,,bushido ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,japan ,,by ,,inazo ,,nitob1 ,a4,m41 ,ph4,d4 ,author's ,edition1 ,revised and ,enlarged #acth ,,edition #aijh ,,december1 #aijd ,,to ,,my ,,beloved ,,uncle ,,tokitoshi ,,ota ,,who ,,taught ,,me ,,to ,,revere ,,the ,,past ,,and ,,to ,,admire ,,the ,,deeds ,,of ,,the ,,samurai ,i ,,dedicate ,,this ,,little ,,book --8,that way ,over the mountain1 which who stands upon1 ,is apt to doubt if it be indeed a road2 ,while if he views it from the waste itself1 ,up goes the line there1 plain from base to brow1 ,not vague1 mistakable6 ,what's a break or two ,seen from the unbroken desert either side8 ,and then 7to bring in fresh philosophy7 ,what if the breaks themselves should prove at last ,the most consummate of contrivances ,to train a man's eye1 teach him what is faith80 --,,robert ,,browning1 ,bishop ,blougram's ,apology4 8,there are1 if ,i may so say1 three powerful spirits1 which have from time to time1 moved on the face of the waters1 and given a predominant impulse to the moral sentiments and energies of mankind4 ,these are the spirits of liberty1 of religion1 and of honor40 --,,hallam1 ,europe in the ,middle ,ages4 8,chivalry is itself the poetry of life40 --,,schlegel1 ,philosophy of ,history4 ,,preface ,about ten years ago1 while spending a few days under the hospitable roof of the distinguished ,belgian jurist1 the lamented ,m4 de ,laveleye1 our conversation turned1 during one of our rambles1 to the subject of religion4 8,do you mean to say10 asked the venerable professor1 8that you have no religious instruction in your schools80 ,on my replying in the negative he suddenly halted in astonishment1 and in a voice which ,i shall not easily forget1 he repeated 8,no religion6 ,how do you impart moral education80 ,the question stunned me at the time4 ,i could give no ready answer1 for the moral precepts ,i learned in my childhood days1 were not given in schools2 and not until ,i began to analyze the different elements that formed my notions of right and wrong1 did ,i find that it was ,bushido that breathed them into my nostrils4 ,the direct inception of this little book is due to the frequent queries put by my wife as to the reasons why such and such ideas and customs prevail in ,japan4 ,in my attempts to give satisfactory replies to ,m4 de ,laveleye and to my wife1 ,i found that without understanding ,feudalism and ,bushido1#a the moral ideas of present ,japan are a sealed volume4 ,footnote #a3 ,pronounced ,bo-shee-doh'4 ,in putting ,japanese words and names into ,english1 ,hepburn's rule is followed1 that the vowels should be used as in ,european languages1 and the consonants as in ,english4 ,taking advantage of enforced idleness on account of long illness1 ,i put down in the order now presented to the public some of the answers given in our household conversation4 ,they consist mainly of what ,i was taught and told in my youthful days1 when ,feudalism was still in force4 ,between ,lafcadio ,hearn and ,mrs4 ,hugh ,fraser on one side and ,sir ,ernest ,satow and ,professor ,chamberlain on the other1 it is indeed discouraging to write anything ,japanese in ,english4 ,the only advantage ,i have over them is that ,i can assume the attitude of a personal defendant1 while these distinguished writers are at best solicitors and attorneys4 ,i have often thought1--8,had ,i their gift of language1 ,i would present the cause of ,japan in more eloquent terms60 ,but one who speaks in a borrowed tongue should be thankful if he can just make himself intelligible4 ,all through the discourse ,i have tried to illustrate whatever points ,i have made with parallel examples from ,european history and literature1 believing that these will aid in bringing the subject nearer to the comprehension of foreign readers4 ,should any of my allusions to religious subjects and to religious workers be thought slighting1 ,i trust my attitude towards ,christianity itself will not be questioned4 ,it is with ecclesiastical methods and with the forms which obscure the teachings of ,christ1 and not with the teachings themselves1 that ,i have little sympathy4 ,i believe in the religion taught by ,him and handed down to us in the ,new ,testament1 as well as in the law written in the heart4 ,further1 ,i believe that ,god hath made a testament which maybe called 8old0 with every people and nation1--,gentile or ,jew1 ,christian or ,heathen4 ,as to the rest of my theology1 ,i need not impose upon the patience of the public4 ,in concluding this preface1 ,i wish to express my thanks to my friend ,anna ,c4 ,hartshorne for many valuable suggestions and for the characteristically ,japanese design made by her for the cover of this book4 ,,inazo ,,nitobe4 ,malvern1 ,pa41 ,twelfth ,month1 #ahii4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,tenth ,,and ,,revised ,,edition ,since its first publication in ,philadelphia1 more than six years ago1 this little book has had an unexpected history4 ,the ,japanese reprint has passed through eight editions1 the present thus being its tenth appearance in the ,english language4 ,simultaneously with this will be issued an ,american and ,english edition1 through the publishing-house of ,messrs4 ,george ,h4 ,putnam's ,sons1 of ,new ,york4 ,in the meantime1 ,bushido has been translated into ,mahratti by ,mr4 ,dev of ,khandesh1 into ,german by ,frulein ,kaufmann of ,hamburg1 into ,bohemian by ,mr4 ,hora of ,chicago1 into ,polish by the ,society of ,science and ,life in ,lemberg1--although this ,polish edition has been censured by the ,russian ,government4 ,it is now being rendered into ,norwegian and into ,french4 ,a ,chinese translation is under contemplation4 ,a ,russian officer1 now a prisoner in ,japan1 has a manuscript in ,russian ready for the press4 ,a part of the volume has been brought before the ,hungarian public and a detailed review1 almost amounting to a commentary1 has been published in ,japanese4 ,full scholarly notes for the help of younger students have been compiled by my friend ,mr4 ,h4 ,sakurai1 to whom ,i also owe much for his aid in other ways4 ,i have been more than gratified to feel that my humble work has found sympathetic readers in widely separated circles1 showing that the subject matter is of some interest to the world at large4 ,exceedingly flattering is the news that has reached me from official sources1 that ,president ,roosevelt has done it undeserved honor by reading it and distributing several dozens of copies among his friends4 ,in making emendations and additions for the present edition1 ,i have largely confined them to concrete examples4 ,i still continue to regret1 as ,i indeed have never ceased to do1 my inability to add a chapter on ,filial ,piety1 which is considered one of the two wheels of the chariot of ,japanese ethics--,loyalty being the other4 ,my inability is due rather to my ignorance of the ,western sentiment in regard to this particular virtue1 than to ignorance of our own attitude towards it1 and ,i cannot draw comparisons satisfying to my own mind4 ,i hope one day to enlarge upon this and other topics at some length4 ,all the subjects that are touched upon in these pages are capable of further amplification and discussion2 but ,i do not now see my way clear to make this volume larger than it is4 ,this ,preface would be incomplete and unjust1 if ,i were to omit the debt ,i owe to my wife for her reading of the proof-sheets1 for helpful suggestions1 and1 above all1 for her constant encouragement4 ,i4 ,n4 ,kyoto1 ,fifth ,month twenty-second1 #aije4 ,,contents ,bushido as an ,ethical ,system ,sources of ,bushido ,rectitude or ,justice ,courage1 the ,spirit of ,daring and ,bearing ,benevolence1 the ,feeling of ,distress ,politeness ,veracity or ,truthfulness ,honor ,the ,duty of ,loyalty ,education and ,training of a ,samurai ,self-,control ,the ,institutions of ,suicide and ,redress ,the ,sword1 the ,soul of the ,samurai ,the ,training and ,position of ,woman ,the ,influence of ,bushido ,is ,bushido ,still ,alive8 ,the ,future of ,bushido ,,bushido ,,as ,,an ,,ethical ,,system4 ,chivalry is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of ,japan than its emblem1 the cherry blossom2 nor is it a dried-up specimen of an antique virtue preserved in the herbarium of our history4 ,it is still a living object of power and beauty among us2 and if it assumes no tangible shape or form1 it not the less scents the moral atmosphere1 and makes us aware that we are still under its potent spell4 ,the conditions of society which brought it forth and nourished it have long disappeared2 but as those far-off stars which once were and are not1 still continue to shed their rays upon us1 so the light of chivalry1 which was a child of feudalism1 still illuminates our moral path1 surviving its mother institution4 ,it is a pleasure to me to reflect upon this subject in the language of ,burke1 who uttered the well-known touching eulogy over the neglected bier of its ,european prototype4 ,it argues a sad defect of information concerning the ,far ,east1 when so erudite a scholar as ,dr4 ,george ,miller did not hesitate to affirm that chivalry1 or any other similar institution1 has never existed either among the nations of antiquity or among the modern ,orientals4#b ,such ignorance1 however1 is amply excusable1 as the third edition of the good ,doctor's work appeared the same year that ,commodore ,perry was knocking at the portals of our exclusivism4 ,more than a decade later1 about the time that our feudalism was in the last throes of existence1 ,carl ,marx1 writing his 8,capital10 called the attention of his readers to the peculiar advantage of studying the social and political institutions of feudalism1 as then to be seen in living form only in ,japan4 ,i would likewise invite the ,western historical and ethical student to the study of chivalry in the ,japan of the present4 ,footnote #b3 ,history ,philosophically ,illustrated1 7#crd ,ed4 #ahec71 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #b4 ,enticing as is a historical disquisition on the comparison between ,european and ,japanese feudalism and chivalry1 it is not the purpose of this paper to enter into it at length4 ,my attempt is rather to relate1 firstly1 the origin and sources of our chivalry2 secondly1 its character and teaching2 thirdly1 its influence among the masses2 and1 fourthly1 the continuity and permanence of its influence4 ,of these several points1 the first will be only brief and cursory1 or else ,i should have to take my readers into the devious paths of our national history2 the second will be dwelt upon at greater length1 as being most likely to interest students of ,international ,ethics and ,comparative ,ethology in our ways of thought and action2 and the rest will be dealt with as corollaries4 ,the ,japanese word which ,i have roughly rendered ,chivalry1 is1 in the original1 more expressive than ,horsemanship4 ,bu-shi-do means literally ,military-,knight-,ways--the ways which fighting nobles should observe in their daily life as well as in their vocation2 in a word1 the 8,precepts of ,knighthood10 the noblesse oblige of the warrior class4 ,having thus given its literal significance1 ,i may be allowed henceforth to use the word in the original4 ,the use of the original term is also advisable for this reason1 that a teaching so circumscribed and unique1 engendering a cast of mind and character so peculiar1 so local1 must wear the badge of its singularity on its face2 then1 some words have a national timbre so expressive of race characteristics that the best of translators can do them but scant justice1 not to say positive injustice and grievance4 ,who can improve by translation what the ,german 8,gemth0 signifies1 or who does not feel the difference between the two words verbally so closely allied as the ,english gentleman and the ,french gentilhomme8 ,bushido1 then1 is the code of moral principles which the knights were required or instructed to observe4 ,it is not a written code2 at best it consists of a few maxims handed down from mouth to mouth or coming from the pen of some well-known warrior or savant4 ,more frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten1 possessing all the more the powerful sanction of veritable deed1 and of a law written on the fleshly tablets of the heart4 ,it was founded not on the creation of one brain1 however able1 or on the life of a single personage1 however renowned4 ,it was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career4 ,it1 perhaps1 fills the same position in the history of ethics that the ,english ,constitution does in political history2 yet it has had nothing to compare with the ,magna ,charta or the ,habeas ,corpus ,act4 ,true1 early in the seventeenth century ,military ,statutes 7,buk ,hatto7 were promulgated2 but their thirteen short articles were taken up mostly with marriages1 castles1 leagues1 etc41 and didactic regulations were but meagerly touched upon4 ,we cannot1 therefore1 point out any definite time and place and say1 8,here is its fountain head40 ,only as it attains consciousness in the feudal age1 its origin1 in respect to time1 may be identified with feudalism4 ,but feudalism itself is woven of many threads1 and ,bushido shares its intricate nature4 ,as in ,england the political institutions of feudalism may be said to date from the ,norman ,conquest1 so we may say that in ,japan its rise was simultaneous with the ascendency of ,yoritomo1 late in the twelfth century4 ,as1 however1 in ,england1 we find the social elements of feudalism far back in the period previous to ,william the ,conqueror1 so1 too1 the germs of feudalism in ,japan had been long existent before the period ,i have mentioned4 ,again1 in ,japan as in ,europe1 when feudalism was formally inaugurated1 the professional class of warriors naturally came into prominence4 ,these were known as samurai1 meaning literally1 like the old ,english cniht 7knecht1 knight71 guards or attendants--resembling in character the soldurii whom ,csar mentioned as existing in ,aquitania1 or the comitati1 who1 according to ,tacitus1 followed ,germanic chiefs in his time2 or1 to take a still later parallel1 the milites medii that one reads about in the history of ,medival ,europe4 ,a ,sinico-,japanese word ,bu-k or ,bu-shi 7,fighting ,knights7 was also adopted in common use4 ,they were a privileged class1 and must originally have been a rough breed who made fighting their vocation4 ,this class was naturally recruited1 in a long period of constant warfare1 from the manliest and the most adventurous1 and all the while the process of elimination went on1 the timid and the feeble being sorted out1 and only 8a rude race1 all masculine1 with brutish strength10 to borrow ,emerson's phrase1 surviving to form families and the ranks of the samurai4 ,coming to profess great honor and great privileges1 and correspondingly great responsibilities1 they soon felt the need of a common standard of behavior1 especially as they were always on a belligerent footing and belonged to different clans4 ,just as physicians limit competition among themselves by professional courtesy1 just as lawyers sit in courts of honor in cases of violated etiquette1 so must also warriors possess some resort for final judgment on their misdemeanors4 ,fair play in fight6 ,what fertile germs of morality lie in this primitive sense of savagery and childhood4 ,is it not the root of all military and civic virtues8 ,we smile 7as if we had outgrown it67 at the boyish desire of the small ,britisher1 ,tom ,brown1 8to leave behind him the name of a fellow who never bullied a little boy or turned his back on a big one40 ,and yet1 who does not know that this desire is the corner-stone on which moral structures of mighty dimensions can be reared8 ,may ,i not go even so far as to say that the gentlest and most peace-loving of religions endorses this aspiration8 ,this desire of ,tom's is the basis on which the greatness of ,england is largely built1 and it will not take us long to discover that ,bushido does not stand on a lesser pedestal4 ,if fighting in itself1 be it offensive or defensive1 is1 as ,quakers rightly testify1 brutal and wrong1 we can still say with ,lessing1 8,we know from what failings our virtue springs40#c 8,sneaks0 and 8cowards0 are epithets of the worst opprobrium to healthy1 simple natures4 ,childhood begins life with these notions1 and knighthood also2 but1 as life grows larger and its relations many-sided1 the early faith seeks sanction from higher authority and more rational sources for its own justification1 satisfaction and development4 ,if military interests had operated alone1 without higher moral support1 how far short of chivalry would the ideal of knighthood have fallen6 ,in ,europe1 ,christianity1 interpreted with concessions convenient to chivalry1 infused it nevertheless with spiritual data4 8,religion1 war and glory were the three souls of a perfect ,christian knight10 says ,lamartine4 ,in ,japan there were several ,,sources ,,of ,,bushido1 of which ,i may begin with ,buddhism4 ,it furnished a sense of calm trust in ,fate1 a quiet submission to the inevitable1 that stoic composure in sight of danger or calamity1 that disdain of life and friendliness with death4 ,a foremost teacher of swordsmanship1 when he saw his pupil master the utmost of his art1 told him1 8,beyond this my instruction must give way to ,zen teaching40 8,zen0 is the ,japanese equivalent for the ,dhyna1 which 8represents human effort to reach through meditation zones of thought beyond the range of verbal expression40#d ,its method is contemplation1 and its purport1 as far as ,i understand it1 to be convinced of a principle that underlies all phenomena1 and1 if it can1 of the ,absolute itself1 and thus to put oneself in harmony with this ,absolute4 ,thus defined1 the teaching was more than the dogma of a sect1 and whoever attains to the perception of the ,absolute raises himself above mundane things and awakes1 8to a new ,heaven and a new ,earth40 ,footnote #c3 ,ruskin was one of the most gentle-hearted and peace loving men that ever lived4 ,yet he believed in war with all the fervor of a worshiper of the strenuous life4 8,when ,i tell you10 he says in the ,crown of ,wild ,olive1 8that war is the foundation of all the arts1 ,i mean also that it is the foundation of all the high virtues and faculties of men4 ,it is very strange to me to discover this1 and very dreadful1 but ,i saw it to be quite an undeniable fact4 99 99 99 ,i found in brief1 that all great nations learned their truth of word and strength of thought in war2 that they were nourished in war and wasted by peace1 taught by war and deceived by peace2 trained by war and betrayed by peace2 in a word1 that they were born in war and expired in peace40 ,footnote #d3 ,lafcadio ,hearn1 ,exotics and ,retrospectives1 p4 #hd4 ,what ,buddhism failed to give1 ,shintoism offered in abundance4 ,such loyalty to the sovereign1 such reverence for ancestral memory1 and such filial piety as are not taught by any other creed1 were inculcated by the ,shinto doctrines1 imparting passivity to the otherwise arrogant character of the samurai4 ,shinto theology has no place for the dogma of 8original sin40 ,on the contrary1 it believes in the innate goodness and ,god-like purity of the human soul1 adoring it as the adytum from which divine oracles are proclaimed4 ,everybody has observed that the ,shinto shrines are conspicuously devoid of objects and instruments of worship1 and that a plain mirror hung in the sanctuary forms the essential part of its furnishing4 ,the presence of this article is easy to explain3 it typifies the human heart1 which1 when perfectly placid and clear1 reflects the very image of the ,deity4 ,when you stand1 therefore1 in front of the shrine to worship1 you see your own image reflected on its shining surface1 and the act of worship is tantamount to the old ,delphic injunction1 8,know ,thyself40 ,but self-knowledge does not imply1 either in the ,greek or ,japanese teaching1 knowledge of the physical part of man1 not his anatomy or his psycho-physics2 knowledge was to be of a moral kind1 the introspection of our moral nature4 ,mommsen1 comparing the ,greek and the ,roman1 says that when the former worshiped he raised his eyes to heaven1 for his prayer was contemplation1 while the latter veiled his head1 for his was reflection4 ,essentially like the ,roman conception of religion1 our reflection brought into prominence not so much the moral as the national consciousness of the individual4 ,its nature-worship endeared the country to our inmost souls1 while its ancestor-worship1 tracing from lineage to lineage1 made the ,imperial family the fountain-head of the whole nation4 ,to us the country is more than land and soil from which to mine gold or to reap grain--it is the sacred abode of the gods1 the spirits of our forefathers3 to us the ,emperor is more than the ,arch ,constable of a ,rechtsstaat1 or even the ,patron of a ,culturstaat--he is the bodily representative of ,heaven on earth1 blending in his person its power and its mercy4 ,if what ,m4 ,boutmy#e says is true of ,english royalty--that it 8is not only the image of authority1 but the author and symbol of national unity10 as ,i believe it to be1 doubly and trebly may this be affirmed of royalty in ,japan4 ,footnote #e3 ,the ,english ,people1 p4 #ahh4 ,the tenets of ,shintoism cover the two predominating features of the emotional life of our race--,patriotism and ,loyalty4 ,arthur ,may ,knapp very truly says3 8,in ,hebrew literature it is often difficult to tell whether the writer is speaking of ,god or of the ,commonwealth2 of heaven or of ,jerusalem2 of the ,messiah or of the nation itself40#f ,a similar confusion may be noticed in the nomenclature of our national faith4 ,i said confusion1 because it will be so deemed by a logical intellect on account of its verbal ambiguity2 still1 being a framework of national instinct and race feelings1 ,shintoism never pretends to a systematic philosophy or a rational theology4 ,this religion--or1 is it not more correct to say1 the race emotions which this religion expressed8--thoroughly imbued ,bushido with loyalty to the sovereign and love of country4 ,these acted more as impulses than as doctrines2 for ,shintoism1 unlike the ,medival ,christian ,church1 prescribed to its votaries scarcely any credenda1 furnishing them at the same time with agenda of a straightforward and simple type4 ,footnote #f3 8,feudal and ,modern ,japan0 ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #ahc4 ,as to strictly ethical doctrines1 the teachings of ,confucius were the most prolific source of ,bushido4 ,his enunciation of the five moral relations between master and servant 7the governing and the governed71 father and son1 husband and wife1 older and younger brother1 and between friend and friend1 was but a confirmation of what the race instinct had recognized before his writings were introduced from ,china4 ,the calm1 benignant1 and worldly-wise character of his politico-ethical precepts was particularly well suited to the samurai1 who formed the ruling class4 ,his aristocratic and conservative tone was well adapted to the requirements of these warrior statesmen4 ,next to ,confucius1 ,mencius exercised an immense authority over ,bushido4 ,his forcible and often quite democratic theories were exceedingly taking to sympathetic natures1 and they were even thought dangerous to1 and subversive of1 the existing social order1 hence his works were for a long time under censure4 ,still1 the words of this master mind found permanent lodgment in the heart of the samurai4 ,the writings of ,confucius and ,mencius formed the principal text-books for youths and the highest authority in discussion among the old4 ,a mere acquaintance with the classics of these two sages was held1 however1 in no high esteem4 ,a common proverb ridicules one who has only an intellectual knowledge of ,confucius1 as a man ever studious but ignorant of ,analects4 ,a typical samurai calls a literary savant a book-smelling sot4 ,another compares learning to an ill-smelling vegetable that must be boiled and boiled before it is fit for use4 ,a man who has read a little smells a little pedantic1 and a man who has read much smells yet more so2 both are alike unpleasant4 ,the writer meant thereby that knowledge becomes really such only when it is assimilated in the mind of the learner and shows in his character4 ,an intellectual specialist was considered a machine4 ,intellect itself was considered subordinate to ethical emotion4 ,man and the universe were conceived to be alike spiritual and ethical4 ,bushido could not accept the judgment of ,huxley1 that the cosmic process was unmoral4 ,bushido made light of knowledge as such4 ,it was not pursued as an end in itself1 but as a means to the attainment of wisdom4 ,hence1 he who stopped short of this end was regarded no higher than a convenient machine1 which could turn out poems and maxims at bidding4 ,thus1 knowledge was conceived as identical with its practical application in life2 and this ,socratic doctrine found its greatest exponent in the ,chinese philosopher1 ,wan ,yang ,ming1 who never wearies of repeating1 8,to know and to act are one and the same40 ,i beg leave for a moment's digression while ,i am on this subject1 inasmuch as some of the noblest types of bushi were strongly influenced by the teachings of this sage4 ,western readers will easily recognize in his writings many parallels to the ,new ,testament4 ,making allowance for the terms peculiar to either teaching1 the passage1 8,seek ye first the kingdom of ,god and his righteousness2 and all these things shall be added unto you10 conveys a thought that may be found on almost any page of ,wan ,yang ,ming4 ,a ,japanese disciple#g of his says--8,the lord of heaven and earth1 of all living beings1 dwelling in the heart of man1 becomes his mind 7,kokoro72 hence a mind is a living thing1 and is ever luminous30 and again1 8,the spiritual light of our essential being is pure1 and is not affected by the will of man4 ,spontaneously springing up in our mind1 it shows what is right and wrong3 it is then called conscience2 it is even the light that proceedeth from the god of heaven40 ,how very much do these words sound like some passages from ,isaac ,pennington or other philosophic mystics6 ,i am inclined to think that the ,japanese mind1 as expressed in the simple tenets of the ,shinto religion1 was particularly open to the reception of ,yang ,ming's precepts4 ,he carried his doctrine of the infallibility of conscience to extreme transcendentalism1 attributing to it the faculty to perceive1 not only the distinction between right and wrong1 but also the nature of psychical facts and physical phenomena4 ,he went as far as1 if not farther than1 ,berkeley and ,fichte1 in ,idealism1 denying the existence of things outside of human ken4 ,if his system had all the logical errors charged to ,solipsism1 it had all the efficacy of strong conviction and its moral import in developing individuality of character and equanimity of temper cannot be gainsaid4 ,footnote #g3 ,miwa ,shissai4 ,thus1 whatever the sources1 the essential principles which ,bushido imbibed from them and assimilated to itself1 were few and simple4 ,few and simple as these were1 they were sufficient to furnish a safe conduct of life even through the unsafest days of the most unsettled period of our nation's history4 ,the wholesome1 unsophisticated nature of our warrior ancestors derived ample food for their spirit from a sheaf of commonplace and fragmentary teachings1 gleaned as it were on the highways and byways of ancient thought1 and1 stimulated by the demands of the age1 formed from these gleanings anew and unique type of manhood4 ,an acute ,french savant1 ,m4 de la ,mazelire1 thus sums up his impressions of the sixteenth century3--8,toward the middle of the sixteenth century1 all is confusion in ,japan1 in the government1 in society1 in the church4 ,but the civil wars1 the manners returning to barbarism1 the necessity for each to execute justice for himself1--these formed men comparable to those ,italians of the sixteenth century1 in whom ,taine praises #8the vigorous initiative1 the habit of sudden resolutions and desperate undertakings1 the grand capacity to do and to suffer4' ,in ,japan as in ,italy #8the rude manners of the ,middle ,ages made of man a superb animal1 wholly militant and wholly resistant4' ,and this is why the sixteenth century displays in the highest degree the principal quality of the ,japanese race1 that great diversity which one finds there between minds 7esprits7 as well as between temperaments4 ,while in ,india and even in ,china men seem to differ chiefly in degree of energy or intelligence1 in ,japan they differ by originality of character as well4 ,now1 individuality is the sign of superior races and of civilizations already developed4 ,if we make use of an expression dear to ,nietzsche1 we might say that in ,asia1 to speak of humanity is to speak of its plains2 in ,japan as in ,europe1 one represents it above all by its mountains40 ,to the pervading characteristics of the men of whom ,m4 de la ,mazelire writes1 let us now address ourselves4 ,i shall begin with ,,rectitude ,,or ,,justice1 the most cogent precept in the code of the samurai4 ,nothing is more loathsome to him than underhand dealings and crooked undertakings4 ,the conception of ,rectitude may be erroneous--it may be narrow4 ,a well-known bushi defines it as a power of resolution2--8,rectitude is the power of deciding upon a certain course of conduct in accordance with reason1 without wavering2--to die when it is right to die1 to strike when to strike is right40 ,another speaks of it in the following terms3 8,rectitude is the bone that gives firmness and stature4 ,as without bones the head cannot rest on the top of the spine1 nor hands move nor feet stand1 so without rectitude neither talent nor learning can make of a human frame a samurai4 ,with it the lack of accomplishments is as nothing40 ,mencius calls ,benevolence man's mind1 and ,rectitude or ,righteousness his path4 8,how lamentable10 he exclaims1 8is it to neglect the path and not pursue it1 to lose the mind and not know to seek it again6 ,when men's fowls and dogs are lost1 they know to seek for them again1 but they lose their mind and do not know to seek for it40 ,have we not here 8as in a glass darkly0 a parable propounded three hundred years later in another clime and by a greater ,teacher1 who called ,himself the ,way of ,righteousness1 through whom the lost could be found8 ,but ,i stray from my point4 ,righteousness1 according to ,mencius1 is a straight and narrow path which a man ought to take to regain the lost paradise4 ,even in the latter days of feudalism1 when the long continuance of peace brought leisure into the life of the warrior class1 and with it dissipations of all kinds and gentle accomplishments1 the epithet ,gishi 7a man of rectitude7 was considered superior to any name that signified mastery of learning or art4 ,the ,forty-seven ,faithfuls--of whom so much is made in our popular education--are known in common parlance as the ,forty-seven ,gishi4 ,in times when cunning artifice was liable to pass for military tact and downright falsehood for ruse de guerre1 this manly virtue1 frank and honest1 was a jewel that shone the brightest and was most highly praised4 ,rectitude is a twin brother to ,valor1 another martial virtue4 ,but before proceeding to speak of ,valor1 let me linger a little while on what ,i may term a derivation from ,rectitude1 which1 at first deviating slightly from its original1 became more and more removed from it1 until its meaning was perverted in the popular acceptance4 ,i speak of ,gi-ri1 literally the ,right ,reason1 but which came in time to mean a vague sense of duty which public opinion expected an incumbent to fulfil4 ,in its original and unalloyed sense1 it meant duty1 pure and simple1--hence1 we speak of the ,giri we owe to parents1 to superiors1 to inferiors1 to society at large1 and so forth4 ,in these instances ,giri is duty2 for what else is duty than what ,right ,reason demands and commands us to do4 ,should not ,right ,reason be our categorical imperative8 ,giri primarily meant no more than duty1 and ,i dare say its etymology was derived from the fact that in our conduct1 say to our parents1 though love should be the only motive1 lacking that1 there must be some other authority to enforce filial piety2 and they formulated this authority in ,giri4 ,very rightly did they formulate this authority--,giri--since if love does not rush to deeds of virtue1 recourse must be had to man's intellect and his reason must be quickened to convince him of the necessity of acting aright4 ,the same is true of any other moral obligation4 ,the instant ,duty becomes onerous1 ,right ,reason steps in to prevent our shirking it4 ,giri thus understood is a severe taskmaster1 with a birch-rod in his hand to make sluggards perform their part4 ,it is a secondary power in ethics2 as a motive it is infinitely inferior to the ,christian doctrine of love1 which should be the law4 ,i deem it a product of the conditions of an artificial society--of a society in which accident of birth and unmerited favour instituted class distinctions1 in which the family was the social unit1 in which seniority of age was of more account than superiority of talents1 in which natural affections had often to succumb before arbitrary man-made customs4 ,because of this very artificiality1 ,giri in time degenerated into a vague sense of propriety called up to explain this and sanction that1--as1 for example1 why a mother must1 if need be1 sacrifice all her other children in order to save the first-born2 or why a daughter must sell her chastity to get funds to pay for the father's dissipation1 and the like4 ,starting as ,right ,reason1 ,giri has1 in my opinion1 often stooped to casuistry4 ,it has even degenerated into cowardly fear of censure4 ,i might say of ,giri what ,scott wrote of patriotism1 that 8as it is the fairest1 so it is often the most suspicious1 mask of other feelings40 ,carried beyond or below ,right ,reason1 ,giri became a monstrous misnomer4 ,it harbored under its wings every sort of sophistry and hypocrisy4 ,it might easily have been turned into a nest of cowardice1 if ,bushido had not a keen and correct sense of ,,courage1 ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,daring ,,and ,,bearing1 to the consideration of which we shall now return4 ,courage was scarcely deemed worthy to be counted among virtues1 unless it was exercised in the cause of ,righteousness4 ,in his 8,analects0 ,confucius defines ,courage by explaining1 as is often his wont1 what its negative is4 8,perceiving what is right10 he says1 8and doing it not1 argues lack of courage40 ,put this epigram into a positive statement1 and it runs1 8,courage is doing what is right40 ,to run all kinds of hazards1 to jeopardize one's self1 to rush into the jaws of death--these are too often identified with ,valor1 and in the profession of arms such rashness of conduct--what ,shakespeare calls1 8valor misbegot0--is unjustly applauded2 but not so in the ,precepts of ,knighthood4 ,death for a cause unworthy of dying for1 was called a 8dog's death40 8,to rush into the thick of battle and to be slain in it10 says a ,prince of ,mito1 8is easy enough1 and the merest churl is equal to the task2 but10 he continues1 8it is true courage to live when it is right to live1 and to die only when it is right to die10 and yet the ,prince had not even heard of the name of ,plato1 who defines courage as 8the knowledge of things that a man should fear and that he should not fear40 ,a distinction which is made in the ,west between moral and physical courage has long been recognized among us4 ,what samurai youth has not heard of 8,great ,valor0 and the 8,valor of a ,villein80 ,valor1 ,fortitude1 ,bravery1 ,fearlessness1 ,courage1 being the qualities of soul which appeal most easily to juvenile minds1 and which can be trained by exercise and example1 were1 so to speak1 the most popular virtues1 early emulated among the youth4 ,stories of military exploits were repeated almost before boys left their mother's breast4 ,does a little booby cry for any ache8 ,the mother scolds him in this fashion3 8,what a coward to cry for a trifling pain6 ,what will you do when your arm is cut off in battle8 ,what when you are called upon to commit harakiri80 ,we all know the pathetic fortitude of a famished little boy-prince of ,sendai1 who in the drama is made to say to his little page1 8,seest thou those tiny sparrows in the nest1 how their yellow bills are opened wide1 and now see6 there comes their mother with worms to feed them4 ,how eagerly and happily the little ones eat6 but for a samurai1 when his stomach is empty1 it is a disgrace to feel hunger40 ,anecdotes of fortitude and bravery abound in nursery tales1 though stories of this kind are not by any means the only method of early imbuing the spirit with daring and fearlessness4 ,parents1 with sternness sometimes verging on cruelty1 set their children to tasks that called forth all the pluck that was in them4 8,bears hurl their cubs down the gorge10 they said4 ,samurai's sons were let down the steep valleys of hardship1 and spurred to ,sisyphus-like tasks4 ,occasional deprivation of food or exposure to cold1 was considered a highly efficacious test for inuring them to endurance4 ,children of tender age were sent among utter strangers with some message to deliver1 were made to rise before the sun1 and before breakfast attend to their reading exercises1 walking to their teacher with bare feet in the cold of winter2 they frequently--once or twice a month1 as on the festival of a god of learning1--came together in small groups and passed the night without sleep1 in reading aloud by turns4 ,pilgrimages to all sorts of uncanny places--to execution grounds1 to graveyards1 to houses reputed to be haunted1 were favorite pastimes of the young4 ,in the days when decapitation was public1 not only were small boys sent to witness the ghastly scene1 but they were made to visit alone the place in the darkness of night and there to leave a mark of their visit on the trunkless head4 ,does this ultra-,spartan system of 8drilling the nerves0 strike the modern pedagogist with horror and doubt--doubt whether the tendency would not be brutalizing1 nipping in the bud the tender emotions of the heart8 ,let us see what other concepts ,bushido had of ,valor4 ,the spiritual aspect of valor is evidenced by composure--calm presence of mind4 ,tranquillity is courage in repose4 ,it is a statical manifestation of valor1 as daring deeds are a dynamical4 ,a truly brave man is ever serene2 he is never taken by surprise2 nothing ruffles the equanimity of his spirit4 ,in the heat of battle he remains cool2 in the midst of catastrophes he keeps level his mind4 ,earthquakes do not shake him1 he laughs at storms4 ,we admire him as truly great1 who1 in the menacing presence of danger or death1 retains his self-possession2 who1 for instance1 can compose a poem under impending peril or hum a strain in the face of death4 ,such indulgence betraying no tremor in the writing or in the voice1 is taken as an infallible index of a large nature--of what we call a capacious mind 7yoy71 which1 for from being pressed or crowded1 has always room for something more4 ,it passes current among us as a piece of authentic history1 that as ta ,dokan1 the great builder of the castle of ,tokyo1 was pierced through with a spear1 his assassin1 knowing the poetical predilection of his victim1 accompanied his thrust with this couplet-- 8,ah6 how in moments like these ,our heart doth grudge the light of life20 whereupon the expiring hero1 not one whit daunted by the mortal wound in his side1 added the lines-- 8,had not in hours of peace1 ,it learned to lightly look on life40 ,there is even a sportive element in a courageous nature4 ,things which are serious to ordinary people1 may be but play to the valiant4 ,hence in old warfare it was not at all rare for the parties to a conflict to exchange repartee or to begin a rhetorical contest4 ,combat was not solely a matter of brute force2 it was1 as well1 an intellectual engagement4 ,of such character was the battle fought on the bank of the ,koromo ,river1 late in the eleventh century4 ,the eastern army routed1 its leader1 ,sadato1 took to flight4 ,when the pursuing general pressed him hard and called aloud--8,it is a disgrace for a warrior to show his back to the enemy10 ,sadato reined his horse2 upon this the conquering chief shouted an impromptu verse-- 8,torn into shreds is the warp of the cloth0 7koromo74 ,scarcely had the words escaped his lips when the defeated warrior1 undismayed1 completed the couplet-- 8,since age has worn its threads by use40 ,yoshiie1 whose bow had all the while been bent1 suddenly unstrung it and turned away1 leaving his prospective victim to do as he pleased4 ,when asked the reason of his strange behavior1 he replied that he could not bear to put to shame one who had kept his presence of mind while hotly pursued by his enemy4 ,the sorrow which overtook ,antony and ,octavius at the death of ,brutus1 has been the general experience of brave men4 ,kenshin1 who fought for fourteen years with ,shingen1 when he heard of the latter's death1 wept aloud at the loss of 8the best of enemies40 ,it was this same ,kenshin who had set a noble example for all time1 in his treatment of ,shingen1 whose provinces lay in a mountainous region quite away from the sea1 and who had consequently depended upon the ,hj provinces of the ,tokaido for salt4 ,the ,hj prince wishing to weaken him1 although not openly at war with him1 had cut off from ,shingen all traffic in this important article4 ,kenshin1 hearing of his enemy's dilemma and able to obtain his salt from the coast of his own dominions1 wrote ,shingen that in his opinion the ,hj lord had committed a very mean act1 and that although he 7,kenshin7 was at war with him 7,shingen7 he had ordered his subjects to furnish him with plenty of salt--adding1 8,i do not fight with salt1 but with the sword10 affording more than a parallel to the words of ,camillus1 8,we ,romans do not fight with gold1 but with iron40 ,nietzsche spoke for the samurai heart when he wrote1 8,you are to be proud of your enemy2 then1 the success of your enemy is your success also40 ,indeed valor and honor alike required that we should own as enemies in war only such as prove worthy of being friends in peace4 ,when valor attains this height1 it becomes akin to ,,benevolence1 ,,the ,,feeling ,,of ,,distress1 love1 magnanimity1 affection for others1 sympathy and pity1 which were ever recognized to be supreme virtues1 the highest of all the attributes of the human soul4 ,benevolence was deemed a princely virtue in a twofold sense2--princely among the manifold attributes of a noble spirit2 princely as particularly befitting a princely profession4 ,we needed no ,shakespeare to feel--though1 perhaps1 like the rest of the world1 we needed him to express it--that mercy became a monarch better than his crown1 that it was above his sceptered sway4 ,how often both ,confucius and ,mencius repeat the highest requirement of a ruler of men to consist in benevolence4 ,confucius would say1 8,let but a prince cultivate virtue1 people will flock to him2 with people will come to him lands2 lands will bring forth for him wealth2 wealth will give him the benefit of right uses4 ,virtue is the root1 and wealth an outcome40 ,again1 8,never has there been a case of a sovereign loving benevolence1 and the people not loving righteousness10 ,mencius follows close at his heels and says1 8,instances are on record where individuals attained to supreme power in a single state1 without benevolence1 but never have ,i heard of a whole empire falling into the hands of one who lacked this virtue40 ,also1--8,it is impossible that any one should become ruler of the people to whom they have not yielded the subjection of their hearts40 ,both defined this indispensable requirement in a ruler by saying1 8,benevolence--,benevolence is ,man40 ,under the rgime of feudalism1 which could easily be perverted into militarism1 it was to ,benevolence that we owed our deliverance from despotism of the worst kind4 ,an utter surrender of 8life and limb0 on the part of the governed would have left nothing for the governing but self-will1 and this has for its natural consequence the growth of that absolutism so often called 8oriental despotism10--as though there were no despots of occidental history6 ,let it be far from me to uphold despotism of any sort2 but it is a mistake to identify feudalism with it4 ,when ,frederick the ,great wrote that 8,kings are the first servants of the ,state10 jurists thought rightly that a new era was reached in the development of freedom4 ,strangely coinciding in time1 in the backwoods of ,north-western ,japan1 ,yozan of ,yonzawa made exactly the same declaration1 showing that feudalism was not all tyranny and oppression4 ,a feudal prince1 although unmindful of owing reciprocal obligations to his vassals1 felt a higher sense of responsibility to his ancestors and to ,heaven4 ,he was a father to his subjects1 whom ,heaven entrusted to his care4 ,in a sense not usually assigned to the term1 ,bushido accepted and corroborated paternal government--paternal also as opposed to the less interested avuncular government 7,uncle ,sam's1 to wit674 ,the difference between a despotic and a paternal government lies in this1 that in the one the people obey reluctantly1 while in the other they do so with 8that proud submission1 that dignified obedience1 that subordination of heart which kept alive1 even in servitude itself1 the spirit of exalted freedom40#h ,the old saying is not entirely false which called the king of ,england the 8king of devils1 because of his subjects' often insurrections against1 and depositions of1 their princes10 and which made the ,french monarch the 8king of asses1 because of their infinite taxes and impositions10 but which gave the title of 8the king of men0 to the sovereign of ,spain 8because of his subjects' willing obedience40 ,but enough6-- ,footnote #h3 ,burke1 ,french ,revolution4 ,virtue and absolute power may strike the ,anglo-,saxon mind as terms which it is impossible to harmonize4 ,pobyedonostseff has clearly set before us the contrast in the foundations of ,english and other ,european communities2 namely that these were organized on the basis of common interest1 while that was distinguished by a strongly developed independent personality4 ,what this ,russian statesman says of the personal dependence of individuals on some social alliance and in the end of ends of the ,state1 among the continental nations of ,europe and particularly among ,slavonic peoples1 is doubly true of the ,japanese4 ,hence not only is a free exercise of monarchical power not felt as heavily by us as in ,europe1 but it is generally moderated by parental consideration for the feelings of the people4 8,absolutism10 says ,bismarck1 8primarily demands in the ruler impartiality1 honesty1 devotion to duty1 energy and inward humility40 ,if ,i may be allowed to make one more quotation on this subject1 ,i will cite from the speech of the ,german ,emperor at ,coblenz1 in which he spoke of 8,kingship1 by the grace of ,god1 with its heavy duties1 its tremendous responsibility to the ,creator alone1 from which no man1 no minister1 no parliament1 can release the monarch40 ,we knew ,benevolence was a tender virtue and mother-like4 ,if upright ,rectitude and stern ,justice were peculiarly masculine1 ,mercy had the gentleness and the persuasiveness of a feminine nature4 ,we were warned against indulging in indiscriminate charity1 without seasoning it with justice and rectitude4 ,masamun expressed it well in his oft-quoted aphorism--8,rectitude carried to excess hardens into stiffness2 ,benevolence indulged beyond measure sinks into weakness40 ,fortunately ,mercy was not so rare as it was beautiful1 for it is universally true that 8,the bravest are the tenderest1 the loving are the daring40 8,bushi no nasak0--the tenderness of a warrior--had a sound which appealed at once to whatever was noble in us2 not that the mercy of a samurai was generically different from the mercy of any other being1 but because it implied mercy where mercy was not a blind impulse1 but where it recognized due regard to justice1 and where mercy did not remain merely a certain state of mind1 but where it was backed with power to save or kill4 ,as economists speak of demand as being effectual or ineffectual1 similarly we may call the mercy of bushi effectual1 since it implied the power of acting for the good or detriment of the recipient4 ,priding themselves as they did in their brute strength and privileges to turn it into account1 the samurai gave full consent to what ,mencius taught concerning the power of ,love4 8,benevolence10 he says1 8brings under its sway whatever hinders its power1 just as water subdues fire3 they only doubt the power of water to quench flames who try to extinguish with a cupful a whole burning wagon-load of fagots40 ,he also says that 8the feeling of distress is the root of benevolence1 therefore a benevolent man is ever mindful of those who are suffering and in distress40 ,thus did ,mencius long anticipate ,adam ,smith who founds his ethical philosophy on ,sympathy4 ,it is indeed striking how closely the code of knightly honor of one country coincides with that of others2 in other words1 how the much abused oriental ideas of morals find their counterparts in the noblest maxims of ,european literature4 ,if the well-known lines1 ,hae tibi erunt artes--pacisque imponere morem1 ,parcere subjectis1 et debellare superbos1 were shown a ,japanese gentleman1 he might readily accuse the ,mantuan bard of plagiarizing from the literature of his own country4 ,benevolence to the weak1 the downtrodden or the vanquished1 was ever extolled as peculiarly becoming to a samurai4 ,lovers of ,japanese art must be familiar with the representation of a priest riding backwards on a cow4 ,the rider was once a warrior who in his day made his name a by-word of terror4 ,in that terrible battle of ,sumano-ura1 7#aahd ,a4,d471 which was one of the most decisive in our history1 he overtook an enemy and in single combat had him in the clutch of his gigantic arms4 ,now the etiquette of war required that on such occasions no blood should be spilt1 unless the weaker party proved to be a man of rank or ability equal to that of the stronger4 ,the grim combatant would have the name of the man under him2 but he refusing to make it known1 his helmet was ruthlessly torn off1 when the sight of a juvenile face1 fair and beardless1 made the astonished knight relax his hold4 ,helping the youth to his feet1 in paternal tones he bade the stripling go3 8,off1 young prince1 to thy mother's side6 ,the sword of ,kumagaye shall never be tarnished by a drop of thy blood4 ,haste and flee o'er yon pass before thy enemies come in sight60 ,the young warrior refused to go and begged ,kumagaye1 for the honor of both1 to despatch him on the spot4 ,above the hoary head of the veteran gleams the cold blade1 which many a time before has sundered the chords of life1 but his stout heart quails2 there flashes athwart his mental eye the vision of his own boy1 who this self-same day marched to the sound of bugle to try his maiden arms2 the strong hand of the warrior quivers2 again he begs his victim to flee for his life4 ,finding all his entreaties vain and hearing the approaching steps of his comrades1 he exclaims3 8,if thou art overtaken1 thou mayest fall at a more ignoble hand than mine4 ,o1 thou ,infinite6 receive his soul60 ,in an instant the sword flashes in the air1 and when it falls it is red with adolescent blood4 ,when the war is ended1 we find our soldier returning in triumph1 but little cares he now for honor or fame2 he renounces his warlike career1 shaves his head1 dons a priestly garb1 devotes the rest of his days to holy pilgrimage1 never turning his back to the ,west1 where lies the ,paradise whence salvation comes and whither the sun hastes daily for his rest4 ,critics may point out flaws in this story1 which is casuistically vulnerable4 ,let it be3 all the same it shows that ,tenderness1 ,pity and ,love1 were traits which adorned the most sanguinary exploits of the samurai4 ,it was an old maxim among them that 8,it becometh not the fowler to slay the bird which takes refuge in his bosom40 ,this in a large measure explains why the ,red ,cross movement1 considered peculiarly ,christian1 so readily found a firm footing among us4 ,for decades before we heard of the ,geneva ,convention1 ,bakin1 our greatest novelist1 had familiarized us with the medical treatment of a fallen foe4 ,in the principality of ,satsuma1 noted for its martial spirit and education1 the custom prevailed for young men to practice music2 not the blast of trumpets or the beat of drums1--8those clamorous harbingers of blood and death0--stirring us to imitate the actions of a tiger1 but sad and tender melodies on the biwa1#i soothing our fiery spirits1 drawing our thoughts away from scent of blood and scenes of carnage4 ,polybius tells us of the ,constitution of ,arcadia1 which required all youths under thirty to practice music1 in order that this gentle art might alleviate the rigors of that inclement region4 ,it is to its influence that he attributes the absence of cruelty in that part of the ,arcadian mountains4 ,footnote #i3 ,a musical instrument1 resembling the guitar4 ,nor was ,satsuma the only place in ,japan where gentleness was inculcated among the warrior class4 ,a ,prince of ,shirakawa jots down his random thoughts1 and among them is the following3 8,though they come stealing to your bedside in the silent watches of the night1 drive not away1 but rather cherish these--the fragrance of flowers1 the sound of distant bells1 the insect humming of a frosty night40 ,and again1 8,though they may wound your feelings1 these three you have only to forgive1 the breeze that scatters your flowers1 the cloud that hides your moon1 and the man who tries to pick quarrels with you40 ,it was ostensibly to express1 but actually to cultivate1 these gentler emotions that the writing of verses was encouraged4 ,our poetry has therefore a strong undercurrent of pathos and tenderness4 ,a well-known anecdote of a rustic samurai illustrates a case in point4 ,when he was told to learn versification1 and 8,the ,warbler's ,notes0#aj was given him for the subject of his first attempt1 his fiery spirit rebelled and he flung at the feet of his master this uncouth production1 which ran ,footnote #aj3 ,the uguisu or warbler1 sometimes called the nightingale of ,japan4 8,the brave warrior keeps apart ,the ear that might listen ,to the warbler's song40 ,his master1 undaunted by the crude sentiment1 continued to encourage the youth1 until one day the music of his soul was awakened to respond to the sweet notes of the uguisu1 and he wrote 8,stands the warrior1 mailed and strong1 ,to hear the uguisu's song1 ,warbled sweet the trees among40 ,we admire and enjoy the heroic incident in ,krner's short life1 when1 as he lay wounded on the battle-field1 he scribbled his famous 8,farewell to ,life40 ,incidents of a similar kind were not at all unusual in our warfare4 ,our pithy1 epigrammatic poems were particularly well suited to the improvisation of a single sentiment4 ,everybody of any education was either a poet or a poetaster4 ,not infrequently a marching soldier might be seen to halt1 take his writing utensils from his belt1 and compose an ode1--and such papers were found afterward in the helmets or the breast-plates1 when these were removed from their lifeless wearers4 ,what ,christianity has done in ,europe toward rousing compassion in the midst of belligerent horrors1 love of music and letters has done in ,japan4 ,the cultivation of tender feelings breeds considerate regard for the sufferings of others4 ,modesty and complaisance1 actuated by respect for others' feelings1 are at the root of ,,politeness1 that courtesy and urbanity of manners which has been noticed by every foreign tourist as a marked ,japanese trait4 ,politeness is a poor virtue1 if it is actuated only by a fear of offending good taste1 whereas it should be the outward manifestation of a sympathetic regard for the feelings of others4 ,it also implies a due regard for the fitness of things1 therefore due respect to social positions2 for these latter express no plutocratic distinctions1 but were originally distinctions for actual merit4 ,in its highest form1 politeness almost approaches love4 ,we may reverently say1 politeness 8suffereth long1 and is kind2 envieth not1 vaunteth not itself1 is not puffed up2 doth not behave itself unseemly1 seeketh not her own1 is not easily provoked1 taketh not account of evil40 ,is it any wonder that ,professor ,dean1 in speaking of the six elements of ,humanity1 accords to ,politeness an exalted position1 inasmuch as it is the ripest fruit of social intercourse8 ,while thus extolling ,politeness1 far be it from me to put it in the front rank of virtues4 ,if we analyze it1 we shall find it correlated with other virtues of a higher order2 for what virtue stands alone8 ,while--or rather because--it was exalted as peculiar to the profession of arms1 and as such esteemed in a degree higher than its deserts1 there came into existence its counterfeits4 ,confucius himself has repeatedly taught that external appurtenances are as little a part of propriety as sounds are of music4 ,when propriety was elevated to the sine qua non of social intercourse1 it was only to be expected that an elaborate system of etiquette should come into vogue to train youth in correct social behavior4 ,how one must bow in accosting others1 how he must walk and sit1 were taught and learned with utmost care4 ,table manners grew to be a science4 ,tea serving and drinking were raised to a ceremony4 ,a man of education is1 of course1 expected to be master of all these4 ,very fitly does ,mr4 ,veblen1 in his interesting book1#aa call decorum 8a product and an exponent of the leisure-class life40 ,footnote #aa3 ,theory of the ,leisure ,class1 ,n4,y4 #ahii1 p4 #df4 ,i have heard slighting remarks made by ,europeans upon our elaborate discipline of politeness4 ,it has been criticized as absorbing too much of our thought and in so far a folly to observe strict obedience to it4 ,i admit that there may be unnecessary niceties in ceremonious etiquette1 but whether it partakes as much of folly as the adherence to ever-changing fashions of the ,west1 is a question not very clear to my mind4 ,even fashions ,i do not consider solely as freaks of vanity2 on the contrary1 ,i look upon these as a ceaseless search of the human mind for the beautiful4 ,much less do ,i consider elaborate ceremony as altogether trivial2 for it denotes the result of long observation as to the most appropriate method of achieving a certain result4 ,if there is anything to do1 there is certainly a best way to do it1 and the best way is both the most economical and the most graceful4 ,mr4 ,spencer defines grace as the most economical manner of motion4 ,the tea ceremony presents certain definite ways of manipulating a bowl1 a spoon1 a napkin1 etc4 ,to a novice it looks tedious4 ,but one soon discovers that the way prescribed is1 after all1 the most saving of time and labor2 in other words1 the most economical use of force1--hence1 according to ,spencer's dictum1 the most graceful4 ,the spiritual significance of social decorum1--or1 ,i might say1 to borrow from the vocabulary of the 8,philosophy of ,clothes10 the spiritual discipline of which etiquette and ceremony are mere outward garments1--is out of all proportion to what their appearance warrants us in believing4 ,i might follow the example of ,mr4 ,spencer and trace in our ceremonial institutions their origins and the moral motives that gave rise to them2 but that is not what ,i shall endeavor to do in this book4 ,it is the moral training involved in strict observance of propriety1 that ,i wish to emphasize4 ,i have said that etiquette was elaborated into the finest niceties1 so much so that different schools advocating different systems1 came into existence4 ,but they all united in the ultimate essential1 and this was put by a great exponent of the best known school of etiquette1 the ,ogasawara1 in the following terms3 8,the end of all etiquette is to so cultivate your mind that even when you are quietly seated1 not the roughest ruffian can dare make onset on your person40 ,it means1 in other words1 that by constant exercise in correct manners1 one brings all the parts and faculties of his body into perfect order and into such harmony with itself and its environment as to express the mastery of spirit over the flesh4 ,what a new and deep significance the ,french word biensance#ab comes thus to contain6 ,footnote #ab3 ,etymologically well-seatedness4 ,if the premise is true that gracefulness means economy of force1 then it follows as a logical sequence that a constant practice of graceful deportment must bring with it a reserve and storage of force4 ,fine manners1 therefore1 mean power in repose4 ,when the barbarian ,gauls1 during the sack of ,rome1 burst into the assembled ,senate and dared pull the beards of the venerable ,fathers1 we think the old gentlemen were to blame1 inasmuch as they lacked dignity and strength of manners4 ,is lofty spiritual attainment really possible through etiquette8 ,why not8--,all roads lead to ,rome6 ,as an example of how the simplest thing can be made into an art and then become spiritual culture1 ,i may take ,cha-no-yu1 the tea ceremony4 ,tea-sipping as a fine art6 ,why should it not be8 ,in the children drawing pictures on the sand1 or in the savage carving on a rock1 was the promise of a ,raphael or a ,michael ,angelo4 ,how much more is the drinking of a beverage1 which began with the transcendental contemplation of a ,hindoo anchorite1 entitled to develop into a handmaid of ,religion and ,morality8 ,that calmness of mind1 that serenity of temper1 that composure and quietness of demeanor1 which are the first essentials of ,cha-no-yu are without doubt the first conditions of right thinking and right feeling4 ,the scrupulous cleanliness of the little room1 shut off from sight and sound of the madding crowd1 is in itself conducive to direct one's thoughts from the world4 ,the bare interior does not engross one's attention like the innumerable pictures and bric-a-brac of a ,western parlor2 the presence of kakemono#ac calls our attention more to grace of design than to beauty of color4 ,the utmost refinement of taste is the object aimed at2 whereas anything like display is banished with religious horror4 ,the very fact that it was invented by a contemplative recluse1 in a time when wars and the rumors of wars were incessant1 is well calculated to show that this institution was more than a pastime4 ,before entering the quiet precincts of the tea-room1 the company assembling to partake of the ceremony laid aside1 together with their swords1 the ferocity of the battle-field or the cares of government1 there to find peace and friendship4 ,footnote #ac3 ,hanging scrolls1 which may be either paintings or ideograms1 used for decorative purposes4 ,cha-no-yu is more than a ceremony--it is a fine art2 it is poetry1 with articulate gestures for rhythm3 it is a modus operandi of soul discipline4 ,its greatest value lies in this last phase4 ,not infrequently the other phases preponderated in the mind of its votaries1 but that does not prove that its essence was not of a spiritual nature4 ,politeness will be a great acquisition1 if it does no more than impart grace to manners2 but its function does not stop here4 ,for propriety1 springing as it does from motives of benevolence and modesty1 and actuated by tender feelings toward the sensibilities of others1 is ever a graceful expression of sympathy4 ,its requirement is that we should weep with those that weep and rejoice with those that rejoice4 ,such didactic requirement1 when reduced into small every-day details of life1 expresses itself in little acts scarcely noticeable1 or1 if noticed1 is1 as one missionary lady of twenty years' residence once said to me1 8awfully funny40 ,you are out in the hot glaring sun with no shade over you2 a ,japanese acquaintance passes by2 you accost him1 and instantly his hat is off--well1 that is perfectly natural1 but the 8awfully funny0 performance is1 that all the while he talks with you his parasol is down and he stands in the glaring sun also4 ,how foolish6--,yes1 exactly so1 provided the motive were less than this3 8,you are in the sun2 ,i sympathize with you2 ,i would willingly take you under my parasol if it were large enough1 or if we were familiarly acquainted2 as ,i cannot shade you1 ,i will share your discomforts40 ,little acts of this kind1 equally or more amusing1 are not mere gestures or conventionalities4 ,they are the 8bodying forth0 of thoughtful feelings for the comfort of others4 ,another 8awfully funny0 custom is dictated by our canons of ,politeness2 but many superficial writers on ,japan have dismissed it by simply attributing it to the general topsy-turvyness of the nation4 ,every foreigner who has observed it will confess the awkwardness he felt in making proper reply upon the occasion4 ,in ,america1 when you make a gift1 you sing its praises to the recipient2 in ,japan we depreciate or slander it4 ,the underlying idea with you is1 8,this is a nice gift3 if it were not nice ,i would not dare give it to you2 for it will be an insult to give you anything but what is nice40 ,in contrast to this1 our logic runs3 8,you are a nice person1 and no gift is nice enough for you4 ,you will not accept anything ,i can lay at your feet except as a token of my good will2 so accept this1 not for its intrinsic value1 but as a token4 ,it will be an insult to your worth to call the best gift good enough for you40 ,place the two ideas side by side2 and we see that the ultimate idea is one and the same4 ,neither is 8awfully funny40 ,the ,american speaks of the material which makes the gift2 the ,japanese speaks of the spirit which prompts the gift4 ,it is perverse reasoning to conclude1 because our sense of propriety shows itself in all the smallest ramifications of our deportment1 to take the least important of them and uphold it as the type1 and pass judgment upon the principle itself4 ,which is more important1 to eat or to observe rules of propriety about eating8 ,a ,chinese sage answers1 8,if you take a case where the eating is all-important1 and the observing the rules of propriety is of little importance1 and compare them together1 why merely say that the eating is of the more importance80 8,metal is heavier than feathers10 but does that saying have reference to a single clasp of metal and a wagon-load of feathers8 ,take a piece of wood a foot thick and raise it above the pinnacle of a temple1 none would call it taller than the temple4 ,to the question1 8,which is the more important1 to tell the truth or to be polite80 the ,japanese are said to give an answer diametrically opposite to what the ,american will say1--but ,i forbear any comment until ,i come to speak of ,,veracity ,,or ,,truthfulness1 without which ,politeness is a farce and a show4 8,propriety carried beyond right bounds10 says ,masamun1 8becomes a lie40 ,an ancient poet has outdone ,polonius in the advice he gives3 8,to thyself be faithful3 if in thy heart thou strayest not from truth1 without prayer of thine the ,gods will keep thee whole40 ,the apotheosis of ,sincerity to which ,tsu-tsu gives expression in the ,doctrine of the ,mean1 attributes to it transcendental powers1 almost identifying them with the ,divine4 8,sincerity is the end and the beginning of all things2 without ,sincerity there would be nothing40 ,he then dwells with eloquence on its far-reaching and long enduring nature1 its power to produce changes without movement and by its mere presence to accomplish its purpose without effort4 ,from the ,chinese ideogram for ,sincerity1 which is a combination of 8,word0 and 8,perfect10 one is tempted to draw a parallel between it and the ,neo-,platonic doctrine of ,logos--to such height does the sage soar in his unwonted mystic flight4 ,lying or equivocation were deemed equally cowardly4 ,the bushi held that his high social position demanded a loftier standard of veracity than that of the tradesman and peasant4 ,bushi no ichi-gon--the word of a samurai or in exact ,german equivalent ein ,ritterwort--was sufficient guaranty of the truthfulness of an assertion4 ,his word carried such weight with it that promises were generally made and fulfilled without a written pledge1 which would have been deemed quite beneath his dignity4 ,many thrilling anecdotes were told of those who atoned by death for ni-gon1 a double tongue4 ,the regard for veracity was so high that1 unlike the generality of ,christians who persistently violate the plain commands of the ,teacher not to swear1 the best of samurai looked upon an oath as derogatory to their honor4 ,i am well aware that they did swear by different deities or upon their swords2 but never has swearing degenerated into wanton form and irreverent interjection4 ,to emphasize our words a practice of literally sealing with blood was sometimes resorted to4 ,for the explanation of such a practice1 ,i need only refer my readers to ,goethe's ,faust4 ,a recent ,american writer is responsible for this statement1 that if you ask an ordinary ,japanese which is better1 to tell a falsehood or be impolite1 he will not hesitate to answer 8to tell a falsehood60 ,dr4 ,peery#ad is partly right and partly wrong2 right in that an ordinary ,japanese1 even a samurai1 may answer in the way ascribed to him1 but wrong in attributing too much weight to the term he translates 8falsehood40 ,this word 7in ,japanese uso7 is employed to denote anything which is not a truth 7makoto7 or fact 7honto74 ,lowell tells us that ,wordsworth could not distinguish between truth and fact1 and an ordinary ,japanese is in this respect as good as ,wordsworth4 ,ask a ,japanese1 or even an ,american of any refinement1 to tell you whether he dislikes you or whether he is sick at his stomach1 and he will not hesitate long to tell falsehoods and answer1 8,i like you much10 or1 8,i am quite well1 thank you40 ,to sacrifice truth merely for the sake of politeness was regarded as an 8empty form0 7kyo-rei7 and 8deception by sweet words10 and was never justified4 ,footnote #ad3 ,peery1 ,the ,gist of ,japan1 p4 #hf4 ,i own ,i am speaking now of the ,bushido idea of veracity2 but it may not be amiss to devote a few words to our commercial integrity1 of which ,i have heard much complaint in foreign books and journals4 ,a loose business morality has indeed been the worst blot on our national reputation2 but before abusing it or hastily condemning the whole race for it1 let us calmly study it and we shall be rewarded with consolation for the future4 ,of all the great occupations of life1 none was farther removed from the profession of arms than commerce4 ,the merchant was placed lowest in the category of vocations1--the knight1 the tiller of the soil1 the mechanic1 the merchant4 ,the samurai derived his income from land and could even indulge1 if he had a mind to1 in amateur farming2 but the counter and abacus were abhorred4 ,we knew the wisdom of this social arrangement4 ,montesquieu has made it clear that the debarring of the nobility from mercantile pursuits was an admirable social policy1 in that it prevented wealth from accumulating in the hands of the powerful4 ,the separation of power and riches kept the distribution of the latter more nearly equable4 ,professor ,dill1 the author of 8,roman ,society in the ,last ,century of the ,western ,empire10 has brought afresh to our mind that one cause of the decadence of the ,roman ,empire1 was the permission given to the nobility to engage in trade1 and the consequent monopoly of wealth and power by a minority of the senatorial families4 ,commerce1 therefore1 in feudal ,japan did not reach that degree of development which it would have attained under freer conditions4 ,the obloquy attached to the calling naturally brought within its pale such as cared little for social repute4 8,call one a thief and he will steal30 put a stigma on a calling and its followers adjust their morals to it1 for it is natural that 8the normal conscience10 as ,hugh ,black says1 8rises to the demands made on it1 and easily falls to the limit of the standard expected from it40 ,it is unnecessary to add that no business1 commercial or otherwise1 can be transacted without a code of morals4 ,our merchants of the feudal period had one among themselves1 without which they could never have developed1 as they did1 such fundamental mercantile institutions as the guild1 the bank1 the bourse1 insurance1 checks1 bills of exchange1 etc42 but in their relations with people outside their vocation1 the tradesmen lived too true to the reputation of their order4 ,this being the case1 when the country was opened to foreign trade1 only the most adventurous and unscrupulous rushed to the ports1 while the respectable business houses declined for some time the repeated requests of the authorities to establish branch houses4 ,was ,bushido powerless to stay the current of commercial dishonor8 ,let us see4 ,those who are well acquainted with our history will remember that only a few years after our treaty ports were opened to foreign trade1 feudalism was abolished1 and when with it the samurai's fiefs were taken and bonds issued to them in compensation1 they were given liberty to invest them in mercantile transactions4 ,now you may ask1 8,why could they not bring their much boasted veracity into their new business relations and so reform the old abuses80 ,those who had eyes to see could not weep enough1 those who had hearts to feel could not sympathize enough1 with the fate of many a noble and honest samurai who signally and irrevocably failed in his new and unfamiliar field of trade and industry1 through sheer lack of shrewdness in coping with his artful plebeian rival4 ,when we know that eighty per cent4 of the business houses fail in so industrial a country as ,america1 is it any wonder that scarcely one among a hundred samurai who went into trade could succeed in his new vocation8 ,it will be long before it will be recognized how many fortunes were wrecked in the attempt to apply ,bushido ethics to business methods2 but it was soon patent to every observing mind that the ways of wealth were not the ways of honor4 ,in what respects1 then1 were they different8 ,of the three incentives to ,veracity that ,lecky enumerates1 viz3 the industrial1 the political1 and the philosophical1 the first was altogether lacking in ,bushido4 ,as to the second1 it could develop little in a political community under a feudal system4 ,it is in its philosophical1 and as ,lecky says1 in its highest aspect1 that ,honesty attained elevated rank in our catalogue of virtues4 ,with all my sincere regard for the high commercial integrity of the ,anglo-,saxon race1 when ,i ask for the ultimate ground1 ,i am told that 8,honesty is the best policy10 that it pays to be honest4 ,is not this virtue1 then1 its own reward8 ,if it is followed because it brings in more cash than falsehood1 ,i am afraid ,bushido would rather indulge in lies6 ,if ,bushido rejects a doctrine of quid pro quo rewards1 the shrewder tradesman will readily accept it4 ,lecky has very truly remarked that ,veracity owes its growth largely to commerce and manufacture2 as ,nietzsche puts it1 8,honesty is the youngest of virtues0--in other words1 it is the foster-child of industry1 of modern industry4 ,without this mother1 ,veracity was like a blue-blood orphan whom only the most cultivated mind could adopt and nourish4 ,such minds were general among the samurai1 but1 for want of a more democratic and utilitarian foster-mother1 the tender child failed to thrive4 ,industries advancing1 ,veracity will prove an easy1 nay1 a profitable1 virtue to practice4 ,just think1 as late as ,november #ahhj1 ,bismarck sent a circular to the professional consuls of the ,german ,empire1 warning them of 8a lamentable lack of reliability with regard to ,german shipments inter alia1 apparent both as to quality and quantity20 now-a-days we hear comparatively little of ,german carelessness and dishonesty in trade4 ,in twenty years her merchants learned that in the end honesty pays4 ,already our merchants are finding that out4 ,for the rest ,i recommend the reader to two recent writers for well-weighed judgment on this point4#ae ,it is interesting to remark in this connection that integrity and honor were the surest guaranties which even a merchant debtor could present in the form of promissory notes4 ,it was quite a usual thing to insert such clauses as these3 8,in default of the repayment of the sum lent to me1 ,i shall say nothing against being ridiculed in public20 or1 8,in case ,i fail to pay you back1 you may call me a fool10 and the like4 ,footnote #ae3 ,knapp1 ,feudal and ,modern ,japan1 ,vol4 ,i1 ,ch4 ,,iv4 ,ransome1 ,japan in ,transition1 ,ch4 ,,viii4 ,often have ,i wondered whether the ,veracity of ,bushido had any motive higher than courage4 ,in the absence of any positive commandment against bearing false witness1 lying was not condemned as sin1 but simply denounced as weakness1 and1 as such1 highly dishonorable4 ,as a matter of fact1 the idea of honesty is so intimately blended1 and its ,latin and its ,german etymology so identified with ,,honor1 that it is high time ,i should pause a few moments for the consideration of this feature of the ,precepts of ,knighthood4 ,the sense of honor1 implying a vivid consciousness of personal dignity and worth1 could not fail to characterize the samurai1 born and bred to value the duties and privileges of their profession4 ,though the word ordinarily given now-a-days as the translation of ,honor was not used freely1 yet the idea was conveyed by such terms as na 7name7 men-moku 7countenance71 guai-bun 7outside hearing71 reminding us respectively of the biblical use of 8name10 of the evolution of the term 8personality0 from the ,greek mask1 and of 8fame40 ,a good name--one's reputation1 the immortal part of one's self1 what remains being bestial--assumed as a matter of course1 any infringement upon its integrity was felt as shame1 and the sense of shame 7,ren-chi-shin7 was one of the earliest to be cherished in juvenile education4 8,you will be laughed at10 8,it will disgrace you10 8,are you not ashamed80 were the last appeal to correct behavior on the part of a youthful delinquent4 ,such a recourse to his honor touched the most sensitive spot in the child's heart1 as though it had been nursed on honor while it was in its mother's womb2 for most truly is honor a prenatal influence1 being closely bound up with strong family consciousness4 8,in losing the solidarity of families10 says ,balzac1 8society has lost the fundamental force which ,montesquieu named ,honor40 ,indeed1 the sense of shame seems to me to be the earliest indication of the moral consciousness of our race4 ,the first and worst punishment which befell humanity in consequence of tasting 8the fruit of that forbidden tree0 was1 to my mind1 not the sorrow of childbirth1 nor the thorns and thistles1 but the awakening of the sense of shame4 ,few incidents in history excel in pathos the scene of the first mother plying with heaving breast and tremulous fingers1 her crude needle on the few fig leaves which her dejected husband plucked for her4 ,this first fruit of disobedience clings to us with a tenacity that nothing else does4 ,all the sartorial ingenuity of mankind has not yet succeeded in sewing an apron that will efficaciously hide our sense of shame4 ,that samurai was right who refused to compromise his character by a slight humiliation in his youth2 8because10 he said1 8dishonor is like a scar on a tree1 which time1 instead of effacing1 only helps to enlarge40 ,mencius had taught centuries before1 in almost the identical phrase1 what ,carlyle has latterly expressed1--namely1 that 8,shame is the soil of all ,virtue1 of good manners and good morals40 ,the fear of disgrace was so great that if our literature lacks such eloquence as ,shakespeare puts into the mouth of ,norfolk1 it nevertheless hung like ,damocles' sword over the head of every samurai and often assumed a morbid character4 ,in the name of ,honor1 deeds were perpetrated which can find no justification in the code of ,bushido4 ,at the slightest1 nay1 imaginary insult1 the quick-tempered braggart took offense1 resorted to the use of the sword1 and many an unnecessary strife was raised and many an innocent life lost4 ,the story of a well-meaning citizen who called the attention of a bushi to a flea jumping on his back1 and who was forthwith cut in two1 for the simple and questionable reason that inasmuch as fleas are parasites which feed on animals1 it was an unpardonable insult to identify a noble warrior with a beast--,i say1 stories like these are too frivolous to believe4 ,yet1 the circulation of such stories implies three things2 7#a7 that they were invented to overawe common people2 7#b7 that abuses were really made of the samurai's profession of honor2 and 7#c7 that a very strong sense of shame was developed among them4 ,it is plainly unfair to take an abnormal case to cast blame upon the ,precepts1 any more than to judge of the true teaching of ,christ from the fruits of religious fanaticism and extravagance--inquisitions and hypocrisy4 ,but1 as in religious monomania there is something touchingly noble1 as compared with the delirium tremens of a drunkard1 so in that extreme sensitiveness of the samurai about their honor do we not recognize the substratum of a genuine virtue8 ,the morbid excess into which the delicate code of honor was inclined to run was strongly counterbalanced by preaching magnanimity and patience4 ,to take offense at slight provocation was ridiculed as 8short-tempered40 ,the popular adage said3 8,to bear what you think you cannot bear is really to bear40 ,the great ,iyyasu left to posterity a few maxims1 among which are the following3--8,the life of man is like going a long distance with a heavy load upon the shoulders4 ,haste not4 99 99 99 99 ,reproach none1 but be forever watchful of thine own short-comings4 99 99 99 ,forbearance is the basis of length of days40 ,he proved in his life what he preached4 ,a literary wit put a characteristic epigram into the mouths of three well-known personages in our history3 to ,nobunaga he attributed1 8,i will kill her1 if the nightingale sings not in time20 to ,hidyoshi1 8,i will force her to sing for me20 and to ,iyyasu1 8,i will wait till she opens her lips40 ,patience and long suffering were also highly commended by ,mencius4 ,in one place he writes to this effect3 8,though you denude yourself and insult me1 what is that to me8 ,you cannot defile my soul by your outrage40 ,elsewhere he teaches that anger at a petty offense is unworthy a superior man1 but indignation for a great cause is righteous wrath4 ,to what height of unmartial and unresisting meekness ,bushido could reach in some of its votaries1 may be seen in their utterances4 ,take1 for instance1 this saying of ,ogawa3 8,when others speak all manner of evil things against thee1 return not evil for evil1 but rather reflect that thou wast not more faithful in the discharge of thy duties40 ,take another of ,kumazawa3--8,when others blame thee1 blame them not2 when others are angry at thee1 return not anger4 ,joy cometh only as ,passion and ,desire part40 ,still another instance ,i may cite from ,saigo1 upon whose overhanging brows 8shame is ashamed to sit20--8,the ,way is the way of ,heaven and ,earth3 ,man's place is to follow it3 therefore make it the object of thy life to reverence ,heaven4 ,heaven loves me and others with equal love2 therefore with the love wherewith thou lovest thyself1 love others4 ,make not ,man thy partner but ,heaven1 and making ,heaven thy partner do thy best4 ,never condemn others2 but see to it that thou comest not short of thine own mark40 ,some of those sayings remind us of ,christian expostulations and show us how far in practical morality natural religion can approach the revealed4 ,not only did these sayings remain as utterances1 but they were really embodied in acts4 ,it must be admitted that very few attained this sublime height of magnanimity1 patience and forgiveness4 ,it was a great pity that nothing clear and general was expressed as to what constitutes ,honor1 only a few enlightened minds being aware that it 8from no condition rises10 but that it lies in each acting well his part3 for nothing was easier than for youths to forget in the heat of action what they had learned in ,mencius in their calmer moments4 ,said this sage1 8',tis in every man's mind to love honor3 but little doth he dream that what is truly honorable lies within himself and not anywhere else4 ,the honor which men confer is not good honor4 ,those whom ,cho the ,great ennobles1 he can make mean again40 ,for the most part1 an insult was quickly resented and repaid by death1 as we shall see later1 while ,honor--too often nothing higher than vain glory or worldly approbation--was prized as the summum bonum of earthly existence4 ,fame1 and not wealth or knowledge1 was the goal toward which youths had to strive4 ,many a lad swore within himself as he crossed the threshold of his paternal home1 that he would not recross it until he had made a name in the world3 and many an ambitious mother refused to see her sons again unless they could 8return home10 as the expression is1 8caparisoned in brocade40 ,to shun shame or win a name1 samurai boys would submit to any privations and undergo severest ordeals of bodily or mental suffering4 ,they knew that honor won in youth grows with age4 ,in the memorable siege of ,osaka1 a young son of ,iyyasu1 in spite of his earnest entreaties to be put in the vanguard1 was placed at the rear of the army4 ,when the castle fell1 he was so chagrined and wept so bitterly that an old councillor tried to console him with all the resources at his command4 8,take comfort1 ,sire10 said he1 8at thought of the long future before you4 ,in the many years that you may live1 there will come divers occasions to distinguish yourself40 ,the boy fixed his indignant gaze upon the man and said--8,how foolishly you talk6 ,can ever my fourteenth year come round again80 ,life itself was thought cheap if honor and fame could be attained therewith3 hence1 whenever a cause presented itself which was considered dearer than life1 with utmost serenity and celerity was life laid down4 ,of the causes in comparison with which no life was too dear to sacrifice1 was ,,the ,,duty ,,of ,,loyalty1 which was the key-stone making feudal virtues a symmetrical arch4 ,other virtues feudal morality shares in common with other systems of ethics1 with other classes of people1 but this virtue--homage and fealty to a superior--is its distinctive feature4 ,i am aware that personal fidelity is a moral adhesion existing among all sorts and conditions of men1--a gang of pickpockets owe allegiance to a ,fagin2 but it is only in the code of chivalrous honor that ,loyalty assumes paramount importance4 ,in spite of ,hegel's criticism that the fidelity of feudal vassals1 being an obligation to an individual and not to a ,commonwealth1 is a bond established on totally unjust principles1#af a great compatriot of his made it his boast that personal loyalty was a ,german virtue4 ,bismarck had good reason to do so1 not because the ,treue he boasts of was the monopoly of his ,fatherland or of any single nation or race1 but because this favored fruit of chivalry lingers latest among the people where feudalism has lasted longest4 ,in ,america where 8everybody is as good as anybody else10 and1 as the ,irishman added1 8better too10 such exalted ideas of loyalty as we feel for our sovereign may be deemed 8excellent within certain bounds10 but preposterous as encouraged among us4 ,montesquieu complained long ago that right on one side of the ,pyrenees was wrong on the other1 and the recent ,dreyfus trial proved the truth of his remark1 save that the ,pyrenees were not the sole boundary beyond which ,french justice finds no accord4 ,similarly1 ,loyalty as we conceive it may find few admirers elsewhere1 not because our conception is wrong1 but because it is1 ,i am afraid1 forgotten1 and also because we carry it to a degree not reached in any other country4 ,griffis#ag was quite right in stating that whereas in ,china ,confucian ethics made obedience to parents the primary human duty1 in ,japan precedence was given to ,loyalty4 ,at the risk of shocking some of my good readers1 ,i will relate of one 8who could endure to follow a fall'n lord0 and who thus1 as ,shakespeare assures1 8earned a place i' the story40 ,footnote #af3 ,philosophy of ,history 7,eng4 trans4 by ,sibree71 ,pt4 ,,iv1 ,sec4 ,,ii1 ,ch4 ,i4 ,footnote #ag3 ,religions of ,japan4 ,the story is of one of the purest characters in our history1 ,michizan1 who1 falling a victim to jealousy and calumny1 is exiled from the capital4 ,not content with this1 his unrelenting enemies are now bent upon the extinction of his family4 ,strict search for his son--not yet grown--reveals the fact of his being secreted in a village school kept by one ,genzo1 a former vassal of ,michizan4 ,when orders are dispatched to the schoolmaster to deliver the head of the juvenile offender on a certain day1 his first idea is to find a suitable substitute for it4 ,he ponders over his school-list1 scrutinizes with careful eyes all the boys1 as they stroll into the class-room1 but none among the children born of the soil bears the least resemblance to his protg4 ,his despair1 however1 is but for a moment2 for1 behold1 a new scholar is announced--a comely boy of the same age as his master's son1 escorted by a mother of noble mien4 ,no less conscious of the resemblance between infant lord and infant retainer1 were the mother and the boy himself4 ,in the privacy of home both had laid themselves upon the altar2 the one his life1--the other her heart1 yet without sign to the outer world4 ,unwitting of what had passed between them1 it is the teacher from whom comes the suggestion4 ,here1 then1 is the scape-goat6--,the rest of the narrative may be briefly told4--,on the day appointed1 arrives the officer commissioned to identify and receive the head of the youth4 ,will he be deceived by the false head8 ,the poor ,genzo's hand is on the hilt of the sword1 ready to strike a blow either at the man or at himself1 should the examination defeat his scheme4 ,the officer takes up the gruesome object before him1 goes calmly over each feature1 and in a deliberate1 business-like tone1 pronounces it genuine4--,that evening in a lonely home awaits the mother we saw in the school4 ,does she know the fate of her child8 ,it is not for his return that she watches with eagerness for the opening of the wicket4 ,her father-in-law has been for a long time a recipient of ,michizan's bounties1 but since his banishment circumstances have forced her husband to follow the service of the enemy of his family's benefactor4 ,he himself could not be untrue to his own cruel master2 but his son could serve the cause of the grandsire's lord4 ,as one acquainted with the exile's family1 it was he who had been entrusted with the task of identifying the boy's head4 ,now the day's--yea1 the life's--hard work is done1 he returns home and as he crosses its threshold1 he accosts his wife1 saying3 8,rejoice1 my wife1 our darling son has proved of service to his lord60 8,what an atrocious story60 ,i hear my readers exclaim1--8,parents deliberately sacrificing their own innocent child to save the life of another man's40 ,but this child was a conscious and willing victim3 it is a story of vicarious death--as significant as1 and not more revolting than1 the story of ,abraham's intended sacrifice of ,isaac4 ,in both cases it was obedience to the call of duty1 utter submission to the command of a higher voice1 whether given by a visible or an invisible angel1 or heard by an outward or an inward ear2--but ,i abstain from preaching4 ,the individualism of the ,west1 which recognizes separate interests for father and son1 husband and wife1 necessarily brings into strong relief the duties owed by one to the other2 but ,bushido held that the interest of the family and of the members thereof is intact1--one and inseparable4 ,this interest it bound up with affection--natural1 instinctive1 irresistible2 hence1 if we die for one we love with natural love 7which animals themselves possess71 what is that8 8,for if ye love them that love you1 what reward have ye8 ,do not even the publicans the same80 ,in his great history1 ,sanyo relates in touching language the heart struggle of ,shigemori concerning his father's rebellious conduct4 8,if ,i be loyal1 my father must be undone2 if ,i obey my father1 my duty to my sovereign must go amiss40 ,poor ,shigemori6 ,we see him afterward praying with all his soul that kind ,heaven may visit him with death1 that he may be released from this world where it is hard for purity and righteousness to dwell4 ,many a ,shigemori has his heart torn by the conflict between duty and affection4 ,indeed neither ,shakespeare nor the ,old ,testament itself contains an adequate rendering of ko1 our conception of filial piety1 and yet in such conflicts ,bushido never wavered in its choice of ,loyalty4 ,women1 too1 encouraged their offspring to sacrifice all for the king4 ,ever as resolute as ,widow ,windham and her illustrious consort1 the samurai matron stood ready to give up her boys for the cause of ,loyalty4 ,since ,bushido1 like ,aristotle and some modern sociologists1 conceived the state as antedating the individual--the latter being born into the former as part and parcel thereof--he must live and die for it or for the incumbent of its legitimate authority4 ,readers of ,crito will remember the argument with which ,socrates represents the laws of the city as pleading with him on the subject of his escape4 ,among others he makes them 7the laws1 or the state7 say3--8,since you were begotten and nurtured and educated under us1 dare you once to say you are not our offspring and servant1 you and your fathers before you60 ,these are words which do not impress us as any thing extraordinary2 for the same thing has long been on the lips of ,bushido1 with this modification1 that the laws and the state were represented with us by a personal being4 ,loyalty is an ethical outcome of this political theory4 ,i am not entirely ignorant of ,mr4 ,spencer's view according to which political obedience--,loyalty--is accredited with only a transitional function4#ah ,it may be so4 ,sufficient unto the day is the virtue thereof4 ,we may complacently repeat it1 especially as we believe that day to be a long space of time1 during which1 so our national anthem says1 8tiny pebbles grow into mighty rocks draped with moss40 ,we may remember at this juncture that even among so democratic a people as the ,english1 8the sentiment of personal fidelity to a man and his posterity which their ,germanic ancestors felt for their chiefs1 has10 as ,monsieur ,boutmy recently said1 8only passed more or less into their profound loyalty to the race and blood of their princes1 as evidenced in their extraordinary attachment to the dynasty40 ,footnote #ah3 ,principles of ,ethics1 ,vol4 ,i1 ,pt4 ,,ii1 ,ch4 ,x4 ,political subordination1 ,mr4 ,spencer predicts1 will give place to loyalty to the dictates of conscience4 ,suppose his induction is realized--will loyalty and its concomitant instinct of reverence disappear forever8 ,we transfer our allegiance from one master to another1 without being unfaithful to either2 from being subjects of a ruler that wields the temporal sceptre we become servants of the monarch who sits enthroned in the penetralia of our heart4 ,a few years ago a very stupid controversy1 started by the misguided disciples of ,spencer1 made havoc among the reading class of ,japan4 ,in their zeal to uphold the claim of the throne to undivided loyalty1 they charged ,christians with treasonable propensities in that they avow fidelity to their ,lord and ,master4 ,they arrayed forth sophistical arguments without the wit of ,sophists1 and scholastic tortuosities minus the niceties of the ,schoolmen4 ,little did they know that we can1 in a sense1 8serve two masters without holding to the one or despising the other10 8rendering unto ,csar the things that are ,csar's and unto ,god the things that are ,god's40 ,did not ,socrates1 all the while he unflinchingly refused to concede one iota of loyalty to his dmon1 obey with equal fidelity and equanimity the command of his earthly master1 the ,state8 ,his conscience he followed1 alive2 his country he served1 dying4 ,alack the day when a state grows so powerful as to demand of its citizens the dictates of their conscience6 ,bushido did not require us to make our conscience the slave of any lord or king4 ,thomas ,mowbray was a veritable spokesman for us when he said3 8,myself ,i throw1 dread sovereign1 at thy foot4 ,my life thou shalt command1 but not my shame4 ,the one my duty owes2 but my fair name1 ,despite of death1 that lives upon my grave1 ,to dark dishonor's use1 thou shalt not have40 ,a man who sacrificed his own conscience to the capricious will or freak or fancy of a sovereign was accorded a low place in the estimate of the ,precepts4 ,such a one was despised as nei-shin1 a cringeling1 who makes court by unscrupulous fawning or as ch-shin1 a favorite who steals his master's affections by means of servile compliance2 these two species of subjects corresponding exactly to those which ,iago describes1--the one1 a duteous and knee-crooking knave1 doting on his own obsequious bondage1 wearing out his time much like his master's ass2 the other trimm'd in forms and visages of duty1 keeping yet his heart attending on himself4 ,when a subject differed from his master1 the loyal path for him to pursue was to use every available means to persuade him of his error1 as ,kent did to ,king ,lear4 ,failing in this1 let the master deal with him as he wills4 ,in cases of this kind1 it was quite a usual course for the samurai to make the last appeal to the intelligence and conscience of his lord by demonstrating the sincerity of his words with the shedding of his own blood4 ,life being regarded as the means whereby to serve his master1 and its ideal being set upon honor1 the whole ,,education ,,and ,,training ,,of ,a ,,samurai1 were conducted accordingly4 ,the first point to observe in knightly pedagogics was to build up character1 leaving in the shade the subtler faculties of prudence1 intelligence and dialectics4 ,we have seen the important part sthetic accomplishments played in his education4 ,indispensable as they were to a man of culture1 they were accessories rather than essentials of samurai training4 ,intellectual superiority was1 of course1 esteemed2 but the word ,chi1 which was employed to denote intellectuality1 meant wisdom in the first instance and placed knowledge only in a very subordinate place4 ,the tripod that supported the framework of ,bushido was said to be ,chi1 ,jin1 ,yu1 respectively ,wisdom1 ,benevolence1 and ,courage4 ,a samurai was essentially a man of action4 ,science was without the pale of his activity4 ,he took advantage of it in so far as it concerned his profession of arms4 ,religion and theology were relegated to the priests2 he concerned himself with them in so far as they helped to nourish courage4 ,like an ,english poet the samurai believed 8'tis not the creed that saves the man2 but it is the man that justifies the creed40 ,philosophy and literature formed the chief part of his intellectual training2 but even in the pursuit of these1 it was not objective truth that he strove after1--literature was pursued mainly as a pastime1 and philosophy as a practical aid in the formation of character1 if not for the exposition of some military or political problem4 ,from what has been said1 it will not be surprising to note that the curriculum of studies1 according to the pedagogics of ,bushido1 consisted mainly of the following1--fencing1 archery1 jiujutsu or yawara1 horsemanship1 the use of the spear1 tactics1 caligraphy1 ethics1 literature and history4 ,of these1 jiujutsu and caligraphy may require a few words of explanation4 ,great stress was laid on good writing1 probably because our logograms1 partaking as they do of the nature of pictures1 possess artistic value1 and also because chirography was accepted as indicative of one's personal character4 ,jiujutsu may be briefly defined as an application of anatomical knowledge to the purpose of offense or defense4 ,it differs from wrestling1 in that it does not depend upon muscular strength4 ,it differs from other forms of attack in that it uses no weapon4 ,its feat consists in clutching or striking such part of the enemy's body as will make him numb and incapable of resistance4 ,its object is not to kill1 but to incapacitate one for action for the time being4 ,a subject of study which one would expect to find in military education and which is rather conspicuous by its absence in the ,bushido course of instruction1 is mathematics4 ,this1 however1 can be readily explained in part by the fact that feudal warfare was not carried on with scientific precision4 ,not only that1 but the whole training of the samurai was unfavorable to fostering numerical notions4 ,chivalry is uneconomical2 it boasts of penury4 ,it says with ,ventidius that 8ambition1 the soldier's virtue1 rather makes choice of loss1 than gain which darkens him40 ,don ,quixote takes more pride in his rusty spear and skin-and-bone horse than in gold and lands1 and a samurai is in hearty sympathy with his exaggerated confrre of ,la ,mancha4 ,he disdains money itself1--the art of making or hoarding it4 ,it is to him veritably filthy lucre4 ,the hackneyed expression to describe the decadence of an age is 8that the civilians loved money and the soldiers feared death40 ,niggardliness of gold and of life excites as much disapprobation as their lavish use is panegyrized4 8,less than all things10 says a current precept1 8men must grudge money3 it is by riches that wisdom is hindered40 ,hence children were brought up with utter disregard of economy4 ,it was considered bad taste to speak of it1 and ignorance of the value of different coins was a token of good breeding4 ,knowledge of numbers was indispensable in the mustering of forces as well1 as in the distribution of benefices and fiefs2 but the counting of money was left to meaner hands4 ,in many feudatories1 public finance was administered by a lower kind of samurai or by priests4 ,every thinking bushi knew well enough that money formed the sinews of war2 but he did not think of raising the appreciation of money to a virtue4 ,it is true that thrift was enjoined by ,bushido1 but not for economical reasons so much as for the exercise of abstinence4 ,luxury was thought the greatest menace to manhood1 and severest simplicity was required of the warrior class1 sumptuary laws being enforced in many of the clans4 ,we read that in ancient ,rome the farmers of revenue and other financial agents were gradually raised to the rank of knights1 the ,state thereby showing its appreciation of their service and of the importance of money itself4 ,how closely this was connected with the luxury and avarice of the ,romans may be imagined4 ,not so with the ,precepts of ,knighthood4 ,these persisted in systematically regarding finance as something low--low as compared with moral and intellectual vocations4 ,money and the love of it being thus diligently ignored1 ,bushido itself could long remain free from a thousand and one evils of which money is the root4 ,this is sufficient reason for the fact that our public men have long been free from corruption2 but1 alas1 how fast plutocracy is making its way in our time and generation6 ,the mental discipline which would now-a-days be chiefly aided by the study of mathematics1 was supplied by literary exegesis and deontological discussions4 ,very few abstract subjects troubled the mind of the young1 the chief aim of their education being1 as ,i have said1 decision of character4 ,people whose minds were simply stored with information found no great admirers4 ,of the three services of studies that ,bacon gives1--for delight1 ornament1 and ability1--,bushido had decided preference for the last1 where their use was 8in judgment and the disposition of business40 ,whether it was for the disposition of public business or for the exercise of self-control1 it was with a practical end in view that education was conducted4 8,learning without thought10 said ,confucius1 8is labor lost3 thought without learning is perilous40 ,when character and not intelligence1 when the soul and not the head1 is chosen by a teacher for the material to work upon and to develop1 his vocation partakes of a sacred character4 8,it is the parent who has borne me3 it is the teacher who makes me man40 ,with this idea1 therefore1 the esteem in which one's preceptor was held was very high4 ,a man to evoke such confidence and respect from the young1 must necessarily be endowed with superior personality without lacking erudition4 ,he was a father to the fatherless1 and an adviser to the erring4 8,thy father and thy mother0--so runs our maxim--8are like heaven and earth2 thy teacher and thy lord are like the sun and moon40 ,the present system of paying for every sort of service was not in vogue among the adherents of ,bushido4 ,it believed in a service which can be rendered only without money and without price4 ,spiritual service1 be it of priest or teacher1 was not to be repaid in gold or silver1 not because it was valueless but because it was invaluable4 ,here the non-arithmetical honor-instinct of ,bushido taught a truer lesson than modern ,political ,economy2 for wages and salaries can be paid only for services whose results are definite1 tangible1 and measurable1 whereas the best service done in education1--namely1 in soul development 7and this includes the services of a pastor71 is not definite1 tangible or measurable4 ,being immeasurable1 money1 the ostensible measure of value1 is of inadequate use4 ,usage sanctioned that pupils brought to their teachers money or goods at different seasons of the year2 but these were not payments but offerings1 which indeed were welcome to the recipients as they were usually men of stern calibre1 boasting of honorable penury1 too dignified to work with their hands and too proud to beg4 ,they were grave personifications of high spirits undaunted by adversity4 ,they were an embodiment of what was considered as an end of all learning1 and were thus a living example of that discipline of disciplines1 ,,self-,,control1 which was universally required of samurai4 ,the discipline of fortitude on the one hand1 inculcating endurance without a groan1 and the teaching of politeness on the other1 requiring us not to mar the pleasure or serenity of another by manifestations of our own sorrow or pain1 combined to engender a stoical turn of mind1 and eventually to confirm it into a national trait of apparent stoicism4 ,i say apparent stoicism1 because ,i do not believe that true stoicism can ever become the characteristic of a whole nation1 and also because some of our national manners and customs may seem to a foreign observer hard-hearted4 ,yet we are really as susceptible to tender emotion as any race under the sky4 ,i am inclined to think that in one sense we have to feel more than others--yes1 doubly more--since the very attempt to restrain natural promptings entails suffering4 ,imagine boys--and girls too--brought up not to resort to the shedding of a tear or the uttering of a groan for the relief of their feelings1--and there is a physiological problem whether such effort steels their nerves or makes them more sensitive4 ,it was considered unmanly for a samurai to betray his emotions on his face4 8,he shows no sign of joy or anger10 was a phrase used in describing a strong character4 ,the most natural affections were kept under control4 ,a father could embrace his son only at the expense of his dignity2 a husband would not kiss his wife1--no1 not in the presence of other people1 whatever he might do in private6 ,there may be some truth in the remark of a witty youth when he said1 8,american husbands kiss their wives in public and beat them in private2 ,japanese husbands beat theirs in public and kiss them in private40 ,calmness of behavior1 composure of mind1 should not be disturbed by passion of any kind4 ,i remember when1 during the late war with ,china1 a regiment left a certain town1 a large concourse of people flocked to the station to bid farewell to the general and his army4 ,on this occasion an ,american resident resorted to the place1 expecting to witness loud demonstrations1 as the nation itself was highly excited and there were fathers1 mothers1 and sweethearts of the soldiers in the crowd4 ,the ,american was strangely disappointed2 for as the whistle blew and the train began to move1 the hats of thousands of people were silently taken off and their heads bowed in reverential farewell2 no waving of handkerchiefs1 no word uttered1 but deep silence in which only an attentive ear could catch a few broken sobs4 ,in domestic life1 too1 ,i know of a father who spent whole nights listening to the breathing of a sick child1 standing behind the door that he might not be caught in such an act of parental weakness6 ,i know of a mother who1 in her last moments1 refrained from sending for her son1 that he might not be disturbed in his studies4 ,our history and everyday life are replete with examples of heroic matrons who can well bear comparison with some of the most touching pages of ,plutarch4 ,among our peasantry an ,ian ,maclaren would be sure to find many a ,marget ,howe4 ,it is the same discipline of self-restraint which is accountable for the absence of more frequent revivals in the ,christian churches of ,japan4 ,when a man or woman feels his or her soul stirred1 the first instinct is to quietly suppress any indication of it4 ,in rare instances is the tongue set free by an irresistible spirit1 when we have eloquence of sincerity and fervor4 ,it is putting a premium upon a breach of the third commandment to encourage speaking lightly of spiritual experience4 ,it is truly jarring to ,japanese ears to hear the most sacred words1 the most secret heart experiences1 thrown out in promiscuous audiences4 8,dost thou feel the soil of thy soul stirred with tender thoughts8 ,it is time for seeds to sprout4 ,disturb it not with speech2 but let it work alone in quietness and secrecy10--writes a young samurai in his diary4 ,to give in so many articulate words one's inmost thoughts and feelings--notably the religious--is taken among us as an unmistakable sign that they are neither very profound nor very sincere4 8,only a pomegranate is he0--so runs a popular saying--8who1 when he gapes his mouth1 displays the contents of his heart40 ,it is not altogether perverseness of oriental minds that the instant our emotions are moved we try to guard our lips in order to hide them4 ,speech is very often with us1 as the ,frenchman defined it1 8the art of concealing thought40 ,call upon a ,japanese friend in time of deepest affliction and he will invariably receive you laughing1 with red eyes or moist cheeks4 ,at first you may think him hysterical4 ,press him for explanation and you will get a few broken commonplaces--8,human life has sorrow20 8,they who meet must part20 8,he that is born must die20 8,it is foolish to count the years of a child that is gone1 but a woman's heart will indulge in follies20 and the like4 ,so the noble words of a noble ,hohenzollern--8,lerne zu leiden ohne ,klagen0--had found many responsive minds among us1 long before they were uttered4 ,indeed1 the ,japanese have recourse to risibility whenever the frailties of human nature are put to severest test4 ,i think we possess a better reason than ,democritus himself for our ,abderian tendency2 for laughter with us oftenest veils an effort to regain balance of temper1 when disturbed by any untoward circumstance4 ,it is a counterpoise of sorrow or rage4 ,the suppression of feelings being thus steadily insisted upon1 they find their safety-valve in poetical aphorism4 ,a poet of the tenth century writes1 8,in ,japan and ,china as well1 humanity1 when moved by sorrow1 tells its bitter grief in verse40 ,a mother who tries to console her broken heart by fancying her departed child absent on his wonted chase after the dragon-fly1 hums1 8,how far to-day in chase1 ,i wonder1 ,has gone my hunter of the dragon-fly60 ,i refrain from quoting other examples1 for ,i know ,i could do only scant justice to the pearly gems of our literature1 were ,i to render into a foreign tongue the thoughts which were wrung drop by drop from bleeding hearts and threaded into beads of rarest value4 ,i hope ,i have in a measure shown that inner working of our minds which often presents an appearance of callousness or of an hysterical mixture of laughter and dejection1 and whose sanity is sometimes called in question4 ,it has also been suggested that our endurance of pain and indifference to death are due to less sensitive nerves4 ,this is plausible as far as it goes4 ,the next question is1--,why are our nerves less tightly strung8 ,it may be our climate is not so stimulating as the ,american4 ,it may be our monarchical form of government does not excite us as much as the ,republic does the ,frenchman4 ,it may be that we do not read ,sartor ,resartus as zealously as the ,englishman4 ,personally1 ,i believe it was our very excitability and sensitiveness which made it a necessity to recognize and enforce constant self-repression2 but whatever may be the explanation1 without taking into account long years of discipline in self-control1 none can be correct4 ,discipline in self-control can easily go too far4 ,it can well repress the genial current of the soul4 ,it can force pliant natures into distortions and monstrosities4 ,it can beget bigotry1 breed hypocrisy or hebetate affections4 ,be a virtue never so noble1 it has its counterpart and counterfeit4 ,we must recognize in each virtue its own positive excellence and follow its positive ideal1 and the ideal of self-restraint is to keep our mind level--as our expression is--or1 to borrow a ,greek term1 attain the state of euthymia1 which ,democritus called the highest good4 ,the acme of self-control is reached and best illustrated in the first of the two institutions which we shall now bring to view2 namely1 ,,the ,,institutions ,,of ,,suicide ,,and ,,redress1 of which 7the former known as hara-kiri and the latter as kataki-uchi7 many foreign writers have treated more or less fully4 ,to begin with suicide1 let me state that ,i confine my observations only to seppuku or kappuku1 popularly known as hara-kiri--which means self-immolation by disembowelment4 8,ripping the abdomen8 ,how absurd60--so cry those to whom the name is new4 ,absurdly odd as it may sound at first to foreign ears1 it can not be so very foreign to students of ,shakespeare1 who puts these words in ,brutus' mouth--8,thy 7,csar's7 spirit walks abroad and turns our swords into our proper entrails40 ,listen to a modern ,english poet1 who in his ,light of ,asia1 speaks of a sword piercing the bowels of a queen3--none blames him for bad ,english or breach of modesty4 ,or1 to take still another example1 look at ,guercino's painting of ,cato's death1 in the ,palazzo ,rossa in ,genoa4 ,whoever has read the swan-song which ,addison makes ,cato sing1 will not jeer at the sword half-buried in his abdomen4 ,in our minds this mode of death is associated with instances of noblest deeds and of most touching pathos1 so that nothing repugnant1 much less ludicrous1 mars our conception of it4 ,so wonderful is the transforming power of virtue1 of greatness1 of tenderness1 that the vilest form of death assumes a sublimity and becomes a symbol of new life1 or else--the sign which ,constantine beheld would not conquer the world6 ,not for extraneous associations only does seppuku lose in our mind any taint of absurdity2 for the choice of this particular part of the body to operate upon1 was based on an old anatomical belief as to the seat of the soul and of the affections4 ,when ,moses wrote of ,joseph's 8bowels yearning upon his brother10 or ,david prayed the ,lord not to forget his bowels1 or when ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah and other inspired men of old spoke of the 8sounding0 or the 8troubling0 of bowels1 they all and each endorsed the belief prevalent among the ,japanese that in the abdomen was enshrined the soul4 ,the ,semites habitually spoke of the liver and kidneys and surrounding fat as the seat of emotion and of life4 ,the term hara was more comprehensive than the ,greek phren or thumos and the ,japanese and ,hellenese alike thought the spirit of man to dwell somewhere in that region4 ,such a notion is by no means confined to the peoples of antiquity4 ,the ,french1 in spite of the theory propounded by one of their most distinguished philosophers1 ,descartes1 that the soul is located in the pineal gland1 still insist in using the term ventre in a sense1 which1 if anatomically too vague1 is nevertheless physiologically significant4 ,similarly entrailles stands in their language for affection and compassion4 ,nor is such belief mere superstition1 being more scientific than the general idea of making the heart the centre of the feelings4 ,without asking a friar1 the ,japanese knew better than ,romeo 8in what vile part of this anatomy one's name did lodge40 ,modern neurologists speak of the abdominal and pelvic brains1 denoting thereby sympathetic nerve-centres in those parts which are strongly affected by any psychical action4 ,this view of mental physiology once admitted1 the syllogism of seppuku is easy to construct4 8,i will open the seat of my soul and show you how it fares with it4 ,see for yourself whether it is polluted or clean40 ,i do not wish to be understood as asserting religious or even moral justification of suicide1 but the high estimate placed upon honor was ample excuse with many for taking one's own life4 ,how many acquiesced in the sentiment expressed by ,garth1 8,when honor's lost1 'tis a relief to die2 ,death's but a sure retreat from infamy10 and have smilingly surrendered their souls to oblivion6 ,death when honor was involved1 was accepted in ,bushido as a key to the solution of many complex problems1 so that to an ambitious samurai a natural departure from life seemed a rather tame affair and a consummation not devoutly to be wished for4 ,i dare say that many good ,christians1 if only they are honest enough1 will confess the fascination of1 if not positive admiration for1 the sublime composure with which ,cato1 ,brutus1 ,petronius and a host of other ancient worthies1 terminated their own earthly existence4 ,is it too bold to hint that the death of the first of the philosophers was partly suicidal8 ,when we are told so minutely by his pupils how their master willingly submitted to the mandate of the state--which he knew was morally mistaken--in spite of the possibilities of escape1 and how he took up the cup of hemlock in his own hand1 even offering libation from its deadly contents1 do we not discern in his whole proceeding and demeanor1 an act of self-immolation8 ,no physical compulsion here1 as in ordinary cases of execution4 ,true the verdict of the judges was compulsory3 it said1 8,thou shalt die1--and that by thy own hand40 ,if suicide meant no more than dying by one's own hand1 ,socrates was a clear case of suicide4 ,but nobody would charge him with the crime2 ,plato1 who was averse to it1 would not call his master a suicide4 ,now my readers will understand that seppuku was not a mere suicidal process4 ,it was an institution1 legal and ceremonial4 ,an invention of the middle ages1 it was a process by which warriors could expiate their crimes1 apologize for errors1 escape from disgrace1 redeem their friends1 or prove their sincerity4 ,when enforced as a legal punishment1 it was practiced with due ceremony4 ,it was a refinement of self-destruction1 and none could perform it without the utmost coolness of temper and composure of demeanor1 and for these reasons it was particularly befitting the profession of bushi4 ,antiquarian curiosity1 if nothing else1 would tempt me to give here a description of this obsolete ceremonial2 but seeing that such a description was made by a far abler writer1 whose book is not much read now-a-days1 ,i am tempted to make a somewhat lengthy quotation4 ,mitford1 in his 8,tales of ,old ,japan10 after giving a translation of a treatise on seppuku from a rare ,japanese manuscript1 goes on to describe an instance of such an execution of which he was an eye-witness3-- 8,we 7seven foreign representatives7 were invited to follow the ,japanese witness into the hondo or main hall of the temple1 where the ceremony was to be performed4 ,it was an imposing scene4 ,a large hall with a high roof supported by dark pillars of wood4 ,from the ceiling hung a profusion of those huge gilt lamps and ornaments peculiar to ,buddhist temples4 ,in front of the high altar1 where the floor1 covered with beautiful white mats1 is raised some three or four inches from the ground1 was laid a rug of scarlet felt4 ,tall candles placed at regular intervals gave out a dim mysterious light1 just sufficient to let all the proceedings be seen4 ,the seven ,japanese took their places on the left of the raised floor1 the seven foreigners on the right4 ,no other person was present4 8,after the interval of a few minutes of anxious suspense1 ,taki ,zenzaburo1 a stalwart man thirty-two years of age1 with a noble air1 walked into the hall attired in his dress of ceremony1 with the peculiar hempen-cloth wings which are worn on great occasions4 ,he was accompanied by a kaishaku and three officers1 who wore the jimbaori or war surcoat with gold tissue facings4 ,the word kaishaku it should be observed1 is one to which our word executioner is no equivalent term4 ,the office is that of a gentleman3 in many cases it is performed by a kinsman or friend of the condemned1 and the relation between them is rather that of principal and second than that of victim and executioner4 ,in this instance the kaishaku was a pupil of ,taki ,zenzaburo1 and was selected by friends of the latter from among their own number for his skill in swordsmanship4 8,with the kaishaku on his left hand1 ,taki ,zenzaburo advanced slowly towards the ,japanese witnesses1 and the two bowed before them1 then drawing near to the foreigners they saluted us in the same way1 perhaps even with more deference2 in each case the salutation was ceremoniously returned4 ,slowly and with great dignity the condemned man mounted on to the raised floor1 prostrated himself before the high altar twice1 and seated#ai himself on the felt carpet with his back to the high altar1 the kaishaku crouching on his left hand side4 ,one of the three attendant officers then came forward1 bearing a stand of the kind used in the temple for offerings1 on which1 wrapped in paper1 lay the wakizashi1 the short sword or dirk of the ,japanese1 nine inches and a half in length1 with a point and an edge as sharp as a razor's4 ,this he handed1 prostrating himself1 to the condemned man1 who received it reverently1 raising it to his head with both hands1 and placed it in front of himself4 ,footnote #ai3 ,seated himself--that is1 in the ,japanese fashion1 his knees and toes touching the ground and his body resting on his heels4 ,in this position1 which is one of respect1 he remained until his death4 8,after another profound obeisance1 ,taki ,zenzaburo1 in a voice which betrayed just so much emotion and hesitation as might be expected from a man who is making a painful confession1 but with no sign of either in his face or manner1 spoke as follows3-- #8,i1 and ,i alone1 unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the foreigners at ,kobe1 and again as they tried to escape4 ,for this crime ,i disembowel myself1 and ,i beg you who are present to do me the honor of witnessing the act4' 8,bowing once more1 the speaker allowed his upper garments to slip down to his girdle1 and remained naked to the waist4 ,carefully1 according to custom1 he tucked his sleeves under his knees to prevent himself from falling backward2 for a noble ,japanese gentleman should die falling forwards4 ,deliberately1 with a steady hand he took the dirk that lay before him2 he looked at it wistfully1 almost affectionately2 for a moment he seemed to collect his thoughts for the last time1 and then stabbing himself deeply below the waist in the left-hand side1 he drew the dirk slowly across to his right side1 and turning it in the wound1 gave a slight cut upwards4 ,during this sickeningly painful operation he never moved a muscle of his face4 ,when he drew out the dirk1 he leaned forward and stretched out his neck2 an expression of pain for the first time crossed his face1 but he uttered no sound4 ,at that moment the kaishaku1 who1 still crouching by his side1 had been keenly watching his every movement1 sprang to his feet1 poised his sword for a second in the air2 there was a flash1 a heavy1 ugly thud1 a crashing fall2 with one blow the head had been severed from the body4 8,a dead silence followed1 broken only by the hideous noise of the blood throbbing out of the inert head before us1 which but a moment before had been a brave and chivalrous man4 ,it was horrible4 8,the kaishaku made a low bow1 wiped his sword with a piece of paper which he had ready for the purpose1 and retired from the raised floor2 and the stained dirk was solemnly borne away1 a bloody proof of the execution4 8,the two representatives of the ,mikado then left their places1 and crossing over to where the foreign witnesses sat1 called to us to witness that the sentence of death upon ,taki ,zenzaburo had been faithfully carried out4 ,the ceremony being at an end1 we left the temple40 ,i might multiply any number of descriptions of seppuku from literature or from the relation of eye-witnesses2 but one more instance will suffice4 ,two brothers1 ,sakon and ,naiki1 respectively twenty-four and seventeen years of age1 made an effort to kill ,iyyasu in order to avenge their father's wrongs2 but before they could enter the camp they were made prisoners4 ,the old general admired the pluck of the youths who dared an attempt on his life and ordered that they should be allowed to die an honorable death4 ,their little brother ,hachimaro1 a mere infant of eight summers1 was condemned to a similar fate1 as the sentence was pronounced on all the male members of the family1 and the three were taken to a monastery where it was to be executed4 ,a physician who was present on the occasion has left us a diary from which the following scene is translated4 8,when they were all seated in a row for final despatch1 ,sakon turned to the youngest and said--#8,go thou first1 for ,i wish to be sure that thou doest it aright4' ,upon the little one's replying that1 as he had never seen seppuku performed1 he would like to see his brothers do it and then he could follow them1 the older brothers smiled between their tears3--#8,well said1 little fellow6 ,so canst thou well boast of being our father's child4' ,when they had placed him between them1 ,sakon thrust the dagger into the left side of his own abdomen and asked--#8,look1 brother6 ,dost understand now8 ,only1 don't push the dagger too far1 lest thou fall back4 ,lean forward1 rather1 and keep thy knees well composed4' ,naiki did likewise and said to the boy--#8,keep thy eyes open or else thou mayst look like a dying woman4 ,if thy dagger feels anything within and thy strength fails1 take courage and double thy effort to cut across4' ,the child looked from one to the other1 and when both had expired1 he calmly half denuded himself and followed the example set him on either hand40 ,the glorification of seppuku offered1 naturally enough1 no small temptation to its unwarranted committal4 ,for causes entirely incompatible with reason1 or for reasons entirely undeserving of death1 hot headed youths rushed into it as insects fly into fire2 mixed and dubious motives drove more samurai to this deed than nuns into convent gates4 ,life was cheap--cheap as reckoned by the popular standard of honor4 ,the saddest feature was that honor1 which was always in the agio1 so to speak1 was not always solid gold1 but alloyed with baser metals4 ,no one circle in the ,inferno will boast of greater density of ,japanese population than the seventh1 to which ,dante consigns all victims of self-destruction6 ,and yet1 for a true samurai to hasten death or to court it1 was alike cowardice4 ,a typical fighter1 when he lost battle after battle and was pursued from plain to hill and from bush to cavern1 found himself hungry and alone in the dark hollow of a tree1 his sword blunt with use1 his bow broken and arrows exhausted--did not the noblest of the ,romans fall upon his own sword in ,phillippi under like circumstances8--deemed it cowardly to die1 but with a fortitude approaching a ,christian martyr's1 cheered himself with an impromptu verse3 8,come6 evermore come1 ,ye dread sorrows and pains6 ,and heap on my burden'd back2 ,that ,i not one test may lack ,of what strength in me remains60 ,this1 then1 was the ,bushido teaching--,bear and face all calamities and adversities with patience and a pure conscience2 for as ,mencius#bj taught1 8,when ,heaven is about to confer a great office on anyone1 it first exercises his mind with suffering and his sinews and bones with toil2 it exposes his body to hunger and subjects him to extreme poverty2 and it confounds his undertakings4 ,in all these ways it stimulates his mind1 hardens his nature1 and supplies his incompetencies40 ,true honor lies in fulfilling ,heaven's decree and no death incurred in so doing is ignominious1 whereas death to avoid what ,heaven has in store is cowardly indeed6 ,in that quaint book of ,sir ,thomas ,browne's1 ,religio ,medici1 there is an exact ,english equivalent for what is repeatedly taught in our ,precepts4 ,let me quote it3 8,it is a brave act of valor to contemn death1 but where life is more terrible than death1 it is then the truest valor to dare to live40 ,a renowned priest of the seventeenth century satirically observed--8,talk as he may1 a samurai who ne'er has died is apt in decisive moments to flee or hide40 ,again--8,him who once has died in the bottom of his breast1 no spears of ,sanada nor all the arrows of ,tametomo can pierce40 ,how near we come to the portals of the temple whose ,builder taught 8he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it60 ,these are but a few of the numerous examples which tend to confirm the moral identity of the human species1 notwithstanding an attempt so assiduously made to render the distinction between ,christian and ,pagan as great as possible4 ,footnote #bj3 ,i use ,dr4 ,legge's translation verbatim4 ,we have thus seen that the ,bushido institution of suicide was neither so irrational nor barbarous as its abuse strikes us at first sight4 ,we will now see whether its sister institution of ,redress--or call it ,revenge1 if you will--has its mitigating features4 ,i hope ,i can dispose of this question in a few words1 since a similar institution1 or call it custom1 if that suits you better1 has at some time prevailed among all peoples and has not yet become entirely obsolete1 as attested by the continuance of duelling and lynching4 ,why1 has not an ,american captain recently challenged ,esterhazy1 that the wrongs of ,dreyfus be avenged8 ,among a savage tribe which has no marriage1 adultery is not a sin1 and only the jealousy of a lover protects a woman from abuse3 so in a time which has no criminal court1 murder is not a crime1 and only the vigilant vengeance of the victim's people preserves social order4 8,what is the most beautiful thing on earth80 said ,osiris to ,horus4 ,the reply was1 8,to avenge a parent's wrongs10--to which a ,japanese would have added 8and a master's40 ,in revenge there is something which satisfies one's sense of justice4 ,the avenger reasons3--8,my good father did not deserve death4 ,he who killed him did great evil4 ,my father1 if he were alive1 would not tolerate a deed like this3 ,heaven itself hates wrong-doing4 ,it is the will of my father2 it is the will of ,heaven that the evil-doer cease from his work4 ,he must perish by my hand2 because he shed my father's blood1 ,i1 who am his flesh and blood1 must shed the murderer's4 ,the same ,heaven shall not shelter him and me40 ,the ratiocination is simple and childish 7though we know ,hamlet did not reason much more deeply71 nevertheless it shows an innate sense of exact balance and equal justice 8,an eye for an eye1 a tooth for a tooth40 ,our sense of revenge is as exact as our mathematical faculty1 and until both terms of the equation are satisfied we cannot get over the sense of something left undone4 ,in ,judaism1 which believed in a jealous ,god1 or in ,greek mythology1 which provided a ,nemesis1 vengeance may be left to superhuman agencies2 but common sense furnished ,bushido with the institution of redress as a kind of ethical court of equity1 where people could take cases not to be judged in accordance with ordinary law4 ,the master of the forty-seven ,ronins was condemned to death2--he had no court of higher instance to appeal to2 his faithful retainers addressed themselves to ,vengeance1 the only ,supreme ,court existing2 they in their turn were condemned by common law1--but the popular instinct passed a different judgment and hence their memory is still kept as green and fragrant as are their graves at ,sengakuji to this day4 ,though ,lao-tse taught to recompense injury with kindness1 the voice of ,confucius was very much louder1 which counselled that injury must be recompensed with justice2--and yet revenge was justified only when it was undertaken in behalf of our superiors and benefactors4 ,one's own wrongs1 including injuries done to wife and children1 were to be borne and forgiven4 ,a samurai could therefore fully sympathize with ,hannibal's oath to avenge his country's wrongs1 but he scorns ,james ,hamilton for wearing in his girdle a handful of earth from his wife's grave1 as an eternal incentive to avenge her wrongs on the ,regent ,murray4 ,both of these institutions of suicide and redress lost their raison d'tre at the promulgation of the criminal code4 ,no more do we hear of romantic adventures of a fair maiden as she tracks in disguise the murderer of her parent4 ,no more can we witness tragedies of family vendetta enacted4 ,the knight errantry of ,miyamoto ,musashi is now a tale of the past4 ,the well-ordered police spies out the criminal for the injured party and the law metes out justice4 ,the whole state and society will see that wrong is righted4 ,the sense of justice satisfied1 there is no need of kataki-uchi4 ,if this had meant that 8hunger of the heart which feeds upon the hope of glutting that hunger with the life-blood of the victim10 as a ,new ,england divine has described it1 a few paragraphs in the ,criminal ,code would not so entirely have made an end of it4 ,as to seppuku1 though it too has no existence de jure1 we still hear of it from time to time1 and shall continue to hear1 ,i am afraid1 as long as the past is remembered4 ,many painless and time-saving methods of self-immolation will come in vogue1 as its votaries are increasing with fearful rapidity throughout the world2 but ,professor ,morselli will have to concede to seppuku an aristocratic position among them4 ,he maintains that 8when suicide is accomplished by very painful means or at the cost of prolonged agony1 in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred1 it may be assigned as the act of a mind disordered by fanaticism1 by madness1 or by morbid excitement40#ba ,but a normal seppuku does not savor of fanaticism1 or madness or excitement1 utmost sang froid being necessary to its successful accomplishment4 ,of the two kinds into which ,dr4 ,strahan#bb divides suicide1 the ,rational or ,quasi1 and the ,irrational or ,true1 seppuku is the best example of the former type4 ,footnote #ba3 ,morselli1 ,suicide1 p4 #cad4 ,footnote #bb3 ,suicide and ,insanity4 ,from these bloody institutions1 as well as from the general tenor of ,bushido1 it is easy to infer that the sword played an important part in social discipline and life4 ,the saying passed as an axiom which called ,,the ,,sword ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,the ,,samurai1 and made it the emblem of power and prowess4 ,when ,mahomet proclaimed that 8,the sword is the key of ,heaven and of ,hell10 he only echoed a ,japanese sentiment4 ,very early the samurai boy learned to wield it4 ,it was a momentous occasion for him when at the age of five he was apparelled in the paraphernalia of samurai costume1 placed upon a go-board#bc and initiated into the rights of the military profession by having thrust into his girdle a real sword1 instead of the toy dirk with which he had been playing4 ,after this first ceremony of adoptio per arma1 he was no more to be seen outside his father's gates without this badge of his status1 even if it was usually substituted for every-day wear by a gilded wooden dirk4 ,not many years pass before he wears constantly the genuine steel1 though blunt1 and then the sham arms are thrown aside and with enjoyment keener than his newly acquired blades1 he marches out to try their edge on wood and stone4 ,when he reaches man's estate at the age of fifteen1 being given independence of action1 he can now pride himself upon the possession of arms sharp enough for any work4 ,the very possession of the dangerous instrument imparts to him a feeling and an air of self-respect and responsibility4 8,he beareth not his sword in vain40 ,what he carries in his belt is a symbol of what he carries in his mind and heart--,loyalty and ,honor4 ,the two swords1 the longer and the shorter--called respectively daito and shoto or katana and wakizashi--never leave his side4 ,when at home1 they grace the most conspicuous place in study or parlor2 by night they guard his pillow within easy reach of his hand4 ,constant companions1 they are beloved1 and proper names of endearment given them4 ,being venerated1 they are well-nigh worshiped4 ,the ,father of ,history has recorded as a curious piece of information that the ,scythians sacrificed to an iron scimitar4 ,many a temple and many a family in ,japan hoards a sword as an object of adoration4 ,even the commonest dirk has due respect paid to it4 ,any insult to it is tantamount to personal affront4 ,woe to him who carelessly steps over a weapon lying on the floor6 ,footnote #bc3 ,the game of go is sometimes called ,japanese checkers1 but is much more intricate than the ,english game4 ,the go-board contains #cfa squares and is supposed to represent a battle-field--the object of the game being to occupy as much space as possible4 ,so precious an object cannot long escape the notice and the skill of artists nor the vanity of its owner1 especially in times of peace1 when it is worn with no more use than a crosier by a bishop or a sceptre by a king4 ,shark-skin and finest silk for hilt1 silver and gold for guard1 lacquer of varied hues for scabbard1 robbed the deadliest weapon of half its terror2 but these appurtenances are playthings compared with the blade itself4 ,the swordsmith was not a mere artisan but an inspired artist and his workshop a sanctuary4 ,daily he commenced his craft with prayer and purification1 or1 as the phrase was1 8he committed his soul and spirit into the forging and tempering of the steel40 ,every swing of the sledge1 every plunge into water1 every friction on the grindstone1 was a religious act of no slight import4 ,was it the spirit of the master or of his tutelary god that cast a formidable spell over our sword8 ,perfect as a work of art1 setting at defiance its ,toledo and ,damascus rivals1 there is more than art could impart4 ,its cold blade1 collecting on its surface the moment it is drawn the vapors of the atmosphere2 its immaculate texture1 flashing light of bluish hue2 its matchless edge1 upon which histories and possibilities hang2 the curve of its back1 uniting exquisite grace with utmost strength2--all these thrill us with mixed feelings of power and beauty1 of awe and terror4 ,harmless were its mission1 if it only remained a thing of beauty and joy6 ,but1 ever within reach of the hand1 it presented no small temptation for abuse4 ,too often did the blade flash forth from its peaceful sheath4 ,the abuse sometimes went so far as to try the acquired steel on some harmless creature's neck4 ,the question that concerns us most is1 however1--,did ,bushido justify the promiscuous use of the weapon8 ,the answer is unequivocally1 no6 ,as it laid great stress on its proper use1 so did it denounce and abhor its misuse4 ,a dastard or a braggart was he who brandished his weapon on undeserved occasions4 ,a self-possessed man knows the right time to use it1 and such times come but rarely4 ,let us listen to the late ,count ,katsu1 who passed through one of the most turbulent times of our history1 when assassinations1 suicides1 and other sanguinary practices were the order of the day4 ,endowed as he once was with almost dictatorial powers1 repeatedly marked out as an object for assassination1 he never tarnished his sword with blood4 ,in relating some of his reminiscences to a friend he says1 in a quaint1 plebeian way peculiar to him3--8,i have a great dislike for killing people and so ,i haven't killed one single man4 ,i have released those whose heads should have been chopped off4 ,a friend said to me one day1 #8,you don't kill enough4 ,don't you eat pepper and egg-plants8' ,well1 some people are no better6 ,but you see that fellow was slain himself4 ,my escape may be due to my dislike of killing4 ,i had the hilt of my sword so tightly fastened to the scabbard that it was hard to draw the blade4 ,i made up my mind that though they cut me1 ,i will not cut4 ,yes1 yes6 some people are truly like fleas and mosquitoes and they bite--but what does their biting amount to8 ,it itches a little1 that's all2 it won't endanger life40 ,these are the words of one whose ,bushido training was tried in the fiery furnace of adversity and triumph4 ,the popular apothegm--8,to be beaten is to conquer10 meaning true conquest consists in not opposing a riotous foe2 and 8,the best won victory is that obtained without shedding of blood10 and others of similar import--will show that after all the ultimate ideal of knighthood was ,peace4 ,it was a great pity that this high ideal was left exclusively to priests and moralists to preach1 while the samurai went on practicing and extolling martial traits4 ,in this they went so far as to tinge the ideals of womanhood with ,amazonian character4 ,here we may profitably devote a few paragraphs to the subject of ,,the ,,training ,,and ,,position ,,of ,,woman4 ,the female half of our species has sometimes been called the paragon of paradoxes1 because the intuitive working of its mind is beyond the comprehension of men's 8arithmetical understanding40 ,the ,chinese ideogram denoting 8the mysterious10 8the unknowable10 consists of two parts1 one meaning 8young0 and the other 8woman10 because the physical charms and delicate thoughts of the fair sex are above the coarse mental calibre of our sex to explain4 ,in the ,bushido ideal of woman1 however1 there is little mystery and only a seeming paradox4 ,i have said that it was ,amazonian1 but that is only half the truth4 ,ideographically the ,chinese represent wife by a woman holding a broom--certainly not to brandish it offensively or defensively against her conjugal ally1 neither for witchcraft1 but for the more harmless uses for which the besom was first invented--the idea involved being thus not less homely than the etymological derivation of the ,english wife 7weaver7 and daughter 7duhitar1 milkmaid74 ,without confining the sphere of woman's activity to ,kche1 ,kirche1 ,kinder1 as the present ,german ,kaiser is said to do1 the ,bushido ideal of womanhood was preeminently domestic4 ,these seeming contradictions--,domesticity and ,amazonian traits--are not inconsistent with the ,precepts of ,knighthood1 as we shall see4 ,bushido being a teaching primarily intended for the masculine sex1 the virtues it prized in woman were naturally far from being distinctly feminine4 ,winckelmann remarks that 8the supreme beauty of ,greek art is rather male than female10 and ,lecky adds that it was true in the moral conception of the ,greeks as in their art4 ,bushido similarly praised those women most 8who emancipated themselves from the frailty of their sex and displayed an heroic fortitude worthy of the strongest and the bravest of men40#bd ,young girls therefore1 were trained to repress their feelings1 to indurate their nerves1 to manipulate weapons1--especially the long-handled sword called nagi-nata1 so as to be able to hold their own against unexpected odds4 ,yet the primary motive for exercises of this martial character was not for use in the field2 it was twofold--personal and domestic4 ,woman owning no suzerain of her own1 formed her own bodyguard4 ,with her weapon she guarded her personal sanctity with as much zeal as her husband did his master's4 ,the domestic utility of her warlike training was in the education of her sons1 as we shall see later4 ,footnote #bd3 ,lecky1 ,history of ,european ,morals ,,ii1 p4 #chc4 ,fencing and similar exercises1 if rarely of practical use1 were a wholesome counterbalance to the otherwise sedentary habits of woman4 ,but these exercises were not followed only for hygienic purposes4 ,they could be turned into use in times of need4 ,girls1 when they reached womanhood1 were presented with dirks 7kai-ken1 pocket poniards71 which might be directed to the bosom of their assailants1 or1 if advisable1 to their own4 ,the latter was very often the case3 and yet ,i will not judge them severely4 ,even the ,christian conscience with its horror of self-immolation1 will not be harsh with them1 seeing ,pelagia and ,domnina1 two suicides1 were canonized for their purity and piety4 ,when a ,japanese ,virginia saw her chastity menaced1 she did not wait for her father's dagger4 ,her own weapon lay always in her bosom4 ,it was a disgrace to her not to know the proper way in which she had to perpetrate self-destruction4 ,for example1 little as she was taught in anatomy1 she must know the exact spot to cut in her throat3 she must know how to tie her lower limbs together with a belt so that1 whatever the agonies of death might be1 her corpse be found in utmost modesty with the limbs properly composed4 ,is not a caution like this worthy of the ,christian ,perpetua or the ,vestal ,cornelia8 ,i would not put such an abrupt interrogation1 were it not for a misconception1 based on our bathing customs and other trifles1 that chastity is unknown among us4#be ,on the contrary1 chastity was a pre-eminent virtue of the samurai woman1 held above life itself4 ,a young woman1 taken prisoner1 seeing herself in danger of violence at the hands of the rough soldiery1 says she will obey their pleasure1 provided she be first allowed to write a line to her sisters1 whom war has dispersed in every direction4 ,when the epistle is finished1 off she runs to the nearest well and saves her honor by drowning4 ,the letter she leaves behind ends with these verses2-- 8,for fear lest clouds may dim her light1 ,should she but graze this nether sphere1 ,the young moon poised above the height ,doth hastily betake to flight40 ,footnote #be3 ,for a very sensible explanation of nudity and bathing see ,finck's ,lotos ,time in ,japan1 pp4 #bhf-big4 ,it would be unfair to give my readers an idea that masculinity alone was our highest ideal for woman4 ,far from it6 ,accomplishments and the gentler graces of life were required of them4 ,music1 dancing and literature were not neglected4 ,some of the finest verses in our literature were expressions of feminine sentiments2 in fact1 women played an important role in the history of ,japanese belles lettres4 ,dancing was taught 7,i am speaking of samurai girls and not of geisha7 only to smooth the angularity of their movements4 ,music was to regale the weary hours of their fathers and husbands2 hence it was not for the technique1 the art as such1 that music was learned2 for the ultimate object was purification of heart1 since it was said that no harmony of sound is attainable without the player's heart being in harmony with herself4 ,here again we see the same idea prevailing which we notice in the training of youths--that accomplishments were ever kept subservient to moral worth4 ,just enough of music and dancing to add grace and brightness to life1 but never to foster vanity and extravagance4 ,i sympathize with the ,persian prince1 who1 when taken into a ball-room in ,london and asked to take part in the merriment1 bluntly remarked that in his country they provided a particular set of girls to do that kind of business for them4 ,the accomplishments of our women were not acquired for show or social ascendency4 ,they were a home diversion2 and if they shone in social parties1 it was as the attributes of a hostess1--in other words1 as a part of the household contrivance for hospitality4 ,domesticity guided their education4 ,it may be said that the accomplishments of the women of ,old ,japan1 be they martial or pacific in character1 were mainly intended for the home2 and1 however far they might roam1 they never lost sight of the hearth as the center4 ,it was to maintain its honor and integrity that they slaved1 drudged and gave up their lives4 ,night and day1 in tones at once firm and tender1 brave and plaintive1 they sang to their little nests4 ,as daughter1 woman sacrificed herself for her father1 as wife for her husband1 and as mother for her son4 ,thus from earliest youth she was taught to deny herself4 ,her life was not one of independence1 but of dependent service4 ,man's helpmeet1 if her presence is helpful she stays on the stage with him3 if it hinders his work1 she retires behind the curtain4 ,not infrequently does it happen that a youth becomes enamored of a maiden who returns his love with equal ardor1 but1 when she realizes his interest in her makes him forgetful of his duties1 disfigures her person that her attractions may cease4 ,adzuma1 the ideal wife in the minds of samurai girls1 finds herself loved by a man who1 in order to win her affection1 conspires against her husband4 ,upon pretence of joining in the guilty plot1 she manages in the dark to take her husband's place1 and the sword of the lover assassin descends upon her own devoted head4 ,the following epistle written by the wife of a young daimio1 before taking her own life1 needs no comment3--8,oft have ,i heard that no accident or chance ever mars the march of events here below1 and that all moves in accordance with a plan4 ,to take shelter under a common bough or a drink of the same river1 is alike ordained from ages prior to our birth4 ,since we were joined in ties of eternal wedlock1 now two short years ago1 my heart hath followed thee1 even as its shadow followeth an object1 inseparably bound heart to heart1 loving and being loved4 ,learning but recently1 however1 that the coming battle is to be the last of thy labor and life1 take the farewell greeting of thy loving partner4 ,i have heard that ,k-u1 the mighty warrior of ancient ,china1 lost a battle1 loth to part with his favorite ,gu4 ,yoshinaka1 too1 brave as he was1 brought disaster to his cause1 too weak to bid prompt farewell to his wife4 ,why should ,i1 to whom earth no longer offers hope or joy--why should ,i detain thee or thy thoughts by living8 ,why should ,i not1 rather1 await thee on the road which all mortal kind must sometime tread8 ,never1 prithee1 never forget the many benefits which our good master ,hideyori hath heaped upon thee4 ,the gratitude we owe him is as deep as the sea and as high as the hills40 ,woman's surrender of herself to the good of her husband1 home and family1 was as willing and honorable as the man's self-surrender to the good of his lord and country4 ,self-renunciation1 without which no life-enigma can be solved1 was the keynote of the ,loyalty of man as well as of the ,domesticity of woman4 ,she was no more the slave of man than was her husband of his liege-lord1 and the part she played was recognized as ,naijo1 8the inner help40 ,in the ascending scale of service stood woman1 who annihilated herself for man1 that he might annihilate himself for the master1 that he in turn might obey heaven4 ,i know the weakness of this teaching and that the superiority of ,christianity is nowhere more manifest than here1 in that it requires of each and every living soul direct responsibility to its ,creator4 ,nevertheless1 as far as the doctrine of service--the serving of a cause higher than one's own self1 even at the sacrifice of one's individuality2 ,i say the doctrine of service1 which is the greatest that ,christ preached and is the sacred keynote of his mission--as far as that is concerned1 ,bushido is based on eternal truth4 ,my readers will not accuse me of undue prejudice in favor of slavish surrender of volition4 ,i accept in a large measure the view advanced with breadth of learning and defended with profundity of thought by ,hegel1 that history is the unfolding and realization of freedom4 ,the point ,i wish to make is that the whole teaching of ,bushido was so thoroughly imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice1 that it was required not only of woman but of man4 ,hence1 until the influence of its ,precepts is entirely done away with1 our society will not realize the view rashly expressed by an ,american exponent of woman's rights1 who exclaimed1 8,may all the daughters of ,japan rise in revolt against ancient customs60 ,can such a revolt succeed8 ,will it improve the female status8 ,will the rights they gain by such a summary process repay the loss of that sweetness of disposition1 that gentleness of manner1 which are their present heritage8 ,was not the loss of domesticity on the part of ,roman matrons followed by moral corruption too gross to mention8 ,can the ,american reformer assure us that a revolt of our daughters is the true course for their historical development to take8 ,these are grave questions4 ,changes must and will come without revolts6 ,in the meantime let us see whether the status of the fair sex under the ,bushido regimen was really so bad as to justify a revolt4 ,we hear much of the outward respect ,european knights paid to 8,god and the ladies10--the incongruity of the two terms making ,gibbon blush2 we are also told by ,hallam that the morality of ,chivalry was coarse1 that gallantry implied illicit love4 ,the effect of ,chivalry on the weaker vessel was food for reflection on the part of philosophers1 ,m4 ,guizot contending that ,feudalism and ,chivalry wrought wholesome influences1 while ,mr4 ,spencer tells us that in a militant society 7and what is feudal society if not militant87 the position of woman is necessarily low1 improving only as society becomes more industrial4 ,now is ,m4 ,guizot's theory true of ,japan1 or is ,mr4 ,spencer's8 ,in reply ,i might aver that both are right4 ,the military class in ,japan was restricted to the samurai1 comprising nearly #b1jjj1jjj souls4 ,above them were the military nobles1 the daimio1 and the court nobles1 the kug--these higher1 sybaritical nobles being fighters only in name4 ,below them were masses of the common people--mechanics1 tradesmen1 and peasants--whose life was devoted to arts of peace4 ,thus what ,herbert ,spencer gives as the characteristics of a militant type of society may be said to have been exclusively confined to the samurai class1 while those of the industrial type were applicable to the classes above and below it4 ,this is well illustrated by the position of woman2 for in no class did she experience less freedom than among the samurai4 ,strange to say1 the lower the social class--as1 for instance1 among small artisans--the more equal was the position of husband and wife4 ,among the higher nobility1 too1 the difference in the relations of the sexes was less marked1 chiefly because there were few occasions to bring the differences of sex into prominence1 the leisurely nobleman having become literally effeminate4 ,thus ,spencer's dictum was fully exemplified in ,old ,japan4 ,as to ,guizot's1 those who read his presentation of a feudal community will remember that he had the higher nobility especially under consideration1 so that his generalization applies to the daimio and the kug4 ,i shall be guilty of gross injustice to historical truth if my words give one a very low opinion of the status of woman under ,bushido4 ,i do not hesitate to state that she was not treated as man's equal2 but until we learn to discriminate between difference and inequalities1 there will always be misunderstandings upon this subject4 ,when we think in how few respects men are equal among themselves1 e4g41 before law courts or voting polls1 it seems idle to trouble ourselves with a discussion on the equality of sexes4 ,when1 the ,american ,declaration of ,independence said that all men were created equal1 it had no reference to their mental or physical gifts3 it simply repeated what ,ulpian long ago announced1 that before the law all men are equal4 ,legal rights were in this case the measure of their equality4 ,were the law the only scale by which to measure the position of woman in a community1 it would be as easy to tell where she stands as to give her avoirdupois in pounds and ounces4 ,but the question is3 ,is there a correct standard in comparing the relative social position of the sexes8 ,is it right1 is it enough1 to compare woman's status to man's as the value of silver is compared with that of gold1 and give the ratio numerically8 ,such a method of calculation excludes from consideration the most important kind of value which a human being possesses2 namely1 the intrinsic4 ,in view of the manifold variety of requisites for making each sex fulfil its earthly mission1 the standard to be adopted in measuring its relative position must be of a composite character2 or1 to borrow from economic language1 it must be a multiple standard4 ,bushido had a standard of its own and it was binomial4 ,it tried to guage the value of woman on the battle-field and by the hearth4 ,there she counted for very little2 here for all4 ,the treatment accorded her corresponded to this double measurement2--as a social-political unit not much1 while as wife and mother she received highest respect and deepest affection4 ,why among so military a nation as the ,romans1 were their matrons so highly venerated8 ,was it not because they were matrona1 mothers8 ,not as fighters or law-givers1 but as their mothers did men bow before them4 ,so with us4 ,while fathers and husbands were absent in field or camp1 the government of the household was left entirely in the hands of mothers and wives4 ,the education of the young1 even their defence1 was entrusted to them4 ,the warlike exercises of women1 of which ,i have spoken1 were primarily to enable them intelligently to direct and follow the education of their children4 ,i have noticed a rather superficial notion prevailing among half-informed foreigners1 that because the common ,japanese expression for one's wife is 8my rustic wife0 and the like1 she is despised and held in little esteem4 ,when it is told that such phrases as 8my foolish father10 8my swinish son10 8my awkward self10 etc41 are in current use1 is not the answer clear enough8 ,to me it seems that our idea of marital union goes in some ways further than the so-called ,christian4 8,man and woman shall be one flesh40 ,the individualism of the ,anglo-,saxon cannot let go of the idea that husband and wife are two persons2--hence when they disagree1 their separate rights are recognized1 and when they agree1 they exhaust their vocabulary in all sorts of silly pet-names and--nonsensical blandishments4 ,it sounds highly irrational to our ears1 when a husband or wife speaks to a third party of his other half--better or worse--as being lovely1 bright1 kind1 and what not4 ,is it good taste to speak of one's self as 8my bright self10 8my lovely disposition10 and so forth8 ,we think praising one's own wife or one's own husband is praising a part of one's own self1 and self-praise is regarded1 to say the least1 as bad taste among us1--and ,i hope1 among ,christian nations too6 ,i have diverged at some length because the polite debasement of one's consort was a usage most in vogue among the samurai4 ,the ,teutonic races beginning their tribal life with a superstitious awe of the fair sex 7though this is really wearing off in ,germany671 and the ,americans beginning their social life under the painful consciousness of the numerical insufficiency of women#bf 7who1 now increasing1 are1 ,i am afraid1 fast losing the prestige their colonial mothers enjoyed71 the respect man pays to woman has in ,western civilization become the chief standard of morality4 ,but in the martial ethics of ,bushido1 the main water-shed dividing the good and the bad was sought elsewhere4 ,it was located along the line of duty which bound man to his own divine soul and then to other souls1 in the five relations ,i have mentioned in the early part of this paper4 ,of these we have brought to our reader's notice1 ,loyalty1 the relation between one man as vassal and another as lord4 ,upon the rest1 ,i have only dwelt incidentally as occasion presented itself2 because they were not peculiar to ,bushido4 ,being founded on natural affections1 they could but be common to all mankind1 though in some particulars they may have been accentuated by conditions which its teachings induced4 ,in this connection1 there comes before me the peculiar strength and tenderness of friendship between man and man1 which often added to the bond of brotherhood a romantic attachment doubtless intensified by the separation of the sexes in youth1--a separation which denied to affection the natural channel open to it in ,western chivalry or in the free intercourse of ,anglo-,saxon lands4 ,i might fill pages with ,japanese versions of the story of ,damon and ,pythias or ,achilles and ,patroclos1 or tell in ,bushido parlance of ties as sympathetic as those which bound ,david and ,jonathan4 ,footnote #bf3 ,i refer to those days when girls were imported from ,england and given in marriage for so many pounds of tobacco1 etc4 ,it is not surprising1 however1 that the virtues and teachings unique in the ,precepts of ,knighthood did not remain circumscribed to the military class4 ,this makes us hasten to the consideration of ,,the ,,influence ,,of ,,bushido on the nation at large4 ,we have brought into view only a few of the more prominent peaks which rise above the range of knightly virtues1 in themselves so much more elevated than the general level of our national life4 ,as the sun in its rising first tips the highest peaks with russet hue1 and then gradually casts its rays on the valley below1 so the ethical system which first enlightened the military order drew in course of time followers from amongst the masses4 ,democracy raises up a natural prince for its leader1 and aristocracy infuses a princely spirit among the people4 ,virtues are no less contagious than vices4 8,there needs but one wise man in a company1 and all are wise1 so rapid is the contagion10 says ,emerson4 ,no social class or caste can resist the diffusive power of moral influence4 ,prate as we may of the triumphant march of ,anglo-,saxon liberty1 rarely has it received impetus from the masses4 ,was it not rather the work of the squires and gentlemen8 ,very truly does ,m4 ,taine say1 8,these three syllables1 as used across the channel1 summarize the history of ,english society40 ,democracy may make self-confident retorts to such a statement and fling back the question--8,when ,adam delved and ,eve span1 where then was the gentleman80 ,all the more pity that a gentleman was not present in ,eden6 ,the first parents missed him sorely and paid a high price for his absence4 ,had he been there1 not only would the garden have been more tastefully dressed1 but they would have learned without painful experience that disobedience to ,jehovah was disloyalty and dishonor1 treason and rebellion4 ,what ,japan was she owed to the samurai4 ,they were not only the flower of the nation but its root as well4 ,all the gracious gifts of ,heaven flowed through them4 ,though they kept themselves socially aloof from the populace1 they set a moral standard for them and guided them by their example4 ,i admit ,bushido had its esoteric and exoteric teachings2 these were eudemonistic1 looking after the welfare and happiness of the commonalty1 while those were aretaic1 emphasizing the practice of virtues for their own sake4 ,in the most chivalrous days of ,europe1 ,knights formed numerically but a small fraction of the population1 but1 as ,emerson says--8,in ,english ,literature half the drama and all the novels1 from ,sir ,philip ,sidney to ,sir ,walter ,scott1 paint this figure 7gentleman740 ,write in place of ,sidney and ,scott1 ,chikamatsu and ,bakin1 and you have in a nutshell the main features of the literary history of ,japan4 ,the innumerable avenues of popular amusement and instruction--the theatres1 the story-teller's booths1 the preacher's dais1 the musical recitations1 the novels--have taken for their chief theme the stories of the samurai4 ,the peasants round the open fire in their huts never tire of repeating the achievements of ,yoshitsun and his faithful retainer ,benkei1 or of the two brave ,soga brothers2 the dusky urchins listen with gaping mouths until the last stick burns out and the fire dies in its embers1 still leaving their hearts aglow with the tale that is told4 ,the clerks and the shop-boys1 after their day's work is over and the amado#bg of the store are closed1 gather together to relate the story of ,nobunaga and ,hidyoshi far into the night1 until slumber overtakes their weary eyes and transports them from the drudgery of the counter to the exploits of the field4 ,the very babe just beginning to toddle is taught to lisp the adventures of ,momotaro1 the daring conqueror of ogre-land4 ,even girls are so imbued with the love of knightly deeds and virtues that1 like ,desdemona1 they would seriously incline to devour with greedy ear the romance of the samurai4 ,footnote #bg3 ,outside shutters4 ,the samurai grew to be the beau ideal of the whole race4 8,as among flowers the cherry is queen1 so among men the samurai is lord10 so sang the populace4 ,debarred from commercial pursuits1 the military class itself did not aid commerce2 but there was no channel of human activity1 no avenue of thought1 which did not receive in some measure an impetus from ,bushido4 ,intellectual and moral ,japan was directly or indirectly the work of ,knighthood4 ,mr4 ,mallock1 in his exceedingly suggestive book1 8,aristocracy and ,evolution10 has eloquently told us that 8social evolution1 in so far as it is other than biological1 may be defined as the unintended result of the intentions of great men20 further1 that historical progress is produced by a struggle 8not among the community generally1 to live1 but a struggle amongst a small section of the community to lead1 to direct1 to employ1 the majority in the best way40 ,whatever may be said about the soundness of his argument1 these statements are amply verified in the part played by bushi in the social progress1 as far as it went1 of our ,empire4 ,how the spirit of ,bushido permeated all social classes is also shown in the development of a certain order of men1 known as otoko-dat1 the natural leaders of democracy4 ,staunch fellows were they1 every inch of them strong with the strength of massive manhood4 ,at once the spokesmen and the guardians of popular rights1 they had each a following of hundreds and thousands of souls who proffered in the same fashion that samurai did to daimio1 the willing service of 8limb and life1 of body1 chattels and earthly honor40 ,backed by a vast multitude of rash and impetuous working-men1 those born 8bosses0 formed a formidable check to the rampancy of the two-sworded order4 ,in manifold ways has ,bushido filtered down from the social class where it originated1 and acted as leaven among the masses1 furnishing a moral standard for the whole people4 ,the ,precepts of ,knighthood1 begun at first as the glory of the lite1 became in time an aspiration and inspiration to the nation at large2 and though the populace could not attain the moral height of those loftier souls1 yet ,yamato ,damashii1 the ,soul of ,japan1 ultimately came to express the ,volksgeist of the ,island ,realm4 ,if religion is no more than 8,morality touched by emotion10 as ,matthew ,arnold defines it1 few ethical systems are better entitled to the rank of religion than ,bushido4 ,motori has put the mute utterance of the nation into words when he sings3-- 8,isles of blest ,japan6 ,should your ,yamato spirit ,strangers seek to scan1 ,say--scenting morn's sun-lit air1 ,blows the cherry wild and fair60 ,yes1 the sakura#bh has for ages been the favorite of our people and the emblem of our character4 ,mark particularly the terms of definition which the poet uses1 the words the wild cherry flower scenting the morning sun4 ,footnote #bh3 ,cerasus pseudo-cerasus1 ,lindley4 ,the ,yamato spirit is not a tame1 tender plant1 but a wild--in the sense of natural--growth2 it is indigenous to the soil2 its accidental qualities it may share with the flowers of other lands1 but in its essence it remains the original1 spontaneous outgrowth of our clime4 ,but its nativity is not its sole claim to our affection4 ,the refinement and grace of its beauty appeal to our sthetic sense as no other flower can4 ,we cannot share the admiration of the ,europeans for their roses1 which lack the simplicity of our flower4 ,then1 too1 the thorns that are hidden beneath the sweetness of the rose1 the tenacity with which she clings to life1 as though loth or afraid to die rather than drop untimely1 preferring to rot on her stem2 her showy colors and heavy odors--all these are traits so unlike our flower1 which carries no dagger or poison under its beauty1 which is ever ready to depart life at the call of nature1 whose colors are never gorgeous1 and whose light fragrance never palls4 ,beauty of color and of form is limited in its showing2 it is a fixed quality of existence1 whereas fragrance is volatile1 ethereal as the breathing of life4 ,so in all religious ceremonies frankincense and myrrh play a prominent part4 ,there is something spirituelle in redolence4 ,when the delicious perfume of the sakura quickens the morning air1 as the sun in its course rises to illumine first the isles of the ,far ,east1 few sensations are more serenely exhilarating than to inhale1 as it were1 the very breath of beauteous day4 ,when the ,creator himself is pictured as making new resolutions in his heart upon smelling a sweet savor 7,gen4 ,,viii1 #ba71 is it any wonder that the sweet-smelling season of the cherry blossom should call forth the whole nation from their little habitations8 ,blame them not1 if for a time their limbs forget their toil and moil and their hearts their pangs and sorrows4 ,their brief pleasure ended1 they return to their daily tasks with new strength and new resolutions4 ,thus in ways more than one is the sakura the flower of the nation4 ,is1 then1 this flower1 so sweet and evanescent1 blown whithersoever the wind listeth1 and1 shedding a puff of perfume1 ready to vanish forever1 is this flower the type of the ,yamato spirit8 ,is the ,soul of ,japan so frailly mortal8 ,,is ,,bushido ,,still ,,alive8 ,or has ,western civilization1 in its march through the land1 already wiped out every trace of its ancient discipline8 ,it were a sad thing if a nation's soul could die so fast4 ,that were a poor soul that could succumb so easily to extraneous influences4 ,the aggregate of psychological elements which constitute a national character1 is as tenacious as the 8irreducible elements of species1 of the fins of fish1 of the beak of the bird1 of the tooth of the carnivorous animal40 ,in his recent book1 full of shallow asseverations and brilliant generalizations1 ,m4 ,le,bon#bi says1 8,the discoveries due to the intelligence are the common patrimony of humanity2 qualities or defects of character constitute the exclusive patrimony of each people3 they are the firm rock which the waters must wash day by day for centuries1 before they can wear away even its external asperities40 ,these are strong words and would be highly worth pondering over1 provided there were qualities and defects of character which constitute the exclusive patrimony of each people4 ,schematizing theories of this sort had been advanced long before ,le,bon began to write his book1 and they were exploded long ago by ,theodor ,waitz and ,hugh ,murray4 ,in studying the various virtues instilled by ,bushido1 we have drawn upon ,european sources for comparison and illustrations1 and we have seen that no one quality of character was its exclusive patrimony4 ,it is true the aggregate of moral qualities presents a quite unique aspect4 ,it is this aggregate which ,emerson names a 8compound result into which every great force enters as an ingredient40 ,but1 instead of making it1 as ,le,bon does1 an exclusive patrimony of a race or people1 the ,concord philosopher calls it 8an element which unites the most forcible persons of every country2 makes them intelligible and agreeable to each other2 and is somewhat so precise that it is at once felt if an individual lack the ,masonic sign40 ,footnote #bi3 ,the ,psychology of ,peoples1 p4 #cc4 ,the character which ,bushido stamped on our nation and on the samurai in particular1 cannot be said to form 8an irreducible element of species10 but nevertheless as to the vitality which it retains there is no doubt4 ,were ,bushido a mere physical force1 the momentum it has gained in the last seven hundred years could not stop so abruptly4 ,were it transmitted only by heredity1 its influence must be immensely widespread4 ,just think1 as ,m4 ,cheysson1 a ,french economist1 has calculated1 that supposing there be three generations in a century1 8each of us would have in his veins the blood of at least twenty millions of the people living in the year #ajjj ,a4,d40 ,the merest peasant that grubs the soil1 8bowed by the weight of centuries10 has in his veins the blood of ages1 and is thus a brother to us as much as 8to the ox40 ,an unconscious and irresistible power1 ,bushido has been moving the nation and individuals4 ,it was an honest confession of the race when ,yoshida ,shin1 one of the most brilliant pioneers of ,modern ,japan1 wrote on the eve of his execution the following stanza2-- 8,full well ,i knew this course must end in death2 ,it was ,yamato spirit urged me on ,to dare whate'er betide40 ,unformulated1 ,bushido was and still is the animating spirit1 the motor force of our country4 ,mr4 ,ransome says that 8there are three distinct ,japans in existence side by side to-day1--the old1 which has not wholly died out2 the new1 hardly yet born except in spirit2 and the transition1 passing now through its most critical throes40 ,while this is very true in most respects1 and particularly as regards tangible and concrete institutions1 the statement1 as applied to fundamental ethical notions1 requires some modification2 for ,bushido1 the maker and product of ,old ,japan1 is still the guiding principle of the transition and will prove the formative force of the new era4 ,the great statesmen who steered the ship of our state through the hurricane of the ,restoration and the whirlpool of national rejuvenation1 were men who knew no other moral teaching than the ,precepts of ,knighthood4 ,some writers#cj have lately tried to prove that the ,christian missionaries contributed an appreciable quota to the making of ,new ,japan4 ,i would fain render honor to whom honor is due3 but this honor can hardly be accorded to the good missionaries4 ,more fitting it will be to their profession to stick to the scriptural injunction of preferring one another in honor1 than to advance a claim in which they have no proofs to back them4 ,for myself1 ,i believe that ,christian missionaries are doing great things for ,japan--in the domain of education1 and especially of moral education3--only1 the mysterious though not the less certain working of the ,spirit is still hidden in divine secrecy4 ,whatever they do is still of indirect effect4 ,no1 as yet ,christian missions have effected but little visible in moulding the character of ,new ,japan4 ,no1 it was ,bushido1 pure and simple1 that urged us on for weal or woe4 ,open the biographies of the makers of ,modern ,japan--of ,sakuma1 of ,saigo1 of ,okubo1 of ,kido1 not to mention the reminiscences of living men such as ,ito1 ,okuma1 ,itagaki1 etc43--and you will find that it was under the impetus of samuraihood that they thought and wrought4 ,when ,mr4 ,henry ,norman declared1 after his study and observation of the ,far ,east1#ca that only the respect in which ,japan differed from other oriental despotisms lay in 8the ruling influence among her people of the strictest1 loftiest1 and the most punctilious codes of honor that man has ever devised10 he touched the main spring which has made new ,japan what she is and which will make her what she is destined to be4 ,footnote #cj3 ,speer2 ,missions and ,politics in ,asia1 ,lecture ,,iv1 pp4 #ahi-aij2 ,dennis3 ,christian ,missions and ,social ,progress1 ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #cb1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #gj1 etc4 ,footnote #ca3 ,the ,far ,east1 p4 #cge4 ,the transformation of ,japan is a fact patent to the whole world4 ,in a work of such magnitude various motives naturally entered2 but if one were to name the principal1 one would not hesitate to name ,bushido4 ,when we opened the whole country to foreign trade1 when we introduced the latest improvements in every department of life1 when we began to study ,western politics and sciences1 our guiding motive was not the development of our physical resources and the increase of wealth2 much less was it a blind imitation of ,western customs4 ,a close observer of oriental institutions and peoples has written3--8,we are told every day how ,europe has influenced ,japan1 and forget that the change in those islands was entirely self-generated1 that ,europeans did not teach ,japan1 but that ,japan of herself chose to learn from ,europe methods of organization1 civil and military1 which have so far proved successful4 ,she imported ,european mechanical science1 as the ,turks years before imported ,european artillery4 ,that is not exactly influence10 continues ,mr4 ,townsend1 8unless1 indeed1 ,england is influenced by purchasing tea of ,china4 ,where is the ,european apostle10 asks our author1 8or philosopher or statesman or agitator who has re-made ,japan80#cb ,mr4 ,townsend has well perceived that the spring of action which brought about the changes in ,japan lay entirely within our own selves2 and if he had only probed into our psychology1 his keen powers of observation would easily have convinced him that that spring was no other than ,bushido4 ,the sense of honor which cannot bear being looked down upon as an inferior power1--that was the strongest of motives4 ,pecuniary or industrial considerations were awakened later in the process of transformation4 ,footnote #cb3 ,meredith ,townsend1 ,asia and ,europe1 ,n4,y41 #aijj1 #bh4 ,the influence of ,bushido is still so palpable that he who runs may read4 ,a glimpse into ,japanese life will make it manifest4 ,read ,hearn1 the most eloquent and truthful interpreter of the ,japanese mind1 and you see the working of that mind to be an example of the working of ,bushido4 ,the universal politeness of the people1 which is the legacy of knightly ways1 is too well known to be repeated anew4 ,the physical endurance1 fortitude and bravery that 8the little ,jap0 possesses1 were sufficiently proved in the ,china-,japanese war4#cc 8,is there any nation more loyal and patriotic80 is a question asked by many2 and for the proud answer1 8,there is not10 we must thank the ,precepts of ,knighthood4 ,footnote #cc3 ,among other works on the subject1 read ,eastlake and ,yamada on ,heroic ,japan1 and ,diosy on ,the ,new ,far ,east4 ,on the other hand1 it is fair to recognize that for the very faults and defects of our character1 ,bushido is largely responsible4 ,our lack of abstruse philosophy--while some of our young men have already gained international reputation in scientific researches1 not one has achieved anything in philosophical lines--is traceable to the neglect of metaphysical training under ,bushido's regimen of education4 ,our sense of honor is responsible for our exaggerated sensitiveness and touchiness2 and if there is the conceit in us with which some foreigners charge us1 that1 too1 is a pathological outcome of honor4 ,have you seen in your tour of ,japan many a young man with unkempt hair1 dressed in shabbiest garb1 carrying in his hand a large cane or a book1 stalking about the streets with an air of utter indifference to mundane things8 ,he is the shosei 7student71 to whom the earth is too small and the ,heavens are not high enough4 ,he has his own theories of the universe and of life4 ,he dwells in castles of air and feeds on ethereal words of wisdom4 ,in his eyes beams the fire of ambition2 his mind is athirst for knowledge4 ,penury is only a stimulus to drive him onward2 worldly goods are in his sight shackles to his character4 ,he is the repository of ,loyalty and ,patriotism4 ,he is the self-imposed guardian of national honor4 ,with all his virtues and his faults1 he is the last fragment of ,bushido4 ,deep-rooted and powerful as is still the effect of ,bushido1 ,i have said that it is an unconscious and mute influence4 ,the heart of the people responds1 without knowing the reason why1 to any appeal made to what it has inherited1 and hence the same moral idea expressed in a newly translated term and in an old ,bushido term1 has a vastly different degree of efficacy4 ,a backsliding ,christian1 whom no pastoral persuasion could help from downward tendency1 was reverted from his course by an appeal made to his loyalty1 the fidelity he once swore to his ,master4 ,the word 8,loyalty0 revived all the noble sentiments that were permitted to grow lukewarm4 ,a band of unruly youths engaged in a long continued 8students' strike0 in a college1 on account of their dissatisfaction with a certain teacher1 disbanded at two simple questions put by the ,director1--8,is your professor a blameless character8 ,if so1 you ought to respect him and keep him in the school4 ,is he weak8 ,if so1 it is not manly to push a falling man40 ,the scientific incapacity of the professor1 which was the beginning of the trouble1 dwindled into insignificance in comparison with the moral issues hinted at4 ,by arousing the sentiments nurtured by ,bushido1 moral renovation of great magnitude can be accomplished4 ,one cause of the failure of mission work is that most of the missionaries are grossly ignorant of our history--8,what do we care for heathen records80 some say--and consequently estrange their religion from the habits of thought we and our forefathers have been accustomed to for centuries past4 ,mocking a nation's history6--as though the career of any people--even of the lowest ,african savages possessing no record--were not a page in the general history of mankind1 written by the hand of ,god ,himself4 ,the very lost races are a palimpsest to be deciphered by a seeing eye4 ,to a philosophic and pious mind1 the races themselves are marks of ,divine chirography clearly traced in black and white as on their skin2 and if this simile holds good1 the yellow race forms a precious page inscribed in hieroglyphics of gold6 ,ignoring the past career of a people1 missionaries claim that ,christianity is a new religion1 whereas1 to my mind1 it is an 8old1 old story10 which1 if presented in intelligible words1--that is to say1 if expressed in the vocabulary familiar in the moral development of a people--will find easy lodgment in their hearts1 irrespective of race or nationality4 ,christianity in its ,american or ,english form--with more of ,anglo-,saxon freaks and fancies than grace and purity of its founder--is a poor scion to graft on ,bushido stock4 ,should the propagator of the new faith uproot the entire stock1 root and branches1 and plant the seeds of the ,gospel on the ravaged soil8 ,such a heroic process may be possible--in ,hawaii1 where1 it is alleged1 the church militant had complete success in amassing spoils of wealth itself1 and in annihilating the aboriginal race3 such a process is most decidedly impossible in ,japan--nay1 it is a process which ,jesus himself would never have employed in founding his kingdom on earth4 ,it behooves us to take more to heart the following words of a saintly man1 devout ,christian and profound scholar3--8,men have divided the world into heathen and ,christian1 without considering how much good may have been hidden in the one1 or how much evil may have been mingled with the other4 ,they have compared the best part of themselves with the worst of their neighbors1 the ideal of ,christianity with the corruption of ,greece or the ,east4 ,they have not aimed at impartiality1 but have been contented to accumulate all that could be said in praise of their own1 and in dispraise of other forms of religion40#cd ,footnote #cd3 ,jowett1 ,sermons on ,faith and ,doctrine1 ,,ii4 ,but1 whatever may be the error committed by individuals1 there is little doubt that the fundamental principle of the religion they profess is a power which we must take into account in reckoning ,,the ,,future ,,of ,,bushido1 whose days seem to be already numbered4 ,ominous signs are in the air1 that betoken its future4 ,not only signs1 but redoubtable forces are at work to threaten it4 ,few historical comparisons can be more judiciously made than between the ,chivalry of ,europe and the ,bushido of ,japan1 and1 if history repeats itself1 it certainly will do with the fate of the latter what it did with that of the former4 ,the particular and local causes for the decay of ,chivalry which ,st4 ,palaye gives1 have1 of course1 little application to ,japanese conditions2 but the larger and more general causes that helped to undermine ,knighthood and ,chivalry in and after the ,middle ,ages are as surely working for the decline of ,bushido4 ,one remarkable difference between the experience of ,europe and of ,japan is1 that1 whereas in ,europe when ,chivalry was weaned from ,feudalism and was adopted by the ,church1 it obtained a fresh lease of life1 in ,japan no religion was large enough to nourish it2 hence1 when the mother institution1 ,feudalism1 was gone1 ,bushido1 left an orphan1 had to shift for itself4 ,the present elaborate military organization might take it under its patronage1 but we know that modern warfare can afford little room for its continuous growth4 ,shintoism1 which fostered it in its infancy1 is itself superannuated4 ,the hoary sages of ancient ,china are being supplanted by the intellectual parvenu of the type of ,bentham and ,mill4 ,moral theories of a comfortable kind1 flattering to the ,chauvinistic tendencies of the time1 and therefore thought well-adapted to the need of this day1 have been invented and propounded2 but as yet we hear only their shrill voices echoing through the columns of yellow journalism4 ,principalities and powers are arrayed against the ,precepts of ,knighthood4 ,already1 as ,veblen says1 8the decay of the ceremonial code--or1 as it is otherwise called1 the vulgarization of life--among the industrial classes proper1 has become one of the chief enormities of latter-day civilization in the eyes of all persons of delicate sensibilities40 ,the irresistible tide of triumphant democracy1 which can tolerate no form or shape of trust--and ,bushido was a trust organized by those who monopolized reserve capital of intellect and culture1 fixing the grades and value of moral qualities--is alone powerful enough to engulf the remnant of ,bushido4 ,the present societary forces are antagonistic to petty class spirit1 and ,chivalry is1 as ,freeman severely criticizes1 a class spirit4 ,modern society1 if it pretends to any unity1 cannot admit 8purely personal obligations devised in the interests of an exclusive class40#ce ,add to this the progress of popular instruction1 of industrial arts and habits1 of wealth and city-life1--then we can easily see that neither the keenest cuts of samurai's sword nor the sharpest shafts shot from ,bushido's boldest bows can aught avail4 ,the state built upon the rock of ,honor and fortified by the same--shall we call it the ,ehrenstaat or1 after the manner of ,carlyle1 the ,heroarchy8--is fast falling into the hands of quibbling lawyers and gibbering politicians armed with logic-chopping engines of war4 ,the words which a great thinker used in speaking of ,theresa and ,antigone may aptly be repeated of the samurai1 that 8the medium in which their ardent deeds took shape is forever gone40 ,footnote #ce3 ,norman ,conquest1 ,vol4 ,v1 p4 #dhb4 ,alas for knightly virtues6 alas for samurai pride6 ,morality ushered into the world with the sound of bugles and drums1 is destined to fade away as 8the captains and the kings depart40 ,if history can teach us anything1 the state built on martial virtues--be it a city like ,sparta or an ,empire like ,rome--can never make on earth a 8continuing city40 ,universal and natural as is the fighting instinct in man1 fruitful as it has proved to be of noble sentiments and manly virtues1 it does not comprehend the whole man4 ,beneath the instinct to fight there lurks a diviner instinct to love4 ,we have seen that ,shintoism1 ,mencius and ,wan ,yang ,ming1 have all clearly taught it2 but ,bushido and all other militant schools of ethics1 engrossed1 doubtless1 with questions of immediate practical need1 too often forgot duly to emphasize this fact4 ,life has grown larger in these latter times4 ,callings nobler and broader than a warrior's claim our attention to-day4 ,with an enlarged view of life1 with the growth of democracy1 with better knowledge of other peoples and nations1 the ,confucian idea of ,benevolence--dare ,i also add the ,buddhist idea of ,pity8--will expand into the ,christian conception of ,love4 ,men have become more than subjects1 having grown to the estate of citizens3 nay1 they are more than citizens1 being men4 ,though war clouds hang heavy upon our horizon1 we will believe that the wings of the angel of peace can disperse them4 ,the history of the world confirms the prophecy that 8the meek shall inherit the earth40 ,a nation that sells its birthright of peace1 and backslides from the front rank of ,industrialism into the file of ,filibusterism1 makes a poor bargain indeed6 ,when the conditions of society are so changed that they have become not only adverse but hostile to ,bushido1 it is time for it to prepare for an honorable burial4 ,it is just as difficult to point out when chivalry dies1 as to determine the exact time of its inception4 ,dr4 ,miller says that ,chivalry was formally abolished in the year #aeei1 when ,henry ,,ii4 of ,france was slain in a tournament4 ,with us1 the edict formally abolishing ,feudalism in #ahgj was the signal to toll the knell of ,bushido4 ,the edict1 issued two years later1 prohibiting the wearing of swords1 rang out the old1 8the unbought grace of life1 the cheap defence of nations1 the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise10 it rang in the new age of 8sophisters1 economists1 and calculators40 ,it has been said that ,japan won her late war with ,china by means of ,murata guns and ,krupp cannon2 it has been said the victory was the work of a modern school system2 but these are less than half-truths4 ,does ever a piano1 be it of the choicest workmanship of ,ehrbar or ,steinway1 burst forth into the ,rhapsodies of ,liszt or the ,sonatas of ,beethoven1 without a master's hand8 ,or1 if guns win battles1 why did not ,louis ,napoleon beat the ,prussians with his ,mitrailleuse1 or the ,spaniards with their ,mausers the ,filipinos1 whose arms were no better than the old-fashioned ,remingtons8 ,needless to repeat what has grown a trite saying that it is the spirit that quickeneth1 without which the best of implements profiteth but little4 ,the most improved guns and cannon do not shoot of their own accord2 the most modern educational system does not make a coward a hero4 ,no6 ,what won the battles on the ,yalu1 in ,corea and ,manchuria1 was the ghosts of our fathers1 guiding our hands and beating in our hearts4 ,they are not dead1 those ghosts1 the spirits of our warlike ancestors4 ,to those who have eyes to see1 they are clearly visible4 ,scratch a ,japanese of the most advanced ideas1 and he will show a samurai4 ,the great inheritance of honor1 of valor and of all martial virtues is1 as ,professor ,cramb very fitly expresses it1 8but ours on trust1 the fief inalienable of the dead and of the generation to come10 and the summons of the present is to guard this heritage1 nor to bate one jot of the ancient spirit2 the summons of the future will be so to widen its scope as to apply it in all walks and relations of life4 ,it has been predicted--and predictions have been corroborated by the events of the last half century--that the moral system of ,feudal ,japan1 like its castles and its armories1 will crumble into dust1 and new ethics rise phoenix-like to lead ,new ,japan in her path of progress4 ,desirable and probable as the fulfilment of such a prophecy is1 we must not forget that a phoenix rises only from its own ashes1 and that it is not a bird of passage1 neither does it fly on pinions borrowed from other birds4 8,the ,kingdom of ,god is within you40 ,it does not come rolling down the mountains1 however lofty2 it does not come sailing across the seas1 however broad4 8,god has granted10 says the ,koran1 8to every people a prophet in its own tongue40 ,the seeds of the ,kingdom1 as vouched for and apprehended by the ,japanese mind1 blossomed in ,bushido4 ,now its days are closing--sad to say1 before its full fruition--and we turn in every direction for other sources of sweetness and light1 of strength and comfort1 but among them there is as yet nothing found to take its place4 ,the profit and loss philosophy of ,utilitarians and ,materialists finds favor among logic-choppers with half a soul4 ,the only other ethical system which is powerful enough to cope with ,utilitarianism and ,materialism is ,christianity1 in comparison with which ,bushido1 it must be confessed1 is like 8a dimly burning wick0 which the ,messiah was proclaimed not to quench but to fan into a flame4 ,like ,his ,hebrew precursors1 the prophets--notably ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,amos and ,habakkuk--,bushido laid particular stress on the moral conduct of rulers and public men and of nations1 whereas the ,ethics of ,christ1 which deal almost solely with individuals and ,his personal followers1 will find more and more practical application as individualism1 in its capacity of a moral factor1 grows in potency4 ,the domineering1 self-assertive1 so-called master-morality of ,nietzsche1 itself akin in some respects to ,bushido1 is1 if ,i am not greatly mistaken1 a passing phase or temporary reaction against what he terms1 by morbid distortion1 the humble1 self-denying slave-morality of the ,nazarene4 ,christianity and ,materialism 7including ,utilitarianism7--or will the future reduce them to still more archaic forms of ,hebraism and ,hellenism8--will divide the world between them4 ,lesser systems of morals will ally themselves on either side for their preservation4 ,on which side will ,bushido enlist8 ,having no set dogma or formula to defend1 it can afford to disappear as an entity2 like the cherry blossom1 it is willing to die at the first gust of the morning breeze4 ,but a total extinction will never be its lot4 ,who can say that stoicism is dead8 ,it is dead as a system2 but it is alive as a virtue3 its energy and vitality are still felt through many channels of life--in the philosophy of ,western nations1 in the jurisprudence of all the civilized world4 ,nay1 wherever man struggles to raise himself above himself1 wherever his spirit masters his flesh by his own exertions1 there we see the immortal discipline of ,zeno at work4 ,bushido as an independent code of ethics may vanish1 but its power will not perish from the earth2 its schools of martial prowess or civic honor may be demolished1 but its light and its glory will long survive their ruins4 ,like its symbolic flower1 after it is blown to the four winds1 it will still bless mankind with the perfume with which it will enrich life4 ,ages after1 when its customaries shall have been buried and its very name forgotten1 its odors will come floating in the air as from a far-off unseen hill1 8the wayside gaze beyond20--then in the beautiful language of the ,quaker poet1 8,the traveler owns the grateful sense ,of sweetness near1 he knows not whence1 ,and1 pausing1 takes with forehead bare ,the benediction of the air40