The Way of the Samurai

Introduction

First published in 1900, Inazo Nitobe’s classic exposition of the ‘Way of the Samurai’ was written at a time when Japan was undergoing a profound transformation as it emerged from the feudalism and ‘closed doors’ seclusion of the Edo Period to become a modern nation. Originally written in English for Western readers and published under the title Bushido: The Soul of Japan, the present book was one of the first major works to offer an insightful account of the principles underlying the samurai tradition and the influential role these had played in the moulding of Japanese culture and the character of the Japanese people, both of which appeared alien to contemporary Western eyes. As such it was read by many influential foreigners, among whom may be counted President Theodore Roosevelt, President John F Kennedy and Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, who is said to have studied the educational techniques of bushido while writing Scouting For Boys.

Following its original publication in English, Nitobe’s book was subsequently translated into Japanese and many other languages and was influential in bringing the word ‘Bushido’ (meaning ‘the way of the samurai’) into common usage. The principles/ideals now widely known as Bushido had already begun to evolve by the 8th century AD, when the term bushi was used to refer to the educated warrior-poet ideal that later became synonymous with the samurai. This ancient ideal of the warrior-poet was encapsulated in the pictogram for the word uruwashii (an early term for samurai) which combined the characters for bun (literary study) and bu (military arts), whereas early usage of the word samurai (meaning ‘those who serve in close attendance to the nobility’) was reserved for a particular class or rank of public servant – it did not become associated with military men until several centuries later. A distinct aristocratic military class came into being in the late 12th century during the Kamakura Shogunate and evolved over subsequent centuries to fulfil the ideal expressed in the ancient saying Bun Bu Ryo Do – ‘literary arts and military arts in equal measure.’ Over time this aristocratic warrior or samurai class developed a distinctive culture of its own, which in turn influenced Japanese culture as a whole – the tea ceremony, monochrome ink painting, rock gardens and poetry were all inherited from the samurai. During the Edo or Tokugawa Period (1603–1868), Japan experienced a period of relative peace after centuries of clan wars, and it was during this peaceful period that the principles/ideals of Bushido were further refined by the aristocratic samurai class.

Inazo Nitobe’s own samurai heritage dates back to the late 12th century and the dawn of the Kamakura Era when, in keeping with feudal tradition, Yoritamo Minamoto awarded a new fief to Tsunehide Chiba for services rendered in battle. Chiba moved his family to Nitobe, which was part of his new domain, and five generations later the family changed its surname from Chiba to Nitobe. Subsequent defeats in battle and loss of land saw the Nitobes move to northern Japan at the beginning of the Edo Period, where they became vassals of the Nanbu family. In the 19th century, Koretami Nitobe (Inazo’s great-grandfather) wrote several works on Uesugi military strategy, while Inazo’s grandfather (Tsuto) and father (Jujiro) began work on the Inaoigawa irrigation canal which turned the previously barren region around present-day Towada into a productive rice-growing area – when the first rice plants (ine) appeared, the family celebrated by naming its newest addition ‘Inenosuke’ (later shortened to Inazo).

Bushido: The Way of the Samurai

As already mentioned, the present book was written at a time when Japan had only recently emerged from a prolonged period of feudalism. This had much in common with the feudalism of medieval Europe and Nitobe draws on their similarities to present the samurai as being, in many ways, the Japanese equivalent of the European knight or chevalier. But for Nitobe such references to the similarities between European and Japanese culture have an underlying purpose which he explains in his preface: ‘All through the discourse I have tried to illustrate whatever points I have made with parallel examples from European history and literature, believing that these will aid in bringing the subject nearer the comprehension of foreign readers.’ Having been born to a samurai family when feudalism was still in force, and having studied at universities in both Europe and the USA, Nitobe was uniquely qualified to make such parallel examples.

Nitobe defines Bushido as ‘the code of moral principles’ which the samurai ‘were required or instructed to observe. It is not a written code… It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career.’ In the course of this organic growth Bushido was influenced by a variety of sources, assimilating readily those that coincided closest with the innate character of the Japanese. A quick glance at the principal sources of Bushido outlined by Nitobe in Chapter 2 – Shintosim, Buddhism, Zen and the teachings of the Chinese philosophers Confucius and Mencius – suggests that the Way of the Samurai incorporated a strong spiritual element. Further evidence for this is to be found in the chapters dedicated to the moral qualities that moulded the character of the samurai – rectitude or justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, veracity or sincerity, honour, loyalty and self-control – for the genuine attainment of these qualities necessitates a diminution of the ego similar to that advocated by any spiritual path. By vowing to loyally serve his lord even if it meant losing his own life, the samurai freed himself from motives of self-interest or self-aggrandisement. The qualities listed above also served to mould the national character of the Japanese, especially in the emphasis based on customs of politeness, which could be somewhat perplexing for the many foreigners visiting Japan for the first time. In Chapter 6, Nitobe tells of the occasion when someone remarked that certain Japanese customs were ‘awfully funny.’ His ensuing explanation of the motivation behind several ‘awfully funny’ customs is enlightening as is his explanation in the same chapter of the spiritual significance of Cha-no-yu (the tea ceremony).

There were also certain Japanese customs that appeared to be far from funny to Western eyes, the principal one being the practice of seppuku (better known as hara-kiri), which means ‘self-immolation by disembowelment.’ In Chapter 12, Nitobe explains that ‘seppuku was not a mere suicide process. It was an institution, legal and ceremonial.’ Seppuku was obsolete by the time Nitobe wrote his book but he includes a lengthy eye-witness account of one such ceremony. Chapter 14 on the training and position of women in the samurai class may appear equally disturbing. Nitobe was aware that to Western eyes it would appear that samurai women were treated as inferior to men, but he explains that this was not the case – a woman was not ‘the slave of man,’ her role was ‘recognised as naijo, the inner-help.’

In the final chapter, Nitobe ponders the future of Bushido and draws the following conclusion:

Bushido as an independent code of ethics may vanish, but its power will not perish from the face of the earth; its schools of martial prowess or civic honour may be demolished, but its light and its glory will long survive their ruins.

Inazo Nitobe (1862–1933)

A distinguished agricultural economist, author, educator, diplomat and statesman, Inazo Nitobe was born in Morioka, in what is now the Iwate Prefecture. His father, Jujiro Nitobe, died when Inazo was only five years old and in 1869 he moved to Tokyo to live with his adoptive uncle, Tokitoshi Ota, to whom he dedicated the present book because he had taught him at an early age ‘to revere the past and to admire the deeds of the samurai.’ In 1877 Inazo entered the Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University) to study agriculture, a decision that was probably due to Emperor Meiji’s wish that the Nitobe family continue with their development of the once-barren land near present-day Towada. Sapporo had been founded the preceding year by William S Clark, former President of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, and Clark’s influence was such that some 30 or so students, including Inazo Nitobe, converted to Christianity.

In 1883, Nitobe began studying English literature and economics at Tokyo University but left within a year to continue his studies in the United States, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. While there he became a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), through whom he met his future wife, Mary Patterson Elkinton. From Baltimore he went to Halle University in Germany, where he gained a doctorate in agricultural economics, and then returned briefly to Philadelphia to marry Mary Elkinton before taking up an assistant professorship at Sapporo in 1891. Appointments to full professorships followed – first at Kyoto Imperial University and then at the Law Faculty at Tokyo Imperial University – and in 1918 he was appointed founding president of Tokyo Joshi Dai (Tokyo Women’s University).

In 1919 Nitobe attended the Paris Peace Conference and in the aftermath of World War I joined with other reform-minded Japanese in setting up the Japan Council of the Institute of Pacific Relations. In 1920 he moved to Geneva, Switzerland, to become one of the Under-Secretaries General of the newly established League of Nations. He also became a founding director of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (the precursor of UNESCO). On his retirement from the League of Nations he returned to Japan and served in the House of Peers in the Japanese Imperial Parliament where he spoke out against the increasing militarism of Japan. In 1933, he attended a conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations in Banff, Alberta. On his way home from the conference he succumbed to pneumonia and died in hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, at the age of 71.

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