From Wars to Spirituality: A Socio-Historical Investigation of the Japanese Budo

Background and Study Aim: Spirituality in this study is based on the understanding of Michel Foucault and his discussions on the aesthetics of existence, which relate to a way of life consisting of a set of practices of self-care, asceticism, enlightenment and training of the moral subject. Our study aimed to discuss the socio-historical basis of the Budo as a way of living and educating the body in movement through martial arts. Material and Methods: through a systematic review of academic studies from different databases, based on Foucault's discourse analysis. Results: we analyzed 44 studies from 8 different databases, including articles, master's dissertations and doctoral theses, and identified a significant number of keywords to budo’s understanding, such as: Body cult, Bugei and Kakugi (martial arts and educational sports fights), Bujutsu, Bushido (way of the warrior), Character Formation, Culture, Educational system, Ethics, Modernity, Spirituality, Religion, Way of life. Conclusions: we highlight the character of the Budo as part of Japanese tradition from the perspective of life path, self-knowledge, self-improvement and body cult, spirituality and education, and also as a cultural phenomenon that has undergone reconfigurations due to the influence of religion and cultural exchanges with other countries.