23/11/2025
Jujutsu vs Jujitsu – Why the Spelling Matters
People often ask why both “jujitsu” and “jujutsu” exist, and whether one of them is incorrect. The short answer is that only one reflects the original Japanese term, while the other became established through historical quirks in early Western romanisation.
Jutsu (術)
Meaning: technique, method, skill, or art.
This is the kanji found in classical martial disciplines, for example:
Ninjutsu – the techniques of the ninja
Kenjutsu – the art of the sword
Jūjutsu (柔術) – the “gentle art”
Jutsu refers to practical or technical methods, particularly within older combative schools, as distinct from the later dō (道) forms, which focus on personal and philosophical development.
Jitsu (実 / じつ)
Meaning: truth, reality, sincerity, or substance.
Example: shinjitsu (真実) – “objective truth”.
It is an entirely different word with a different meaning and different kanji.
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Where the confusion arose
The spelling “jujitsu” (and the still older “jiu-jitsu”) dates from a period before any standard system existed for writing Japanese in the Latin alphabet. Two influences were particularly significant:
1. Early Portuguese contact
Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in the sixteenth century produced the first European materials describing the Japanese language. They transcribed Japanese using Portuguese spelling conventions, which approximate Japanese sounds far more accurately than English does.
For example:
Portuguese “ju” corresponds closely to Japanese じゅ
Portuguese vowel sounds are cleaner and shorter
Portuguese speakers can readily pronounce “tsu”, unlike many English speakers
As a result, early Portuguese spellings such as jiu, jitsu, and others were reasonably close phonetically, even if they do not align with the modern system now in use.
Importantly, Portuguese speakers generally pronounced these forms in a manner closer to the Japanese originals, even when their spellings subsequently misled English readers.
2. English misreading of those spellings
When English speakers later encountered these early transliterations, they applied English phonetic assumptions to them. This led to misunderstandings, such as interpreting じゅつ (jutsu) as jitsu, as though it were じつ (jitsu).
Thus the problem was not confusion of the kanji themselves, but rather that:
The earliest spellings followed Portuguese conventions
English speakers misinterpreted those conventions
This produced older forms such as “jujitsu” and “jiu-jitsu”
Modern Japanese romanisation (Hepburn) correctly records the term as jūjutsu.
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What about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
From the standpoint of Japanese linguistics, it would be rendered “Brazilian Jūjutsu”.
However, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a proper noun, and its spelling is historically fixed. When Mitsuyo Maeda was teaching abroad, “jiu-jitsu” was already the prevailing English spelling, inherited from early Western approximations. BJJ simply retained the spelling already in use.
Therefore, although “jiu-jitsu” is not a linguistically accurate rendering of 柔術, it remains the established name of the art.
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In summary
Jutsu (術) = technique or art
Jitsu (実) = truth or reality
“Jujitsu” and “jiu-jitsu” arose through pre-standardised spelling influenced by Portuguese transcription and later English misreading.
Jūjutsu is the correct romanisation of 柔術
“Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu” remains correct as a proper noun, despite its historical inaccuracy.
For those who study the classical arts, the distinction is subtle in sound but significant in meaning — which is why the spelling continues to matter.
Stephen Wilshaw
