DOCSLIB.ORG

Bushido Robert J

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bushido Robert J Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CGU Faculty Publications and Research CGU Faculty Scholarship 1-1-2001 Bushido Robert J. Bunker Claremont Graduate University Recommended Citation Bunker, Robert J. "Bushido." World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing, 2001. 134-135. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in CGU Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. .... 134 Bushido This warrior code was based on concepts of Zen Bud­ of vehicles and cargo. When emergency training programs dhism, which provided its martial or warlike nature, and failed ro correct rhis deficiency, rhe problem was solved later of Confucianism, which instilled social responsibil­ by hiring indian operators for rhe segments of rhe Stilwell iry. Yer ir required loyalry to one's feudal lord (daimyo) Road in Burma, freeing up American truck drivers, many above all else. Major principl of th em African Americans who vo lunteered ro drive ro es of Bushido were based on honor, dury, to Kunming, for the portions in Chin a. courage, and a willingness sacrifice one 's Fro m January 194 5 unril rhe Japanese surrender in Au­ self in barcle or in rirual suicide. Possession of a warrior gust, rhe AJiies delivered 25,000 vehicles and 120,000 spirit and mastery of rhe horse, bow, and sword repre­ ro ns of cargo ro Kunming over rhe Sti lwell Road. Amer­ se nted other arrribures of this ethical code. ican engineers had built dual pipelines along rh e route With rhe Meiji Resrorarion in 1868 and abolition of rhar ultimately became more valuable rhan rhe highway the samurai class and the feudal structure on which it was itself. T he roure's capacity co uld have been multiplied based, Bushido was for a time subordinated ro Western severalfold with asphalt pavi ng and other improvements concepts of modernization. This subordination was short­ to rh e roadbed, as called for in earlier plans, bur by rhe lived, and by rhe late nineteenth century Bushido was time land communications with China were reopened in deliberately borl1 revived and revised so that ir could be ea rly 194 5, eve nts elsewhere had robbed rhe road of much used ro infuse Japanese of all social classes wim irs martial of irs strategic meaning. Cargo reaching China over rhe and ethical teachings. These principles were elaborated to Stilwell Road in 194 5 amounred ro less rhan half of what Westerners in Inazo Nirobe's influential Bushido: The Soul was Aown in by rhe ex pand ed "Hump" operation in rhe ofjapan, which was translated inro English in 1900. sa me period, and U.S. advances in rhe Pacific obviated Bushido had a pronounced influence on rhe modern­ rhe necessity for Chinese bases for rhe final assault on ized Japanese military sys tem of the early to middle twen­ Japan. T he subject of inrense controversy and the object tieth century. At the Barrie ofTsushima in 1904, Admiral of enormous expenditures of material and engineering Togo, on the bridge of battleship Mileasa, proved his "war­ skill, the Burma Road , in th e end, proved ro be a strategic rior spirit" in a famed incident. During a critical part of dead encl . rhe barrie, his second in command was given permission ro take in his hand the admiral's testicles, which, nor being FURTHER READINGS seized up, showed rhe admiral's bravery. This incident was Anders, Leslie. The Ledo Road (1965). followed by rhe seppuku (ritual suicide) of General Ma­ Fischer, Edward. The Chancy \-%r (1991). resuke, a Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) hero, who on Stilwell, Joseph W. Stilwell's Personal File-China, Burma, hearing of rhe death of rhe Meiji emperor in 1912 rook India, 1942-1944 (1976). part in a practice known as junshi as a statement of ex­ Tarling, Nicholas. Britain, Southeast Asia and the Onset of treme loyalry ro his fallen lord. the Pacific \-%r (1996). Before World War II, rhe philosophy of Bushido was Tuchman, Barbara W Stilwell and the American Experi­ taught ro Japanese schoolchildren. With Japan militariz­ ence in China, 1911-1945 (1970). ing in the 1930s, the more martial attributes of this war­ Mark P. Parillo rior code began to be stressed, among all civilians. (A possibly apocryphal story tells of rhe Japanese locomotive SEE ALSO Chiang Kai-shek; Chennault, Claire Lee; ~ngineer who, shamed by bringing in a new train on irs Stilwell, Josep h Warren maugural run a trifling few minutes late, committed sep­ puku on the Tokyo station platform: His Imperial Maj­ Bushido esry, the emperor, had been on board.) Instances where conscripts rook copies of rhe Hagakure or Nirobe's Bu­ Bushiclo was originally a code of conduct for the samurai shido wirh them to rhe front became common. In rhe rhe warrior class of feudal Japan. The rerm literally mean; Pacific conflict Bushido thus came to help define the spirit "the ~vay [do] of rhe warrior [bushi] ." Basic principles of and actions of the Japanese armed forces. Busludo developed during and in the cenruries of warfare Following the teachings of this code, no provision was before the Kamakura Shogunate (1192-1333). The term made for the surrender of Japanese military forces . Fur­ came inro normal usage during the stable Tokugawa Sho­ thermore, rhe code's promotion of sacrificial death served gunate (1603-1867), when the samurai were subordi­ ro the suicide charges nated ro the will of rhe stare and the literary classic Ha­ exp~ain undertaken by defeated Jap­ gakure (1716) was written. anese mfantry forces, whose sword-wielding officers and men preferred death to the dishonor of being captured. Bushido 135 The willingness of kamikaze pilots and kaitan submarine that, despite their fears, the U.S. military occupiers of crews-who also engaged in suicide attacks on Allied war­ postwar Japan did not abide by any such code ofBushido. ships toward the end of the war-becomes clear. For all these noble examples of self-sacrifice and duty, FURTHER READINGS a darker side to Bushido also existed. Because this warrior Collcurr, Marrin C. "Bushido." Kodansha Encyclopedia of code lacked notions of humility which were found in such japan, vol. 1 (1983). Western concepts as the chivalric code, social inferiors and lnazo, N ito be. Bushido: The Soul ofjapan; An £-position nonwarriors were generally held in conrempt. As an out­ ofjap anese Thought (1970; reprint of 1905 edition). come of this lack of sympathy, numerous atrocities took Newman, John. Bwhido: The ~)' ofthe Wfl.rrio 1 ~· A New place against both prisoners of war and conquered civil PerspectitJe on the Japanese .Militmy Tmdition (1989). popularions during World War II. Such atrocities in­ Wilson, William Scott, trans. Hagakure: The Book of the cluded the rape ofNanking, the Bataan death march, and Samurai (1979). the sack of Manila, which resu lted in the deaths of hun­ Yamamoto Tsunetomo. Hagakure (1716). dreds of thousands of innocent people and, in the process, Robert]. Bunker brought lasting dishonor to this warrior code. With this in mind, the Japanese could counr themselves fortunate SEE ALSO Army, Japanese .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bushidō and the Samurai
    Bushidō and the Samurai Martha Chaiklin “Fujiyama-geisha” is a common English expression that refers to the stereotypical images that foreigners hold of Japan. Since the 1980s and Japanese economic dominance, however, most Westerners have become much more knowledgeable about the Land of the Rising Sun. Where once Japanese food could only be obtained on the West Coast or New York, now you can buy sushi in the supermarket. Nevertheless, certain types of stereotypes have persisted. A pervasive one, supported by Japanese film and animation, is the samurai as an elite warrior who lives by a strict code. This idealized and romanticized image has only the most tenuous connection to historical reality. The word samurai is derived from the verb saburau, to serve. In the Heian period (794–1185) the original samurai by title were people who directly served the upper echelons of the aristocracy. It could refer to a wide variety of positions, including the armed guards who protected the members of the Imperial family. In the case of the emperor, sometimes this samurai was even a family member and thus a member of the aristocracy. This broad usage continued even into the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the first warrior-led government. It was not until the breakdown of imperial rule and the rise of the warrior class that led to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate that this term came to refer to warriors. The origins of the warrior class in Japan are debated. Some scholars believe they evolved from regional militias, and others emphasize the aristocratic origins of the upper echelons.
    [Show full text]
  • How Religion and Belief Influenced the Way of the Samurai
    Sword and Spirit: Bushido in Practice from the Late Sengoku Era through the Edo Period Joe Lovatt Seminar Paper Presented to the Department of History Western Oregon University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in History Spring 2009 Approved Date Approved Date Hst 499: Prof. Max Geier & Prof. Narasingha Sil 2 Sword and Spirit: Bushido in Practice from the late Sengoku era through the Edo period By Joe Lovatt The Samurai possessed a strict code of ethics known as Bushido (the way of the warrior), which allowed them to become some of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. However, there were different embodiments of this system, personifications that two Samurai themselves have documented in two of the most well known books ever written by Samurai; The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi and Hagakure, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. Bushido has usually been considered an ethical code that was set to a certain standard, just as the ten commandments are. This analysis suggests that it was in fact not a set of moral laws, but that bushido was embodied differently by every Samurai. Bushido was ultimately a guideline, just like rules in religion. It was a path that one was to adhere to as well as they could, but history has made it clear that it depended upon the circumstances in which a Samurai lived; the life of a Samurai in the twelfth century would filled with fighting for their master and practical use of the code; far different from that of a Samurai living during the first half of the 1800’s, who would be keeping track of the business operations of their master instead of fighting.
    [Show full text]
  • The Significance of the Atypical Samurai Image: A
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UC Research Repository THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ATYPICAL SAMURAI IMAGE: A STUDY OF THREE NOVELLAS BY FUJISAWA SHŪHEI AND THE FILM TASOGARE SEIBEI BY YAMADA YŌJI A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Japanese at the University of Canterbury by S. J. Albrow University of Canterbury 2007 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................... …..……..…2 Abstract ........................................................................................................... …3 Author's Notes ................................................................................................ …4 Introduction ........................................................................... ….…….…….…..5 I Historical Background to the Samurai and their Ideals ......................... ..11 1.1. Emergence of the Samurai... ...................................................... ……..11 1.2. Samurai Ethics during the Tokugawa Period ........................... ……..20 1.3. Anxiety and Change .......................................................... …..…..…...29 1.4. Modern Adaptation of Samurai Ideals ............................................... ..42 1.5. Re-examining Samurai Traditions ............................................ ….…..46 II The Atypical Samurai Image ........................................................... ….…..51 2.1. Corporate Society .....................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Japanese Sword Buying Guide
    THE SAMURAI SWORD GUIDE Learn what to look for when planning to buy www.samurai-sword-shop.com JAPANESE SWORD BUYING GUIDE With the inception of the powerful and highly modernized internet, searching for and buying hard‐to‐find gadgets, gizmos and watchamacallits have never been easier than it was 10 years ago. And this includes finding a good katana. If one wants to buy a katana way back in the good ‘ol days, he had to go out and look for a brick and mortar store where some actual katana swords were being sold. But sometimes, after having traveled quite a distance, the store owner would tell you that they don’t have any katana in stock! What a big disappointment! All of these have changed though with the birth of the World Wide Web. Now you can find ten or more different katanas with just a few clicks and in just a fraction of time. You can quickly compare katanas that range from as low as 100 euro up to a few thousand euro while a real nihonto would probably cost around 10.000 , 20.000 and up to +100.000 euro and more. Well, don’t be shocked! Even a simple antique tsuba can actually cost much more than a regular sword! Nevertheless, the emergence of modern technology cannot quite replace the actual buying process that we have been earlier exposed to – one that allows us to examine closely and even touch and smell the product before we decide if it’s worthy of our penny. Copyright © 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 1 It’s really hard to tell if the katana on your computer screen is worth the price and if it’s really what you are looking for.
    [Show full text]
  • Feudal Japan
    The Japanese had a deep respect for nature due to their geography Tsunami Tsunami 2 • How do you think that played into their early religion? • How do you think that played into their early religion? • Polytheistic • SHINTOISM Yamato Period: 300-710 Began promoting the adoption of Chinese culture: Confucianism. Language Buddhism Chinese art & architecture. Strong Government “Great Kings” era Heian Period: 700’s-1100’s Characteristics: Growth of large estates.(Nobles) Arts & literature of China flourished. Elaborate court life [highly refined] . ETIQUETTE. Great novel The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu [1000 pgs.+] Heian Court Dress Tale of Genji (first novel) Tale of Genji Scroll (first novel) Heian Period: Selective Borrowing 1.Chinese writing. 2.Chinese artistic styles. 3.Buddhism [ZEN]. 4.BUT, not the Chinese civil service system! Feudalism A political, economic, and social system based on loyalty, the holding of land, and military service. Europe: King Land - Fief Loyalty Land - Fief Loyalty Lord Lord Food Knight Knight Knight Protection Peasant Peasant Peasant Peasant Feudalism A political, economic, and social system based on loyalty, the holding of land, and military service. Japan: Shogun Land - Shoen Loyalty Land - Shoen Daimyo Daimyo Loyalty Samurai Samurai Samurai Food Protection Peasant Peasant Peasant Peasant The emperor reigned, but did not always rule! Feudal Society Medieval Warriors vs. European knight Samurai Warrior Medieval Warriors vs. Knight’s Armor Samurai Armor Code of Bushido * Respect for
    [Show full text]
  • The Modernization of the Samurai
    The Modernization of the Samurai Instructor: Henry Smith Course Description: This course explores the dramatic transformations in Japan’s military class over half a millennium. We will proceed through three stages, first the period 1550-1650 when the hardened battlefield warriors of the late medieval period were “tamed” into city-dwelling bureaucrats in an era of sustained peace. Next came the abolition of all samurai status after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and its replacement by a modern conscript army. Third and most apparent to us is the pervasive re-imagining of the “samurai” and his code of “bushidô” in the modern period, both in Japan and abroad, and the creation in the post-World War II era of a global media world of samurai that has taken on an entire life of its own. We will read basic texts, primary and secondary, and look at examples of samurai stories and film. Throughout, the primary goal is to historicize and contextualize the samurai, both as a living historical figure and as a creation of the imagination, and to think about the relationship between the two. Prerequisites: A basic survey-level knowledge of both pre-modern and modern Japanese history is highly desirable, although not required. Requirements and Grading: 1) Attendance. You are expected to attend every class, or to let me know by email, before class unless it’s an emergency, when and why you are unable to attend. More than 2-3 unexplained absences may be reflected in your grade. 2) Commentaries: On most days, every member of the class is asked to write a commentary of up to one page (A4, single-spaced) on the assigned readings, in which you offer your thoughts on the key issues that they raise.
    [Show full text]
  • Literature of Bushidō: Loyalty, Honorable Death, and the Evolution of the Samurai Ideal
    International ResearchScape Journal Volume 1 Article 2 February 2014 Literature of Bushidō: Loyalty, Honorable Death, and the Evolution of the Samurai Ideal David A. Coldren Bowling Green State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/irj Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons, and the International and Area Studies Commons Recommended Citation Coldren, David A. (2014) "Literature of Bushidō: Loyalty, Honorable Death, and the Evolution of the Samurai Ideal," International ResearchScape Journal: Vol. 1 , Article 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25035/irj.01.01.02 Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/irj/vol1/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in International ResearchScape Journal by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Coldren: Literature of Bushid?: Loyalty, Honorable Death, and the Evolutio Coldren 1 Literature of Bushidō: Loyalty, Honorable Death, and the Evolution of the Samurai Ideal David Adam Coldren ABSTRACT This essay will address the evolution of the samurai warrior code (bushido), concentrating on its depiction in several prominent works of Japanese literature from 1185 to 1989. This essay will argue that rather than a concrete set of principles, bushido was actually a malleable set of romanticized qualities supposedly possessed by the samurai that were repeatedly adapted to a changing Japanese society in order to maintain a national identity predicated on the warrior class. Beginning with the introduction of the samurai through the Tale of the Heike, this essay will then proceed to discuss the blatant romanticization of the samurai until the early 1900’s as illustrated in such prominent works and mediums as the house codes of various feudal lords, Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s Hagakure, and Nitobe Inazo’s Bushido.
    [Show full text]
  • By: Samantha Rhody Table of Contents
    Samurai Warriors By: Samantha Rhody Table of Contents Report Pictures Summary Bibliography Report Ancient noble warriors. That is what the Samurai were. In Japan, the Samurai first became popular in AD 1200s as fighters for the Daimyo, or lords. They were very low on the social class, but everyone was afraid of them. Their leader, the Shogun, was the second highest, just behind the emperor. Don’t be fooled by their low ranking. The Samurai could kill someone if he or she acted dishonorable towards them. Trained since they were seven, the Samurai were deadly. Keep in mind that one could not become a Samurai if they were a foreigner, a farmer, a merchant, and entertainer, or left-handed. Also, after General Toyotomi Hideyoshi took control in 1590, one could only be a Samurai if his or her father or mother was one. Both men and women could be Samurai, but men were traditionally the only ones in battles while women defended their home. Not only were they trained how to fight, but they also were very commonly taught reading, history, poetry, and handwriting. They were some of the main writers of the traditional Japanese poetry called Haikus. There was also a popular Japanese phrase that went, “The pen and the sword in accord.” This means that one must know when it is right to choose the pen, or writing, or sword, also known as fight. Some other things that they were taught were good manners, obedience, respect, and self- discipline. Of course, they were also taught about battle. Samurais were taught to die for their fellow comrades.
    [Show full text]
  • Kata – the True Essence of Budo Martial Arts? Simon DODD*, & David BROWN Cardiff Metropolitan University (Wales, United Kingdom)
    Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas Volumen 11(1), 32­47 ~ Enero­Junio 2016 DOI: 10.18002/rama.v11i1. 3693 RAMA I.S.S.N. 2174‐0747 http://revpubli.unileon.es/ojs/index.php/artesmarciales Kata – The true essence of Budo martial arts? Simon DODD*, & David BROWN Cardiff Metropolitan University (Wales, United Kingdom) Recepción: 22/04/2016; Aceptación: 19/06/2016; Publicación: 25/06/2016. ORIGINAL PAPER Abstract This paper uses documentary research techniques to analyse the use of kata, forms, in the Japanese martial arts. Following an introduction on the existence of kata practice, using existing sources of information the paper first examines the spiritual developments of bushido, secondly, the social changes that led to the redevelopment of bujutsu into budo is scrutinsised. Next, the position of kata in relation to budo martial arts is explored followed by a discussion on the use of kata as a pedagogy. Finally, kata is repositioned in light of the contextual expansion investigated demonstrating how kata could represent the intended essence of budo as well a culturally‐valued, spiritual pedagogy. Keywords: kata; budo; martial arts; bushido; spirituality; pedagogy. Kata ­ ¿La verdadera esencia de las artes Kata – A verdadeira essência das artes marciais marciales Budo? Budô? Resumen Resumo Este trabajo utiliza técnicas de investigación documental Este trabalho utiliza a técnica de investigação documental para analizar el uso de las kata, o formas, en las artes para analisar o uso das kata, ou formas, nas artes marciais marciales japonesas. Tras una introducción sobre la japonesas. Depois de uma introdução sobre a existência da existencia de la práctica de las katas, utilizando fuentes prática das katas, utilizando fontes de informação de información disponibles, se examinan, en primer disponíveis, examina‐se, em primeiro lugar, os lugar, los desarrollos espirituales del bushido.
    [Show full text]
  • Bushido: the Katana Gnostic Muse the Katana Was Only to Be Owned and Used by a Samurai Warrior and Anyone Else Found to Possess One Would Be Killed Instantly
    Bushido: The Katana Gnostic Muse The katana was only to be owned and used by a Samurai warrior and anyone else found to possess one would be killed instantly. It was said that the katana of the Samurai was as precious to him as his soul. The sword is a universal symbol of physical, moral, and spiritual strength Prophet Mohammed says: “The sword is the key to heaven and hell” Internally the sword has many meanings including the awakened fire or Kundalini in the Hindu tradition. On a psychological and spiritual level this process of forging, heating and the removing all the impurities is what the medieval alchemists called the Magnum Opus, the Great Work. The gnostic, alchemical, path burns all the psychological impurities from the spiritual aspirant. Our essential nature is forged under the heat applied by God to transform us into true humans. The spiritual aspirant receives the flaming sword at a certain point in the initiatic path, and with the ascension of the kundalini fire, vertebra by vertebra, the katana of the warrior becomes more polished and also more worn. Naturam natura docet, debellet ut ignem. Nature teaches Nature to vanquish fire. “The way of Nature when it seeks the perfection of any work, consists in making one thing come out of another, the most perfect from the least perfect, and to activate its potential.” – Michael Maier, Atlanta Fugiens On making the Samurai sword The sword is a universal symbol of the strength of our psychological-spiritual work, so it is interesting to study the method by which physical swords are forged.
    [Show full text]
  • Bushido: the Creation of a Martial Ethic in Late Meiji Japan
    BUSHIDO: THE CREATION OF A MARTIAL ETHIC IN LATE MEIJI JAPAN by OLEG BENESCH A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) FEBRUARY 2011 © Oleg Benesch, 2011 ABSTRACT This study examines the development of the concept of “bushido,” or the “way of the warrior,” in modern Japan, focusing on the period between the mid-nineteenth century and the early 1930s. The popular view holds that bushido was a centuries-old code of behavior rooted in the historical samurai class and transmitted into the modern period, where it was a fundamental component of Japanese militarism before 1945. In fact, the concept of bushido was largely unknown before the last decade of the nineteenth century, and was widely disseminated only after 1900, especially after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. This study argues that modern bushido discourse began in the 1880s, and was dependent on political and cultural currents relating to Japan’s modernization and the nation’s attempts to redefine itself in the face of foreign “others,” primarily China and the West. Following more than a decade of largely unquestioned thrusts towards modernization and Westernization after 1868, Japanese thinkers looked to their own traditions in search of sources of national identity. The first discussions of bushido at this time were not the work of conservative reactionaries, however, but were conceived by relatively progressive individuals with considerable international experience and a command of Western languages. Some of the first modern writings on bushido clearly posit the concept as a potential native equivalent to the English ethic of “gentlemanship,” which was widely admired in late-nineteenth century Japan, and much of early bushido discourse should be seen primarily as a response to outside stimuli.
    [Show full text]
  • Excerpts from Hagakure (In the Shadow of Leaves): on Death
    Primary Source Document with Questions (DBQs) EXCERPTS FROM HAGAKURE (IN THE SHADOW OF LEAVES): ON DEATH ON LIVING IN THE MOMENT ON THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD RETAINER ON SPEAKING ON THE TEACHINGS OF YAMAMOTO JIN’ EMON Introduction After the unification of Japan in 1590 and the establishment of the Tokugawa Shōgunate in 1600, the samurai (warriors) remained at the top of the social scale but had fewer and fewer chances to prove their valor in battle. As opportunities to fight decreased, and samurai were employed in peacetime government positions, more attention was given to the values that defined their class. One of the most important was the loyalty samurai owed to the lord they served. In fact, the word samurai itself comes from a verb that means “to serve.” The lord or other high-ranking members of a clan often wrote out codes of behavior for the clan retainers. Among them, a work called Hagakure, or “hidden leaves,” has come to be seen as the one that best describes bushidō, “the way of the samurai.” It was written down in the early eighteenth century by a young samurai named Tashirō Tsuramoto (1678-1748), who was recording the wisdom he had learned over seven years of talks with an older, retired samurai of the Nabeshima clan named Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659-1719). Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s ideas were expressed in conversations with his young disciple and so the resulting book is not a systematic code of rules. But some ideas are repeated often enough to be seen as essential to his thought.
    [Show full text]