medieval chivalry code death before dishonor

Indeed, as Shigesuke explains in Bushido Shoshinshu, the samurai-confronted with an era of long-standing peace (that followed shortly from an “era of civil wars” which first gave rise to the samurai)-evolved from military-centric leaders into more holistic “professional administrators,” tasked with extensive study over the “principles of things” (a purposefully broad undertaking). It was these civic pursuits of the samurai, combined with their influence as military nobility, which ultimately led them to have a dominant influence over Japanese culture as a whole. They also learned grammar, poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, astrology, dance, ballads, hunting, and tea ceremony-amongst other civic skills. Among their academic studies were Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shintoism, which had a clear influence on a variety of literary classics such as the Book of Five Rings, written by legendary samurai (and rōnin) Miyomoto Musashi in 1643, and also Hagakure, a sourcebook on bushido as related in conversations by Yamamoto Tsunetomo to Tsuramoto Tashiro in the early 1700s. Many samurai also became well-educated scholars, physicians, and civil servants. The samurai were not mere warriors, however. Though having humble beginnings as mere guards, the samurai eventually became sovereign bushi-a Sino-Japanese word for “armed gentry”-and would enjoy deep, lasting influence over Japan’s sociopolitical systems for several centuries.

when they wrestled administrative and fiscal power away from the Japanese imperial court). (samurai legitimized their independent rule sometime around 1050 A.D. However, the samurai would eventually amass enough power, resources, and political backing to establish their own government during the late Heian Period of 794 to 1185 A.D. The samurai, as a distinct group, first originated as an offshoot of the aristocracy and were, thus, viewed as mere “attendants” of the non-militant nobility-essentially royal guards of muted political and social influence. nobles), who in turn were the heads of the samurai (i.e. king) who ruled the land through his daimyō (i.e. Japan’s feudal system was arranged as such: there was a shogun (i.e. Japanese culture is unique in that, for much of its modern history, it was dominated by a variable feudal system coupled to an isolationist policy- sakoku (1639 to 1854 AD)-which had an exaggerated effect on Japan as a difficult-to-reach island nation. Certainly, it has been an invaluable tool of mine as I navigated-and continue to navigate-some of life's more difficult obstacles. I hope, upon reading this Article, you'll be armed with a better understanding of the inner workings of bushido, such that it might assist you in navigating your own challenges in life. But, I digress, that is not the topic for discussion here instead, let us dive first into the history of the samurai, followed by a discussion of what bushido is and how it guided the samurai lifestyle, with a brief conclusion on how the samurai eventually fell. It was a dissection of commodification theory (a distinctly Western ideal) as contrasted against the (very Eastern) notion of bushido, which as we shall soon discover heavily discounted any allure towards wealth accumulation. In truth, much of the material is taken from a legal article-I am in the law profession, after all-that I ultimately decided to scrap.

This Article has a simple purpose: to provide an overview of what bushido actually is. Yet, for the common observer, it is seldom understood beyond the low-hanging fruit of its rousing punchlines. And, of course, it has been the subject of many modern forms of entertainment from movies like The Last Samurai and 47 Ronin, to any number of books written by Japanese historians like Stephen Turnbull and Thomas Cleary. Businessmen, world leaders, and academia have turned to it for decades seeking inspiration, guidance, and wisdom. The concept of it has frequented social media accounts, blog posts, and motivational speeches in recent times. Bushido-a word of increasing familiarity to us.

Medieval chivalry code death before dishonor