 | Bushido: Encyclopedia II - Bushido - History
Bushido - History
"One should have restraint and deep sympathy in all things."
In the year 1256, the Shogunal Deputy in Kyoto, Hojo Shigetoki (1198-1261) 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 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 the feudal lord Shiba Yoshimasa (1350-1410) 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.
In the 15th century, the Governor of Echizen, Asakura Toshikage (1428-1481)would also stress the importance of loyalty in his writings to his followers:
"In the fief of the Asakura, one should not determine hereditary chief retainers. A man should be assigned according to his ability and loyalty.
One should not entrust a position and land to a man who has no talent, even if his family has held such for generations."
Near the beginning of the 16th century, the Samurai general Hojo Nagauji (1432-1519) would write:
"Above all, believe in the gods and Buddhas. To worship the gods and Buddhas is the correct conduct for a man. It can be said that one will be in conformity with the feelings of the gods and Buddhas if he will simply make his heart straight-forward and calm, respect honestly and wholeheartedly those above him and have pity on those below, consider that which exists to exist and that which does not exist to not exist, and recognize things just as they are. With such a frame of mind, one will have divine protection even though he does not pray. But if his mind is not straight, he had best be prudent lest it be said that he has been abandoned by Heaven, prayerful or not.
It is hardly necessary to record that both Learning and the military arts are the Way of the Warrior, for it is an ancient law that one should have Learning on the left and the martial arts on the right. But this is something that will not be obtainable if one has not prepared for it beforehand." Hojo concluded his list of precepts by stating "To be a samurai is to be polite at all times".
Also known as Hojo Soun, Lord Hojo was greatly admired by other daimyo as a good general and administrator. In addition to attracting more samurai to Odawara, he cut crop taxes from one-half to two-fifths of the harvest, and generally looked out for the welfare of his people.
Hojo's Twenty-One Precepts were written some time after Hojo Soun had become a priest, and reflect the fullness of his own experiences. The articles are basically rules for the daily life of the common warrior, and show his familiarity and sympathy for those in the lower echelons. The subject matter ranges from encouraging the study of poetry and horsemanship and the avoidance of games like chess and go, to advice on how to keep one's house in better order and well-protected. There is a strong tone of self-reliance throughout, reflecting Hojo Soun's unsparingly meticulous character and his own rise to power.
The great Warlord Takeda Shingen (1521AD-1573AD) wrote in his house codes:
"Everyone knows that if a man doesn't hold filial piety toward his own parents he would also neglect his duties toward his lord. Such a neglect means a disloyalty toward humanity. Therefore such a man doesn't deserve to be called 'samurai'."
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 for sport armed with only a spear, 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 1622, the Daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa (1568-1623)would emphasize the balance of the arts of peace (Confucian learning and literature) with the arts of war, and encourages fairness and sympathy toward the other three classes of people in his writings:
"If a general who is to maintain the province does not have a special consciousness, his task will be a difficult one to attain. His attitudes must not be the same as the ordinary man's. Firstly, he must be correct in manners and etiquette, must not let self-interest into government, and must take care of the common people...... he should not forget even for a moment that he is the model for the four classes of people.
Generally speaking, the master of a province should discharge his duties with love and humanity, should not listen to slander, and should exercise the good. His governing should be as clear as the bright sun in the bright sky, and he should think things over deeply in his mind and make no mistakes.
The arts of peace and the arts of war are like the two wheels of a cart which, lacking one, will have difficulty in standing.....When one has been born into the house of a military commander, he should not forget the arts of war even for a moment..... it is essential that he know the Way of Truth, that he be particular about his efforts in the scrutinizing of every matter, that he be just in all affairs and make no mistakes, that he be correct in recognizing good and evil and demonstrate rewards and punishments clearly, and that he have a deep sympathy for all people. Again, what is called cherishing the Way of the Warrior is not a matter of extolling the martial arts above all things and becoming a scaremonger. It is rather in being well-informed in military strategy, in forever pondering one's resources of pacifying disturbances, in training one's soldiers without remiss, in rewarding those who have done meritorious deeds and punishing those who have committed crimes, in being correct in one's evaluation of bravery and cowardice, and in not forgetting this matter of "the battle" even when the world is at peace. It is simply brashness to make a specialty of the martial arts and to be absorbed in one's individual efforts. Such is certainly not the Way of the Warrior of a provincial lord or military commander.
Kuroda Nagamasa was the son of a Christian daimyo, Kuroda Josui, and was baptized Simeon in 1583. He was to become well known as a great strategist. While still young, Kuroda was put under the auspices of Oda Nobunaga and later served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1592 and again in 1597 he shared command of the vanguard invasion troops in Korea with Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa. Although he had helped Konishi out of some military tight spots in Korea and was—like Konishi—a Christian, Kuroda supported Tokugawa Ieyasu during the fighting at Sekigahara, and for his efforts was enfieffed at Chikuzen becoming Lord of Fukuoka Castle.
Both Kuroda Nagamasa and his father Josui were well known for their regard for the advice of others, and Nagamasa even set aside one night a month when he would sit with a number of his trusted retainers and allow all to talk freely with the mutual promise that none would become angry over what was said, or gossip about it later. These were called the "Meetings Without Anger." The Regulations given here were written a year before Kuroda's death to his eldest son, Tadayuki.
In 1645, 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 severed 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)"
Uncommon Valor: On December 14, 2002, More than 130,000 people gathered at Sengaku-ji to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the attack on Lord Kira's Mansion by the warriors of Ako. [1]
Other related archives"no-mind", 1198, 1256, 1261, 1350, 1383, 1410, 1412, 1562, 1600, 1611, 1645, 19th century, 47 Ronin, Aikido, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, Battōjutsu, Benevolence, Buddha-nature, Chivalry, Confucian, Courage, Felice Beato, Genroku, Glory, Hagakure, Honesty, Honor, Iaido, Imagawa Ryoshun, Inazo Nitobe, Japan, Japanese, Japanese dictionary, Kato Kiyomasa, Kendo, Lord Redesdale, Loyalty, Meiji Restoration, Meiji era, Miyamoto Musashi, Muromachi, Nihilism, Respect, Rinzai school, Saburai, Sakoku, Samurai, Seven Deadly Sins, Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten, Shogun, Tokugawa shogunate, Wisdom, World War II, Yamaga Soko, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Zen, Zen Buddhism, Zen at War, austerity, battle of Sekigahara, chivalry, daimyo, detachment, divine, firefighters, honor, kamikaze, kanbun, martial arts, ronin, samurai, sengoku, seppuku
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
