How Japanese people think Bushido is really the “Way of Dying”
Bushido is the way of dying
“Bushido is really the “Way of Dying"" is quite a shocking phrase. There is a similar European proverb called “Memento Mori". This is an introspective proverb that if you are aware of death, you can live in the present to the fullest, but “Bushido is the way of dying" is a warning to samurai to be prepared to die for loyalty.
The Japanese are quite fighter-like
Samurai are Japanese fighters and people from families whose family business is fighting. They were born in the Heian period and existed until the Meiji government abolished the samurai, farmer, artisan and merchant class system. Today, young people who are absorbed in their cell phones on the train, high school girls laughing at McDonald’s, smiling store clerks, and older men having fun at izakayas – they are all calm and good-looking people. There must be some descendants of samurai among them, but they are small in stature and do not look very strong.
However, the Japanese are a warrior race that is hard to tell from their gentle appearance, just as the Fremen, the people of the sand planet, had the same level of fighting power as the invincible Imperial Guard, the Saudarkar. They were feared by their enemies for their fighting style, which sometimes assumed they would die in battle.
In the 13th century, they repelled the invasion of the Mongolian world empire. In the 15th and 16th centuries, they were divided into small countries and continued their civil wars, and with their military power, they resisted the colonization of European powers and protected their independence.
In the 19th century, they achieved modernization with the Meiji Restoration, fought against the great power of the time, the Qing, fought against Russia, won World War I, and started the Pacific War. In the end, they were thoroughly defeated by the United States, but they fought so fiercely that they carried out the infamous kamikaze attack.
The Pacific War was not the only time they fought a life-threatening battle. In the early 17th century, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Eastern Army and Ishida Mitsunari’s Western Army fought a decisive battle for Japanese hegemony at Sekigahara. The Satsuma clan of Kyushu fought on the side of the Western Army, but was left behind in the midst of the Eastern Army’s horde after the Eastern Army won.
At that time, the Satsuma samurai retreated using a brutal tactic called “sutegamari" (abandonment). In order to allow the main force to escape, they left a small unit behind. The platoon stayed in place to hold off the pursuing enemy forces. To increase the accuracy of their guns, they sat in meditation and took aim, and when they ran out of ammo, they charged in. They bought time by dying. When the platoon was wiped out, a new small unit was left behind.
This was repeated to allow the main force to escape. “This time, I’ll go," “I’ll give Tokugawa a taste of his own medicine," “I’ll leave the matter of my lord to you," the samurai accepted death as a matter of course out of loyalty to their lord. They valued honor over death.
Hagakure
Why did people who usually value “harmony is the most important thing" fight so bravely? The answer lies in the unique Japanese view of life and death. One of these is found in “Hagakure," written in the mid-Edo period. “Hagakure" was written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a samurai of the Saga Nabeshima Domain in Hizen Province, who dictated the samurai’s way of life and death, and Tashiro Jinki wrote it down. “Bushido is the way of dying" is also found here.
The era in which Tsunetomo lived was a long period of peace, and samurai’s work changed from combat personnel to bureaucrats, and their way of thinking became more gentle, based on Confucianism. Tsunetomo lamented this trend, saying, “That’s not right, the original bushido is not like that." However, Tsunetomo did not want his words to be spread to the world. As a result, only a limited number of people knew of “Hagakure," but its spirit was shared by many samurai and common people, so it suddenly became the center of attention in the Meiji era.
“Bushido is the way of dying" Tsunetomo says. I realized that Bushido is about death. You must live so that you can die at any time. A samurai’s retainer is always prepared to die for the sake of loyalty. There are times in life when you are forced to choose between life and death. When that happens, choose death without hesitation. Don’t worry about the details, just go ahead with determination. You may die without achieving anything because your plans went awry, but thinking that it is a vain death is just a modern, pretentious Bushido.
When people have to choose between two options, they do not always choose the right one. I and other people prefer to live. If the choice is between life and death, you will find some kind of logic and choose the life you prefer. However, if that decision is wrong and you still cling to life, you will be treated as a coward. This is the difficult part.
On the other hand, if you die, it is not shameful even if you made a wrong decision and died in vain. This is enough for the mindset of martial arts. When it is a matter of self-preservation or self-sacrifice, life or death, you should be prepared to self-sacrifice or death. If you prepare for death every morning and every evening, if you are always ready to die and ready to sacrifice yourself, your mind will be freed from the constraints of your personal life.
If you approach your work with a free mind, you will be able to fulfill your duties without any mistakes throughout your life. Being prepared for death is actually a way of keeping yourself alive.
A culture that fears shame
Simply put, it goes like this:
Be prepared to die for loyalty.
When you have to choose between life and death, choose death.
Do not cling to life and suffer shame.
People will not blame you for being ashamed if you die, even if they say it’s a dog’s death.
When you accept death, your mind will be freed from various constraints.
You can live by preparing for death.
What’s important is “preparing to die" and “not suffering shame."
For the Japanese, “suffering shame" is the most despised act. Samurai chose death over shame and sometimes committed seppuku. Until the Muromachi period, farmers also committed seppuku. Everyone chose death over tarnishing their names, saying, “Don’t value your life, value your name."
300 years after the Battle of Sekigahara, the Meiji Restoration came and the battle between the Imperial Court and Shogunate forces began. It was a civil war that determined the modernization of Japan. What happened to the samurai on the Shogunate side, whom Tsunetomo mocked as having pretentious bushido?
Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi, Kawai Tsuginosuke of the Nagaoka clan, and even the boys who joined the Byakkotai of the Aizu clan and the Shogitai of Edo, all gave their lives for loyalty. They were practicing the saying, “Bushido is the way of death."
In the Meiji era, the people replaced loyalty to their lord with loyalty to their country and family. They chose to die with honor rather than cling to life and suffer shame, and their resolve at Hagakure remained unchanged as they took on new battles.
The resolve of modern Japanese people
There is no way that one person can win by cutting into 100 enemies. But it was the samurai who would attack for the sake of loyalty. In Japanese manga and movies, there are many scenes where a small group of allies challenge a large number of enemies with no chance of victory.
The reason this is so popular is that the determination to “Bushido is the way of dying" is built into the Japanese genes, which cannot be explained by Western rationalism.
They created a culture that prefers simplicity and wabi-sabi over extravagance, loves cherry blossoms that bloom in a short time and fall all at once, respects the spirit of Zen, and seeks beauty in the changing seasons of flowers, birds, wind, and moon, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Even today, the Japanese people cherish purity and transience. That spirit has not changed, so if push comes to shove, they will return to being formidable samurai.