The Ideal Samurai: myth or real?

On the flight back to the US, I picked up a copy of the famous Samurai “book” called the Hagakuré (葉隠れ). Translated as “Hidden Leaves”, the book comprised of collected sayings by retired samurai and retainer Yamamoto Tsunetomo in his twilight years. To be honest, I found the book to be something of a disappointment. The book caught my eye originally because of some of the good sayings by Yamamoto, but also tends to have a lot of repetitive statements that felt too macho, and fatalistic. Bear in mind that Yamamoto never fought a single battle in his life. It’s easy to talk the glory of fighting and dying in battle,¹ and another thing to witness the “glory” first-hand.²

Nevertheless, while reading the forward, it brought up a good point about the change in the samurai class from the Warring States Period to the peaceful Edo Period:

The feudal lords, moreover, found themselves more in need of educated administrators than rough warriors. The official shogunate response, which by the very nature of the social structure spread into the feudal domains, was to advocate the example of the Confucian ideal of the complete man as being both a warrior and a scholar… (pg. 16)

As I read that part, I remember a fairly common Yojijukugo phrase in Japanese language: bunburyōdō (文武両道). This phrase is something you’ll hear in contemporary Japanese to mean someone (often a guy) who’s both smart and skilled physically. A big complement when you think about it. For example, while in Japan recently, my wife and I had a nice conversation with a certain neighbor who’s good friends with us and had just come to visit. His family runs a small, but respectable construction company, and the fellow in question is also very kind and intelligent. He’s always been especially kind to me and I’ve watched his kids grow up over the years. Anyways, as he left, I was thinking about how he’s both good with his hands and very smart, I said to my wife “he’s very 文武両道” and she eagerly agreed.

I suspect that this phrase may have its root in Edo-Period Confucian thought, but I can’t prove it. It certainly matches the idea of the time of a samurai who’s both a great warrior, but cultured and intelligent too.

Edo-Period Confucian thought is a complex subject beyond the scope of this post (I am writing another one though), but this warrior ideal does not entirely have a foundation in Confucius’s own teachings. Consider this excerpt from the Analects of Confucius (trans. Charles A.C. Muller):

[7:13] The things with which the Master [Confucius] was cautious, were fasting, war and sickness.

Or more explicitly in the writings of Confucian scholar, Mencius (same translator):

[1A:6] …Now, among those who are leaders in this country, there are none who dislike killing men. If there were one who disliked killing men, all the people in the country would stick their necks out merely to get a glimpse of him. If you were really like this, the people would come to you like water running downhill. Who could oppose you?

Even when you consider the example of Zǐ​ Lù​, a disciple of Confucius who had a warrior background, the Analects shows that Confucius was frequently trying to correct his aggressive side, and his hot temper, with music and poetry, not swordsmanship.

So, the fusion of warrior code with Confucian thought is in many ways a 17th century Japanese invention and a reaction to changing times, but it’s interesting to see how it lives on in modern language long after the samurai class was abolished and warriors often became bankers and entrepreneurs.

¹ Reminds me of modern-day “armchair samurai”, to be honest. :-/

² I personally admire a different samurai from a much earlier era named Kumagai Naozané who felt deep remorse over the Taira-clan soldiers he had killed and became a noted monastic disciple of Honen and the Pure Land Buddhist teachings. A good example of Buddhism and redemption if I ever saw one.