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Bushidō (武士道): The Spirit of the Japanese Samurai
Bushidō is an ethical system consisted of seven codes of conduct, including
righteousness (義 gi),
courage (勇 yū),
benevolence (仁 jin),
courtesy (禮 rei),
sincerity (真/誠 makoto), honour (名誉 meiyo) and loyalty (忠義chūgi). These seven codes are commonly known as the
virtues of a Japanese samurai. The tradition of Bushidō can be traced back to
the Nara period (710-794), the time when the empire was in need of righteous
and courageous warriors (i.e. samurais) who were absolutely loyal to the emperor
and were not afraid of death while fighting in battles.
The first of the seven Bushidō codes is gi,
which is usually translated as “righteousness” and “justice”, is “a deep sense
of doing what is right given the situation at hand – based upon reason and
judgment – and doing so with fervour.” [1] In this sense, once can see that gi is actually strongly related to the
concept of fairness. Only when each person, regardless of their backgrounds, is
being treated fairly according to not only law but also justice can the society
truly be ordered and peaceful, and thus bringing prosperity and harmony to the
empire.
The second of the seven Bushidō codes is yū, which can be translated as “courage”, “valour”, “fortitude”, “bravery”,
and “fearlessness”. According to Nitobe Inazō (1862-1933), who had popularized
the concept of Bushidō during the early Meiji period, yū is a spirit of daring and bearing. [2] The mind of a truly
courageous person is always calm and at peace. As Nitobe noted,
“Tranquillity
is courage in repose… A truly brave man is ever serene; he is never taken by
surprise; nothing ruffles the equanimity of his spirit. In the heat of battle
he remains cool; in the midst of catastrophes he keeps level his mind.
Earthquakes do not shake him, he laughs at storms… in the menacing presence of
danger or death, [he] retains His self-possession… for instance, [he] can
compose a poem under impending peril or hum a strain in the face of death.” [3]
Besides his
fearlessness of danger and death, a truly brave samurai was absolutely
determined and brisk when it came to killing. Yet, paradoxically, Bushidō is a
form of “fighting arts” that advocate peace and harmony. As a result, a
virtuous man must bear with him both courage and the third of the seven Bushidō
code – jin – in order to be a true
samurai.
Jin, which can
be translated as “benevolence”, “mercifulness”, “kind-heartedness”, and “philanthropy”,
is considered as the highest of all the attributes of the human soul in Bushidō.
Both Confucius (551BC-479BC) and Mencius (372BC-289BC) constantly emphasized
that a ruler must consist in benevolence. (Note: Bushidō is strongly influenced
by Confucianism.) It is because an empire can be prosperous and harmonious only
when the ruler is tender and even mother-like, and treats his people with care,
love, mercy, benevolence, understanding, and sincerity. In Bushidō, it is
believed that a courageous man with no benevolence will gradually lead to
nothing but terrible destruction. A courageous man with no benevolence is undoubtedly
a great fighter but can never be regarded as a samurai. As an old say goes, “The
bravest are the tenderest, the loving are the daring.” A courageous yet
benevolent samurai is a perfect exemplification of the simultaneous yet
harmonious presence of both masculinity and femininity, of both hardness and
softness, of both callousness and sensitiveness, and of both toughness and
tenderness.
The fourth of the seven Bushidō codes is rei, which can be translated as “courtesy” and “politeness”. It is
not merely related to various social manners, Rei is also considered as a noble virtue that can manifest a person’s
sympathetic regard for the feelings of others as well as one’s humbleness. A
samurai who bears the virtue of rei knows
what to do and what to say in various occasions and settings, and to people of
different hierarchal ladders and social sectors. Also, a samurai’s rei is rendered profoundly through his
clothing, actions, speech, and etiquettes in various social gatherings, rituals
and ceremonies. Therefore, rei also
reflects a person’s class, taste, literacy, educational background, cultivation,
and refinement. As Nitobe noted,
“… by
constant exercise in correct manners, one brings all the parts and faculties of
his body into perfect order and into such harmony with itself and its
environment as to express the mastery of spirit over the flesh. What a new and
deep significance the French word biensèance
[etymologically: “well-seatedness”] comes thus to contain!” [4]
The fifth of the seven codes is makoto,
which can be translated as “sincerity”, “veracity”, and “truthfulness”. After
all, a polite person without sincerity can only be considered as a “skilful
actor” but not a sincere gentleman. As Nitobe pointed out, “To sacrifice truth
merely for the sake of politeness was regarded as an ‘empty form’ (kyo-rei) and ‘deception by sweet words,’
and was never justified.” [5] Indeed, only when a person obtains both the
virtues of rei and makoto can he truly be called a cultured
samurai with sophistication and refinement. In addition, in both Bushidō and
Confucianism, it is believed that an empire can only be prosperous and harmonious
when the ruler is truthful, honest and sincere to his people. In this way, his
people can truly live a secured life without worrying whether or not their
ruler is telling lies and hiding serious facts. “Trust” is the keyword for the
virtue of makoto.
The sixth Bushidō code of conduct is meiyo,
which is always translated as “honour”. Meiyo
consists of two kanji – mei,
which means “name”, and yo, which
means “countenance” and “reputation”. According to Nitobe, the sense of meiyo implies a self-consciousness of
personal dignity and worth, and it “could not fail to characterize the samurai,
born and bred to value the duties and privileges of their profession.” [6] A
samurai always wore two swords with him – the daitō (大刀, long sword) and the shōtō (小刀, short sword). While the daitō is used for dealing
with an enemy or a sudden threat, the shōtō is strongly associated with the
virtues of courage and honour. A samurai used his shōtō to committee seppuku (切腹, also known as hara-kiri 腹切り, a ritual of voluntary self-disembowelment)
as a form of self-punishment when he had committed serious offense or he had
brought shame to himself. Seppuku was also performed when a samurai was about
to lose in a battle. The performance of seppuku thus allowed him to die with
honour rather than fall into the hands of his enemy. As Tanaka Fumon has pointed
out, “By wearing the daitō and shōtō… a warrior not only demonstrated his
resolution but also accepted responsibility for his actions and pledged to live
his life in honour.” [7]
Indeed, seppuku is inseparable from Bushidō. Yet, seppuku should not be
considered as suicide. Instead, it is in fact a serious ritual that was highly
respected by both samurais and commoners of the time. It is because the
performance of seppuku revealed the samurai’s courage and dutifulness of taking
personal responsibility for a grave error which he had made. In some cases, a
samurai would also commit seppuku if his lord asked him to do so, demonstrating
not only his great courage to confront his destiny and his strong dutifulness
to follow commands, but also his resolute loyalty – which is one of the seven
Bushidō codes – to his lord.
The final Bushidō code is chūgi,
which is generally translated as “loyalty”. Chūgi
consists of two kanji – chū, which means “loyalty” and “faithfulness”,
and gi, which has already been
discussed earlier, means “righteousness” and “justice”. In Bushidō, a samurai’s
loyalty to his lord assumes paramount importance. The ruler thus provides
resources and protection for samurais in return, building a parent-child
bounding with care, respect, and love. This kind of father-and-son relationship
between the higher and lower layers of the social ladder is still prominent in
today’s Japanese companies such as Panasonic, Sony and Toyota. On the other
hand, from a Confucian perspective, it is believed that only a stable social
hierarchy, in which everyone is loyal and knows very well their own social
positions, duties and responsibilities, can truly bring harmony, growth and
prosperity to the empire.
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References:
[1] Nick Horton, “The 7 Virtues of Bushidō: Righteousness,” The Iron
Samurai, accessed on September 10, 2016, http://www.theironsamurai.com/the-7-virtues-of-bushido-righteousness/.
[2] Nitobe Inazō, Bushidō: The Soul of
Japan (13th Edition) (Tokyo: Teibi Publishing Company, 1908), 25.
[3] Ibid, 29.
[4] Ibid, 49-50.
[5] Ibid, 59.
[6] Ibid, 65-6.
[7] Tanaka Fumon, Samurai Fighting Arts: The Spirit and the Practice (Tokyo:
Kodansha International, 2003), 45.
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