Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique (4 page)

The Modern Age

In the 1860s Japan once again became a land of war as the Meiji Restoration developed. The now weakened samurai class were outdated as a product of the old world. Modern society crashed into Japanese life. The samurai were disbanded, ending a thousand year rule of the shoguns, restoring the emperor to “power” under the guidance of a modern government.

The importance of a basic understanding of the above cannot be underestimated. Often these major divisions of the samurai age are mixed together and placed over each other. The ideas of honor, and a spiritual life that gained popularity in the “age of peace,” are attached to the classical age—the “first great samurai.” The warfare strategies of the “first great samurai” are mistakenly used to explain the “age of war.” As a modern reader you must understand that these ages were divided by change—yet connected by the identity of the samurai. The role itself of these Eastern knights is a golden thread that runs through a millennium of change. However, remember that although the samurai were always samurai, they did change with time.

The
epoch of the samurai
can be expressed as a thousand year rule that starts with the emergence of a warrior class. This then moves from classical warfare, through the bloody years of unification, to the decline of practicality—the eventual fall of the warrior. Each part has its place in Japanese history and should not be mixed together nor mistaken as a single, continuous form.

History as the Samurai Saw It

History is ever changing. A modern understanding of history may not be the understanding that the samurai had. To the samurai and the shinobi, history, folklore, and legend existed in the same space. The Japanese considered their world created from the great Japanese gods in the Age of the Gods. They knew that China influenced Japanese culture. Yet they also knew that the ancestors had a hand in the making of their own history. Often a samurai school of war may have a divine origin and inspiration, meaning that their gods blessed their school. Most origin stories for samurai schools start with the founder leaving to undertake an episode of training in remote mountains. Here, after months of intense study, a god comes to them in the form of a spiritual or earthly creature that then gives the holy swords-man the secrets of the martial arts. This became the storied birth of their style. The origins and histories of samurai (and shinobi) schools can be put into three categories. Sometimes they include all three, and sometimes they only contain one or two of these elements:

1. The mythological element—A god or supernatural creature is the initial inspiration for the school and has conveyed divine wisdom and skills to that school.

2. The legendary element—A hero figure that may or may not have existed is factored into the school’s history. The King Arthur or Robin Hood types of Japan include Kumasaka the famous thief, Yoshitsune the child warrior, and even Kusunoki Masashige, the famed but doomed hero figure; Real historical figures pushed into legend.

3. The historical element—A historical figure, episode, or fact that is without a doubt correct and that is considered true history.

The third is the only element that we now consider as proper history. However, it was not improper for a samurai to pass on the idea of the first two. As observers of history, we should not condemn samurai for taking this angle. Their schools were historically correct even with their origins being a mix of truth and legend, sometimes even claiming historical figures that had become famous.

Society in Japan

The concept of Shi-no-ko-sho—the four classes of feudal Japan—is well understood in the realm of samurai history. Below are some of the lesser-known aspects highlighted to create a balanced view.

The four main tiers:

1.
士
– Shi: The gentry or warrior class

2.
農
– Nojin or Nofu: The farmer

3.
工
– Ko or Shokunin: The artisan or craftsman

4.
商
– Shonin: The merchant

The above system is inherited from Chinese doctrine and influenced by Confucianism. It was not a solid practice until the beginning of the Edo Period, in the early seventeenth century. Most people are interested in periods of warfare when they contemplate samurai history. They tend to overlay this idea onto earlier times. Before the times of peace that came with the control of the Tokugawa family (after 1600), social mobility was more fluid. Lines between the classes were blurred—yet they still existed. The samurai were a social class with clearly developed identities; yet movement between or living on the border of two social classes was more common. A reader of history has to constantly avoid the “Disney Trap.” This is the belief that a peasant is a poor creature who lives in a leaking hovel, a toothless grin reflecting the orange of a crackling fire. The lord is the opulent, fat, cruel dictator on a throne. The knight is the hero on the horse. The merchant is the jewel-encrusted, slimy fellow who rubs his hands together in anticipation of gold. The embedding of these images from childhood by countless mediums creates a thick coat of obscurity. It is paint that needs to be removed from an analytical mind. Peasants are not the lowest creatures. In most cases, slaves, outcasts, and the unseemly came below peasants. They weren’t always poor. The merchant is not always affluent, and the ruler is not always all-powerful. Of course the knight is not always the hero. It is of great importance to identify your own cultural, opinionated distortions of class. Once they are identified, do the utmost to eradicate these falsely formulated ideas. Consider social class and the effects it has on the individual; see it as something fluid and in motion. From the standpoint of the person
in
history these things were fixed. From the standpoint of the historian these move with time—and for a historian, time can pass instantaneously. As students of history we can pass over 400 years in a moment, seeing an image of a nation change from static to fluid. Therefore, erase these social stereotypes, understand the basic principle: chronology and geography are factors that will determine the outcome of the image you create.

To paint a portrait in your mind: imagine that a given domain has a fair lord, who governs well. The state has satisfactory resources; a peasant may own two slaves and a small cottage in a rural area. A warrior family that rules fairly protects this area, yet they have a strict attitude. The cottage may be an extensive compound on the edge of the farmland that the occupants work, either for another or under their own control. They farm and spend surplus on luxury goods that are sold by the merchant class—an idyllic picture. This picture may be idyllic, yet it can also be realistic to a degree. On the other hand: another province may come under the control of a tyrant, taxes may be levied to unfair levels and the peasants may not even produce enough crops to feed themselves—let alone purchase luxury items. When civil war breaks out, the peasants (in classic horror movie fashion) march against the dictator with firebrands and pitchforks. Again, this is stylistic, yet realistic to a degree. In reality, most historical situations are somewhere between these two extreme examples. That does not mean that these two examples were never realities. Simple factors easily show truths of history. For example, if peasants—in the Japanese case, farmers—were hovel dwelling, disease ridden, skulking figures, then the merchant class would not exist. A merchant needs a customer base, and most of the population were peasant-farmers. Peasant-farmers fed the country, samurai ruled and defended the land, artisans crafted products, and merchants sold them across the islands. Finally, the outcasts perform the duties that the aforementioned will not undertake. Here, again, when imagining the social systems of Japan, do not fall into the “Disney Trap”—or have a blanket outlook. The blanket approach is filled with stereotypes and associated connotations. Instead, adopt the balanced approach of looking at Japanese history as a whole. Consider the merchant to be a hardworking shopkeeper, the craftsman to be the busy woodcarver or blacksmith. Consider the peasant to be a healthy farmer in the field. Consider the samurai a militarily trained landowner; a local power. Then, with this level playing field in place, investigate times and place. Learn how that at times the population became wealthier and life was easier; while at other times existence was harsh. Discover how these harsh times caused rebellion. It is
not until a date and a place is identified
that a correct understanding can be achieved—make sure to remember this.

Pop History and Academic History

It is important to understand the difference between popular history books and academic history books. Both—in
most
but
not
all
cases—are well researched and are good representations of history. However, academic books bore the general public while popular history books become bestsellers. The difference is in extremes. An academic book tends to look even, middle-of-the-road and
to some
uninteresting—examples include
Crop Production
in the Roman Republic
or
Pottery Placement
in Iron Age
Graves
, both of which can be found in university libraries. At the other end of the scale, popular history books are teaming with blood, sex, scandal, violence and war, all of which are extremes. It is without doubt that—most of the time—most people in history led very normal, very conventional lives. At certain points and in certain places, extreme events happen—and those extreme events end up being reported in popular books, films, and documentaries. They become a part of social identity and world history. This is
popular history
and is the basis of most people’s understanding of the world. Just think; how many Latin or Japanese texts have you actually read in the original language, or translated? The answer is normally “few or none,” therefore always check the source of your samurai or shinobi information (this applies to history in general). Not all pop history books carry factual information. Moreover, very few books on samurai or shinobi come under the banner of academic or true history.

To help understand medieval Japanese society, links can be made to the world around you—creating a picture that has understandable connotations.

♦
The samurai should be considered as army officers. Some are of extremely high rank and run military complexes, with hundreds of other officers below them, while some are standard officer stock. These men are still well educated, upper class, and affluent. Others are junior officers and have one foot in the lower class—poorer than the others. Yet by no means would they be considered poor by today’s standard.

♦
The ashigaru foot soldiers are the basic army soldiers. They are the rank and file, the troops on the field. However, most of these army soldiers spend a high percentage of their time at home. Only when needed are they called to war. There were ashigaru foot soldiers that served professionally, full time, working all year round. These professionals were the exception, not the rule.

♦
The peasant-farmer can be divided into the many levels. They range from the wealthy to the semi-slave farmhand.

♦
Craftsmen can range from those who manufacture cheap commodities, to those who hand-stich leather gloves; these sell for extremely high prices.

♦
The merchant can be from the dilapidated old corner shop, selling cheap, outdated items. Or, he can be one of the extremely expensive shops in a big city somewhere.

Outcasts and Men of the Cloth

The aforementioned five classifications do not cover everyone in Japan. There is still a large section of the population that floats outside of this pyramid of power. The major external section is the “men of the cloth.” That is, anyone who is in a religious order. It is commonly believed that men and women of religious denominations were outside of the secular structure. They are thought to exist purely in the “spiritual” realm of monasteries and hermitages. However, this was, of course, far from the truth. Monks and their monasteries held vast amounts of political power. Some of these places of worship were indescribably vast military complexes. Some monks were extremely militaristic. Also, the nobility—the emperor and the noble families—were outside of this system.

Outcasts were known by two basic names but the distinction is not always so clear.