The Ways of the Samurai Read online

  CONTENTS

  1. The First Samurai

  2. War Between Warlords

  3. The Height of the Samurai

  4. Tales of the Ronin

  5. Daily Life of the Samurai

  6. Ways of the Warrior

  7. The Samurai’s Secret Weapon: Ninja

  8. Studying the Martial Arts

  9. The Samurai Legacy

  A Selection of Highlights of Samurai History by Vince Hawkins

  The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima October 1561

  The Battle of Nagashino June 29, 1575

  A Return to Traditional Ways

  Glossary

  THE WAYS OF THE SAMURAI

  CAROL GASKIN is a writer, editor, and website producer who has written fifteen books and numerous articles on history and fiction. She lives in Sarasota, Florida.

  VINCE HAWKINS is a professional military historian with over 17 years’ experience in historical research, writing and analysis. He received his Master’s Degree in History from George Mason University in Virginia. He has written numerous articles for various periodicals, including Military Heritage magazine, as well as being a contributing author to such books as The Encyclopedia of Military Biography, The International Military and Defense Encyclopedia and Understanding Defeat. He is currently working on a book project with the U.S. Army Historical Foundation on a chronology of the U.S. Army. He is a member of the Company of Military Historians, the Indiana Historical Society, the American Revolution Round Table of D.C. and the First Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line re-enactment unit. His hobbies include miniature figure painting, historical war gaming and Revolutionary War re-enacting. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia.

  THE WAYS OF THE SAMURAI

  By

  CAROL GASKIN and

  VINCE HAWKINS

  Illustrations by

  ALEX NINO

  ibooks

  new york

  www.ibooksinc.com

  An ibooks, inc. Book

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this

  book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  Distributed by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ibooks, inc.

  24 West 25th Street

  New York, NY 10010

  The ibooks World Wide Web Site address is:

  http://www.ibooks.net

  Copyright © 1990 and 2003 by Byron Preiss Visual Publications.

  “A Return to Traditional Ways” “The Battle of Nagashima,” “Oda Nobunaga,” and “Takeda Shingen” © 2003 by Vince Hawkins

  “The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima” © 2003 by Sovereign Media and is used with permission

  Illustrations for the frontispiece and pages

  vi, 34, 39, 48, 66, 94, 100, 122, 134, 142

  © 2003 Instructional Resources Corporation

  ISBN: 1-59019-244-3

  CONTENTS

  1. The First Samurai

  2. War Between Warlords

  3. The Height of the Samurai

  4. Tales of the Ronin

  5. Daily Life of the Samurai

  6. Ways of the Warrior

  7. The Samurai’s Secret Weapon: Ninja

  8. Studying the Martial Arts

  9. The Samurai Legacy

  A Selection of Highlights of Samurai History by Vince Hawkins

  The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima October 1561

  The Battle of Nagashino June 29, 1575

  A Return to Traditional Ways

  Glossary

  The armor of the samurai

  1

  THE FIRST SAMURAI

  The field was lit by ghostly torches. Calm yet alert, the men waited for dawn. They were ready for war, dressed in family colors, their metal armor laced together with cords of brilliant hues. Their weapons were at their sides. Their battle flags, bearing the crest of their lord and leader, flapped in the wind. The horses were still.

  Suddenly, at the break of dawn, the horses stirred. The men were instantly alert. And their leader, resplendent in fine armor and patterned silks, rose to his feet. His face was hidden by a ferocious iron mask, and his helmet bore the golden horns of a crescent moon. For a moment, he stood as still as a statue, listening and studying the horizon. He sniffed at the air and eyed the horses. Then the great warlord let out a fierce battle cry. The men hurried to their stations.

  As the rising sun washed the field with a pale orange glow, the enemy thundered into view—hundreds of archers on horseback, screaming fearsome war cries.

  The mounted archers faced one other in two noisy battle lines. At once, the air above the battlefield was crisscrossed with whistling volleys of arrows. Wounded horses fell to the ground, whinnying in pain. Wounded warriors would pull the arrows from their limbs and continue to fight as long as they were able.

  All at once the battlefield quieted as a lone figure galloped forward. His armor bore the crest of the enemy, and his helmet was decorated with great antlers. He reined in his horse and shouted his name and the names of his family. “I am a warrior worth one thousand men. Is there a worthy man who dares come forth to combat me?”

  Rising to the challenge, the warlord rode forth. The crescent horns on his helmet shone like fire in the new morning. “My ancestors are each worth ten thousand men. Our honor is famed throughout the land!”

  The two warriors charged each another at full gallop, each daring the other to pull away first. But neither would be proved a coward. Driven to a frenzy, their horses collided with a bone-breaking crash, and the warriors tumbled to the ground.

  In a flash, their swords were drawn. The glinting metal whipped through the air as the men circled each other in a deadly dance. Sparks flew from clashing steel. Seeing an opening, the challenger thrust his sword at the warlord’s neck. The warlord moved swiftly aside. “Eeeeiiiii!” he cried, sweeping his sword before him. Slowly, the warrior with the antlered helmet crumpled and fell to the ground, mortally wounded. Leaning over his foe, the warrior of the crescent moon made a final swipe with his sword and with a cry of triumph held aloft his enemy’s head.

  Spurred on by his victory, the warlord’s men charged, and the enemy attackers made a hasty retreat. The battle was over. The warriors were satisfied. The enemy warlord had been a worthy foe and had died an honorable death. But who were these fierce swordsmen? By what strange rules did they fight?

  The warriors were samurai, professional soldiers who served the rival warlords of Japan. Tales of the samurai and their famous code of honor have fascinated generations.

  But the earliest samurai were not known for their swordsmanship. Their way was called The Way of the Bow and the Horse.

  THE WAY OF THE BOW

  AND THE HORSE

  Japan is a group of beautiful, mountainous islands in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of eastern Asia. It is separated from Russia, China, and Korea by the Sea of Japan.

  In early times, Japan was ruled by an emperor and his court. The emperor was treated like a god and was believed to be descended from the sun goddess, Amateratsu. Beneath the emperor in rank were the noblemen and below the noblemen were many ranks of samurai. Lower in rank were the peasant farmers who worked the lands of the noblemen. At this time, anyone could rise to become a samurai. But in later Japan, only those born to samurai parents could hold the rank of samurai.

  The word samurai means “to serve.” Originally, the samurai were soldiers who served the imperial court and were absolutely loyal to the emperor. But they also protected the families of noblemen.

  Since earliest times, Japan’s principal crop has been rice. Whoever owned the rice fields controlled the wealth of the country. By the 12th century, m
any powerful noblemen owned lands and castles far from the emperor’s palace in Kyoto. To protect themselves from bands of thieves—and from one another—the noblemen began to keep their own private armies of samurai. The favored weapons were the bow and arrow and the spear.

  A samurai warrior followed a code of honor called bushido—“the Way of the Warrior.” He promised complete loyalty to his lord. An individual samurai could distinguish himself in battle and be granted his own lands.

  With the support of their samurai armies, the noblemen gained control of vast territories.

  These noble families then joined together to form clans that in turn grew to be more powerful than the emperor himself. The clans were often at war with one another.

  Finally, civil war broke out between the two most powerful clans: the Minamoto, or Genji, and the Taira, or Heike. And Japan entered the Age of the Sword.

  A SAMURAI’S GREATEST TREASURE:

  THE SAMURAI SWORD

  In all of the ancient tales of our world’s beginnings, the first sword ever recorded was a Japanese blade called the “Cloud Cluster Sword.” This mighty blade was forged in the tail of a gigantic eight-headed serpent, whose lower body was hidden by smoky black clouds.

  The serpent, who was as large as eight mountains, liked to eat young maidens. So the hero Susano-o, son of the fire god, set out to slay the monster. He tricked the serpent into drinking too much sake, a strong rice wine. The drunken serpent soon slept, and Susano-o cut him to pieces. But when he reached the serpent’s tail, Susano-o’s sword struck something very hard and broke in two. Reaching into the dark clouds, he discovered the Cloud Cluster Sword. According to legend, the sword was one of three treasures that were handed down by the gods to the first emperor of Japan to form the Japanese Royal Regalia, or crown jewels. (An iron mirror and a jeweled necklace were the other two.) Thus the sword, a symbol of the emperor’s divine power, has been sacred to the Japanese since earliest times.

  Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), one of the greatest samurai warlords, called the sword “the soul of the samurai.” During Ieyasu’s time, only a samurai was allowed the privilege of wearing two swords. The longer sword, the katana, was his primary battle weapon. The shorter sword, the wakizashi, was also used for fighting, and, if necessary, for ritual suicide.

  To a proud samurai, no possession was more precious than his sword. A sword was brought to the birthing chamber when a samurai was born and placed by his deathbed when he died. During his lifetime, a samurai slept with his sword next to his pillow, and he carried it with him wherever he went.

  Top: The katana, the long sword.

  Bottom: The wakizashi, the short sword.

  Swords were always treated with respect. When visiting another warrior, a samurai might place his katana in a special rack near the door or allow a servant to carry it in a silken cloth, but he kept his wakizashi by his side.

  Samurai swords were handed down for generations. Any disrespect to a samurai’s weapon was seen as an insult to his entire family. It was considered a grave offense to touch another’s sword in any way without permission—an affront that could result in a bloody duel. So samurai had to be very careful not to bump into one another while walking in the street.

  Samurai also believed that the finest blades by the best sword makers had spiritual powers of their own. Swords that had performed in battle were especially valued. But wealthy samurai also sought new swords by famous sword makers.

  Sword makers were revered as artists and holy men, and a sword maker’s shop was seen as a shrine, where holy work was done. A typical sign outside such a shop might read: “Souls polished here.”

  The personality of a sword maker was thought to enter his blades. So before forging a sword, a master sword maker would fast to purify himself. He would hang prayers written on rice paper about his shop and would dress in white robes, like a priest, to work at the fiery forge. While he worked he would concentrate deeply.

  A samurai sword was made of iron and steel, alternately heated in the forge and cooled, or tempered, in a mixture of oil and water. The steel was hammered, folded over, and hammered again, to make up to four million layers of metal. The cutting edge of a samurai sword was very hard and extremely sharp, but the body of the blade was softer and more flexible. When it

  A sword maker’s workshop.

  was finished, a sword would be decorated, and an ornate handle added. Then the new sword might be tested on the corpse of a criminal.

  Like an artist, a master sword maker would often sign his work. But the most famous of all sword makers, Masamune (1264-1343), forged blades that were so distinctive he did not need to sign them. Masamune was known as a deeply religious man, and his swords were said to possess great spiritual power.

  Masamune’s chief rival, Muramasa, was also a skilled swordsmith. But Muramasa loved war. His blades were so strong they could slice an iron helmet like a melon. His swords had a thirst for blood. Samurai who owned Muramasa’s evil swords were said to be driven mad, unable to stop killing, until finally they would turn the swords on themselves.

  According to legend, one way to test the difference in character between Masamune’s blades and Muramasa’s is to stand one of each upright in a running stream. Leaves drifting in the water will avoid the sword by Masamune, passing safely to either side. But they will be drawn as if by a magnet to the deadly blade of Muramasa and be sliced in two.

  Minamoto Yoritomo, the first shogun.

  2

  WAR BETWEEN WARLORDS

  THE FIRST SHOGUN

  The Gempei War between the Minamoto and the Taira clans began in 1180 and lasted for five years. Stories of this fierce civil war and the heroes who fought in it have become legends in Japan. For 800 years, the Japanese have repeated the stories in books, plays, and films—much as Americans retell the legends of the revolutionary war and the wild west.

  The Minamoto clansmen were the winners of the Gempei War. Their leader, Minamoto Yoritomo, became the first shogun, or military dictator, of Japan. For centuries thereafter, the emperor of Japan ruled in name only. The real power belonged to the shogun.

  Minamoto Yoritomo was a great statesman but a cold leader. Today, it is Yoritomo’s brother, Minamoto Yoshitsune, who is remembered as the perfect samurai warrior.

  A note about Japanese names: In Japan, it is customary for the surname, or family name, to go first, followed by the given name. Minamoto, for example, is a family name—like Smith, while Yoritomo is a given name. Often, given names in a Japanese family begin with the same sound, like Yori or Yoshi. A comparable example in English would be a family of Smiths who named their children “Smith Joanne,” “Smith Joseph,” and “Smith Jody.”

  WAR BETWEEN WARLORDS

  The emperor’s power had been greatly weakened by the rise of the samurai clans. The two most powerful, the Minamoto and the Taira, had long been rivals. The Minamoto were known for quelling rebellions in the north and east, while the Taira were expert at defeating the pirates who plagued the trade routes to China. The Taira flew a flag of red. The Minamoto color was white.

  In 1160, the Minamoto clan attacked the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. They were defeated by Kiyomori, leader of the Taira, who seized control of the capital.

  Kiyomori ordered the execution of the Minamoto leader, Yoshitomo, and all of his sons. Yoshitomo was murdered. But Kiyomori was struck by the beauty of Yoshitomo’s wife, Tokiwa. He agreed to let her children live if she would become his mistress. So the oldest son, Yoritomo, a 14-year-old who had fought at his father’s side, was sent to be raised by Taira in the eastern province of Izu. The youngest son, Yoshitsune, still a baby, was sent to a monastery to be trained as a priest.

  Taira Kiyomori was later to be sorry. For the boys whose lives he had spared would one day return to take their revenge.

  TALES OF YOSHITSUNE

  As he grew to manhood, Minamoto Yoritomo studied politics and warfare under the watchful eyes of his sworn enemies, the Taira. The childhood
of his brother Yoshitsune, however, was quite different. Today Yoshitsune’s story is part history, part legend.

  As an infant, Yoshitsune was sent to a remote temple on Mount Kurama. At the age of eleven, learning of his true heritage, it is said he resolved to conquer the Taira and secretly began to study the martial arts. Legend tells us Yoshitsune would sneak out of the monastery at night, to be tutored by Sojobo, king of the tengu. The tengu, small mountain goblins who were half bird and half men, used magic to teach the boy swordsmanship, archery, and other skills. As soon as Yoshitsune would strike with a sword, his teacher would vanish, only to reappear laughing at the top of a tree. The boy would let an arrow fly, but the tengu would knock it back to earth with an iron fan. One tengu would appear in front of him, while another attacked from behind. Training night after night, Yoshitsune gradually became a warrior of uncanny awareness, speed, and skill.

  There are many tales of Yoshitsune’s adventures after he stole away from the monks at Mount Kurama. Most popular is the story of his meeting with the huge warrior who would become his lifelong companion—Benkei.

  Benkei was a warrior monk. He was a ferocious fighter with the naginata, a spear with a curved blade, the traditional weapon of Japanese monks. He was also a giant. Benkei’s hobby was collecting swords. Every day he would wait on the Gojo Bridge for warriors who wanted to cross. He would challenge them to fight and “collect” their swords. He had 999 already, and he wanted 1,000.