Posted: 13 July 2005 at 10:15pm | IP Logged

Here is evidenced an almost direct connection in Shiba^'s mind between ability in the cultural arts, the depth of one's heart, the martial arts, and the study of the classical literature of the Heian Period. Shiba has remarkably little else to say about military mat­ters in the Chikubasho, but rather enjoins the young men of his clan to live ethical lives and to develop their sensitivities and abili­ties in cultural refinements.

Another general who stressed cultural attainment in the life of the warrior was Imagawa Ryoshun (1325-1420). He is well-known for having studied poetry under the great master of the Nijo school, the courtier Yoshimoto, and for composing it happily on his way to the military pacification of Kyushu. After years of campaigning and subsequent administration of that island, he returned to Suruga, turning his energies primarily to literary affairs. The following selections from his Regulations clearly manifest Ima­gawa's feelings concerning these matters:

It is natural that training in the martial arts is the Way of the Warrior, but it is most important to put them into actual prac­tice. First, it is written in the Confucian classics as well as in the military writings that in protecting the country, if one is ignorant of the study of literature he will be unable to govern.

Just as the Buddha preached the various laws in order to save all living beings, one must rack one's brains and never depart from the Ways of both Warrior and Literary Man.

Although it is not written in the fluid language of Shiba Yoshimasa, the message here is almost the same: a complete man will be a master of both the arts of peace and the arts of war; when lacking the literary, the military cannot be sustained.

Not all warriors advocated the study of literature as whole­heartedly as did Shiba Yoshimasa and Imagawa Ryoshun. However, the ideal of harmonizing the roles of the martial and literary man remained present throughout the medieval period of Japanese history. Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611), in the following order to all of his samurai "regardless of rank," endorsed learning but placed strict limits on what was to be studied:

One should put forth effort in matters of Learning. One should read books concerning military matters, and direct his attention exclusively to the virtues of loyalty and filial piety. Reading Chi­nese poetry, linked verse, and waka is forbidden. One will surely become womanized if he gives his heart knowledge of such ele­gant and delicate refinements. Having been born into the house of a warrior, one's intentions should be to grasp the long and short swords and to die.

Concerning other refinements, Kato had this to say:

The practice of Noh dancing is absolutely forbidden.... A samu­rai who practices dancing—which is outside of the martial arts—should be ordered to commit seppuku

Kato was a soldier's soldier and a blacksmith's son, probably re­ceiving little courtly education, thus representing the opposite end of the spectrum from Shiba and Imagawa in both upbringing and outlook. Though their interpretations of the concept of learning may differ, it was never doubted by any one of these men that this ideal was an integral part of the warrior's life.

Posted: 11 November 2005 at 10:40pm | IP Logged

Basic Reading and Religious Background

Most often mentioned as suggested reading material in the warrior's own precepts are the Confucian classics, and more specifi­cally the Four Books: the Analects, the Great Learning, the Doc-trine of the Mean, and the Mencius. Takeda Nobushige's Ninety-Nine Articles, which includes examples of what was considered proper reading for the educated warrior, lists the Analects of Confucius as one of the principle texts of study.

Basically a philosophy of humanism, Confucianism places much

emphasis on education, rationalism, sincerity of action, and the relationships of people involved in society, rather than spiritual

affairs or speculation on life after death. In Confucianism, it is man "that can make the Way great,^" rather than "the Way that can make man great" (Analects, 15:28). Good government is con­sidered to be founded on virtue and example rather than on mili­tary might or force, and the perfect man is considered a man of virtue rather than profit. In terms of human relationships, Con­fucianism stresses filial piety in the home and fidelity within so­ciety at large.

The Analects consists of many short aphorisms which afford an approach to the core of Confucianism. No doubt its readers in the warrior class extrapolated their own interpretations of the Confucian doctrine by selected readings. The following are some selections that they may have found most attractive.

The Ways of the gentleman are three . . . in humanity, he has no anxieties; in wisdom, he has no confusion; and in courage, he has no fears. (14:30)

It also teaches contentment with poverty and simplistic living:

The Master said, "Having plain food to eat, water to drink, and a bent arm as one's pillow ... there is surely also enjoyment in this!" (7:15)

This is certainly consistent with campaign life. Strict adherence to rites and decorum are advocated, and courtesy is so esteemed that in the Hagakure we read that the warrior is respected "precisely because he has correct manners."

The Analects also teaches respect for poetry:

If you do not study Poetry, you will not be able to speak. (16: 13)

One can see here a hint of the harmonizing of the bun and the bu.

Confucius, it should be remembered, belonged to the class of the knights-errant. Su Ma-ch^'ien, in the Shih Chi, has Confucius say:

I have heard that when a man has literary business, he will always take military preparations; and when he has military business, he will always take literary preparations.

The true gentleman should also have a warrior-like self-reliance based on his own perfection:

The gentleman seeks things in himself; the inferior man seeks things in others. (Analects 15:21)

The gentleman is without anxiety and without fear.... When he looks into himself and finds nothing vexatious, how will there be anxiety, how will there be fear? (12:4)

But perfection should be tempered with humility:

Meng Chih-fan was not boastful. In a retreat, he took up the rear position. As he was about to enter the gate, he whipped his horse and said, "It's not that I dared to be the last, the horse just wouldn't go." (6:15)

The warriors, whose functions extended into broader adminis­trative areas as Court rites and ceremonies became empty formali­ties, were men who had real problems to solve. As warriors, their calling was one of life and death; after 1221, their governing duties extended throughout most of the country. From the late 12^th century and especially through the Warring States Period, men from the bushi class found it necessary to establish in themselves both the arts of war and the arts of peace as necessary conditions for the survival of themselves and their clans. In the Great Learning they found a key to this survival in the Confucian ideal of self-cultivation, and the connection between the single-mindedness of the individual and the ruling of the country:

Only by moving with focus can one have stability. Only by being stable can one have peace. Only by having peace can one be se-cure. Only in security can one deliberate. And only with deliber­ation will one be able to obtain.

And before governing others one must learn to govern himself:

Those who desired to govern their states would first put their families in order. And those who desired to put their families in order would first discipline themselves.

Thus, the general measure of the Great Learning is that virtue works on a vertical slide, and for the warrior this meant moving from the individual leader down through the entire province. This also applied to the clan as a whole:

If one family has humanity, the entire state will become humane. If one family has courtesy, the entire state will become courteous. But if one man is grasping and perverse, the entire country will be brought into rebellion.

Vital to the concept of self-control and achievement is the virtue of sincerity. This sincerity has a sort of transcendent, even mystical quality, akin to single-mindedness and somehow more connected with the man whose life is on the line in the battlefield than with the rank-conscious courtier embroiled in palace intrigues. The warrior could afford little equivocating, and the principle of sincerity offered him the way to break through his problems. He was taught to be as sincere to himself as to others; a policy leading to internal as well as external honesty, an honesty to one's enemies as well as to one's allies. In the Doctrine of the Mean we find:
Sincerity is the Way of Heaven; making oneself sincere is the Way of man. Sincerity hits what is right without effort, and obtains (understanding) without thinking.
Confucianism offered a sound and comprehensive system within which the warrior could go about his temporal affairs. Buddhism, on the other hand, though introduced to Japan about the same time as Confucianism (the sixth or seventh centuries), was at first of interest only to the nobility, some of whom admired it more for its pageantry than for its philosophy. In the 12th and 13th centuries, however, the priests Eisai and Dogen brought a kind of Buddhism called Zen to Japan that had been developing in China since the early T'ang Dynasty (618-906). It required no ceremonies or academic studies, and put extreme reliance on individual willpower and self-discipline. It was a Buddhism of action and in-tuition rather than intellectualization, of moving forward rather than dwelling on the past. This was very attractive to the man on the battlefield.
Along with the values of self-reliance, asceticism, and single-mindedness (all of which were shared in common with Confucianism), Zen laid great emphasis on self-denial, or transcending life and death as a condition of attaining spiritual salvation. The warrior's duty, of course, was to fight and die, and in this transcendent posture, Zen offered him the spiritual training necessary to carry out his duty unflinchingly.
Zen, however, occupied the paradoxical position of relying on intuition ("not standing on scriptures") and yet teaching a respect for learning and even acting as its vehicle. Here again, the warrior found the principle of rugged and manly discipline harmonized with the literary world.
Not all warriors belonged to the Zen sect of Buddhism, of course, but it was Zen that ultimately had the greatest effect on warrior society.
Finally, the Chinese military classics should be mentioned, due both to their immediacy to the warrior's profession and to the allusion given them in the precepts. Some of these classics may date back as far as the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., and have long held the respect of not only military men but scholars and poets as well. Military strategies for the most part, they were read attentively by the great Japanese campaigners; among the writers here they are mentioned by Imagawa Ryoshun and Kato Kiyomasa, and quoted extensively by Takeda Nobushige. Aside from their purely tactical advice, however, they must have helped in the formation of warrior attitudes with principles such as the following:

Therefore, it is a functional military law that one does not rely on the enemy not coming, but relies on the fact that he himself is waiting; one does not rely on the enemy not attacking, but relies on the fact that he himself is unassailable. (Sun Tzu 9:11)

When the world is at peace, a gentleman keeps his sword by his side. (Wu Tzu—Griffith, 1977)

Conclusion

The Japanese warriors responded differently to these various influences from diverse places in time, circumstance, and personality. Underlying these differences, however, two basic attitudes remain fairly constant throughout: that if the advice given is followed, the individual will gain in character, and the province and the clan will be properly maintained. More often than not, the assumption is that the latter depends absolutely on the former.  Thus, if the warrior was encouraged to study poetry or letters or even religion, it was less from an academic point of view than a pragmatic one; the more well-rounded and total the man is, the better he will be able to cope with his surroundings.

"Learning," said Takeda Shingen, "is not only reading books, but rather some-thing we study to integrate with our own way of life."

As we have seen, a balance of literary arts and the martial arts was considered ideal, encouraged by Confucianism and substantiated by the Buddhist scholars. The example of the Court was for-ever before the warrior, both as an ideal of the glittering world of letters, and as a warning of the impotence incurred when the sword is put down completely in favor of the pen. Concerning this dichotomy, Kuroda Nagamasa wrote:

The arts of peace and the arts of war are like the two wheels of a cart which, lacking one, will have difficulty in standing.

How well the warriors were able to sustain that balance may be judged, in part, by these precepts compared with the lives of their writers.
One may read these precepts, then, from different perspectives. They may be read as documentary evidence of warrior attitudes in certain times and places, or from a strictly literary point of view, or again, as material giving fresh and direct insight into some of the most interesting men in Japanese history. There is a current running throughout these readings, however, that bears directly on ourselves and our own values: the Way of the Warrior is the way to the total man and the journey to a fuller self. In our own specialized culture, the scholar and the poet are too often identified with the dove, while the soldier is depicted as too martial and unfeeling; their camps are mutually exclusive. The leaders of the Japanese warrior class attempted to span that gulf. If they did not attain that ideal, they did maintain and preserve it while living and acting in the world with a broader point of view than that with which we ourselves might claim.

Posted: 19 November 2005 at 5:43pm | IP Logged

THE MESSAGE OF MASTER GOKURAKUJI

Hojo Shigetoki (1198-1261 A.D.)

Hojo Shigetoki, the third son of Hojo Yoshitoki, was only five years old when the Hojo clan became shogunal regents under his grandfather, Hojo Tokimasa.

In 1223, he became the Military Governor of the province of Suruga, and in 1230 was appointed the Shogun's Deputy in Kyoto, an office he filled until 1247. With the defeat of the rival Miura clan in that year, Hojo went to Kamakura to assist the Re-gent, Tokiyori, in the organization of the bakufu. In 1256 he shaved his head and became a monk, retiring to the Ritsu-sect temple that he had established, the Gokurakuji, where he spent his remaining years in seclusion and contemplation. He had lived through a period that saw the consolidation of both political and economic power for the warrior class, a period of relative calm when compared to the Gempei wars that preceded it, and the revolt of the Ashikaga clan that was to follow

Hojo was known for the selfless help he provided his higher-placed relatives in the administration of the bakufu, and for his deep faith in Buddhism. Of his writings, two are extant: The Pre­cepts of the Lord of Rokuhara, a set of practical precepts he wrote for his son, Nagatoki, in 1247; and The Message of Gokurakuji­dono, from which the present text is taken, written sometime after 1256 for his son and the house elders in general. This latter consists of 100 articles written in the kanamajiri style, and is basi­cally concerned with man's moral duties and the ideal behavior for leaders of the warrior class. The predominant tone of the work is a Buddhist sympathy for all living beings and an awareness of the functions of karma. Women, children, and those of lower social standing are to be treated kindly and with regard, and even the concept of loyalty to superiors is dealt with more in a religious sense than a Confucian one.

The Message of Gokurakuji-dono reflects the religious feelings that seem to have been common with the Hojo family, and in this respect is probably the least secular of all the precepts presented in this book.

The Message Of Master Gokurakuji

To begin with, although it is presumptuous of me to say so, the relationship of parent and child exists inasmuch as their bond in a previous existence was no shallow one. Truly, the impermanence of the world is like a dream within a dream. The men we saw yes­terday are not here today, and the existence of those today will be in peril tomorrow. Man's fate does not wait his breathing in and breathing out. The sun that rose in the morning sinks behind the mountain ridge in the evening, and the moon of the night before marks the beginning of the day. The blooming flowers only wait for the enticement of the storm. From these it can be seen that transience is not limited to man. And, although it would at least seem determined that old men pass away and young men live on, the fact is that death has no respect for age; and when one truly thinks about it, one cannot rely simply on youth in this uncertain world. This being so, should we not want to be remembered by others and cultivate our minds?

Thinking that there are few opportunities to speak of such things directly, I am writing them down in this manner. One should read this carefully at his leisure as a diversion, and it should not be lent to others. Should I not be able to escape the round of birth and death again this time, even though I am reborn in innumberable successions it will be difficult to meet with you again, and these writings may be considered as reminiscences of the world into which I was fated to be born.

First are the articles one should think over in his heart and put into practice with his body.

 One should worship the gods and Buddhas morning and night, and maintain a heart of faith. The gods grant power to a man ac-cording to his respect for them, and he maintains his fate accord­ing to their blessings. Thus, when coming before the gods and Bud­dhas, for better ability in this world one should ask to be granted an upright heart. In this way he will be esteemed in this world and born in the Western Paradise in the next, and this is a fine thing. One should understand this principle well.

When one is serving officially or in the master^'s court, he should not think of a hundred or a thousand people, but should consider only the importance of the master. Nor should he draw the line at his own life or anything else he considers valuable. Even if the master is being phlegmatic and one goes unrecognized, he should know that he will surely have the divine protection of the gods and Buddhas. While in the midst of duties, one should keep this principle in mind concerning service at the master's court, too To think of receiving the blessings of the master without fulfill' the duties of court service is no different from trying to cross rough sea without a boat.

One should not disregard, even in jest, the instructions of h' parents. Although there should be no one, as a parent, who would instruct his child for the worse, the children who use their parents instructions are rare.

Turning this over in our minds, with our eyes closed, let think this over well. How sorrowful must be the heart of the lamenting parent who sees his child turning bad. It could certainly be said that this child is unfilial. And how happy the heart must be of the rejoicing parent who sees his child being good. This can cer­tainly be said to be filial piety.

One should listen with a calm mind to what one's parents say, even if what they say is erroneous.

It is said that when the elderly become enfeebled, they enter their second childhood. Their hair becomes white, their foreheads become wrinkled, and their hips bend like a bow of catalpa wood. When looking in the mirror their image has changed, and one would doubt that they are the same person. The person who comes once in a great while to visit pays his respects and goes home, and there is truly no one who comes to stay awhile. The elderly person's mind has certainly changed from how it was in the past; he cannot remember the things that he has heard, and forgets what he has seen. He feels resentment in the things he should rejoice in, and rejoices in the things he should resent. These things are all in the nature of the elderly.

Understanding this well, one should first have sympathy with what his elderly parents have said, and not turn his back on them. When the way passed by one's parents has been long and their destination at hand, one may wonder how much longer he will listen to such words as theirs. At this time he should follow their dictums by all means. This will surely come to one's own mind after he has become old.

If there is some discord between one's parents and another person, if one will placate the other party there is nothing that should go awry. If there is something between one's self and one's par­ents, he should at any rate follow his parents' instructions. If he does not, he will have nothing but regret after the sad leave-taking, and will wish that he had obeyed them while they were still alive.

When one is in a place where people are gathered together, and fish, fruit, and the like are being served, even if he is partaking of this himself he should do so in a manner that others may have more. Nevertheless, one should not let others be aware of this.

When one is serving food, it will not do to serve one's self more than the guest. Nor should one, with the above in mind, serve small portions. He should serve the proper amount.

When passing by the quarters of women of high rank, one should pass by without looking around repeatedly. In fact, one should not look at all. And one should make strict instructions to those of lower rank accompanying him that they should not look either.

There is error in the midst of conforming to reason, and reason in the midst of error. One should understand this well.

Error in the midst of reason is when one is so convinced of his own reasonableness that he pushes his opinion forward, not to the extent that it will cause injury to himself, but to the extent that it may cause another man to lose his life. This is error in the midst of reason.

Reason in the midst of error is when a man is about to lose his life and one comes to his aid without disclosing the thousands of mistakes that may be involved. This is reason in the midst of error. If one will fix his heart in such a way and assist the world and its people, he will have the devotion of the men who see and hear of him. Moreover, how much will the joy be of the man who has been helped? And even if the person helped and the people around him do not rejoice, one will have kindled the devotion of the gods and Buddhas, and will have protection in this life and assistance in the life to come.

Concerning matters of dress, no matter by whom one is being seen he should not appear shabbily, and even if he is mixing with the lower classes he should dress to a moderate extent. When often in the midst of humble people, one should not repeatedly dress splendidly. A person with sensitivity will be prudent in this matter.

When one of one's companions has been rebuked by the master, one should find it more lamentable than if he himself had been rebuked. If the master should tell him about his companion's error, he should mediate well for the man. For even if the master does not agree with him at the time, it will impress him well later on.

At the time of merry-making, one should be very prudent about joining in with a superior who is riding a wave of amusement. This sort of thing is what is called "a crow imitating a cormorant." No matter how much one may be letting loose or how drunk he may be, he should be very careful of his demeanor when he is in the same place as a superior. No matter how raucous one may get, he should be very aware of his surroundings.

It is truly regrettable that a person will treat a man who is valu­able to him well, and a man who is worthless to him poorly. Even dogs and beasts will be glad and wag their tails when someone treats them well, and will bark at and run away from those who give them rough fare. It is in the value of being born a human being that—and this goes without saying for those who treat us well—if one is kind to those who treat him poorly, even they may change their ways. And even if they do not, he will have the love of the gods and Buddhas, and those who see and hear of his acts will praise him.

If one treats men roughly in this existence, he will be roughly treated by them in the next, for karma is never-ending in all things. And if one would rid himself of bad karma in this round of existence, he should treat well those who are not so kind to him. For if one is dealt with kindly by people, he can rejoice in his previous existence; but if he is handled roughly in this world, his previous existence is a matter for regret.

When one buys something, he should say exactly what he wants at once. If it is too expensive,

then he should not buy it. To waste so many words is vulgar, and to buy cheaply would be a crime, for the shopkeeper makes his living by trade.

When one's wife or children are relating some matter to him, he should listen to them with care. If they say something unreasonable, he should consider that to be in the nature of women and children. Moreover, if they speak with reason he should be somewhat impressed and encourage them to speak in such a way hereafter. One should not look down on them because they are women and children. Amaterasu Omikami takes the form of a woman, and the Empress Jingu, as a queen, attacked and subjugated the Korean kingdom of Silla. Again, one should not look down upon children, for the god Hachiman^r ruled from the time he was a child. One should rely on neither age nor youth. But he who re­veres the master and protects the people may be called a sage.

When one loses at gambling, he should take the consequences quickly. When he wins he should not taunt the loser. One should not dicker over the results of gambling.

When one is associating with prostitutes and dancing girls, he should not consider that, as they are such, he can go to excesses and speak in an overly familiar manner with them. One should act and speak in a simple and ordinary way. Going too far, one may bring shame upon himself.

When one is selecting a partner from a number of prostitutes, he should pick one who is unattractive and whose dress is less comely. A man will lose his heart to an attractive girl, but an unat­tractive one will have no partner. Moreover, one's heart will not be taken in this way. And as this will be for only one night, one can imagine that the prostitute will be pleased too.

When one is at a drinking party he should always pay attention to and speak with the person at the lowest seat. Even if it is with the same wine that one is drinking, if he will feel sympathy for the man and pour for him, the man will be very pleased. One should be especially sympathetic with men of low positions. In their boundless gratification they will place great importance in one's orders.

In becoming accustomed to riding in a boat, in knowing the par­ticulars of a river, in learning to climb a mountain, in heat and in cold, one should learn all these things with endurance.

One should not talk about the faults of others, even as a joke. For even though one may think of it as a joke, to others it may be embarrassing, and this is a bad mistake. If one would joke, he should joke about things that are a pleasure to others. One should have restraint and deep sympathy in all things.

One should not talk about a woman's faults, no matter how humble of origin she may be. This goes without saying for women of position. One should use discretion in talking about people's good points, and should say nothing about their bad ones. A per-son who has no judgment in these matters will likely bring shame upon himself. Such things have no merit at all.

By means of an oar, a boat is able to bear out frightening waves, protect itself from rough winds, and cross great seas. As for a man who is born into this world, he may cross it with the help of the gods and Buddhas by means of an upright heart. Relying on an up-right heart, when it comes time to take the trip to the Nether World, there should be a path across the Mountain of Death and a bridge across the River Styx. Such a heart would seem to be a jewel for which there is no occasion to put away. One should understand this well.

An upright heart is free of avarice, and a lack of avarice will be an aid in the life to come. One should have insight into this world of dreams that passes in the twinkling of an eye.

Postscript

Although it is certainly shameful of me to go on like this, a man's life has its determined limit, and one cannot know when his end is coming. Moreover, concerning the conditions of facing that moment, there have been men who passed away leaving nothing said, and others who have left this world in the midst of battle. Man's fate is like the dew, and follows the uncertain wind of life and death. Even one's relationship with his child is as uncertain as the simmering of a heat wave. Thus, I have spoken the things that have come to mind without hesitation.

If you² would put these things into effect and the results turn out poorly, you should blame your father at that time for having spoken evil. But I feel that putting them into practice would be the highest discharge of one's filial duties. And even if you do not put them into practice, you should pass them on to your descen­dants until the end of time. For among the descendants to come, if one in the midst of a hundred were to put these into practice, he might wonder if they weren't perhaps something that had been passed down by one of his ancestors.

It is presumptuous for a man's parent to meddle with his chil­dren, and you may think that what I am about to say is exactly that, but I hope that you will sit peacefully with two or three of your children and read this to them. You should not think that what has been said here is simply something handed down to you from your father. You should understand that these are precepts for men in ages to come.

Again, as I feel unusually shameful about these things, do not let them out to other people.

See this as a memento

Of a person of the past,

And with one breath intone:

Namu Amida Butsu.³

Notes

1. One of the most important gods in the Shinto pantheon, and in this case in­dicating the 15th emperor of Japan, Ojin.

²Hojo wrote this to his son, Nagatoki, but the whole was for all the members of Hojo's clan.

³"Hail to the Buddha Amitabha," would be a close translation. It refers to the Buddha who has the power to save all beings, and the invocation is spoken at the hour of death to open the entrance to Paradise. It is repeated constantly by members of the Pure Land sect of Buddhism.