Bushido: The Code of the Samurai
By George W. Alexander, Ph.D.
Japan's
medieval warrior nation was dominated by military rule and samurai
philosophy for centuries. This produced a warrior culture and code of
military discipline whose vestiges survive until the present day in the
practice of modern martial arts. The code of the samurai--bushido
is the foundation of Japan's warrior culture. Sometimes bushido
is translated as knightly ways. These knightly ways were the code of
conduct; a set of moral principles adhered to by the samurai class known
as "the code of the samurai!"
In the
broadest perspective, the history of mankind seems to be the history of
warfare itself and the history of conflict over power and resources
veiled by the fog of war and punctuated by political hegemony. It is
necessary to go back to man’s earliest beginnings in order to reconcile
the evolution and development of warrior culture and the act of war
itself and the need for a code of military conduct. The martial arts and
warfare are as old as mankind. Conflict, warfare and individual combat
provide the genesis for the evolution and development of warfare.
Surely, the evolution of warfare begins with Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon
man, the cavemen who in prehistoric times had spread over Africa, Asia
and Europe.
Perhaps the first martial art, which was little more than a flung rock
or a strike with a crude club, is attributable to this period. Since
then every culture has developed some means of warfare or martial arts
either for the mere act of self-preservation or for the conquest of its
neighbors. According to the often-quoted dictum of Clausewitz, “War is
nothing but a continuation of political intercourse with an admixture of
different means”.
Throughout
history, strong leaders such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and
Genghis Khan have imposed their will on other nations. In the case of
Japan, it has been warlords such as General Yoshimitsu Minamoto (also,
Yoshitsune d. 1120), Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Hideyoshi Toyotomi
(1538-1598) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1615) who waged war and shaped the
destiny of Japan. Such a setting in medieval Japan required a strict
code of military discipline--the code of the Samurai!
The Japanese
culture has always been militaristic and imbued with stoic military
discipline. This culture developed more or less in isolation from the
mainland. Although, since ancient times Japan learned much about warfare
from China by way of Korea in addition to its indigenous development of
weapons, tactics and strategy. Additionally, Japan developed its own
unique approach to warfare and produced tenacious fighters known as
samurai warriors or bushi. These early warriors were knights who
rode into battle mounted on horseback. The samurai fought chiefly as
individuals with little regard for battlefield tactics. Oftentimes, a
samurai would engage another samurai from the opposing army in
individual combat while members of both armies looked on. In this
prelude to battle, they often observed a ritual in which one samurai
proudly announced to the other his name and family lineage before their
combat began. Ultimately, the entire force each picked a foe from the
other side and then a bloody melee erupted on the battlefield.
The code of
the samurai, similar in some ways to the code of chivalry of European
knights, was basically an unwritten set of precepts. There is no
particular text to serve as a biblical reference so to speak. The
precepts were largely transmitted by word of mouth in the form of maxims
in the educational process of a samurai and as anecdotes recorded by
famous samurai warriors. Bushido, the code of the samurai,
has been one of the greatest driving social forces in the molding of the
nation of Japan.
Three
significant virtues imbued in bushido were honor, loyalty and
courage. Factors, which seemed to embellish all the individual virtues
of bushido and this code were the samurai’s stoic nature, his
calm indifference to his environment, especially in battle, and his
seriousness of purpose. One’s honor was a trait highly esteemed and care
was taken to safeguard one’s reputation and dignity. So much care in
fact that this defensiveness of one’s honor had to be counterbalanced by
stressing the merits of patience. The counter effect was to prevent
swords from being drawn at the slightest friction in dealing with
others. A strong code of conduct was necessary to insure that these
intense and energetic individuals could work together in a social
setting with adequate cooperation and cohesion.
Loyalty to
one’s master or daimyo was a characteristic, which was considered
one of the supreme attributes of a samurai. As evidence of this, Japan’s
history recounts how the lines of samurai served the lines of feudal
lords for generations. Conversely, Ronin (wave men or floating
men) were roving samurai whose services were not retained by a liege
lord and were despised as renegades. Loyalty was epitomized by a certain
ideology in which, life or the forfeiture of it was regarded as a means
by which to serve the master. This blind obedience or bizarre devotion
is characterized throughout Japan’s literature. Perhaps the most famous
account of this is the story or the 47 Ronin. Where 47 of a
lord’s retainers avenged their lord's enemy and then disemboweled
themselves in order to follow their deceased master into the next world.
Courage,
needless to say, is a prerequisite for any combatant or professional
warrior. But as far as the code of the samurai and bushido was
concerned, courage was only recognized as a virtue if it was “exercised
in the cause of righteousness.” In bushido the precepts implied
“death for a cause unworthy of dying for was called a dogs death”.
Hence, to know when to die and to know when to live is the mark of true
courage. Accompanying this ideal was the discipline of composure in the
face of death.
Courage
became so highly refined as a virtue of the samurai it was expounded
upon in many different anecdotes. It seems as though a certain amount of
finesse was required to exercise courage properly. The samurai of old
Japan prided himself on the possession of brute strength. However,
battles did not involve shear force alone. There is a certain sportive
element in a courageous nature. Things that are serious to ordinary
people may be but play to the valiant. Therefore, sometimes in old
warfare it was not uncommon for the parties to a conflict to exchange
repartee. Combat was not solely a matter of brute force; it was as well,
an intellectual engagement.
In contrast,
the European development of a military code took place over a long
period of time in western culture. Originally the Romans who had one of
the most cruel and brutal armies taught the virtue of bravery in battle.
However, the Romans were merciless towards their enemies and they had no
respect for their defeated foes. In fact, they were either killed or
taken as slaves to serve in Rome. One famous expression in the Roman
army was Vae victis! or "Woe to the vanquished!' Later,
the Normans and the knights of Britain were taught a code of chivalry
that was similar to the code of the samurai. It taught the Roman idea of
bravery but also kindness to the weak and respect for women and defeated
enemies. These codes were similar in that the need for bravery in battle
and loyalty were common to both.
Additionally,
as a practical matter, the samurai had little regard for the weak even
though the classical literature of the samurai mentions that in
bushido or in old warfare the warrior had compassion for the weak.
It was more likely that their heads would be taken. The similarities of
the two codes are that both these codes evolved from feudal systems in
that land was held with the obligation of returning military service to
a feudal lord for his protection. In accordance with the code of the
samurai, two things--the obligation to the liege lord, motivated
the heroic deeds of the samurai and the honor and pride instilled in the
samurai by the code of bushido.
Within the
philosophy of Japanese swordsmanship and the code of the samurai is the
concept of the resolute acceptance of death. Or to put it another way,
"Swordsmanship is an art at the meeting of life and death".
This is embodied in the samurai’s code of bushido i.e., the way
of the warrior. The way a samurai kept his mind in accordance with the
highest principle of bushido was to keep his spirit accustomed to
and resolved on his own death. In this way, by considering himself
already dead, he could perform his duties without fear of failure.
Seppuku
(AKA hara kiri)
or disembowelment was a form of Japanese ritual suicide. It became the
focal point of the ferociousness of will that was necessary for the
mastery of bushido
and the code of the samurai.
It came to be called “The Flower of Bushido”, primarily because of the
samurai’s preoccupation with the preparation for his demise.
Seppuku was a
traditional, legal and ceremonial institution. Its purpose was to allow
the warrior to absolve himself from any dishonor, escape disgrace or
prove sincerity. It was often awarded to a perpetrator of an offense as
a form of honorable punishment. The offender would be "invited" to
commit seppuku.
Since it required great composure it suited the stoic nature of the
samurai. As time went on a suicide assistant or
kaishaku was added to
the ceremony. After the offender made his abdominal cut the assistant
would deliver the final blow decapitating the offender. However, the
slicing action of the sword was stopped just short of cutting all the
way through the neck so that a small flap of skin remained at the throat
in order keep the head attached to the body. In this way, a head rolling
across the floor would not offend onlookers!
To the
samurai the sword was not regarded as an instrument of death but rather
as an instrument of spiritual self-discipline. The code of the samurai
gave no support to the wanton use of the sword. In fact, it vehemently
stressed its proper use and discouraged its misuse. The possession of
the weapon imparted a grave responsibility. Its power provided a great
temptation and allowed it to be easily misused. Therefore, with regard
to this aspect, the code of the samurai and bushido were
necessary in order to establish a mode of conduct and an ethical
framework for the samurai.
By the
thirteenth century the samurai reached a status of nobility as rulers
and bushido flourished. Bushido as an ethical system
became ornamented with ceremony as it reached its zenith during the
reign of the Tokugawa Clan (1603-1868). With the advent of the Tokugawa
reign, the government became more stable and peace lasted almost three
hundred years. Slowly, the precepts of knighthood began to become very
ceremonialized and the trend moved from military accomplishment toward a
higher philosophical plane that embraced the metaphysics of death.
The precepts
of the code of the samurai evolved as a philosophy and lifestyle
paralleled and supported by the feudalistic form of government. After
the downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the new Meiji government was
installed and abolished the old feudalistic system completely. The new
government began to absorb the culture of advanced western nations. The
strongest blow initially dealt to the samurai and bushido came as
a result of the Meiji government issuing an edict in 1872 prohibiting
the wearing of swords in public. This ban strictly forbade the wearing
or the use of swords in public by anyone. As a result of the ban, the
samurai were left without any source of income and bushido’s
practicality began to wan in the new Japan.
The setting
for the heroic deeds of the samurai, which influenced all of Japan’s
martial arts and martial philosophy, and the precepts of the code of the
samurai were engulfed by a rapidly expanding society in little more than
a century. bushido, born out of clan rivalry and the aggression
of ambitious warlords, was destined to die with the advent of the modern
age and the renunciation of war by a people who thrived on it for a
millennium. Even though the code of the samurai--bushido, has
died certainly the legacy of bushido and the stoicism of the
samurai spirit lives on in modern Japanese society today and the
practice of modern martial arts.
Dr. George W.
Alexander, 9th Dan has excerpted his forthcoming book
Japan's Warrior Nation - The Samurai in the Twentieth Century in
order to write this article. He can be reached at (423) 338-4972 or
email
alexyama@mindspring.com
Authors note: The story of the origin of man is still unknown. A former theory is that the human race developed in Africa and spread throughout the rest of the world. This “Out of Africa" theory has now been replaced by another theory that purports that man developed in various locations around the planet simultaneously. Additionally, the origin of the races including Mongoloid man in Asia, Negroid man in Africa and Caucasoid man located in Europe and other areas of Western civilization is also unclear. See the Oxford Companion to Archaeology (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 50-52.
Authors note: I once tried to communicate this idea to Shizuya Sato, the president of the International Martial Arts Federation (Kokusai Budo Renmei). I believe he felt that western martial arts couldn’t possibly equal or be compared to Japanese martial arts.