Make way for the samurai. Eyes drop, and crowds step aside as a warrior strides haughtily down a congested lane in Edo, the future Tokyo. The time is the early 18th century, but it could be a hundred years earlier or later: The scene would remain the same in a Japan frozen in feudal ways. On the street there is no mistaking a samurai. Two swords, a long one and a short one, protrude from his waist. As a member of Japan's highest class, that of the warrior, only a samurai may carry both swords, lethal symbols of his authority.
He wears a kimono topped by flowing, skirt-like trousers and a short, loose jacket. His head is shaved on top, with the hair on the sides and back gathered up into a dandyish topknot. The samurai is in no hurry. The government doesn't require him to work, though he might take a job to supplement his yearly stipend of rice. He is asked only to stay in fighting form and to defend the regime in times of trouble. And should some commoner dare to disrespect him—fail to obey an order or bump into his sword—the samurai has the right (rarely invoked) to kill the ingrate on the spot.
Actually, "Samurai" is a misnomer. Bushi is the general and correct term used to describe the warrior class of feudal and pre-feudal Japan. This term described the aristocratic warrior of the ninth century to the nineteenth century.
Only through Western ignorance have we classified all Japanese warriors as "Samurai" when the term Bushi is technically more correct.
The term "Samurai" originally referred to servants who waited on nobility. Even later when the term became extended to include a certain kind of warrior, the connotation of service was not completely removed.
The ranks or levels of a Bushi depended upon social status, his martial merit and position of the Shogun’s favor. The samurai were actually the lowest class of bushi.
Though no particular class of the Japanese nation had a particular monopoly on "Yamato-damashi". There was perhaps no segment of Japanese society so filled with this pride as the warrior class. This was the Bushi. So militarily linked was the term Bushi, that those born as Bushi, but unskilled in the combative arts did not receive the title.
The warrior class dominated Japanese history for nearly 700 years from 1185 to 1867, a reign as ruthless and violent—and as culturally rich—as almost anything experienced in ancient Rome or medieval Europe. Bushi formed a military elite, composed of clan leaders or warlords and the loyal soldiers who fought under them. Traditionally the emperor commanded the highest allegiance in Japan. But as the Bushi rose to power, the emperor was relegated to a figurehead, eclipsed by a military dictator called shogun, or commander in chief, a designation that signaled the new rule of the Bushi.
The Japanese warrior class enjoyed an amazing run of dominance that ended only when American warships sailed into Japan's harbors, exposing the inability of the shogun to defend the country. Forces rallied around a new emperor and easily overthrew the shogun's army. The Bushi's reign had ended.
"Bushido" or "Warrior’s Way", is a system of codes and traditions followed by the warrior class of Japan. The code placed particular emphasis on Justice, Courage, Benevolence, Politeness, Truthfulness, Honor, Loyalty, and self-control.
Justice or rectitude, is the most cogent precept in the code of the "Bushi". Nothing is more loathsome to a Bushi than underhand dealings and crooked undertakings. Some popular thought by warriors in regard to Justice are: "Rectitude is the power of deciding upon a certain course of conduct in accordance with reason, without wavering…to die when it is right to die, to strike when to strike is right". Others speak of it in the following terms: "Rectitude is the bone that gives firmness and stature. As without bones the head cannot rest on top of the spine, nor hands move, nor feet stand, so without rectitude neither talent nor learning can make of a human frame a "Samurai". With it the lack of accomplishments is as nothing".
Courage is a virtue only in the cause of righteousness. Death for an unworthy cause was termed a "dog’s death". The young "Bushi" were continuously drilled and indoctrinated in courage. When young, they were often led to un-nerving places as execution grounds, graveyards, and houses reputed to be haunted. This system of "drilling the nerves" was what often gave the Samurai their "nerves of steel".
Benevolence is thought of as a feminine trait. It was thought an essential part of nature to counter-balance rectitude and stern justice, two masculine traits.
The trait of benevolence includes love, affection for others, sympathy and nobility of feelings. These were considered the highest attributes for the soul.
Politeness is a poor virtue if one does it for fear of offending good taste. The casual visitor in Japan immediately observes politeness, courtesy and excellent manners. They are part of the Japanese way of life. Etiquette is an important part of life in Japan. Bowing, walking, standing, table manners and tea serving were developed as ritual ceremonies. Etiquette harmonized the total being with himself and his environment and expressed mastery of spirit over the flesh.
The tea ceremony directed a person’s thoughts away from the world and as such, was a method to achieve discipline of the soul.
Politeness is activated by tender feeling toward the sensibilities of others. As such, the warrior would weep with those who weep; and rejoice with those that rejoice.
Untruthfulness according to Bushido was deemed cowardly. As such it was dishonorable. Honesty was very important to the Bushi. Honesty was an extension of the Bushi’s vision of courage, so the Bushi endeavored to be honest in all situations.
A vivid consciousness of personal dignity and worth is implicit in the word Honor. Honor was conveyed by such terms as "na" (name) "men-moku" and "guai-bun" (external bearings). Any infringement upon a Samurai’s honor was felt as "ren-shi-shin" (a sense of shame). Disobedience to a code or to a superior produced a feeling of guilt and shame.
According to a Samurai legend "Dishonor is like a scar on a tree, which with time, instead of effacing, only enlarges".
To avoid over-reacting to small slights, the Samurai chided each other for being too short-tempered. They would comfort themselves with the adage "To bear what you think you cannot bear your sword". Patience and forgiveness formed an essential part of the meaning of honor.
Life was thought cheap if honor and fame could be had by giving it up. However, if a cause presented itself that was deemed dearer than life, with serenity and speed, life was ended.
Loyalties to the state or one’s feudal lord were the most important aspects of the trait of honor. School children were taught to sacrifice everything for the Emperor. In Japan, a personal being, the Emperor, represented the laws and the state. Loyalty was an ethical demand stemming from this political theory. A Samurai was obliged to appeal to the intelligence and conscience of his sovereign by demonstrating the sincerity of his words with the shedding of his blood.
Self-control was an important trait for the bushi. It was considered unmanly for a Samurai to betray his emotions on his face. Being stoic is in reality a masking of excitability and emotions. Long years of discipline and self-repression are believed to have created a fertile field for institutionalizing the self-destructive tendency thought essential to regain honor.
To break one area of the "Warrior’s Code" was dishonor. When a Samurai was dishonored he would commit "Seppuku" or death by self-disembowelment. Popularly known as "hara-kiri" (ripping the abdomen), the ritual was carried out in witness of Japanese officials in the following manner:
The condemned man would enter the temple and bow to the witnesses and walk slowly to a raised platform in front of the altar. He then sits back on the altar with the "Kaishaku" crouching on his left side. An official would then come forward bearing a stand holding a short sword, nine and a half inches in length. The condemned receives the sword and reverently raises it to his head with both hands, placing it in front of him. The condemned makes his confession bowing again to the officials. Allowing his garments to slip down to his girdle and remaining naked to the waist, carefully according to custom he tucked his sleeves under his knees to prevent himself from falling backward. According to custom, a noble Japanese gentleman should die falling forward. He then takes the sword in his hand and then stabs himself deeply below the waist on his left side. He would then slowly pull the blade slowly to the right side and then turning the blade in the wound would cut slightly upwards. By law, in order to restore honor he should never show any facial expression. Drawing the sword out, he leaned forward and stretched out his neck. At that moment, the "Kaishaku" still crouching, stands and severs the head with one swift stroke of his sword.
In feudal Japan, often the Bushi were the only device of law and order around. These men of valor, and dignity, often compared to the European Knights were governed by their code: "Bushido". It is through this that BuJutsu or Martial Arts developed and finally Budo or "martial ways".
Acknowledgement: Article contain excerpts from the book, Bushido: The Soul of Japan, by Ianazo Nitobe, copyright 1969
Bushido comes out of Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, and Shintoism. The combination of these schools of thought and religions has formed the code of warrior values known as Bushido.
From Buddhism, Bushido gets its relationship to danger and death. The samurai do not fear death because they believe as Buddhism teaches, after death one will be reincarnated and may live another life here on earth. The samurai are warriors from the time they become samurai until their death; they have no fear of danger. Through Zen, a school of Buddhism one can reach the ultimate "Absolute." Zen meditation teaches one to focus and reach a level of thought words cannot describe. Zen teaches one to "know thyself" and do not to limit yourself. Samurai used this as a tool to drive out fear, unsteadiness and ultimately mistakes. These things could get him killed.
Shintoism, another Japanese doctrine, gives Bushido its loyalty and patriotism. Shintoism includes ancestor-worship which makes the Imperial family the fountain-head of the whole nation. It awards the emperor a god-like reverence. He is the embodiment of Heaven on earth. With such loyalty, the samurai pledge themselves to the emperor and their daimyo or feudal landlords, higher ranking samurai. Shintoism also provides the backbone for patriotism to their country, Japan. They believe the land is not merely there for their needs, "it is the sacred abode to the gods, the spirits of their forefathers . . ." (Nitobe, 14). The land is cared for, protected and nurtured through an intense patriotism.
Confucianism gives Bushido its beliefs in relationships with the human world, their environment and family. Confucianism's stress on the five moral relations between master and servant, father and son, husband and wife, older and younger brother, and friend and friend, are what the samurai follow. However, the samurai disagreed strongly with many of the writings of Confucius. They believed that man should not sit and read books all day, nor shall he write poems all day, for an intellectual specialist was considered to be a machine. Instead, Bushido believes man and the universe were made to be alike in both the spirit and ethics.
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