In Japanese history, social class who had political power and leadership from the late 12th century until the late 19th century was the call of the warrior class in Japanese bushi or samurai. In the Edo period the samurai class was the social classes' high followed by the peasantry, artisans, and finally traders. Despite the abolition of this social class system during the Meiji Restoration, a former samurai were actively involved in the modernization of Japan. The result was a great influence on the companies' Japanese spirit of the samurai (bushido or) was an extremely important factor in shaping the Japanese mind. This code (code samurai code of bushido, the code of honor and several other translations and interpretations) became useful to the Japanese government as a propaganda machine. If required (see the period of the '30s and first half 'of the 40s) all subjects were descendants of Japanese samurai and as such had to total obedience to their "leader." Bushido refers to ethical formed among the samurai. Although the term was not used until the Edo period (1603 - 1867), the concept per se 'was born in the Kamakura period (1192 - 1333) evolved with the adoption of ideals neo-Confucianism in the Edo period and then become the foundation of national morale after the Meiji Restoration.
It 'important to remember that "not only includes Bushido martial spirit and knowledge in the arms but also absolute loyalty' in your head, a strong sense of honor, courage and devotion to duty, if required, to sacrifice their lives in battle or in the rite of seppuku (harakiri).
The origins of Bushido: Zen Buddhism
Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China in the sixth century and had a great influence on Japanese culture. At the end of 12-th century a sect of Buddhism called Zen is formed 'in Japan. While most other sects of Buddhism influenced the religious aspect of daily life, Zen contributed decisively to create the Japanese character. The activities' that were influenced by Zen maggiormante include the tea ceremony (sado), flower arrangement (ikebana or kado), haiku and calligraphy (Shodo). Zen also had great impact on bushido. As Zen Buddhism requires discipline, self-control and meditation, the sect is good for the warrior class of samurai. The latter believed that the teachings of Zen can give supernatural powers. The goal of Zen practitioners and 'to achieve enlightenment (satori) through the experimental nature of the Buddha. Lighting and 'seen as liberation from the intellectual nature of man, from the set of fixed ideas and feelings related to reality'. According to this thinking, the Buddha nature resides in all things. It is said to experience enlightenment means to be conscious of the unconscious. This is 'the secret of the martial arts to build a strong mentality'.
This state of "no-thought" (mushin) combines the body and spirit. Many samurai have an intense workout using Zen to achieve this and this' frees them from fear of death. The spiritual elements of bushido and Zen Buddhism derived from the practice Religious Zen were used by samurai to train mentally and physically. Thus acquire skills' in the military arts to keep a calm mind, no matter what happens ... through Zen.
The origins of Bushido: Confucianism
to the influence of Zen Buddhism, the modern concept of bushido was formed 'based on Confucian ideology. Confucianism and 'a rational philosophy, particularly the right human relations and considers the foundation of society'. A social order based on strict ethical rules in the middle with the family and the state, both ruled by men of culture and wisdom. Neo-Confucianism was developed in China by Zhu Xi (or Chu Hsi - 1130-1200) and it 'usually called shushigaku in Japanese. These lessons were developed by Zen monks of the temples Gozan in the Muromachi period and used when the feudal lords to make laws for their domains. In the Edo period the school Zhi Xi had strong support from the Tokugawa shogunate. The latter felt immensely useful this philosophy to justify or legitimize the state and the feudal structure of society 'and that' coming to form in the seventeenth century. The samurai became part of the social classes' high and were not only warriors but also had roles in government. Education for samurai was developed to provide skills' appropriate for a career in this direction. It was expected from their moral attitudes of a certain level if we take an active part in the government. Consequently they were Many schools made by the shogunate and the feudal domains to give individuals the chance to 'learn to learn and Confucian ideas. In the middle 'of the Edo period were made Kogaku (oldest schools for the studies) by Japanese thinkers who rejected the teachings of Zhu Xi' cause were hard to adapt to society 'in Japan. Kogaku scholars returned to the classic work of Chinese Confucianism in order to properly extrapolate
what 'that was preached. Yamaga Soko was one of the first prominent figures and stated that a life full of sincere and truth 'was a life adhering to the principles of right conduct that allowed to those who followed her, get in touch with what' it was vital and dynamic in their spirit. Origins samurai was also a student of military affairs. In fact, is considered one of the leading ideologues of the Bushido. A samurai must not only cultivate their abilities' as a warrior but also his mind and his character. Confucianism flourished with the support of the samurai class in the Edo period and concepts such as loyalty 'humanism and gradually spread to the public by the samurai with the result of having strong Confucian beliefs in modern Japan. Loyalty '
In Hagakure Yamamoto said that the samurai Bushido means "resolute in our desire' to die" (Bushido koto towa Shinu to mitsuketari). This' implies that everyone should live in the samurai way admirably and with honor in such a way as to have no remorse at the time of their death as this opportunity 'presented itself each day. Behave fine meant to follow a strict moral code that included, among other things, justice and education. The economic life of the samurai during the Kamakura depended on guaranteed fees and the feudal lord to his servants and gave them new domains territories according to merit on the battlefield. There were also unethical concepts reflected in the ideology of the samurai ethic in the Kamakura period. On the one hand it is stated that the relationship between the feudal lords and their vassals was based on absolute obedience and sacrifice. Were related to feelings, the lord gave land to his vassals and they sacrificed themselves for their free lord. On the other side says that the samurai were serving their lord in return for remuneration. When the exchange was not balanced, the lord of the sanctions applied, or the samurai simply need more recognition. Honor was part of the relationship between lord and vassal and the samurai was often the choice between autonomy and loyalty 'to his lord to earn this honor. In fact, instead of the relations between lords and samurai changed substantially depending on the domain.
Honor
The samurai honor evaluated in a rigid and extreme (better to die than get in trouble). The samurai who met death in battle and honor and enhance their reputation as a warrior and wanted that this reputation has been handed down from generation to generation. They tried to be among the first to drag their men into battle and shouting their name to the enemy to show their bravery. The honor was really very important to the samurai and managed to have an honorable death meant to assure their descendants to be treated well and rewarded by their superior. For example, take an episode from 1582 when the troops of Uesugi Kagekatsu were fighting against the forces of Oda Nobunaga. In a critical situation and one of their castles and was about to be besieged by the forces of Oda, the samurai who defended the castle took the decision to perform seppuku (or hara-kiri - suicide) 'cause it was considered unfortunate to be caught by the enemy then be made to live in disgrace. They decided to perform seppuku and leave their names to posterity. Not only died but everyone wrote their names on a wooden board and attached to a ear through a hole made by them. They did what 'to know who was who. Their names were registered and their families were paid by Uesugi. As he says this episode, seppuku was the most 'honorable death row for a samurai. The abdomen was seen as the place where the soul and met with the samurai and showed his integrity 'in this way. The samurai also showed their courage and so had a feeling of satisfaction in being able to demonstrate their total faith in the lord of this act, a gesture made with the their swords, the 'object of greater value and importance of absolute majority.
After the collapse of the samurai class
the samurai as a social class ceased to exist after the collapse of the feudal system, HOWEVER certain moral characteristics remained strong in the Meiji period. These include the loyalty ', justice, integrity' moral and honor. Unfortunately, the nation nipponica abuse 'concept' of loyalty 'and produced the fanatical patriots during the wars with other nations in the nineteenth and twentieth century. They committed atrocities 'on innocent people in spite of the samurai of the past complied with the property', their enemies and themselves. In modern times, imperial soldiers fought so fanatical and extremist for their country and emperor ... what 'causes' countless tragedies. Does not exclude the borrowing of the concept of "uchi" and "soto" to justify unjustifiable actions outside of what 'must mean that a Japanese "uchi" or, in this case, country. A code of honor and respectable life that was used in an improper manner by including a people ignorant and almost a stranger to these practices. Suddenly we have not only a privileged social class, the samurai, to have the privilege to find a dignified death, but an entire population. For example, we
several soldiers who killed their wives and their children before going to war against Russia (1904-1905) if the wives were sick and there were no other people could watch the children. You do not want them to die of hunger and killing it testified loyalty '. According to some scholars, these actions were considered admirable because 'kill their own children and his sick wife meant devotion to the homeland and Emperor Meiji. Other examples of perverted sense of loyalty 'are the teams of suicide (or suicide) of the Second World War where pilots carrying (or rather, driven) by crashing of bombs on enemy ships to destroy them, General Nogi and his wife committed seppuku to follow death of Emperor Meiji. These attitudes were admired as an example of the Japanese spirit! However, while modernization was promoted in the Meiji period, the company 'forgot the spiritual heart of bushido bushido and is said to disappear with the end of the Meiji period.
The Bushido in modern times
As mentioned above, it is said that the spirit as the essence of Japanese bushido hardly exists today, but some features of bushido can still be seen in martial arts and aesthetics that follow certain forms (kata) and are repeated until 'practitioners do not know how to follow them neatly and come in an unconscious state. The behavior is very important and students must have a strong sense of loyalty 'and respect for their master. Unfortunately loyalty 'in bushido led the Japanese to excessive work and sometimes' result in death from overwork (Karoshi), because people tend to want to prove how hard they work for the company in front of your boss and colleagues. There are also cases of suicide when you want to try and avoid a bad reputation or apologize for their sins or mistakes. The Japanese tend to accept and even glorify these suicides feel sympathy for the victims. What 'has a negative influence on people, especially young people,' cause they may think that suicide is 'the way most' easy to be freed from all evil and / or pain. The fact remains that the bushido has contributed substantially to the formation of the Japanese character. The spirit bushido still dominates the company 'Japanese in some ways but it' s also true that sometimes and 'hard to find among young people, many of whom have no respect for their teachers and show no education in public places.
Adapted from: The Japanese Mind - edited by Roger J. Davis and Osamu Iken. All texts of this book were written by Japanese students who participated in seminars on cross-cultural communication at the Universita 'Ehime Matsuyama.
