Introduction
Musui’s story is an autobiography of Katsu Kokichi. He belonged to the Samurai class. The story recounts Katsu’s experiences during the early 1800s. During this period, Japan was divided into four classes. These comprised of merchants, artisans, peasants, and Samurai. The Samurai were the strongest of the classes. They were considered first class. They had military power. Their class was prestigious. In fact, everyone envied them.
They spent most of their time in seclusion from the public. They underwent strict training which affected their social lives. In addition, they were strong and mighty. They spent their whole lives in training.
Moreover, their class was hereditary. The Samurai experienced their best periods before Tokugawa era. This happened because of wars in previous regimes. However, during Tokugawa Shogunte’s era, there was peace. This paper will explore the historical challenges faced by Kobushin Samurai during the early 19th century.
The Samurai lived in accordance with the Bushido code. This code outlined the behaviors and attitude expected of the Samurai. They were expected to be loyal to their commanders. There was a line of command to be followed. This ensured that respect was given to the persons it was due. The Bushido code was to regulate Samurai’s lifestyle. In this regard, Musui was expected to live in accordance with the code. However, this was not the case.
According to Musui, he constantly violated this code. Katsu Kokichi was born into a privileged family. They were of the class of Warriors, the Samurai. However, he did not live within the regulations of this code. His youth was characterized with rebellion, among other vices. He admits to have lived an unworthy life.
However, the most important part is his reforms, which helped shape him. Katsu alludes to fact that he was a liar, a cheat, a thief, among other names. Moreover, he constantly rebelled against his grandmother who had taken good care of him.
Economic and social challenges faced by Kobushin Samurai
Just before the Tokugawa Shogunte era, the classes in Japanese society were intact. In fact, it was a privilege to be born into the samurai class. During this period, war was paramount. The Samurai were active in their pursuit of justice. They protected their people. They were highly regarded in society. In fact, everywhere they went, people showed them respect. However, this changed during Tokugawa Shogunte’s era. Tokugawa brought peace.
The Samurai were used to wars. There was no war to fight anymore. They had to change their social life. The Bushido code had to change. The first code was aimed at military protection. Moreover, it assured them of economic support. However, this was not the case anymore. There were no wars to fight. The code took a dramatic change as seen in Musui’s life. They had to survive. There were no funds to sustain their once envied lifestyles.
Some of the Samurai went into businesses, like Musui who sold swords. According to the Samurai, the Bushido code was also known as the “way of the warrior.” This code had been developed in the 17th century to emphasize respect and honor for social class. However, this was also trampled during Musui’s era. The poor economic conditions caused by peace led to the sale of social classes. That is, one could buy the status of being a Samurai.
These are social changes brought about by economic downturn in Japanese society. It can be noted that economic down turn hit the Samurai hard. They were no longer the cream of society.
Besides, their class was slowly disintegrating. Even merchants could buy their way into Samurai. This was tragic. Kobushin Samurai experienced economic difficulties. Moreover, this led to social difficulties as they struggled to hold their status as the cream of Japanese society.
How Katsu used or abused his status as a samurai to survive
As stated above, Tokugawa Shogunte’s era brought about peace in the entire land of Japan. This automatically rendered the Samurai jobless. They had trained for war, yet there was no war for them. In these tough economic times, Katsu had to survive. However, this could only be managed through mischief. In fact, he had to disobey the Samurai. He had to work against the Bushido code.
For instance, he started selling Samurai swords to earn a living. In addition, he used deception to gain respect in society. He even went to an extent of personifying other respected individuals to gain favor. It can be seen that he went into crude methods to survive harsh economic times.
In essence, he trampled the code of ethics of the Samurai. This was a great violation of conduct and could have led to execution. However, the situation was tough for most Samurais. Besides, Katsu had a way of deceiving people.
Effectively, the Samurai had no power or money to support them. In fact, this lowered their ranks in society. They had once been considered important, yet this was slowly eroding during Tokugawa era. Musui ran away from his province to another in order to survive. In the process, he changed his identity at Hakone to find his way into the province in which he was barred to enter.
He violated this regulation to survive the harsh economic times. In addition, he impersonated Daimyo in order to survive. Furthermore, he intimidated the guards at Mishima by impersonating Mito no-kami, who was a respect member of Tokugawa family.
Moreover, Musui kept visiting Yoshiwara, a place of orgies and indulgence. In addition, he started dealing with merchants. This helped him survive in low rank Samurai. Furthermore, it is said the he committed Seppuku to receive money from peasants. In essence, he abandoned the Bushido code in order to survive.
What Katsu’s story reveal about the urban life in late Tokugawa Japan
Katsu’s story reveals a number of aspects in the Tokugawa Japan. For instance, it can be said that the urban life contained element of immorality. In fact, Yoshiwara lifestyle is important in illustrating indulgence and orgies in the country. The urban life was therefore quite enjoyable to its residents. This is observed in the way it lured Katsu to sneak into Yoshiwara. This portrays an urban center with entertainment spots.
Moreover, it portrays a people in peace since the Samurai who should be protecting his people is indulging in Yoshiwara. This era also portrays a period of merchant dealings. In fact, it portrays a period of business boom in Japanese economy especially to the lower classes of its categories.
This was especially paramount to merchants who found peace as a good atmosphere for trade. In essence, peace brought about stability in urban areas. Moreover, merchants committed the country to economic development through encouragement of trade.
It is also necessary to note that the country was separated into provinces with perspectives on different groups of people. However, merchants were allowed to trade with little restriction as compared to the Samurai who were barred from some provinces as illustrated in Musui’s impersonation. This period was characterized by economic growth to the merchant class as well as peasants.
Moreover, the artist saw enjoyment and popularization of their cultures in this period. However, this signified the end of Samurai since their importance was greatly reduced. Merchants gained prominence in this period. They even formed merchant associations to boost trade.
Moreover, the government encouraged trade, which led to urbanization. In addition, the elite resorted to urban areas in Tokugawa Japan. Artists also flourished in this era. Their designs were important in creating urban centers. This help to improve designs of urban centers as well as the number of its inhabitants.
How the dilemma of the lower ranking samurai helped undermine the political order of the Tokugawa era
The political order of the Tokugawa era placed 300 Daimyo in its regions. This brought about strict orders. Social classes remained as before. However, this affected the Samurai more than the other classes. For instance, since there was no war to fight, they were idle and jobless. Moreover, since they had Bushido code to follow, it was quite difficult to move out of the code.
In essence, the government created a situation where the mighty Samurai started falling off the economic ladder. However, it is also necessary to note that they were the mightiest and strongest warriors of the time. Besides, they had war artilleries such as swords, among others.
Now that these artilleries became useless, they started selling them. This is evidenced in Musui’s case in which he sells the swords to survive. At this rate, it was inevitable that Tokugawa period faced deterioration.
Since these arms could be sold to willing buyers, swords were available to other classes that previously felt oppressed. Moreover, people could buy their way to become Samurai. In this regard, it was much easier to cause discord among the Army if infiltrated by corrupted individuals. This was a real sign of fall of the Tokugawa Empire. In addition, restrictions were made on people not to access some areas of the country.
This is evidenced in Musui’s case in which he impersonated Daimyo in order to intimidate solders. This was a sign of a shaken government since the solders could not recognize their leader. In addition, the Samurai were left without inclusion in defense of the government. This would have allowed them to integrate effectively into the army. In essence, these entire dilemmas caused the ultimate fall of Tokugawa regime.
Conclusion
Musui’s story gives an autobiography of the individual during the Tokugawa regime. It illustrates how Tokugawa regime brought about deterioration of Samurai’s influence. This happened because there were no wars to fight. Moreover, the regime encouraged seclusion of various classes.
However, it is important to note that Musui managed to survive the harsh times for Samurai. It is quite ironical that the government ignored the Samurai. However, the other classes, especially the merchants and artists flourished. In essence, the country’s economy oversaw increase while the Samurai went down the class rankings. Ultimately, this dilemma contributed to the end of Tokugawa regime in 1868.