A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower (32 page)

Though their behaviour was considered exemplary
bushid
they were nonetheless ordered to kill themselves for having taken the law into their own hands. Amidst scholarly discussion and public controversy they killed themselves in a mass
seppuku
. Their graves at Sengakuji Temple in T
ky
are now a major tourist attraction.

Descriptions of
bushid
from this period that are still popular today include
Hagakure
(In the Shadow of Leaves) of 1716 and
Gorin no Sho
(The Five Rings) of around 1643. However, one of the most interesting was written by Yamaga Sok
(1622–85), who was himself a
r
nin
. He had also been a teacher of one of the Forty-Seven R
nin.

Yamaga was perhaps the first to see
bushid
as a comprehensive philosophy.
²⁶
In his various writings he stressed aspects of it such as loyalty and self-discipline, as well as the importance of learning and cultivation of the arts and the rounded development of the whole man. Knowing one’s role in life, and knowing how to properly conduct relations with others, are particularly stressed. But he also struck a defensive note in his justification of the samurai’s apparent lack of functional usefulness to the society of the day. Yamaga argued that the samurai’s freedom from occupation proper allowed him to concentrate on perfecting his moral virtue and thus to serve as a model for the rest of society, disciplining the imperfect if necessary:
²⁷

The samurai dispenses with the business of the farmer, artisan, and merchant, and confines himself to practising this Way; should there be someone in the three classes of the common people who transgresses against these moral principles, the samurai summarily punishes him and thus upholds proper moral principles in the land.

There is here a reference to morality, but it is a different morality from the western concept. It is still not a question of good and evil, but of doing the expected thing in the context of social relations and orderliness. Step out of line, and one is summarily punished.

Yamaga’s account also has a heavy Confucian tone. Confucianists were very much concerned with knowing one’s place, honouring relationships, respecting order, and doing one’s duty. Because of these values, Confucianism was revived and promoted by the Tokugawa sh
gunate. In some aspects, however, it was modified to suit Japan. For example, Chinese Confucianism allowed for showing loyalty to conscience, but in Japan this became narrowed to loyalty to one’s superior. A Confucian adviser to the sh
gun was appointed, and a Confucian college was founded in Edo with sh
gunal support. The period produced many noted Confucian scholars, such as Hayashi Razan (1583–1657), Yamazaki Ansai (1618–82), Arai Hakuseki (1657–1725), and Ogy
Sorai (1666–1728).