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Bushido - History

Bushido - History: Encyclopedia II - Bushido - History

In the year 1256 CE, the Shogunal Deputy in Kyoto, Hojo Shigetoki (1198-1261 CE) wrote a letter to his son and house elders of his clan. The letter, now known as "The Message Of Master Gokurakuji," emphasized the importance of loyalty to one's master: When one is serving officially or in the master's court, he should not think of a hundred or a thousand people, but should consider only the importance of the master. Nor should he draw the line at his own life or anything else he considers valuable. Even if the master is being phlegmatic and one goes unrecognized, he should know that he will surely have the divine protect ...

Bushido: Encyclopedia II - Bushido - History

Bushido - History

When one is serving officially or in the master's court, he should not think of a hundred or a thousand people, but should consider only the importance of the master. Nor should he draw the line at his own life or anything else he considers valuable. Even if the master is being phlegmatic and one goes unrecognized, he should know that he will surely have the divine protection of the gods and Buddhas.

Written in kanamajiri style, "The Message Of Master Gokurakuji" is described as being "....basically concerned with man's moral duties and the ideal behavior for leaders of the warrior class. The predominant tone of the work is a Buddhist sympathy for all living beings and an awareness of the functions of karma. Women, children, and those of lower social standing are to be treated kindly and with regard, and even the concept of loyalty to superiors is dealt with more in a religious sense than a Confucian one."

In 1383 CE the feudal lord Shiba Yoshimasa (1350-1410 CE) wrote THE CHIKUBASHO, a set of precepts for the young men of his clan. Shiba Yoshimasa was a warrior leader during the Namboku and Muromachi Periods, and was known as an administrator, general, and poet. William Scott Wilson, Author of "Ideals of the Samurai" describes the Chikubasho as "A short list of precepts written in a classical Japanese style, the Chikubasho displays both the ethical morality of the warrior and the tasteful lifestyle of the aristocracy. Its tone is a combination of a manly Confucian approach reflecting honesty and fairness, and a Buddhist sympathy for others."

In his writings, Shiba Yoshimasa dictated that a warrior should not hesitate to lay down his life for an important cause such as the defense of the emperor:

First, a man whose profession is the use of arms should think and then act upon not only his own fame, but also that of his descendants. He should not scandalize his name forever by holding his one and only life too dear. On the other hand, in the light of this, to consider this life that is given to us only once as nothing more than dust and ashes, and lose it at a time when one should not, would be to gain a reputation that is not worth mentioning. One's main purpose in throwing away his life is to do so either for the sake of the Emperor or in some great undertaking of a military general.

The famous warlord Imagawa Ryoshun wrote in 1412:

In governing the country, it is dangerous to lack even one of the virtues of humanity, righteousness, etiquette and wisdom. It is forbidden to forget the great debt of kindness one owes to his master and ancestors and thereby make light of the virtues of loyalty and filial piety.....There is a primary need to distinguish loyalty from disloyalty and to establish rewards and punishments.....it is written in the Four Books and Five Classics as well as in the military writings that in protecting the country, if one is ignorant in the study of literature, he will be unable to govern. Just as Buddha preached the various laws in order to save all living beings, one must rack one's brains and never depart from the ways of both warrior and literary man.

Imagawa Ryoshun was a leading general and strategist of his time. He wrote prolifically despite being posted to military hotspots by the Shogun. His job was to suppress rebellion by rival samurai clans. Famed for his writings "Nan Taiheiki" and "Michiyukiburi", he penned THE REGULATIONS, to his brother Tadaki in traditional Kanbun script. They were a required study for traditional Japanese as a guide to proper moral behavior. Widely respected, THE REGULATIONS remained popular until World War II. Having taken Buddhist vows, Ryoshun is greatly admired as having achieved the warrior ideal—striking a balance between the military and literary arts.

Several famous Sengoku Daimyo mention Bushido in their writings. Lord Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611) orders his men to follow it:

If a man does not investigate into the matter of Bushido daily, it will be difficult for him to die a brave and manly death. Thus it is essential to engrave this business of the warrior into one's mind well.....One should put forth great effort in matters of learning. One should read books concerning military matters, and direct his attention exclusively to the virtues of loyalty and filial piety.....Having been born into the house of a warrior, one's intentions should be to grasp the long and the short swords and to die.

Kato Kiyomasa was one of the most ferocious Samurai who ever lived. Distinguishing himself in battle at the age of 18, his ferocity quickly became legendary in Hideyoshi's Korean campaigns. Known for hunting tigers armed with only a spear during his leisure time, the Koreans greatly feared Kato Kiyomasa and began to call him "Kishokan"--"The Devil General". William Scott Wilson describes Kato Kiyomasa thus: "He was a military man first and last, outlawing even the recitation of poetry, putting the martial arts above all else. His precepts show the single-mindedness and Spartan attitudes of the man, (they) demonstrate emphatically that the warrior's first duty in the early 17th century was simply to "grasp the sword and die." Contemporary accounts of Kato describe him as awe-inspiring, yet not unfriendly, and a natural leader of men."

In August 1600, Torii Mototada, a feudal Lord in the service of Ieyasu Tokugawa was forewarned by spies that an army of 40,000 battle hardened followers of Toyotomi Hideyoshi were annihilating everything in their path on their march to Fushimi Castle. Even though he was badly outnumbered and could have easily escaped, Torii chose to remain behind with his garrison. He pledged that he and his bastion would fight to the finish and cited Bushido as his reason for doing so. Torii Mototada and Ieyasu Tokugawa parted ways sadly knowing that they would never see each other again:

It is not the Way of the Warrior to be shamed and avoid death even under circumstances that are not particularly important.....For myself, I am resolved to make a stand within the castle and to die a quick death. It would not take much trouble to break through a part of their numbers and escape, no matter how many tens of thousands of horsemen approached for the attack or by how many columns we were surrounded. But that is not the true meaning of being a warrior, and it would be difficult to account as loyalty. Rather, I will stand off the forces of the entire country here, and...die a resplendent death.

In the end, with the castle in flames around him, Mototada ordered his men to charge headlong into battle over and over again until only ten men remained. The castle defenders fought heroically to the last man. As was custom, he killed himself rather than be captured alive.

The siege of Fushimi Castle stalled the advancement of the 40,000 troops by ten days, allowing Tokugawa to escape.

Torii Mototada's actions changed the course of Japanese history as Tokugawa would raise an army of 90,000 and confront Pro-Toyotomi forces at Sekigahara in open battle on the Kanto plain—-where he had the advantage. In a massive bloodletting, more than 180,000 warriors would clash violently and more than 70,000 would perish in the next two days as the remnants of Ishida's vanquished army were hunted down and executed. The battle of Sekigahara was a decisive one, resulting in the unification of Japan, and Tokugawa’s family would rule the entire country for the next 268 years.

In 1645 CE the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi wrote in his famous book Go Rin No Sho (A Book of Five Rings):

It is said the warrior's is the twofold way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both ways. Even if a man has no natural ability he can be a warrior by sticking assiduously to both divisions of the Way. Generally speaking, the way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death.

In the 15th year of Genroku, the 47 Ronin of Ako cited Confucian edict as the reason for their famous vendetta. (As Translated by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford (1837-1916), Lord Redesdale, British Ambassador to Japan in his book Tales of Old Japan.)

"...still we, who have eaten of your food, could not without blushing repeat the verse, 'Thou shalt not live under the same heaven nor tread the same earth with the enemy of thy father or lord,' nor could we have dared to leave hell and present ourselves before you in paradise, unless we had carried out the vengeance which you began."

In the 1860s, Lord Redesdale lived in a house within sight of Sengaku-ji where the 47 Ronin were buried. Impressed by the loyalty displayed by the ronin, he toured Sengaku-ji and finding tattered and yellowed letters amongst the relics, he translated them for his book "Tales of Old Japan." Each of the ronin carried letters spelling out their intentions in case they were captured or killed. Also translated were the receipt provided by the relatives of Lord Kira for the return of his head and the final statement placed by the men on Lord Asano's tomb before surrendering for court martial.

Each of the men were aware of the seriousness of their actions. Onodera Junai would state in a letter to his wife in Kyoto:

"..Even if my dead body is shown, I think my duty will be fulfilled because my dead body will demonstrate Samurai loyalty to the entire country and it will strengthen their resolve."

In John Allyn's book, "The 47 Ronin Story", the leader of the 47 Ronin Oishi Kuranosuke is quoted as saying:

Some people live all their lives without knowing which path is right. They're buffeted by this wind or that and never really know where they're going. That's largely the fate of the commoners--those who have no choice over their destiny. For those of us born as samurai, life is something else. We know the path of duty and we follow it without question.

In describing the 47 Ronin's sense of duty, Author Inazo Nitobe made a comparison to Western history in "Bushido: The Soul of Japan":

"What is the most beautiful thing on earth?" said Osiris to Horus. The reply was, "To avenge a parent's wrongs," -- to which a Japanese would have added, "and a master's." (Nitobe, 1899, p. 128)

Today, Sengakuji is a national shrine. Visitors to the temple at first notice what appears to be fog, but is actually the smoke from incense which has not gone out in hundreds of years the men have been buried there. Each year, thousands of people from around the world come to pay respects before the headstones of the faithful men. The 47 Ronin are considered national heroes, forever guarding the honor of their beloved Lord Asano.

Jadkins.com: "Sengakuji Temple (Resting Place of the 47 Ronin)"