One of the most fundamental philosophies of the samurai is that of detachment from the self. This detachment allows for a freedom from fear, which is essential to the samurai warriors. In the opening of Hagakure, Tsunetomo states that “the Way of the Samurai is found in death”. These rank among the greatest and most well known phrases in Japanese history, and in fact in the history of the world. Death is not to be feared by the samurai, it is to be embraced. The relationship between the samurai and his master is of the utmost importance, and only through detachment can the samurai fully and properly serve his master. These are two core, fundamental philosophies of bushido, and both can are reminiscent of similar ideologies in Buddhism, and Confucianism.
In Hagakure, a great emphasis is placed on the samurai's approach towards death. The relationship between death and the samurai can not be understated. Death is inevitable, and an honorable death is the most desirable thing a samurai could hope for. The samurai should live his life as though his body is already dead, and through this "he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling". If a samurai lives his life as though his body is already dead, he will have not have to worry about actually dying. Once you have conquered death, the most inevitable and unconquerable part of existence, then you can conquer anything. If a samurai can conquer this most fundamental thing, then he will be successful in reaching his goal. Death is all-encompassing in samurai philosophy, and by understanding this we can make comparisons between the samurai and another important denomination in Japan at the time, the Buddhists.
Buddhism teaches of ...
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...s being courageous, loyal and honorable.
During the relatively peaceful Tokugawa period, the samurai were not as occupied with waging war as they had been in the past, and as such they had begun devoting their time to other things. The samurai spent more time in intellectual and artistic pursuits, and thanks in part to Tsunetomo himself, the culture of Bushido flourished. Bushido became a formal ideology and was pieced together by the samurai at the time (specifically Tsunetomo), similar to how chivalry had been formalized in Europe. Bushido was becoming a properly formalized code of conduct, a philosophy of loyalty, detachment and honor in death, where death is more highly revered than victory. Bushido is one of East Asia’s most influential schools of thought. What would Sun Tzu, the Chinese author of The Art of War, think of this death-oriented military ethos?
In the ancient Japanese culture, one great aspect was on how they emphasized on the intrinsic themes of loyalty and honor. They had fierce warriors known as samurai’s. A samurai was a traditional warrior who would protect and be loyal to their masters no matter what. They were known to be skilled soldiers, benevolent men, self-sacrifice, sense of shame, along with other major characteristics that embodied them as a samurai. While this class of warrior no longer exist today, the remembrance of a samurai is present in the minds of the characters in the novel, The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama. Tsukiyama does a fascinating piece of work by really elaborating and describing the great attributes that Matsu possess of a true samurai. In the
Bushido - ???- the feudal-military Japanese code of behavior; the way of the warrior [samurai] Japanese chivalry [knighthood]
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With hatred in her mind she often remembers Manawaka with its uglier aspects like the dump: “Here were craters and cartons, tea chests with torn tin strippings, the unrecognizable effluvia of our lives, burned and blackened by the fire that seasonally cauterized the festering place” (26). She identifies herself with wild and passionate nature as well as refutes the town proprieties.
Bushido was one of their beliefs and it was the conduct of the Samurai. Their main saying was "freedom from fear." A Samurai was expected to overcome his fear of death. This gave him the peace and power to serve his master faithfully and loyally and to die if necessary. Duty was his primary obligation. Samurais are to lead their lives and follow the bushido religion. Bushido stressed loyalty to one's master, self-discipline and respect, and also ethical behavior. After a defeat, some Samurai chose to commit a ritual suicide called Seppuku rather than be captured or die a dishonorable death.
Masatsusu, Mitsuyuki. 1982. The Modern Samurai Society: Duty and Dependence in Contemporary Japan. New York: AMACOM.
The five Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto have some similarities when it comes to the their beliefs on death. Hinduism and Buddhism both believe in karma and reincarnation, while Daoism and Shintoism revolve their beliefs around nature. Confucianism chooses not to focus on things we do not know, so their beliefs on death are limited. In deciphering the different beliefs on death associated with each religion, it is important to understand the different belief systems and their origins. While some religions merged the views of the other religions, some came from the views of an originating founder. Each religion has their own view on life after death and whether or not their followers should be concerned
I found this to be the biggest similarity out of all of the similarities. In the article “The Way of the Samurai” found in document E it talks about the code of Bushido which is the code that the Samurai must follow, and the code of Chivalry which is the code the Knights must follow. In the article it says “The business of a samurai consist… in discharging loyal service to his master if he has one* in the deepening his fidelity loyalty in association with friends, and in devoting himself to duty above all.” This statement was talking about the code of Bushido. In the second paragraph of the article it states “With great ceremony each knight took the vows of true knighthood, solemnly promising to do no wicked deed, to be loyal to the king, to give mercy to those asking it, always to be courteous, and helpful to ladies, and to fight in no wrongful quarrel for worldly gain, upon pain of death or forfeiture of knighthood and king Arthur's favour.” This is the code of chivalry which is what the knights were supposed to fight. In document F it had a poem written by a Japanese samurai writer. As soon as you finish reading the poem you can tell that the samurai worry about the present and not the future. The second part of document F is a song about a Knight's death called “The Song of Roland” The song and poem were both very different such as the Samurais poem was more if he dies he dies, but
It is saying that you can believe that what your doing is for the right reasons but in the end it will kill you and that one would end up dead and in the same place as an alcoholic, some one who sat arounf and drank themselves to death. This view is also saying that in the end no matter what the leaders of the nation and the other citizens say that you might be getting out of it, at the end you just don’t. its like what the Japanese belive would happen if they were apart of the kamikaze a suicide squad of poilets during World War II, the believe that if they were to die while they were bombing Allied Powers ships then their death would pay the debt they owed and show the love they had for their families, friends, and emperor. But the truth is after they died they did not get anything from it and the government did not care about that poleit that died for their cause, just the affects of the attack on the Allied Powers. This is a extreme view against the belief of nationalism bevause the author is tying nationalism and everything it stands for with death. The other beliefs that this person would have that nationalism is not something that we shouldn’t be promoting to the extreme that some countries do and that to prove that you love your country you should not have to die for
...eave one with a similar "air of tragedy". However, if we can gather the strength to adopt an authentic way of being, if we can see that we have a self to find and overcome the repression for selfhood, we can at the very least be freed from the mistaken view of death and thus, be freed from the irrational fear that normally accompanies it. The role of mortality in Heidegger's philosophy may be methodological and catalytic, but the import of mortality to Human Being, whether authentic or inauthentic is and always has been significant in conjunction with our cultural overlays and traditions. Heidegger's phenomenological view of death as a way-of-being is significant to us because it provides a workable alternative to the common dogmatic views of death and it can help to guide us through a profound existence, that is laden with the traps and pitfalls of inauthenticity.
In War In war, they told him, “The heroes outnumber the soldiers ten to one.” Sasuke wondered what they meant at that time. Being a little raven haired boy of 10, rugged in jean overalls, hair long and tangled; his bare feet plunged onto the earth below him he hadn’t a care in the world. He looked onto his father, situated on the porch silently reading the morning news, leaving an unfinished dream catcher by the side of his chair. The neighborhood, asleep, but awake, was his sanctuary to meditate on these words his father has always told him from the day he was born. The words meant nothing to him, just an admission of his future attendance of war, a dreaded but lifelong dream. It meant nothing that his life has only barely begun. He was young, young and untried and he hated it. Friendless, spineless, and useless, for he couldn’t attend school, he was itching for a purpose in life. His father, a war vet, was as useless as he was, crippled from saving his brother from an enemy attack. His bravery in WWI left him a fool for his admirable quality was not taken into account. Someday he would be a hero, a warrior, and have friends that did not leave him out of playful activities and a family that would admire him, love him. He was not going to be like his father, a man his mother didn’t love, but kept for when the loneliness got too sad to bare with only her son by her side. Maybe one day he would finally become a man that would be accepted into a world that he hardly knows, but will one day smile back at him. Picking up the half-finished nightmare snatcher, he set to work making use of his little firm hands while they were still innocent. -- In war, they tell him, “The heroes outnumber the soldiers ten to one.” He saw it. He saw throu...
Death, in many places death is feared, taking one's own life is looked upon as cowardly and weak. This story sheds a different light on death; it shows the honor and respectful way of bowing out. To see the honor in death, one must understand the culture and the time period. The story 'Patriotism' written by Yukio Mishima shows a couple?s courage, love and faith as well as the man?s commitment to his country.
Griffith’s study also includes four different appendixes. The first is A Note from Wu Ch’I, the second is titled Sun Tzu’s Influence on Japanese Military Thought, the third is Sun Tzu in Western Languages, and the fourth appendix is Brief Biographies of the Commentators.
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...