d e a t h i n t h e l i f e o f t h e s a m u r a i : An Introduction to Yamamoto T sunetomo’s Hagakure
Bushidō – the Way of the Warrior – has long been regarded in Japan as an aesthetic of living, an approach to life that turns living – and dying – into an art. Hagakure (literally “Hidden among the Leaves”) is a unique and muchrespected work in the literature of bushidō that puts forth a comprehensive picture of samurai life and code of behaviour from the point of view of the distinctive traditions of Saga domain, the domain of the Nabeshima house located in northwestern Kyushu. Its author, Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659–1719), was a samurai of modest rank who had served the second Nabeshima daimyō, Mitsushige, from the age of nine. He did not serve in a military or governmental capacity, however, but as the custodian of the lord’s books, particularly his much-treasured books on Japanese poetry. This explains how, over the years, he was able to become deeply familiar with all the traditions and lore of his domain, develop a close emotional relationship with his lord, and finally take on the task of recording the traditions along with his own personal recollections to produce the voluminous work known
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as Hagakure, or the Nabeshima Analects. The work was compiled on the
fealty to the emperor, de facto political power was wielded by military
basis of Tsunetomo’s oral dictations by his trusted fellow retainer, Tashiro
governments, or shogunates. The first of these was established by Minamoto
Tsuramoto, between 1710 and 1716 (Hōei 7 to Kyōhō 1).
no Yoritomo through a series of wars with the Taira clan that resulted in the
1
At that time Japan had been pacified for a century and the samurai had
collapse of the Heian period’s (794–1185) system of civil government by
been largely transformed into town-based officials and law-enforcement
court aristocrats, though the core imperial institutions and titles were retained
officers, proudly sporting their two swords as a sign of status but without
in Kyoto in a kind of shadow form without political power. During the
opportunities to use them in battlefield combat. Yet most of the Edo-period
Kamakura era (1185–1333), various customs and practices among the bushi
domains, including Saga, had been founded well before the establishment of
crystallized into a kind of code of behaviour that was propagated through the
the Tokugawa shogunate, during the era of incessant warfare from the late
family precepts passed down within clans and the military chronicle literature
Sengoku period2 through to the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1603), a
that appeared as the literary expression of bushi culture. During the Ashikaga
time when Oda Nobunaga and then Toyotomi Hideyoshi strove to unite all of
or Muromachi period (1333–1573), the influence of Zen Buddhist ideas and
Japan under their own rule. Thus if we speak of the traditions of Saga domain,
practices penetrated into bushi culture from the state-patronized Zen temples
including the values imparted by Tsunetomo’s father and grandfather, their
and the Sinophilic shogunal court; as a result, the roughness of samurai life
roots lie in the period when the samurai were a warrior class preoccupied with
became tempered by the refined aesthetics of Zen art, Zen gardens, and the
martial prowess and fearlessness in battle. Accordingly, Hagakure is filled with
tea ceremony. Yet it was not until the Tokugawa or Edo period (1603–1868),
anecdotes from the age of warfare, when death was an ever-present reality, and
when the spread of literacy, learning and leisure impelled articulate members
its author views with consternation the fact that the Saga samurai of his day
of the samurai class to reflect on their traditions, that what came to be called
were losing the martial spirit and stoic attitudes of their ancestors under the
“bushidō” was developed into a more or less coherent philosophy. This was
influence of a long-continued peace and material affluence. How to revive this
motivated not only by the desire to preserve these traditions in a changing
true “bushidō spirit” in an age of law and order, by internalizing it into a sort of
world, but, more importantly, by the need to articulate the ethical principles
spiritual discipline, thus becomes the main preoccupation of Hagakure.
appropriate for the newly defined samurai class under the tightly ordered bakuhan political system.3 Thus no matter how much Edo-period works on samurai culture may look back with nostalgia on the preceding age of warfare, they bear the unmistakeable stamp of the Tokugawa world. One of the first scholars to propose a new role for the warrior class
The three sources of bushidō concepts By Tsunetomo’s time, the bushi or buke (military clans) had dominated Japan
in a stable hierarchical society was Yamaga Sokō (1622–1685). Adopting
politically and culturally for half a millennium. Although they paid nominal
the Confucian notion that each of the four core classes of society (literati,
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peasants, artisans, and merchants) has a particular role to fulfil, he proposed
controversy, but when he does express his opinion (Hagakure 1:55), he takes
that the bushi corresponded to the literati and should play a role analogous to
a sort of middle position between those who condemned the vendetta and
that of the scholar-official class in China. Although this class did not engage
those who defended it. He does not question whether they should have
directly in any kind of economic production, they contributed indispensably
avenged their lord’s death (which without bakufu permission was a capital
to society by providing a moral exemplar for the other classes and by – on
crime), but whether it was appropriate for the rōnin band to wait so long
the strength of their education and moral integrity – serving in government.
and to devote so much intellectual energy to planning how to be successful.
Sokō’s concept shows insight into both the foundations of social order and
A samurai should just charge in and do the deed, he believed, and not worry
the needs of Japan at the time, but it would require a drastic re-education
about success or failure or about whether he lives or dies in the process.
of the samurai before one could expect them to replace their honour- and
Honourableness or rectitude (gi) was one of the “five constants” of
revenge-centred way of life with a self-denying dedication to literary and
Confucian morality, and it meant to accord with the moral principles
ethical self-cultivation undertaken with a view to the greater welfare of society.
inherent in particular situations as determined by status relationships
Although Edo Confucian scholars were all concerned with the “taming of the
and duty, disregarding considerations of personal interest. But when the
samurai” and determined to wean them from their predilection to violence,
“crucial moment” arrives, Tsunetomo wonders, does a samurai have time
they disagreed on the extent to which the traditional honour code of the
to sit back and reflect on moral principles? Both Zen and the martial arts
samurai could coexist with the samurai’s new function in society.
traditions emphasize that a man’s actions and decisions must come from the
The next major development in samurai ethical philosophy was
gut, from the hara, and not from the head, and that to achieve this one
precipitated by the vendetta of the “Forty-Seven Rōnin” of Akō domain,
must abandon the discriminating mind that is always making judgments of
which occurred on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month of Genroku
right and wrong. Thus for Tsunetomo, “There is a Way above and beyond
15 (30 January 1703). Various conceptions of the meaning of samurai
rectitude” that constitutes the highest wisdom (1:44).4 As for the Confucian
loyalty emerged from the controversy. To Confucian scholars such as Muro
concept that the constant principle of right action is a middle way between
Kyūsō and Hayashi Hōkō, although the rōnin had acted illegally, their act
too much and too little, between excessive boldness and excessive timidity,
of avenging their lord’s death represented self-sacrificing dedication to the
Tsunetomo says “It may be true that the middle way is the ultimate realm,
highest moral principles of honourableness (gi 義) and loyalty (chū 忠). Other
but in bushidō even in ordinary situations it is necessary to have the feeling
Confucian scholars, such as Ogyū Sorai and Satō Naokata, took a hard line,
that one will forge ahead of other people.” In other words, always seeking the
condemning the incident as a regrettable throwback to a confused, emotion-
rational middle path between extremes is too restrained for a samurai, and
based conception of samurai loyalty that could no longer be tolerated under
often it is better to strike out boldly on one’s own. From this perspective,
the Tokugawa legal system. Tsunetomo was not a direct participant in this
Tsunetomo’s philosophy has a much closer affinity with the Zen tradition
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and the traditional samurai code than it does with Confucianism, although
under certain conditions, to undermine their loyalty to the shogunate. The
the latter had become the dominant school of learning in the Tokugawa
domains never completely forgot that they were originally the equals of the
world. This fact is symbolized most clearly, perhaps, in his preoccupation
Tokugawa, not their vassals. Viewed in this light, it is understandable that
with the annihilation of self (muga 無我) and in his respect for the tradition
after the shock to the Tokugawa system precipitated by the forced opening
of following one’s lord in death (junshi 殉死).
of the country by Commodore Perry’s “black ships” in 1853–1854, Saga domain became one of the four domains that spearheaded the overthrow of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration in 1867–1868.6 In response to the national crisis, samurai thinkers in these four domains managed to forge a
The Tokugawa world in Tsunetomo’s time
new conception of samurai loyalty focused on the long-dormant imperial
Yamamoto Tsunetomo was a hereditary retainer of the Nabeshima house of
throne; one that legitimized rebellion against the shogunate if it failed to
Saga domain, also called Hizen domain (or, in the vernacular, Nabeshima
fulfil its imperially designated responsibility of defending the country – and
domain) in northwestern Kyushu. The Nabeshima house, an offshoot of
the imperial throne – from barbarian incursion.7
the Fujiwara, inherited the lordship of Saga from its former overlords, the
That was to come. In the mid-Edo period, the Nabeshima samurai had
Ryuzōji house, during the Tenshō era (1573–1591).5 Saga was a tozama 外
no such thoughts of rebellion, and they were proud of their record of service
様 or “outsider” domain, meaning it was the domain of a house (o-ie) that
to the Tokugawa. When Tsunetomo was born in 1659 the shogunate had
did not become vassals of the Tokugawa until after 1600 (Keichō 5), once it
been established for more than fifty years, and it had been eight years since
had been defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara. Tozama domains, accordingly,
the end of the administration of the third shogun, Iemitsu (shogun, 1621–
were regarded with a certain suspicion during the early days of the Tokugawa
1651). Since the early days of the shogunate, the samurai had been strictly
shogunate, and their daimyō were not allowed to hold cabinet-level posts
separated from the peasantry and, in all but a few remote domains, relocated
in Edo. Being far removed from the core areas of Tokugawa authority, such
to the castle towns to bring them under the supervision of the domainal
domains were often able to preserve local traditions of samurai culture more
authorities. Under Iemitsu, the core institutions of the new political system
easily than the shimpan 親藩 domains (collateral of the Tokugawa house)
had been established, including the laws governing samurai life, the military
or the fudai 譜代 domains (direct hereditary vassals with a long history of
system, the sakoku (national isolation) policy, and the alternate attendance
alliance with the Tokugawa).
(sankin kōtai) system8 that assured tight bakufu supervision over the various
As the early Tokugawa authorities had feared when they set up their
daimyō domains, making rebellion extremely difficult to plan or carry out.9
carefully structured system of checks and balances, the distinctive house
By the time Tsunetomo was in his thirties, Japan had entered the
traditions and corporate élan of such tozama domains had the potential,
Genroku era (1688–1704), famous for its hedonistic urban culture centring
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j a pa n and the saga prefecture on geisha, kabuki actors and other attractions offered by pleasure districts such as Yoshiwara in Edo. With the aid of the nationwide travel and transport
ho
Fukuoka
chikuzen
networks created by the alternate attendance system, this urban culture spread to the regional castle towns, while daimyō from all over Japan, with
kka
ido
Nagoya
their large retinues, lived half of their lives in Edo or in the Kyoto–Osaka area, absorbing the new metropolitan culture. Brought up for a life of selfless
s
a ag
[hi
zen]
Saga
that this “floating world” society was bringing about.
c
Taku Arita Takeo
service, Tsunetomo bemoaned the erosion of the discipline and samurai spirit
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ik
ug
o
Okawa
Tara
Hirosaki Yokote
Tsunetomo’s upbringing and education
Hiraizumi Ozaki
Tsunetomo, the last child in a family of two boys and four girls, was born when his father, Jin’uemon Shigezumi, was seventy. Tsunetomo had a rather
f o a s e n p a j a
weak constitution from childhood, which he attributed to an insufficiency of the water element in his body due to his father’s advanced age.
ho
His father strove to inculcate proper samurai attitudes in all the sons of borns: “You must become an intrepid samurai, strong as steel, and be of great use to your lord!” Another constant admonition of his father was:
a man of mettle. A bushi, even if he has nothing to eat, must sit there and pick his teeth serenely with a toothpick like he has just had a big meal. Reading books is the job of an aristocrat, but the work of us in
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o
s
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a
s
e
t
n i a e
l
d
Matsue
nshu
Hakata Dannoura Bay
kyus
Matsuyama h
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Sekigahara Kamakura Nagoya Kakegawa Nagashino Yoshino Mt.Koya
Tottori Kyoto h o n s Himeji hu Osaka Hiroshima
Kumamoto Shimabara Nagasaki Sendai Kagoshima
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to look people directly in the face. No matter what the cost, become
i c i f p a c n e a o c
Kawanakajima Kanazawa Matsumoto Yorii Mt.Fuji Echizen Edo
his clan, and he would lean over and say firmly in their ears, even as new-
Do not become a cowardly sort of fellow who fakes a smile and is unable
Matsushima Wakamatsu
u ok k i Kochi
k e y to s y m b o l s : towns and castle towns capital cities
0 0
battlesite mountain
200miles 200km
the Nakano (Yamamoto) clan is to take hold of our oakwood sword and
In these years Tsunetomo lived a strict and austere life out of a desire to serve his lord single-mindedly, and in time this markedly strengthened his
apply ourselves assiduously to the martial way.
constitution. When told by a relative that he had an intelligent-looking face In this way, despite the fact that he died when Tsunetomo was only eleven,
but that the lord did not like clever-looking people, he spent a year looking
Jin’uemon’s values and strength of character left a strong impression on his
at himself in the mirror and trying to learn how to look a bit more stupid.
young son, planting the seeds of a sense of determination and dedication that
When he reached the age of twenty, Mitsushige was no longer paying him
burned in his heart for the rest of his life and eventually motivated him to
much attention and Tsunetomo was bored with his idleness, even thinking
write Hagakure. In Tsunetomo’s samurai version of the “Four Vows” of Zen
of giving up being a samurai. He then happened to pay a visit to a Zen
(see page 41), his father’s admonitions thunder forth in the first two, while
monk named Master Tannen, who had been serving as the eleventh abbot
the third amounts to the same thing by affirming the duty of filial piety.
of the family temple of the Nabeshima house but was now living in retreat
After his father, died Tsunetomo’s education was entrusted to Yamamoto
in a village in the domain.11 After practising Zen diligently under Tannen’s
Gorōzaemon, a nephew who was twenty years older. Gorōzaemon filled his
guidance for some time, Tsunetomo reportedly achieved an unusual depth
charge’s ears with stories about the samurai of old and exhortations about
of understanding, undoubtedly aided by his ingrained habit of single-
how a true samurai should live. Tsunetomo had been called into Mitsushige’s
mindedness as well as the fact that there was nothing to distract him from his
personal service at the age of nine, probably because his father’s service to
practice. As a result, when he was only twenty-one, Tannen authorized him
the first Saga daimyō, Katsushige, had been held in high regard. Tsunetomo
to transmit the Dharma to others. In Tsunetomo’s “Four Vows,” it is in the
also got to know Mitsushige’s son, Tsunashige, as a playmate. Reportedly,
fourth that we can sense the deep imprint of Tannen’s teaching – though his
Tsunetomo was thought of at the time as a mischievous little urchin, and a
father’s voice is just as strong.
doctor who saw him said that he would be lucky to live to the age of twenty.
Tsunetomo also studied with a Confucian scholar by the name of Ishida
As a delicate boy, he had a fondness for reading that led his father to admonish
Ittei, which intensified his desire to contribute to the government of his
him frequently for spending his time absorbed in storybooks and waka
domain. Ittei had served Katsushige and he became Confucian advisor to
poetry.10 Yet the fact that his lord, Mitsushige, was a passionate fellow with an
Mitsushige after his accession. However, like Tannen, Ittei was a man of
inordinate love for waka – to the point that his own father had even resorted
principle and moral courage, and he had similarly managed to displease his
to burning his poetry books (see page 142) – could hardly have failed to have
lord and lose his position. Tsunetomo learned from Ittei not only Confucian
an effect on Tsunetomo’s budding literary proclivities. Mitsushige took into
teachings, but also the idea that a samurai should be ready to hold his ground
his employ a waka master named Kuranaga Rihei to manage his poetry books,
and sustain his domain even if he has to do it all by himself. He must also
and Kuranaga recommended Tsunetomo to serve as assistant librarian.
have learned that there is more to loyally serving one’s lord than just trying
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to please and obey him; that loyalty may sometimes mean holding one’s
with a box of books, which he promptly took to show to Mitsushige, who by
ground even against one’s lord’s opinion. Although keen to perform some
this time was seriously ill and confined to bed. Unfortunately, Mitsushige
important service, it was not until 1686 (Jōkyō 3), at the age of twenty-eight,
passed away on the sixteenth of the same month. Tsunetomo’s only comfort
that Tsunetomo was summoned to Edo and put in charge of the lord’s books,
was that he had been able to deliver the books while his lord was still alive.13
and in the following month he was posted to Kyoto. The next year, however, Gorōzaemon committed suicide in order to take responsibility for a fire, and
In Hagakure 2:64 Tsunetomo recalls:
Tsunetomo was excused for a period from his lord’s attendance. Yet because Mitsushige was fond of his literary talents and dedication, he was soon called
Being a person of no special virtue, I performed no particularly important
back into service, and in 1691 (Genroku 4) he was ordered to inherit his
service, nor did I distinguish myself on the battlefield. Nevertheless, since
father’s name, Jin’uemon. At this time he aspired to become a domainal elder
the time of my youth, the single idea that I was the number one retainer
(karō), because, as he says in Hagakure, “For a person who serves a lord, the
of my lord, that I was second to no one in martial prowess, penetrated
highest form of loyalty is to offer counsel to his lord in order to assure that
into the marrow of my bones. Perhaps it was for that reason that, no
the domain will be well ruled.”
matter how clever or how useful to the lord other people might be, no one ever looked down on me. On the contrary, people treated me far more kindly than I deserved. I simply cherished my lord and made up my mind to be constantly prepared (kakugo) in my mind such that, if
Tsunetomo takes the tonsure
anything untoward were to happen, I would be the one to save the day,
In 1694, Lord Mitsushige retired at the age of sixty-three and turned the
springing into action with my whole heart and soul like one who has
government of the domain over to his son, Tsunashige. Tsunetomo resumed
no care whether he lives or dies.14 I can say this now, although I have
the post of Kyoto resident-attendant in order to arrange for Mitsushige the
never spoken it to anyone before, that perhaps it is because my single-
secret transmission of how to read the songs in the Konkinshū, books that
mindedness moved Heaven and Earth that I gained the recognition of
were considered to be the foundation of the waka poetry tradition (kadō 歌
the world. The cordiality that everyone has shown to me, beginning with
道). Tsunetomo submitted a request to the court noble Sanjōnishi Sanenori,
my lord’s son, truly pains my heart with gratitude.… There is nothing
in whose family the precious books had been preserved and passed down. In
more gratifying than having one’s stipend increased or receiving a lot of
recognition of his efforts, the new lord increased Tsunetomo’s stipend enough
money, but it is even better when out of gratitude for one word from
to raise him into the middle ranks of Nabeshima retainers. Finally, on the first
the mouth of one’s lord, the aspiration to commit seppuku arises in one’s
day of the fifth month of Genroku 13 (1700), Tsunetomo arrived back in Saga
mind. During the allocation of duties at the time of a fire,15 when my
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lord told me in Edo that I would be responsible for assuring the safety
mourning his lord with a single mind. Thus, at the age of forty-two, he took
of his books, he said to me, “Considering that you are a young man, I
the tonsure of a Buddhist bonze together with his wife. Traditionally, such an
am assigning you to be my personal attendant”. I immediately felt that I
act of “renouncing the world” had allowed retired shoguns, aristocrats or bushi
wanted to give my life for him. Then again, in Osaka, when I received
who may have suffered great losses in life to spend their later years in relative
the nightgown and cushion that my lord himself had used, he said to me,
tranquillity engaged in literary and artistic pursuits. As his new monastic name
“Since I hesitate to give an increase of stipend to one whom I took into
he used the Sinitic reading of the characters of his personal name, Jōchō.19 The
my service simply for my own diversion, I only treated you as my heart
place he chose for his retirement was a secluded black-soil moor surrounded
dictated. There is nothing for which you need to express thanks to the
by trees about twelve miles (20km) north of the castle town of Saga domain,
domainal elders”. At that time as well, I felt feelings of gratitude running
with Kinryūzan Mountain towering majestically in the background.
16
through me right into the marrow of my bones, and I thought to myself,
It was amidst the invigorating mists and tranquil shadows of this place
“Ah, if it were in the old days, I would have laid down this cushion, put
that, over a period of seven years, Tsunetomo dictated the musings that were to
on this nightgown, and magnificently followed my lord in death”.
become the work called Hagakure. Tsuramoto, who took down the dictation
17
and put the book in order, was, like Tsunetomo, a noble-minded samurai The practice of following one’s lord in death (junshi) is first clearly attested
who had lost his position and had time on his hands: a man who had the
in Japanese military chronicle literature during the Gempei Wars (Minamoto
patience, the dedication, the literacy and the vision to spend years of his time
clan versus Taira clan) at the end of the Heian period – the same time that
sharing this lonely retreat with his friend, immersing himself in his teacher’s
the practice of seppuku began – and it took root in the samurai honour code
ripening wisdom and recording what he knew would become an important
in the Kamakura period that followed. This and the practice of dying in place
source of inspiration for the coming generations of Nabeshima samurai.
of one’s lord – as Satō Tsugunobu did famously for Minamoto no Yoshitsune at the Battle of Dannoura in 1185 – are both referred to by Tsunetomo as oibara 追腹 – literally, “[cutting] the belly in pursuit [of one’s lord]”.18 As the above quotation shows, Tsunetomo had long been fascinated with this
Hagakure in comparison with other Edo bushidō literature
tradition, which he regarded as something very beautiful and noble – and
Hagakure and Miyamoto Musashi’s Gorin no sho (The Book of the Five Rings)
now the death of his lord had come. However, junshi had been prohibited
are the most famous of the five works of Japanese bushidō that date from the
by the shogunate since 1663, and it was also strictly forbidden in the law of
first half of the Edo period. There are interesting differences between these
Saga domain. In that case, there was nothing for Tsunetomo to do but shave
two classic writings that reflect not only the distinctive life experiences of
his head, sever his relations with the world, and spend the rest of his days
their authors but also the different periods in which they lived.
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For Miyamoto, the most important thing is not readiness to die, but winning. He was born in 1587, in a time of continuous warfare, and he was thirteen at the time of the great Battle of Sekigahara, which set the stage for the new Tokugawa bakuhan system established in its wake. Miyamoto’s Gorin no sho was published in 1645, when the Tokugawa shogunate was still in the process of transition from a regime rooted in military power to a stable bureaucratic government based on cultural power and strict hereditary status distinctions. This puts Miyamoto in the same generation as Tsunetomo’s grandfather or great-grandfather. In Gorin no sho Miyamoto says: People usually imagine that the samurai generally thinks about nothing but devoting himself to the way of dying. Yet in the way of dying there is no distinction between samurai, Buddhist priests, women, and the lower classes from the peasants on down. All of them know the principles of gratitude and honour [giri20], all have a sense of shame, and all are capable of making up their minds to die for these principles. The way of the samurai in the practice of the martial arts is rooted in the resolution to be superior to other people in all things, and it consists in striving to establish one’s reputation and position in the world by winning in a single combat or winning in a battle against several people, both for the sake of one’s lord and for the sake of oneself. This is all possible through the virtue of the martial arts.21
This contrasts sharply with Tsunetomo’s emphasis on the idea that the readiness to let go of one’s life at any moment is the soul of bushidō – although Tsunetomo does share Musashi’s idea that the samurai must strive
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to be second to none. Tsunetomo was born in a bushi clan that had served
means a person who dedicates himself to the public interest in serving a ruler
the same house for many generations, while Musashi was a free master of
or lord, not yielding to private, personal, or factional interests. To provide
swordsmanship who had never been anyone’s vassal and thus was not bound
the opportunities for such service and to produce people who could be relied
by the traditions of any particular house. Although Musashi was well aware
upon to carry out such service was, of course, the core raison d’être of the
of the “aesthetics of death” developed among the samurai from the Kamakura
Tokugawa political system. If Musashi’s concern for personal prominence
period, his philosophy was affected by the free spirit and social mobility
was an integral part of the “Sengoku ethic”, it is clear that Tsunetomo’s form
(gekokujō ) of the Sengoku period, as well as by the continuing high demand
of bushidō is not simply a reassertion of this Sengoku ethic as against the
for martial skills in the early Tokugawa period. Musashi had no objection to
impersonalization and routinization of samurai life brought about by the
the natural desire of a man of talent to achieve name, fame and social status
bureaucratization of the lord-vassal relationship, for it negates important
through the demonstration of superior skill, in this case in swordsmanship.
elements of that ethic.
22
In the Sengoku period, ambitious lords were always actively searching for martially skilled samurai to join their ranks, and it was not uncommon for samurai to leave the service of one lord and enter that of another whose stock was in the ascendancy in the world.
The philosophy of Hagakure
Yet such a motive was anathema to Tsunetomo, who insisted that the
The most famous line in Hagakure reads “I have found that bushidō means
self and its desire for glory should be extinguished in selfless dedication to
to die. It means that when one has to choose between life and death, one
one’s lord, to the point that even if one’s service fails to gain recognition,
just quickly chooses the side of death” (1:2, see page 43). Such an idea may
or even if one is treated coldly or cruelly by one’s lord, one would still not
strike modern sensibilities as morbid or dangerous, and even Edo Confucian
make a peep of complaint, regarding all that comes one’s way as part of the
scholars such as Yamaga Sokō condemned the constant thought of death
“great compassion” of one’s lord. Due to this strong element of self-denial,
for being the mentality of a base sort of person.23 However, Tsunetomo’s
Tsunetomo’s conception of the samurai Way has more of the character of
injunction is actually grounded, in a paradoxical way, in the traditional
a religious ethic than Musashi’s way of life; pragmatic “worldly” goals like
samurai’s concern for staying alive rather than in some kind of morbid
victory and personal glory – even the glorification of martial skill – are
fascination with death. In warfare, particularly hand-to-hand combat, if a
devalued in favour of long-sustained and unspectacular selfless service in
warrior is preoccupied with staying alive, this will translate into a desire to
which one’s own identity becomes submerged in the identity and purposes
avoid dying, which will almost certainly intensify his natural fear of death.
of one’s lord. This sort of service is implicit in the most common term in the
It may then be difficult to keep a cool and calm head, capable of sizing up
Tokugawa system for “hereditary retainer”, hōkōnin 奉公人, which literally
the rapidly changing situation vis-à-vis one’s opponent. If one is fully and
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sincerely prepared to die, and if this acceptance of death has really sunk deeply
is right in the midst of the life of service to one’s lord. Both men believed
into one’s subconscious through sustained meditation on the acceptance of
that the discipline of the lord-vassal relationship actually provided a better
death, the fear of death will dissolve and one is much more likely to be able
context than the monastery for the experience of self-transcendence or self-
to mobilize fully one’s martial skills and survive the combat unscathed. It is
annihilation (muga),24 and thought that Buddhist monastic teachings could
similar to Jesus’s paradoxical saying that to keep one’s life you have to let go
be a dangerous distraction for a retainer bound to the service of a lord.
of it. Tsunetomo was not teaching bushidō in a time of war, so it is evident
In feudal Japan, a man’s “lord” was the person who provided him with
that the principle has been refined into a more general one of how to live an
the means of sustaining his own life and those of his family members, as well
active life of service and not just how to be victorious in battle.
as the education, social status and security necessary to live with purpose and
Further on in the same passage (see page 44), Tsunetomo states: “If every
self-respect. Thus it is understandable that the person in receipt of so much
morning and every evening one dies anew, one will become as one who is
unearned “favour” or “grace” (go-on) was expected in return to dedicate his
permanently dead. Thus will one obtain a realm of freedom in bushidō, and
life to his lord’s service, and not make his dedication conditional on future
be able to fulfil one’s duty to the house for one’s whole life without falling
rewards. Feudal societies also attached great importance to lineage and
into error.” Elsewhere he says that if one is “permanently dead”, one will
pedigree, which meant that the object of the vassal’s loyalty extended beyond
never fail in the practice of filial piety and loyalty. There could hardly be a
the person of the lord to the position of the lord as the current head of a
clearer statement that Tsunetomo’s bushidō is actually oriented toward life,
clan or house that had existed through many generations. When the lord-
and not to death – except that it seeks a greater intensity of concentration
vassal relationship had become permanent and hereditary, this transpersonal
on the here and now in the living of life than the person who is attached
dimension of the relationship became even more important, running not only
to his own life can attain. To be permanently dead is to continually let go
through the whole of one’s own life, but through the lives of one’s ancestors
of one’s attachments to one’s self and one’s attachments to this world, and
and descendants as well. Yet although Tsunetomo had a deep feeling for
that is why it is a realm of great freedom. It is nothing less than a kind of
the trans-generational significance of the lord-vassal relationship, retaining
life-long spiritual practice, a sustained discipline of body and mind, and the
the personal nature of one’s relationship with one’s lord was also extremely
core of its appeal to later readers lay in its potential to cultivate an alert and
important. Otherwise why would one long to accompany one’s lord in death?
firmly focused state of body-and-mind, as well as a strong sense of purpose,
Yet certainly the focus of this personal relationship could no longer be, as in
in times when people were getting soft and self-centred. As certain passages
Kamakura and Sengoku times, the idea of facing death bravely with one’s
in Hagakure show, Tsunetomo was a follower of the teaching – of the famous
lord in the pursuit of victory on the battlefield, hoping to distinguish oneself
early Tokugawa Zen teacher (and former Tokugawa retainer) Suzuki Shōzan
in the eyes of one’s lord (and the eyes of posterity). There may be traces of
(1577–1655) – that, for a retainer, the ideal lifestyle for the practice of Zen
this idea in Hagakure, but Tsunetomo recognized that it was no longer in
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harmony with the spirit of the age. In a time of peace, what takes the place
in which both the life and death of the individual are aimed at ensuring that
of death in battle as the occasion for achieving unity “as one body” with one’s
the corporate life will continue forever: a society in which the survival of one’s
lord is the conception of “death in service, on a tatami mat”. Dying “on a
name after one’s death is more important than the preservation of one’s physical
tatami mat” means dying a natural death in one’s own home, traditionally
life. This is demonstrated clearly in those passages that describe the reasoning
a very inglorious way for a samurai to die. But here it is the life of service
an individual samurai followed in deciding to die nobly rather than staying
(hōkō) preceding the death on the tatami mat that is the real ground where
alive – or dying – with a stain on his honour (as for instance in 8:3 and 8:4,
the dying (or dying to self ) takes place. Both lord and vassal must strive to
where we see how some of the most respected “victims” of the seppuku culture
fulfil completely and single-mindedly their inherited duty to the house that
managed to rise above their fate by refusing to be passive victims, establishing
they serve. Such service requires great patience and constancy of purpose, not
conditions whereby they could preserve a sense of subjective autonomy or
just Sengoku-style individual acts of bravery. Thus we see the great emphasis
control within the ritualized circumstances of the execution). This desire to
that Tsunetomo puts on studying the principles and accomplishments of the
feel in control of one’s fate lay at the core of the samurai honour culture, and it
founding fathers of the house that one serves.
is directly related to both the mental state of readiness to die (to let go of one’s
We may be shocked today by the attitude to death reflected in Hagakure
attachment to life) that for Tsunetemo was the essence of bushidō, as well as
– by the frequency of seppuku, both voluntary and coerced, not to mention
to the Buddhist-inspired cultivation of the ability to accept and even embrace
summary executions and violent quarrels (kenka). Yet although this conflicts
one’s death when it is inevitable. It is here that we find the key to the perennial
fundamentally with modern concepts of the sanctity of individual life, in a
appeal of Hagakure, even beyond the feudal age that spawned it.
rigorous warrior culture based on honour and loyalty the presence of such
Inazo Nitobe does not mention Hagakure in his famous book Bushido
traditions is understandable, and they are not that alien from the perspective
(first published in English in 1900), but he was certainly aware of the values
of pre-modern Europe. Furthermore, many of the old stories that Tsunetomo
that run through its pages, even if he failed to distinguish them sufficiently
relates date from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, before most
from the ethics of Confucianism. Young kamikaze pilots in the last desperate
of the Tokugawa’s efforts to “civilize” the samurai had taken effect. It is
days of the Pacific War in 1945 are said to have read Hagakure to help
noteworthy how strongly this relatively easy acceptance of death and personal
prepare themselves for their missions, and it is understandable that after the
suffering was balanced by concern for the trans-generational continuity of
wartime defeat the Japanese authorities did not want this book to fall into
the house and the clan, and by an intricate system of residual Buddhist ideas
the hands of the victorious Americans. The great post-war novelist Yukio
supporting the conception of another world after death and the idea that to
Mishima (1925–1970) found in Hagakure a major inspiration for a life of
be able to let go of life without attachment is the highest form of spiritual
literary creativity, and a major inspiration for his own suicide by seppuku on
attainment. Thus in Hagakure we come face to face with a total social ethic
25 November 1970. While no one responded at the time to his call for a
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coup d’état, and few Japanese believed any more in his brand of nationalism, his example shows that Hagakure has retained its power to inspire. A number of Japanese scholars have argued that Mishima did not really understand the book, and it is certainly true that the values Hagakure espouses reach far beyond any political ideology that might seek to draw on it for support. Even if we simply read it for the rich insights it gives into the samurai tradition and the history of the human spirit, it is very much worthy of our attention.
Note regarding the text of Hagakure used in this translation The most authoritative modern text of Hagakure in Japanese is the annotated version given in Nihon shisō taikei (Compendium of Japanese Thought), vol. 26, annotated by Saiki Kazuma, Okayama Taiji and Sagara Tōru, which has been used in the preparation of this translation. The historical text used as the basis for this modern annotated version is the Mochigi Nabeshima family version in the National Diet Library. This Mochigi text has been collated against two other versions of the text held by the Saga Prefectural Library, called respectively the Koyama text and the Yamamoto text. The annotations indicate all textual variants that can be found in these alternate texts; at times one of the textual variants has to be adopted because it is the only one that makes sense. The items translated in the present selective translation have been identified using the numbers provided in the Nihon shisō taikei text, so that readers can compare the translation with the original Japanese text. In the preparation of this translation,
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I have consulted and benefitted from the modern Japanese translation by Naramoto Tatsuya, listed in the Sources Consulted on page 265. However, since translating into modern Japanese often calls for adding words and interpolations that do not appear in the original, and since modern Japanese lacks the classical conciseness and literary elegance of the original, in all cases my translation has been based directly on the original text, using the modern translation only as a secondary reference. The text of Hagakure circulated in manuscript form and was not printed until toward the end of the Meiji period. There are therefore many manuscript versions of the text, although the textual variants are rarely sufficient to cause major problems of interpretation. Readers of Japanese can read the details about the nineteen different existing texts, divided into three groups, in Satō Masahide’s explanatory material given at the end of the Nihon shisō taikei text, pages 685–692.
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