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Bushido:
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Bushidō
Bushidō (武士道, Bushidō?), meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a Japanese code of
conduct and a way of life, loosely analogous to the European concept of
chivalry. Bushidō developed between the 11th to 14th centuries as set forth
by numerous translated documents dating from the 12th to 16th centuries (as
mentioned below). However, some dependable sources also state the document
might have been formulated in the 17th century. According to the Japanese
dictionary Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten, "Bushidō is defined as a unique
philosophy (ronri) that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi
(chusei) period."
The core tenets of Bushidō date from as early as the 12th century as
demonstrated by the earliest translations of Japanese literature and warrior
house codes. Honor codes are still used today.[citation needed] Under the
Tokugawa Shogunate, Bushidō became formalized into Japanese Feudal Law.[1]
Nitobe Inazō, in his book Bushidō: The Soul of Japan, described it in this
way. "...Bushidō, then, is the code of moral principles which the samurai
were required or instructed to observe... More frequently it is a code
unuttered and unwritten... It was an organic growth of decades and centuries
of military career."
Historical development
Early history
There is evidence of Bushidō in Early literature to suggest that the
stylings of Bushidō have existed in the Japanese literature from the
earliest recorded literary history of Japan. Kojiki is Japan's oldest extant
book. Written in AD 712,it contains passages about Yamato Takeru, the son of
the Emperor Keiko. It provides an early indication of the values and
literary self-image of the bushido ideal, including references to the use
and admiration of the sword by Japanese warriors. Yamato Takeru may be
considered the rough ideal of the Japanese warrior to come. He is sincere
and loyal, slicing up his father's enemies "like melons", unbending and yet
not unfeeling, as can be seen in his laments for lost wives and homeland,
and in his willingness to combat the enemy alone. Most important, his
portrayal in the Kojiki shows the ideal of harmonizing the literary with the
martial may have been an early trait of Japanese civilization, appealing to
the Japanese long before its introduction from Confucian China.
This early conceptualising of a Japanese self-image of the "ideal warrior"
can further be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early history of Japan written
in the year 797. A section of the book covering the year AD 721 is notable
for an early use of the term 武士 (unknown reading due to kanbun style; now
read as bushi) in Japanese literature and a reference to the educated
warrior-poet ideal. The term bushi entered the Japanese vocabulary with the
general introduction of Chinese literature and added to the indigenous
words, tsuwamono and mononofu.
In Kokin Wakashū (early 10th century), the first imperial anthology of
poems, there is an early reference to Saburau — originally a verb meaning
"to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society". In
Japanese, the pronunciation would become saburai. By the end of the 12th
century, saburai, an old word for samurai, became synonymous with bushi
almost entirely and the word was closely associated with the middle and
upper echelons of the warrior class.
13th to 16th centuries
From the Bushido literature of the 13th to 16th Centuries, there exists an
abundance of literary references to the ideals of Bushido.
Written in 1371, the Heike Monogatari chronicles the struggle between the
Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th
century—a conflict known as the Gempei War. Clearly depicted throughout the
Heike Monogatari is the ideal of the cultivated warrior. The warriors in the
Heike Monogatari served as models for the educated warriors of later
generations, and the ideals depicted by them were not assumed to be beyond
reach. Rather, these ideals were vigorously pursued in the upper echelons of
warrior society and recommended as the proper form of the Japanese man of
arms.
Other examples of the evolution (though it has been suggested
constancy[citation needed]) in the Bushido literature of the 13th to 16th
centuries included:
* "The Message Of Master Gokurakuji" by Shogunal Deputy, Hōjō Shigetoki
(1198-1261 AD)
* "The Chikubasho" by Shiba Yoshimasa (1350-1410 AD)
* Writings by Imagawa Ryoshun (1326-1420 AD)
* Writings by Governor of Echizen, Asakura Toshikage (1428-1481 AD)
* Writings by the Samurai general Hōjō Nagauji (1432-1519 AD)
* The warlord Takeda Shingen (1521AD-1573 AD)
* The Precepts of Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611 AD)
This period of early development of Bushido, as depicted in these various
writings and house codes, already includes the concepts of an all
encompassing loyalty to their master, filial piety and reverence to the
Emperor. It indicates the need for both compassion for those of a lower
station, and for the preservation of their name.[citation needed] Early
Bushido literature further enforces the requirement to conduct themselves
with calmness, fairness, justice, and politeness.[citation needed] The
relationship between learning and the way of the warrior is clearly
articulated, one being a natural partner to the other. Finding a proper
death in battle, for the cause of their lord, also features strongly in this
early history.[citation needed]
17th to 19th centuries
Although Japan enjoyed a period of peace during the Sakoku ("closed
country") period from the 17th to the mid-19th century, the samurai class
remained and continued to play a central role in the policing of the
country. It has been suggested that this period of relative peace led to the
refinement and formalism of Bushido that can be traced back through the era
of feudal Japan, or the Edo Period. Literature of the 17th to 19th Century
contains many ideas of the philosophy of Bushido. This includes:
* The Last Statement of Torii Mototada (1539-1600 AD)[2]
* Kuroda Nagamasa (1568-1623 AD)
* Nabeshima Naoshige (1538-1618 A.D.)
* Go Rin No Sho (The Book of Five Rings) by Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645 AD)
* Bu[shi]do Shoshinshu (Bushido for Beginners) by Taira Shigesuke [Daidoji
Yuzan] (1639-1730 AD)
Tenets
Bushido expanded and formalized the earlier code of the samurai, and
stressed frugality, loyalty, mastery of martial arts, and honor to the
death. Under the Bushido ideal, if a samurai failed to uphold his honor he
could regain it by performing seppuku (ritual suicide).
In an excerpt from his book Samurai: The World of the Warrior,[3] historian
Stephen Turnbull describes the role of Seppuku in feudal Japan:
Seppuku is a more correct expression for an act of suicide performed by the
process of cutting open the abdomen. Seppuku is better known in the West as
hara kiri (belly-cutting), and is a concept so alien to the European
tradition that it is one of the few words from the world of the samurai to
have entered foreign languages without a need for translation. Seppuku was
commonly performed using a dagger. It could take place with preparation and
ritual in the privacy of one’s home, or speedily in a quiet corner of a
battlefield while one’s comrades kept the enemy at bay. In the world of the
warrior, seppuku was a deed of bravery that was admirable in a samurai who
knew he was defeated, disgraced, or mortally wounded. It meant that he could
end his days with his transgressions wiped away and with his reputation not
merely intact but actually enhanced. The cutting of the abdomen released the
samurai’s spirit in the most dramatic fashion, but it was an extremely
painful and unpleasant way to die, and sometimes the samurai who was
performing the act asked a loyal comrade to cut off his head at the moment
of agony.
Bushido was widely practiced and it is surprising how uniform the samurai
code remained over time, crossing over all geographic and socio-economic
backgrounds of the samurai. The samurai represented a wide populace
numbering from 7% to 10% of the Japanese population, and the first Meiji era
census at the end of the 19th century counted 1,282,000 members of the "high
samurais", allowed to ride a horse, and 492,000 members of the "low
samurai", allowed to wear two swords but not to ride a horse, in a country
of about 25 million.[4]
However, Seppuku is not the sole emphasis of the Bushido philosophy. Other
points are made to include methods of raising children, appearance and
grooming, and most of all, constant preparation for death. One might say
that death is at the very center of Bushido as the overall purpose- to die a
good death and with one's honor intact.
Seven virtues
* Rectitude (義, gi?)
* Courage (勇, yū?)
* Benevolence (仁, jin?)
* Respect (礼, rei?)
* Honesty (誠 makoto, or 信 shin)
* Honor, Glory (名誉, meiyo?)
* Loyalty (忠義, chūgi?)
-Translations from: Random House's Japanese-English, English-Japanese
Dictionary
Others that are sometimes added to these:
* Filial piety (孝, kō?)
* Wisdom (智, chi?)
* Care for the aged (悌, tei?)
Modern bushido
Some people in Japan as well as other countries follow the same virtues
listed above under the philosophical term modern bushido. The idea was
derived from the fact that the Japanese male should be able to adapt his
beliefs and philosophies to a changing world.
In an excerpt of James Williams' article "Virtue of the sword", a fairly
simple explanation of modern bushido can be found:[5]
The warrior protects and defends because he realizes the value of others. He
knows that they are essential to society and, in his gift of service,
recognizes and values theirs... take the extra moment in dark parking lots
at night to make sure that a woman gets into her car safely before leaving
yourself. Daily involvement in acts such as these are as much a part of
training as time spent in the dojo, and indeed should be the reason for that
time spent training... When faced with a woman or child in a situation in
which they are vulnerable, there are two types of men: those who would offer
succor and aid, and those who would prey upon them. And in modern society,
there is another loathsome breed who would totally ignore their plight!
Major figures associated with bushidō
* Miyamoto Musashi
* Morihei Ueshiba
* Yamaga Sokō
* Yamamoto Tsunetomo
* Kato Kiyomasa
* Torii Mototada
References
1. ^ Japanese Feudal Laws John Carey Hall, The Tokuagwa Legislation,
(Yokohama, 1910), pp. 286-319
2. ^ The Last Statement of Torii Mototada
3. ^ excerpt from Samurai: The World of the Warrior by Stephen Turnbull
4. ^ "Japan. A historical survey" Mikiso Hane
5. ^ excerpt of James Williams' article "Virtue of the sword"
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