{"id":381,"date":"2008-03-25T21:00:41","date_gmt":"2008-03-25T21:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/2008\/03\/25\/bushido-the-soul-of-japan\/"},"modified":"2008-03-25T21:05:59","modified_gmt":"2008-03-25T21:05:59","slug":"bushido-the-soul-of-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/2008\/03\/25\/bushido-the-soul-of-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Bushido: The Soul of Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOne of the most exquisite texts I’ve ever read is Inazo Nitobe’ Bushido: The Soul of Japan<\/a>. He wrote this book as Japan underwent deep transformations of its traditional lifestyle while being forged (painfully) into a modern nation. When a western observer asked him about the basis of morality in Japan Nitobe thought long and hard on the subject – this book was the result of his meditations. It is beautifully written, and many ways is written to provide a western audience with a better understanding of Japan, Nitobe went to great lengths to use the Bible and other Western literature as examples of common points of reference, to explain the origins and sources of Bushido, its character and teachings, its influence, and its continuity and permanence.\n<\/p>\n

I recently purchased this as an AudioBook on iTunes, and have been listening to it on my journey to and from work. I recall how much the book influenced me when I first read it, so much so that I fell in love with the romantic view of the Samurai Tradition – I even went as far as learning how to make swords! (something some of colleagues at Talis<\/a> are beginning to worry about, since I bought a couple more at the weekend to restore).<\/p>\n

To give you a sense of both Nitobe’s eloquence, and also the profound wisdom in his words, I have copied below his examination of Giri<\/em>, or Duty. Regardless of how many times I read this, or listen to it, his words still have a profound effect on me.<\/p>\n

\n
\r\nGiri primarily meant no more than duty, and I dare say \r\nits etymology was derived from the fact that in our conduct,\r\nsay to our parents, though love should be the only motive, \r\nlacking that, there must be some other authority to enforce \r\nfilial piety; and they formulated this authority in Giri. Very \r\nrightly did they formulate this authority\u00e2\u20ac\u201dGiri\u00e2\u20ac\u201dsince if love \r\ndoes not rush to deeds of virtue, recourse must be had to \r\nman's intellect and his reason must be quickened to convince \r\nhim of the necessity of acting aright. The same is true of any\r\nother moral obligation. The instant Duty becomes onerous. \r\nRight Reason steps in to prevent our shirking it. Giri thus \r\nunderstood is a severe taskmaster, with a birch-rod in his hand \r\nto make sluggards perform their part. It is a secondary power in\r\nethics; as a motive it is infinitely inferior to the Christian doctrine \r\nof love, which should be the law. I deem it a product of the \r\nconditions of an artificial society\u00e2\u20ac\u201dof a society in which accident \r\nof birth and unmerited favour instituted class distinctions, in which \r\nthe family was the social unit, in which seniority of age was of \r\nmore account than superiority of talents, in which natural affections\r\nhad often to succumb before arbitrary man-made customs. Because\r\nof this very artificiality, Giri in time degenerated into a vague sense\r\nof propriety called up to explain this and sanction that,\u00e2\u20ac\u201das, for \r\nexample, why a mother must, if need be, sacrifice all her other \r\nchildren in order to save the first-born; or why a daughter must sell \r\nher chastity to get funds to pay for the father's dissipation, and the \r\nlike. Starting as Right Reason, Giri has, in my opinion, often stooped \r\nto casuistry. It has even degenerated into cowardly fear of censure. \r\nI might say of Giri what Scott wrote of patriotism, that \"as it is the \r\nfairest, so it is often the most suspicious, mask of other feelings.\" \r\nCarried beyond or below Right Reason, Giri became a monstrous \r\nmisnomer. It harbored under its wings every sort of sophistry and \r\nhypocrisy.\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
On the subject of swords, Nitobe devoted an entire chapter. I have had an obsession with Japanese Swords for many years now. I used to own a large collection some of which I restored myself before selling them on. There are a few I still have, I only kept those that that I have a profound sentimental attachment to, so much so that my friends (especially Richard, Alex and Alan as well as the rest of my family) all laugh at the fact that regardless of where I am in the house, I have this small Tant\u00c5\u008d blade which seemingly follows me around everywhere, I carry it unconsciously – I guess when I say it like that it does sound a bit scary. Anyway I digress, the point was that Nitobe’ opening paragraph in his Chapter on Swords describes the strong attachment between a Samurai and his sword in a way that no-one else has ever come close to articulating, in fact it’s very poetic:<\/p>\n
\n
\r\nBushido made the sword its emblem of power and prowess.\r\nWhen Mahomet proclaimed that \"the sword is the key of \r\nHeaven and of Hell,\" he only echoed a Japanese sentiment.\r\nVery early the samurai boy learned to wield it. It was a\r\nmomentous occasion for him when at the age of five he was\r\napparelled in the paraphernalia of samurai costumes placed\r\nupon a go-board[1] and initiated into the rights of the military\r\nprofessions by having thrust into his girdle a real sword instead\r\nof the toy dirk with which he had been playing. After this first\r\nceremony of adoptio per arma, he was no more to be seen\r\noutside his father's gates without this badge of his status, even\r\nthough it was usually substituted for everyday wear by a gilded\r\nwooden dirk. Not many years pass before he wears constantly\r\nthe genuine steel, though blunt, and then the sham arms are\r\nthrown aside and with enjoyment keener than his newly acquired\r\nblades, he marches out to try their edge on wood and stone. When\r\nhe reaches man's estate, at the age of fifteen, being given\r\nindependence of action, he can now pride himself upon the\r\npossession of arms sharp enough for any work. The very possession\r\nof the dangerous instrument imparts to him a feeling and an air of\r\nself-respect and responsibility. \"He beareth not the sword in vain.\r\nWhat he carries in his belt is a symbol of what he carries in his\r\nmind and heart, -- loyalty and honour. The two swords, the longer\r\nand the shorter, -- called respectively daito and shoto or katana and\r\nwakizashi, -- never leave his side. When at home, they grace the\r\nmost conspicuous place in the study or parlour; by night they guard\r\nhis pillow within easy reach of his hand. Constant companions, they\r\nare beloved, and proper names of endearment given them. Being \r\nvenerated, they are well-nigh worshipped.\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/p>\n
If you want to understand Bushido, or the very nature of Japan, or even if you just want to have your own ideas of morality and ethics challenged  then you should read this book. In fact you can read the entire book online at Project Gutenburg, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the most exquisite texts I’ve ever read is Inazo Nitobe’ Bushido: The Soul of Japan. He wrote this book as Japan underwent deep transformations of its traditional lifestyle while being forged (painfully) into a modern nation. When a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[319,173,382],"class_list":["post-381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bushido","tag-katana","tag-personal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}