Budo Shoshinshu Introduction One who is a samurai must before all things keep constantly in mind, by day and by night, from the morning when he takes up his chopsticks to eat his New Year's breakfast to Old Year's night when he pays his yearly bills, the fact that he has to die. That is his chief business. If he is mindful of this, he will live in accordance with the paths of Loyalty and Filial Duty, will avoid the myriads of evils and adversities, keep himself free from disease and calamity and moreover enjoy a long life. He will also be a fine personality with many admirable qualities. For existence is impermanent as the dew of evening and the hoarfrost of morning, and particularly uncertain is the life of the warrior, and if he thinks he can console himself with the idea of lifelong service to his lord or unending devotion to his relations, something may well happen to make him neglect his duty to his lord and forget what he owes to his family. But if he determines simply to live for today and take no thought for the morrow, so that when he stands before his lord to receive his commands he thinks of it as his last appearance and when he looks upon the face of his relatives he feels that he will never see them again, then will his duty and regard for both of them be completely sincere, while his mind will be in accord with the path of loyalty and filial duty. But if he does not keep death in mind he will be careless and say things that offends others and an argument ensues, and though, if no notice is taken, it may be settled, if there is a rebuke, it may end in a quarrel. Then, if he goes strolling about pleasure resorts and seeing the sights in crowded places without any proper reserve, he may come up against some big fool and get into a quarrel before he knows it, and may even be killed and his lords name brought into it and his parents and relations exposed to reproach. And all this misfortune springs from his not remembering to keep death always in his thoughts. But one who does this whether he is speaking himself or answering others will carefully consider, as befits a samurai, every word he says and never launch out into useless argument. Neither will he allow anyone to entice him into unsuitable places where he may suddenly confronted with an awkward situation, and thus he avoids evils and calamities. And both high and low, if they forget about death, are very apt to take to unhealthy excess in food and wine and women so that they die unexpectedly early from diseases of the kidneys and spleen, and even while they live their illness makes them of no use to anyone. But those who keep death always before their eyes are strong and healthy while young, and as they take care of their health and are moderate in eating and drinking and avoid the paths of women, being abstemious and moderate in all things, they remain free from disease and live a long and healthy life. Then one who lives long in this world may develop all sorts of desires and his covetousness may increase so that he wants what belongs to others and cannot bear to part with what is his own, becoming in fact just like a mere tradesman. But if he is always looking death in the face, a man will have little attachment to material things and will not exhibit these grasping and covetous qualities, and will become, as I said before, a fine character. And speaking of meditation on death, Yoshida Kenko says in the Tsurezure- Gusa of the monk Shinkai that he was wont to sit all day pondering on his latter end; this is no doubt a very suitable attitude for a recluse but by no means so for a warrior. For he would so have to neglect his military duties and the way of loyalty and filial piety, and he must on the contrary be constantly busy with his affairs both public and private. But whenever he has a little spare time to himself and can be quiet he should not fail to revert to this question of death and reflect carefully on it. Is it not recorded that Kusunoki Masashige adjured his son Masatsura to keep death always before his eyes? And this is for the instruction of all the youthful samurai. Education Since the samurai stands at the head of the three classes of society and has the duty of carrying on the administration, it is incumbent on him to be well educated and to have a wide knowledge of the reason of things. However, in the period of civil war, the young warrior went out to battle when he was fifteen or sixteen, so that he had to start his military education at twelve or thirteen. Since he had no time to sit down with a book or take up a writing brush, he was often quite illiterate. In fact, in these days there were a lot of samurai who could not write a single Chinese character. So whether through their own want of inclination or the faulty instruction of their parents, nothing was done about it, because their whole life was devoted exclusively to the Way of the Warrior. Now however the empire is at peace, and though one cannot exactly say that those born in samurai families are indifferent to military training, yet there is no question of their being forced to enter a warlike career at the age of fifteen or sixteen like the warriors of former days. So that at the age of seven or eight when he is growing up, a boy should be introduced to the Four Books, the Five Classics, and the Seven Texts and taught calligraphy so that he remembers how to write characters. Then, when he is fifteen or sixteen, he should be made to practice archery and horsemanship and all the other military arts, for that is the way that the samurai should bring up his sons in time of peace. There is no excuse for illiteracy in his case as there was in that of the warrior of the civil war period. And children are not to blame for lack of education either. It is entirely due to the neglect and incompetence of their parents who do not really know the way of affection for their children. Filial Duty One who is a samurai should base his conduct on a strong sense of filial duty. And however capable and clever and eloquent and handsome one may be born, if he is unfilial he is of no use at all. For Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, requires a man's conduct to be correct in all points. For if there is no discrimination in all matters there will be no knowledge of what is right. And one who does not know what is right can hardly be called a samurai. Now he who has this complete insight realizes that his parents are the authors of his being and that he is part of their flesh and blood. And it is from the inclination to exalt this part which is ourselves that matters sometimes arise that lead us to slight that parental origin of it. This is want of discrimination of the order of cause and effect. Now in rendering filial obligations to parents there are two varieties. The first is where the parent's disposition is honest and he educates his children with sincere kindliness and leaves them all his property, including an income above average and weapons and horse furniture and household treasures, as well as arranging good marriages for them. When such a parent retires it is neither praiseworthy nor remarkable that his children should look after him and treat him with all consideration. Even toward a complete outsider, if he is an intimate friend and goes out of his way to be helpful to us, we feel very kindly disposed and do anything we can for him though it may be contrary to our own interests. How much deeper then must the bond of affection be where our parents are concerned? So, however much we do for them as children, we cannot but feel that however we fulfill our filial duties it is never really quite adequate. And this is just the ordinary filial piety that is not anything remarkable. But if the parent is not kindly but old and crotchety and is always nagging, insisting that the household property belongs to him, who gives his children nothing, and without considering the scanty means of the family is always making importunate demands for food and drink and clothes. And not only so but whenever he meets other people he says something to this effect, 'this beastly son of mine is unfilial and so I have to put up with all sorts of discomfort. You have no idea what a bad time I have in my old age.' thus giving his children a bad name among outsiders. Even such a cantankerous parent must be reverenced as a parent and his bad temper must be appeased and his age infirmities condoled with and regretted and that without showing any signs of annoyance. For exerting oneself to the utmost for such a parent is real filial piety. And a samurai who enters the service of a lord will thoroughly understand the Way of Loyalty and will show it not only when his master is prosperous but also if he meets with adversity, and will not leave his side when his hundred horsemen are reduced to ten and this ten to one, but will defend him to the last, regarding his life as nothing in carrying out a warriors fealty. And so the terms 'parent' and 'lord'; 'filial conduct' and 'loyalty' are distinct, they are in no way different in meaning. There is a saying of the ancients, 'look for a loyal retainer among the filial'; and it is unreasonable to think that if is unfilial to his parents he can at the same time be loyal to his master. For if anyone is incapable of carrying out his filial duties to his parents from whom he is sprung, it is very unlikely that he will give loyal service to a lord who is no relation, out of pure gratitude. When he enters a lords service an unfilial son of this kind will be critical of any shortcoming of his master, and when he does not approve of anything he will throw off his allegiance and slip away at a critical moment or betray his lord by giving himself up to the enemy. There are examples of such disgraceful conduct in all periods and it is to be shunned with abhorrence. Samurai Ordinances In Bushido there are two ordinances and four sections. The two ordinances are the ordinary and the extraordinary, and the ordinary is divided into the two sections of the officials and of the soldiers, while the extraordinary is similarly divided into those of army and of battle affairs. As to the section of the samurai officials, they must wash their and feet night and morning and take a hot bath and so keep themselves clean. A samurai must do his hair every morning and keep the hair properly shaved from his forehead. Then he must always wear the ceremonial dress proper to the occasion and of course wear his two swords as well as carry a fan in his girdle. When he receives a guest he must treat him with the etiquette due to his rank and refrain from idle talk. Even in taking a bowl of rice or cup of tea it must be done correctly without slovenliness and with no lack of vigilance. If he is serving in some capacity when he is off duty he must not lounge about doing nothing but should read and practice writing, storing his mind with the ancient history and precepts of the warrior houses and in short conducting himself at all times so that his manners are those proper to a samurai. Next comes the section on soldiers. This concerns the exercise of fencing, spear practice, horsemanship, and shooting with bow and matchlock together with all else that pertains to the military art which must be enthusiastically studied and practiced so that all will be disciplined and resolute. And if these two codes of the samurai and the soldier are well understood the ordinary ordinance may be considered complete, and this would appear to most people to be sufficient for the good warrior or official. But a samurai is an official fro extraordinary conditions, and when the country is in a state of disorder he must lay aside the ordinary rule for samurai life and serve under his lord as commander, the greater and lesser retainers becoming officers and soldiers. Then all put away their dress of ceremony and don their armour and take arms in hand to advance into the enemy territory, and it is the various methods of arranging matters on such a campaign that are known as the rule of army affairs, and this is a thing that must be known. Then comes the rule of battle affairs, which is the method of handling the army when it comes into contact with the enemy to give battle. And if things go according to plan there is victory, and if not, there is defeat. This too is a thing the secrets of which must be understood. And what is called a first-class samurai is one who is skilled in all four sections of these two ordinances. To be experienced only in the two sections of the ordinary one may be sufficient for the duties of the average cavalier, but no one who is ignorant of the extraordinary sections can become a commander or high officer such as monogashira or bugyo. It is therefore most important that all samurai should consider and realize that they cannot rise to the highest positions without profound study of the extraordinary ordinance. Never Neglect The Offensive Spirit It is most important that one who is a samurai should never neglect the offensive spirit at any time and in all matters. For our country is different from other lands in that even the least of the people, farmers, merchants, and artisans, should all cherish some rusty blade, wherein is revealed the warrior spirit of this Empire of Nippon. These three classes are not, however, soldiers by profession, but it is the custom in the military families for even the very least of the servants of the samurai never to be without a short sword for a moment. Much more must the higher samurai always wear their girdle. And some very punctilious ones wear a blunt sword or a wooden one even when they go to the bath. And if this is so in the house how much more so is it necessary when one leaves it to go somewhere else, since on the way you may well meet some drunkard or other fool who may suddenly start a quarrel. There is an old saying, 'When you leave your gate, act as though an enemy was in sight.' So since he a samurai and wears a sword in his girdle he must never forget this spirit of the offensive. And when this is so the mind is fixed firmly on death. But the samurai who does not maintain this aggressive spirit, even though he does wear a sword at his side, is nothing but a farmer or tradesman in a warrior's skin. Recluse Samurai From ancient times it has been the custom for samurai to become recluses, and indeed there is much resemblance between the two. For instance, among the Zen monks there are those called zosu and shuza who are ordinary shavelings of the same standing as the outside retainers among the military class who are just ordinary soldiers of the companies. Then come the tanryo and seido, a rank higher, who are more or less the equivalent of the metsuke (Censor) or Captains of the Guards or Captains of Infantry among the samurai. Then again among these same recluses there are some called choro or osho who wear colored robes and carry a fly-whisk staff in their had and have authority over the ordinary crowd just like the Commander of the Samurai or Commander of the Infantry, or again, the six bugyo of the Archers who are privileged to have their own standard and surcoat and baton, and who issue orders to the army and command in the field. Only in the matter of learning these communities of recluses seem to me to be far superior to those of the samurai. And the reason is that it is the way of the ordinary monks to leave their teachers and travel around the country from one monastery to another for study and so to meet many distinguished scholars and to accumulate merits in the practice of meditation and virtue. And when they rise to be tanryo and seido and even choro and osho and become the abbots of great temples and monasteries, they are still not in the least ashamed to continue their study and research in order that they may be worthy of promotion. And also I should like to see it among the samurai, but even ordinary samurai without office who do outside service and have a good deal of time unoccupied have quite a relatively good income and are well provided with the necessities of life, so that some who are still young have wives and children and their only occupation seems to be a morning and afternoon nap. They have not studied even the two sections of the ordinary ordinance for samurai, so much less have they any knowledge of the more recondite extraordinary one, and so they go on passing the months and years idly until their beards grow white and their heads bald. Then, as they seem to be about the age for it, they are assigned to the status of those who are relieved of office, and if for instance they should act as tsukai-ban, or envoy, they go off at once and get they assistance of some colleague and so carry it out, but should they be sent to some very distant province then they are flustered and distracted by the preparations for the journey, and when they do take up their duties they are barely able to carry them out by relying on instructions from seniors and borrowing books of reference, a state of things that cannot be considered the proper way. For as the duties of samurai are practically all fixed, the should consider them when they have nothing to do, and when they meet officers of capacity and experience they should cease from idle talk and make a point of inquiring from them about matters which they anticipate they will need advice. They must make themselves acquainted with all the facts and collect and copy old books and plans so that they are well informed about their duty at all points and then will find it easy to undertake. And if you depend on your seniors and colleagues for information and perform duties with their help, this may do for ordinary ones, but in the rare case when something unusual happens you may not be able to get any assistance and then for good or evil you must depend on your own ability to solve the problem. And an Inspector of the Forces has to know all about such things as the numbers of the enemy, the best place to make a camp and dispose the troops, the strength of castles, the advantages or disadvantages of geographical position and the probability of victory, so that from ancient times this office has been regarded as a difficult one. However, if an Inspector should make a miscalculation in his views the matter will most likely end only in blame for him, whereas those above the rank of Infantry Commander (ashigaru taisho), who wield the marshal's baton and have the actual control of the troops, are responsible for the lives of all the men in their army. Therefore it is a most reprehensible thing that men should disgrace these high commands by swaggering in them without any proper knowledge or capacity. It is as though among the Zen monks one who neglected his studies when he was a junior should, merely by virtue of a bald head and superannuation, be advanced to the rank of choro or osho, wear gorgeous robes and carry the fly-whisk and hold authority over his brethren. Only should an unworthy monk of this type be exalted to such high preferment in an improper way, he would find himself the laughing stock of the whole community, and be put to public shame and have to resign, so that he would do no special harm to the order. But it is very different with samurai who are promoted to similar high office and are incompetent to command, for they jeopardize the lives of all under them, and the loss they can cause is very great. Therefore, they must be very diligent to study whenever they have any spare time so as to gain a thorough knowledge of the ordinances of the army and of battle, for both study and practice are most necessary to one who holds high command. Right and Wrong One who is a warrior should have a thorough understanding of these two qualities. If he knows how to do one and avoid the other then he will have attained to Bushido And right and wrong are nothing but good and evil, for though I would not deny that there is a slight difference between the terms, yet to act rightly and do good is difficult and is regarded as tiresome, whereas to act wrongly and do evil is easy and amusing, so that most naturally incline to the wrong or evil and tend to dislike the right and good. But to be thus unstable and make no distinction between right and wrong is contrary to reason, so that anyone who understands this distinction and yet does what is wrong is no proper samurai, but a raw and untaught person. And the cause of it is small capacity for self-control. Though this may not sound so bad, if we examine into its origin we find it arises from cowardice. That is why I maintain that it is essential for a samurai to refrain from wrong and cleave to what is right. Now in the matter of doing right there are three degrees. For instance, if a man goes on a journey with a neighbor and his companion has a hundred ryo of gold which, in order to avoid the trouble of carrying it with him, he deposits with this man till he comes back. And he does so without telling anyone about it. Then on the journey this neighbor is taken with a sudden illness from over- eating, or apoplexy, or something of the sort, and dies of it, so that there is nobody at all who knows anything about the money. But the other out of pure sympathy and compassion and nothing else, and without a single evil thought, immediately informs the relatives and returns all the money to them. This is a man who does what is right. In the second case, suppose the man who had the money to have been one who had only a few acquaintances and was not intimate with anybody, so that no one would know about the money he had deposited and there would be none likely therefore to make inquires. And if the other was not very well off he might regard it as a lucky windfall and think it no harm to say nothing and keep it for himself. But then a sudden shame would come over him for having harbored such a polluting idea and he would put it from him at once and return the money. This is doing right on account of shame that proceeds from one's mind. Then there is the case where somebody in his house, either one of his family or of his servants, knows about this money, and he is ashamed of what that person may think or what may be said of him in the future and so returns it. This is one who does right from shame connected with other people. But here we may wonder what he would do if nobody knew anything about it. Still, we can hardly pronounce him to be a person who, though he does not know what is right, does it. However, generally speaking, the rule for the practice of right conduct is that first of all we should feel shame at the contempt of our family and servants, and then at the scorn of the wider circle of our acquaintances and of outsiders, and thus eschew the wrong and do right. This will then naturally become a habit and in time we shall acquire the disposition to prefer the right and dislike the wrong. Again in the way of valor, he who is born brave will think it nothing to go into battle and come under a hot fire of arrows and bullets. Devoted to loyalty and duty he will make his body a target and press on, presenting by his splendid valor an indescribably fine example to all beholders. But on the the other hand, there may one whose knees tremble and whose heart palpitates as he wonders how he is going to manage to acquit himself decently in all this danger, but he goes on because he is ashamed to be the only one to falter under the eyes of his comrades as they advance, and because he fears loss of reputation in the future. So he hardens his resolution and presses on in no way behind the naturally valiant one. Thus, though he may be vastly inferior to the born brave, after several of these experiences he becomes used to it and finds his feet, and so eventually his courage is confirmed and he grows into a warrior by no mean inferior to the born fearless. So both in doing right and in producing valor there is no other way but a sense of shame. For if people say of wrong that it does not matter and do it, and merely laugh if they see a coward and say that it does not matter either, what means will there be of disciplining this kind of person?