Bushidō

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Bushido (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 or the Iranian concept of jawanmardi. Bushido developed between the 11th to 14th centuries as set forth by numerous translated documents dating from the 12th to 16th centuries (as mentioned below). According to the Japanese dictionary Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten, "Bushido is defined as a unique philosophy (ronri) that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi (chusei) period."

The core tenets of Bushido 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 in gangs.^{[citation needed]} Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Bushido became formalized into Japanese Feudal Law.^[1]

Inazo Nitobe, in his book Bushido: The Soul of Japan, described it in this way. "...Bushido, 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."

Contents 1 Historical development 1.1 Early history 1.2 13th to 16th centuries 1.3 17th to 19th centuries 2 Tenets 3 Seven virtues 4 Modern bushido 5 Major figures associated with bushido 6 See also 7 References 8 External links and further reading

[edit] Historical development

[edit] Early history

There is evidence of Bushido in Early literature to suggest that the stylings of Bushido have existed in the Japanese literature from the earliest recorded literary history of Japan. Kojiki is Japan's oldest extant book. Written in 712 AD, 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 723 A.D.is notable for an early use of the term 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, samurai became synonymous with bushi almost entirely and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.

[edit] 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]}

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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 between 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.

[edit] 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^?)

[edit] 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!

[edit] Major figures associated with bushido

• Miyamoto Musashi
• Morihei Ueshiba
• Yamaga Soko
• Yamamoto Tsunetomo
• Kato Kiyomasa
• Torii Mototada

[edit] See also

• Aikido
• Battōjutsu - Japanese Martial Art - The Art of Drawing and Cutting with the Sword
• Budō
• Chivalry
• Hagakure
• Iaido - Japanese Martial Art - The Art of Drawing the Sword
• Iddo Choi
• Japan
• Kendo - Japanese Martial Art - The Way of Sword
• Ju-Jitsu - Japanese Martial Art - "Gentle Art" an Unarmed Self Defense Art of the Samurai
• Judo - Japanese Martial Art - "Gentle Way" a Modern Sport Art derived from Ju-Jitsu
• Rinzai Zen
• Samurai
• Shogun
• Virtue
• Warrior
• Zen
• Zen at War
• Nitobe Inazo

[edit] 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"

[edit] External links and further reading

• William Scott Wilson, Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors (Kodansha, 1982) ISBN 0-89750-081-4

• John Allyn, "Forty-Seven Ronin Story" ISBN 0-8048-0196-7

• Imagawa Ryoshun, The Regulations of Imagawa Ryoshun (1412 A.D.) [1]

• Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale, Final Statements of The 47 Ronin (1701 A.D.)

• The Message Of Master Gokurakuji--Hōjō Shigetoki (1198A.D.-1261A.D.) [2]

• Sunset of The Samurai--The True Story of Saigo Takamori Military History Magazine [3]

• Onoda, Hiroo, No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War. Trans. Charles S. Terry. (New York, Kodansha International Ltd, 1974) ISBN 1-55750-663-9 [4]

• An interview with William Scott Wilson about Bushido

• Bushido Website: a good definition of bushido, including The Samurai Creed

• The website of William Scott Wilson A 2005 recipient of the Japanese Government's Japan’s Foreign Minister’s Commendation, William Scott Wilson was honored for his research on Samurai and Bushido.

• Hojo Shigetoki (1198-1261)and His Role in the History of Political and Ethical Ideas in Japanhe liked to like chodes by Carl Steenstrup; Curzon Press (1979)ISBN 0-7007-0132-X

• A History of Law in Japan Until 1868 by Carl Steenstrup; Brill Academic Publishers;second edition (1996) ISBN 90-04-10453-4

• Bushido--the Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe (1905) (ISBN 0-8048-3413-X) —

• Budoshoshinshu - The Code of The Warrior by Daidōji Yuzan (ISBN 0-89750-096-2) —

• Hagakure-The Book of the Samurai By Tsunetomo Yamamoto (ISBN 4-7700-1106-7 paperback, ISBN 4-7700-2916-0 hardcover) — Complete text online: The Hagakure Kikigaki

• Go Rin No Sho - Miyamoto Musashi (1645 A.D.) (ISBN 4-7700-2801-6 hardback, ISBN 4-7700-2844-X hardback Japan only) — Complete text online:

• The Unfettered Mind - Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword master by Takuan Sōhō (Musashi's mentor) (ISBN 0-87011-851-X) — Complete text online:

• The Religion of the Samurai (1913), study of zen philosophy and discipline in China and Japan, by Kaiten Nukariya, professor of Kei-o-gi-Jiku University and of So-To-Shu Buddhist College, Tokyo — Complete text online

• Tales of Old Japan by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford (1871) reprinted 1910 -- Complete text online

• Sakujiro Yokoyama's Account of a Samurai Sword Duel
• Death Before Dishonor By Masaru Fujimoto--Special to The Japan Times: Dec. 15, 2002 [5]