The fundamental philosophy of the samurai is that of detachment from the self. In the opening of Hagakure, Tsunetomo states that “the Way of the Samurai is found in death”. 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 are influenced heavily by two other prominent schools of thought of the time, Zen Buddhism and Confucianism.
In Hagakure, a great emphasis is placed on the samurai ideology surrounding death. The samurai should live his life as though his body has already passed, and through this “he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling”. This detachment is of fundamental importance to the samurai, and this relationship with death is influenced heavily by Buddhism. Zen Buddhism influenced the samurai by lending him his unique respect for life and death. A samurai knows that dying is just another part of life, and worrying about it is pointless. This lack of fear is bred into the samurai from birth, and stays with them for their entire lives. Whatever the daimyo tells a samurai to do, he will do regardless of personal risk. By detaching himself from the thought of risk or of danger or death, and of the worry of morality, the samurai is able to remain more loyal to the daimyo. Complete loyalty is only possible through detachment from personal risk, morality, and thought.
Zen Buddhism teaches of a concept called wu-nien, or “no-thought”. This of course is not a literal absence of thought, but it is rather a detachment from the thou...
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...tomo promotes throughout Hagakure are moral in nature, such as 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 (including Tsunetomo) similar to how Chivalry had been formalized in Europe. Ironically, Tsunetomo had done exactly what he had admonished. While he despaired at the fate of the samurai, becoming more involved in scholarly and artistic activities, he himself was spending time philosophizing on the Way of the Samurai.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure,1906
Men must face hardships. Men must face disease. Men must face each other [Parallel]. Men constantly pressure one another into perfection. Some men, however, crumble under the burden looming over their heads [FoS]. When some men cannot face themselves or those around them any longer, they choose a dangerous and deadly escape. They would rather commit suicide than face their hardships. In the japanese culture, society encouraged seppuku to end a life before a man brought dishonor to his family. In a world full of yearning for honor, young men learned that they must express courage through suicide to fulfill their honorable ancestors’ wishes. Gail Tsukiyama uses her novel The Samurai’s Garden to prove that only
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
Samurai's core value is not humiliating myself. They would even rather end their own lives if they had to put up with humiliation. For example, if their daimyo died or if they lost a battle, they committed seppuku “stomach- or abdomen-cutting”, which is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. They did this to die in honor. Furthermore, Samurai had to follow some rules called “Bushido”,which means “The way of the warriors”. The rules include fidelity, politeness, virility, and simplicity. While, knight's core value is not to commit a sin. Knights often believe killing himself is a sin, this is because of influence of Christianity. They would rather suffer being alive than to commit suicide. Knights also had to follow a set of strict rules called Chivalry, which puts emphasis on justice, loyalty, defense, courage, faith, humility, and nobility.
The author said,’’ lad to shoot arrows with deadly accuracy while galloping at full speed’’ (Doc C). From the looks of the weight and the armor of the knights they would kill them quick. A knight would lose the battle of the samurai vs knight because the knights are weak. The author stated,’’ I know that i was dead areadt and i would moved my loss of my life’’(Doc F). The samurai didnt feel sad because they know that they were going to be dead. The warriors knew they would have a good afterlife when he died The samurais dont care if they die or not because if they disrespect their lord they will commite stabe them selves or they will die in
Musui’s Story is the exciting tale of a low class samurai’s life towards the end of the Tokugawa era. Although one would normally imagine a samurai to be a noble illustrious figure, Musui’s Story portrays the rather ignominious life of an unemployed samurai. Nonetheless, this primary account demonstrates the tenacity of samurai values and privileges present at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The social status of samurai had been elevated to such a state that even someone like Musui was easily able to gain influence in everyday affairs with his privileges. Not only that, but he had retained his values as a warrior and still kept great pride for his arts in weaponry.
Bushido - ???- the feudal-military Japanese code of behavior; the way of the warrior [samurai] Japanese chivalry [knighthood]
When looking at much of the world’s ethical views and morals today, many of its standards can draw back to that of the samurai. This warrior class of Feudal Japan contributed greatly to the development of social values that people today constantly follow. It is important to look to past events and cultures to enrich the future and the ideals of the samurai are ones that better people in self fulfilling ways. Whether it be to instill positive values to children or applied to become successful in the “real world”, the virtues and morals set forth by the samurai are invaluable teachings that will influence society for many years to come.
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
The samurai had existed in modern time for a while before changing. In 1853 the United States came to Japan seeking trade and commercial relationships. It was decided that Japan was ready to give up its old ways and the era of feudal Japan ended in 1868 and the samurai along with it.
Throughout the early years in many East Asian countries, there were many people who were looking for answers to this world’s, and otherworldly, questions. When Gotama became enlightened, and began preaching the practices of Buddhism, it came at such a time when the Han dynasty was collapsing, citizens were tired of Confucianism and looking for a new ideology that they could put there hearts and souls into. Over the years, Buddhism proved to be much more than just a religion; it became a way of life. But over time, the powerful orthodoxy transformed, and many different Buddhist sects emerged. One of the more popular sects, Ch’an, or Zen, Buddhism, has become one of the most influential religions in China and Japan, and is still flourishing today.
The popularity of Buddhism in America became most pronounce in the period after World War II. It is interesting to note that the United States had just concluded the most devastating war in human history, with the first use of the atomic bomb on the Empire of Japan, yet the Japanese of style Buddhism took hold in America more than other school after the war. It could be said that the main figure head of Japanese, or more precisely, Zen Buddhism, in America was the author and intellectual Dr. D.T. Suzuki. In terms of the American expression of Buddhism, Suzuki had more influence over the interpretation of Zen philosophy than any other writer of the time.
From its inception, Buddhism has stressed the importance of death, since awareness of death is what prompted the Buddha to perceive the ultimate futility of worldly concerns and pleasures. Realizing that death is inevitable for a person who is caught up in worldly pleasures and attitudes, he resolved to renounce the world and devote himself to finding a solution to this most basic of existential dilemmas.
Fourteenth century Japan was a time of peace for many people. Buddhism had just become a major part of Japanese culture due to the Shogun Yoshimitsu. He became ruler in 1367 at the sapling age of ten (Waley 21). Yoshimitsu needed to distinguish himself from his ancestors and he did this by being devoted to Buddhism, specifically the Zen Sect (21). “Zen Buddhism and the life and teaching of Shinran are popularly identified as typical Japanese Buddhism.” (Takeda 27) However Buddhism, in Japan, is different and unique from Buddhism in other countries because it is considered the “funeral religion” (27). This is mainly influenced by ancient Japanese beliefs of the onryo.
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.
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...