweaving of combined martial and academic studies as a result of pre-modern historical changes, the accelerated development of modern Budo also has a strong association with learning institutions with both Kano (the founder of Judo) and Funakoshi (the most prominent exporter of Karate to mainland Japan) using schools and universities as one of the means to gather firm footholds for their arts. Additionally, some of the Classical arts like Katori Shinto Ryu, also used educational institutions as vehicles for the promotion (due to the perceived need to raise exposure in order to ensure the preservation of tradition) of their arts. 

While the history is interesting and demonstrates the intertwining of martial and academic ways over a very long period of time, the real question is how should it  inform the thinking of modern Budo practitioner?  The core is the same as it has always been – striking the right balance and not over prioritising, or even discarding, one aspect at the expense of the other.
 
Too much “Bun” is not healthy. As interesting as the academic study of history and research of the martial ways is, fundamentally Budo is an experiential art. You learn by doing. You have to put the effort in in the dojo. You have to sweat, endure and persevere in order to grow. Books, digital media and easier access to communication channels have all variously been revelatory in terms of opening up the “information age” of Budo and providing practitioners with, almost, limitless access to resources that were barely available even a few decades ago. They have served to open access to an instant global audience, and remove much of the unjustified and unnecessary mystique surrounding the martial ways. Unfortunately, there is a downside to this information super-evolution that manifests in the archetypal “keyboard warrior” and “self-taught expert” neither of whom generally invest sufficient time learning or practicing the physical skills of their craft to justify their projected wisdom. The Pen is not mightier than the sword in this regard.

Similarly, too much “Bu” is equally detrimental. Without the rounded learning and wider study of the arts being practiced and, especially, without encouragement towards broader academic or cultural interests beyond their martial pursuits, all that is produced are cohorts of, essentially, unrefined fighters. You can see this clearly in the modern emergence of pure “combat sports” or “Reality Based Self Defence” systems. These derivatives are valuable in their own way, for what they do, but do not lead to the development of a new class of Warrior Scholars as they are absent the underlying philosophy of Bunbu Ryodo.

Conclusion

While the use of Bunbu Ryodo has changed over time, and of course with the average Japanese person unassociated  with Budo having a very different appreciation of the term, the concept remains as relevant as it always has been in the modern era. The Martial Artist should pursue, and benefit from, the combined way of the “Pen and the Sword”.

[1] Yokota, K. 2015. “What is bunbu-ryodo”, Asai Shotokan Association