Perhaps, each person has heard of the courageous warriors of eastern Japan who were ready to abandon their lives for the glory of the empire. These warriors were called samurai, the noblest people of feudal Japan. The samurai had unique customs and traditions which they strictly observed and respected. These warriors introduced a fresh outlook on the concept of the complete man both in martial and literate terms. These two angles of development were the most crucial ones for the Japanese samurai and Japanese culture as a whole, thus greatly influencing the development of other cultures. Therefore, a closer look at the precepts and ethical codes of these warriors will help to understand the aspect of social life in the Heian period in Japan.
Between the eleventh and eighteenth century, the country was ruled in accordance with a feudal system that had a well-organized hierarchy. Before this feudal period, Japan witnessed the rise of two powerful Samurai clans, namely the Minamoto, and the Taira whose enmity turns them into struggling parts. On defeating the Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo organized the first shogunate and became the first shogun (Park and Love 6).
Fundamentally, only professional fighters serving to military nobility were awarded with the name samurai. There were trained to selflessly defend the honor of their country as well as the lives of their lords. This history shows that Japanese samurai appeared during the Heian period coming right after the feudal period. Initially, these soldiers were meant to serve the Japanese nobility and were loyal to the emperor. Over the time, these military groups were organized into private armies that turned into samurai communities (Park and Love 5).
The feudal organization of Japan greatly contributed to the social stratification of the samurai units. At this time, the military figure had a great impact on the social and political organization of Japanese society. What is more important is that Japanese culture was also under the influence of traditional feudal-vassal relationships. The basis of this relation will be further transferred to the samuraiās code (Deal 139).
In medieval Japan, these noble warriors took the most prestigious niche of society. The samurai, therefore, were recognized as the greatest social and political power in the late Heian period that was further ascended to the top or Japanese societal hierarchy. The class of warriors included people originating from both aristocratic and middle-class. In particular, many soldiers of the Minamoto clan were natives of eastern Japan. The warriorsā division within the class was headed by the shogun vassals called gokenin, or āretainersā (Deal 110). These were the noblest soldiers that enjoyed special privileges of the class, as they were entitled to pledge their loyalty to their lord, to the shogun. The gokenin took control of the samurai, the lower class, so that they were less powerful. This class was an intermediary between the top and the foot soldiers called zusa. These three main classes were the core of the hierarchy and the main political power in the struggle between the competing clans during the Kamakura and Muromachi period.
The ascent of warrior leaders to the social and political ladder testified to the advent of the warrior order in Japan. However, the image of a soldier serving to nobility revealed a more civil and philosophical approach to governing the country. For Japanese soldiers, the social order and status-oriented hierarchy was of great significance, as it was based on the principle of honor and nobility. Although the so-called honor ranking was contrasted to the governmental division, it was still understood as the principal representation of historical relations of warriors loyal to their lord. Therefore, the past inheritance of warrior order of feudal Japan significantly influenced the structure of the samurai community (Ikegami 270).
The samurai communities lived according to the ethical code called bushido. This concept is often interpreted as a psychological and moral behavior of the warriors. In other words, bushido is what makes a warrior a warrior thus including cultural, social and religious aspects of life. Before identifying the main principles of the warriorās code, it is first necessary to refer to its historical background.
Bushido appeared between the Heian and Tokugawa period and now it was literary translated as āWay of the Warriorā. This code also had a religious ground, as its main principles came from Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism (Clark n. pag.). According to Buddhism, the Japanese samurai did not fear death when facing danger, as they believed in the reincarnation of their souls. Another Japanese religious doctrine, shintoism empowered Bushido followers with loyalty and patriotism. Shintois also included the lordās exaltation to Heaven on earth. With such allegiance, the bushido warriors pledged themselves to the governor and higher-ranking samurai. Following this principle, they also firmly believed that the land is a sacred dwelling for the gods and spirits of their fathers (Clerk n. pag.). Finally, Confucianism provided Bushido with views on family relationships based on respect and self-sacrifice. This particular teaching also endows Bushido with a faith in a spiritual and ethical identity of the Universe and man (Clark n. pag.).
Apart from the above values, Bushido philosophy encouraged the observance of certain traditions and customs. In particular, certain objects were considered the symbols of the samuraiās honor and one of them was their long sword called katana, or the soul of the warrior. Therefore, they say that āa samurai without a sword is a samurai without a soulā (Horowitz n.pag.) Another important object for worship rites was their topknot that together with the samurai katana created an image of a veritable warrior. The absence of one of them meant a mortal dishonor and disgrace to a samurai where the only way out was to take his life by a ritual suicide called Seppuku (Horowitz n. pag.) However, this rite was partially practiced by Bushido followers but still it was considered the honorable way for the warriors to die.
Judging upon this honorable rites, one could firmly say that the samurai led a noble life for whom such moral principles as love, respect, benevolence, courage and purity were the sacred ones. The material world was also subjected to the ideal ethical code that pursued them in piece and in war. Therefore, their life principles exclude the luxuries of life so that samurai did not approve of the urbanized social order. As a conclusion, it is worth saying that the history of Japan is first of all associated with the military class, the noble warriors. The samuraiās life was subjected to the strict spiritual philosophy of bushido. Over the centuries, this spirit has been perpetuated in the modern social and cultural traditions of Japan thus being a firm spiritual and moral foundation for future generations.
Works Cited
Clark, James. Asian Studies. Pacific University. 1996. Web.
Deal, William E. Handbook to life in medieval and early modern Japan. US: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Horowitz, Jesse. Bushido. Kenyon U. anonym. 2010. Web.
Ikegami, Eiko. The taming of the samurai: honorific individualism and the making of modern Japan. US: Harvard University Press, 1995.
Park, Louise, and Love, Timothy. The Japanese Samurai. US:Marshall Cavendish, 2009.