As much as I admire their notions of honor and feats of arms I could never subscribe to the idea that my own life is not my property but that of the Lord (Daimyo) I serve.
But if you still feel you would have been up for it here’s an interesting code of conduct for “travelling Samurai” who were not in the employ of a Lord. Sometimes known as “Ronin”, sometimes known as “Shugyosha.”
And here is one code of conduct for austere (shugyo) living when one is not employed to keep their skill levels up.
From the Bukyo Shigen written during the Edo period (1603-1868). It is often erroneously attributed to Musashi.
Beat up under days of cold and heat, withstand exposure to wind and rain, and walk mountain roads and difficult paths.
Do not sleep under a roof; consider it fundamental to sleep out in the open.
Be patient with hunger and cold. Carry no money or food provisions.
If there is a battle at one’s destination, participate and receive meritorious deeds. Be direct in combat, avoid acting like a thief.
Go alone to places frightening to the common run of men: places where evil spirits congregate or where there are bewitching foxes* and posionous snakes.
Become a criminal on purpose, be put in jail and extricate yourself by your own wisdom.
Consider your own position to be lower than that of farmers and make your living by helping in the paddies and fields.
*Japanese folklore believed foxes to be similar to black cats in Western withcraft lore. It was believed evil spirits could change into the shape of foxes at will.
I recently read the Bushido Shoshinshu and am currently reading The Book of 5 Rings. I look at it as me being “employed” by my family to protect them and their interests with my life if necessary. It often occurs to me that I haven’t done enough for my “masters” so I strive to do more and be better. Everything I do I try to do for their benefit, truly my life belongs to them as much as it belongs to me.
I took some Graduate level classes on the Japanese culture during the Shogun era and I learned some things about Samurais that made me sick and thankful that I did not live in that culture.
As it turns out it was accepted for Samurais and Kabuki Actors to maintain homosexual relationships with boys as long as they broke it off as soon as the boys reach adulthood. They were also allowed to have mistresses and these practices were accepted by their wives.
IMHO, while these guys may have been great Warriors, I feel that they were also low life perverts. They would fit in well as members of NAMBLA. JM2CW.
Common practice in heavily male-dominated societies. Witness ancient Greece and many Arab societies. Sexual norms vary wildly across different cultures. Humans are a lot weirder than we generally accept.
The Spartans has the same practices. And while there were no social taboos against it, it wasn’t necessarily common either. It was also more of a “city samurai” thing. That said, slavery was once a common and accepted practice but that doesn’t make it ok either. The reality is life in ancient cultures was often brutal and abhorrent.
Concubines are also a very common practice in most ancient cultures. And we have the same practices in our own culture if you go back to the Greeks and Romans. Owning a boy slave for sexual purposes would not have raised an eyebrow.
It absolutely boggles my mind that this could be true. I mean it’s just unbelievable. As much as I thought I knew about the Samurai, somehow this one eluded me. But I guess that’s the way it is sometimes regarding such slop.
Alexander the Great was known for going that way, yet he was one of the accomplished warriors of all time. Seems funny because if I were doing such things my self esteem would be non-existent and I’d just want to die.
#4 means being direct in combat and not engaging in unbecoming tactics. Older samurai codes tend to frown on Pearl Harbor style tactics and they admired men who were more direct about their intentions. Of course any student of history knows the Japanese employed surprise attacks long before 1941, they just are not considered the ideal.
The purpose of #6 is not to steal or commit crimes but to be deliberately caught committing a crime. While the actions are of course identical the motivations are different. The goal in this case is not to steal for personal benefit but to place yourself in a difficult position and see if you are talented enough to escape. One must also understand this was a much more practical test of personal skill a few hundred years ago than today.
One should keep in mind that there were all manner of Samurai. It is a class that one is generally born into. And they range from the noble, warrior type who seeks to live as perfect a life as possible with honor being more valued than his own life to the most reprehensible, politically motivated social climber who will engage in any act for money, position and power. And of course everything in between depending upon the point in history, the clan and family one was associated with and other similar influences.
We of course mostly know the tales of the remarkable Samurai like the 47 Ronin of Ako. They generally don’t tell tales of Samurai who couldn’t even use the sword they wore and used their position to screw people over for personal wealth.
So, can I go out and murder someone at random just to try out my new carbine?
Samurai are a fantasy created by Hollywood and wannabe 11 year old boys.
The real thing were just like gang bangers, organized crime and Afghan warlords. Ugly, power hungry bastards, convinced of their superiority without basis.
I think Samurai worship is the sign of the douchebag.
I’m a little surprised that Peckinpah never used the samurai motif given his penchant for the theme of ideals vs. actions. The historical fact is that samurai were parasites. Peasants lived in terror of them. They honored and venerated them mainly because they would be murdered if they didn’t do so. Much of what has become of the idealized legend of the samurai is actually a creation of Japan’s wartime military propaganda.
The intriguing concept of the warrior-poet/philosopher who devotes their entire lives to the pursuit of purity and beauty is alluring to any culture with a warrior background. The fact is though, what has become the American ideal of the citizen-soldier is not only vastly more combat effective it is also more conducive to an inclusive society. Sadly, I think we are drifting toward the creation of a permanent warrior caste. Luckily, the motivation for most of those who join is one of service to fellow citizen and not nebulous abstracts like purity, nor is membership decided on ancestry. Samurai were granted their title by birth, not by merit. Historically, very few lived up to the ideal.
You could easily say the same about any feudal military government. The Bakufu lasted until 1867, things weren’t much better elsewhere. It was only four years prior to that when the US emancipated the slaves (did they live better than the Japanese peasant class?) Europe had only recently gotten away from their monarchies and life for the average peasant there was not terribly different.
The bottom line is feudal systems are brutal. Military governments usually exist at the expense of the individual. Nobody is really debating otherwise. The only real distinction is a kings knights in most other places wouldn’t put a value on personal honor above their own life as often as the Japanese would.
Recognizing positive attributes of the Samurai is no different from recognizing noble actions, efforts or deeds of famous knights in Europes Dark Ages, but those men don’t make the Dark Ages good or Feudalism a preferable caste system.
And the reality that the Samurai “could” sit on their ass and receive their stipend makes notions of shugyo and the quest for personal discipline even more interesting.
I don’t think anyone is advocating the creation of a military caste system or suggesting it is preferable to what we have in the US. It certainly wouldn’t be a very “libertarian” existence. I don’t even like the idea of law enforcement being considered “more than citizens.”
And while the Samurai was usually by birth, that wasn’t always the case. In fact the Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi was not born of royalty or Samurai class at all and was the son of a common peasant foot soldier.
Japans most famous swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi was also not a Samurai and while his father was a martial artist he was also neither royalty or of the Samurai class. He didn’t enter into the service of a Daimyo until 1634 at the age of 50 (11 years before his death). During the Sengoku period it was actually common for peasants to enter the warrior class and become eligible to become Samurai and it was also common for Samurai to abandon the class and become farmers.
And while it certainly wasn’t a simple matter for just anyone to move up in a rigid caste system like Japans, it was possible until Hideyoshi passed an edict that specifically prevented it (and not completely without irony would have prevented him from being anything more than a commoner if passed earlier). He also banned peasants from having personal arms such as swords.
