The Ways of the Samurai Read online

  But nothing worked. The castle was well stocked, and it was the dead of winter.

  Ieyasu knew he would have to resort to trickery. He bribed a traitor to open the castle gates. But the man was beheaded before he even got close. So Ieyasu turned his largest cannons on the ladies’ quarters, where Hideyori’s mother, Yodogimi, lived.

  The ladies were unable to sleep at all. One cannon ball smashed Yodigimi’s tea cabinet, killing two of her servants, while 100,000 samurai yelled and screamed from the ramparts they had built outside Yodogimi’s quarters.

  Hideyori, pressured by his mother and fearful that the castle had been weakened, agreed to peace terms, Ieyasu would disband his army and guarantee Hideyori’s safety on the condition that Hideyori agree not to attack him, and incidentally, that the outer moat of the castle be filled in.

  Ieyasu’s troops capture Osaka Castle

  Ieyasu pretended to disband his forces and ordered them, on their way out, to dismantle the outer wall of Osaka Castle and use it to fill in the outer moat. Then, while the Osaka commanders objected, they began to fill in the second moat! Ieyasu pretended that they must have misunderstood his orders. But the defenses of Osaka Castle had been reduced to a single moat and wall.

  The following summer, Hideyori’s men came after Ieyasu. But their attack backfired, and this time Ieyasu’s battle strategy and siege craft worked. Osaka Castle went up in flames. Trapped inside, Hideyori and Yodogimi commited suicide.

  The ronin.

  4

  TALES OF THE RONIN

  THE RONIN

  Under the Tokugawa shoguns, many of the lesser daimyo were exiled, and their armies disbanded, leaving a large class of masterless samurai. They were called ronin, which means “wave man”—one who is tossed here and there, as if on the waves of the sea.

  The ronin had neither clan nor lord and were often treated as outcasts. They had to make their way alone and wandered the countryside in search of work. But free of the need to serve a master, many ronin grew fiercely independent. In this they were unlike other samurai, whose loyalty was always to their lord.

  Some ronin terrorized the peasants in rural villages. Others were hired to protect the villages or served wealthy merchants as bodyguards. Some gave lessons in bujutsu—the martial arts. And a few came to fame as master swordsmen. One such ronin was perhaps the most famous samurai of all: Miyamoto Musashi.

  MIYAMOTO MUSASHI

  Miyamoto Musashi is known today in Japan as Kensei, or “Sword Saint.” He was born in 1584 and grew up under the rule of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Orphaned at age seven, Musashi was raised by an uncle, who encouraged him to study the art of kendo—the Way of the Sword.

  A master of kendo aimed to become one with his sword—until there was no sword, no anger, no fear. A master would move without thought, treating his enemy as an honored guest, even as he cut him down.

  The young Musashi was strong and aggressive. He studied sword technique, and in his first duel, at the age of 13, he killed his samurai opponent.

  In Musashi’s day, each daimyo kept a dojo, or martial arts school, where his warriors were trained. Ronin roamed the coutryside challenging the members of these schools and their teachers, or sensei, to duels. At 16, Musashi left home to challenge swordsmen all over Japan. By the age of 28, he had fought in more than 60 duels and had gone to war six times, fighting against Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, the largest battle ever fought between samurai.

  Musashi’s best known duel was with Sasaki Kojiro. Kojiro was a young samurai who had developed a new sword technique based on the movements of a swallow’s tail in flight. The contest was to be held at eight in the morning on a deserted island.

  The night before the duel, Musashi changed his lodgings—fueling a rumor that he was running for his life. The next morning, the officials and his opponent were assembled on the island. But Musashi did not come. An official was sent to look for him and found him asleep.

  Musashi got up and without washing or dressing his hair went straight to the rowboat that was waiting to take him to the island. On the way to the duel, he tied his hair up in a towel and tied back his kimono sleeves with paper string. Then he carved a wooden sword from an extra oar and laid back to rest.

  When the boat neared the shore, Musashi leaped into the water and splashed up the beach toward his enemy. Kojiro, elegantly dressed, waited very formally, then drew his long sword.

  “You’ll no longer have need of that,” said Musashi, holding his oar down to one side. Kojiro, angered, sliced his blade downward toward Musashi. The towel binding Musashi’s hair fell to the ground in two pieces, cut by Kojiro’s sword. At the same moment, Musashi moved his oar upward in a single swift arc, blocking the cut, then brought his oar crashing down onto Kojiro’s head. Kojiro pitched forward, his sword slicing the hem of Musashi’s kimono as he fell. The young samurai was dead. Musashi stepped back. Then he bowed politely to the astonished officials and left in his boat.

  After his duel with Kojiro, Musashi gave up using real swords in duels. His skill was so great he was already a legend in his own time. But at age 30, he decided that he had won all of his contests by using mere technique—not by the use of strategy. So he wandered from province to province, practicing to perfect his strategy. He is said to have been a terrible sight, because he never took a bath—he would not be caught unawares without a weapon—nor would he dress his hair or care for his clothes.

  At the age of 50, he settled on the island of Kyushu, where he took up teaching, poetry, ink painting, and sculpture. For a few years, he lived as a lord’s guest in a fine castle. But for the last years of his life he retired to a cave to live as a hermit. There he practiced meditation, and wrote his masterpiece, A Book of Five Rings, a guide to strategy that is still read today by students of kendo and business alike.

  THE TALE OF THE 47 RONIN

  No story better symbolizes the samurai ideals of honor, devotion and loyalty, than the Tale of the 47 Ronin of Ako.

  In the year 1701, the shogun was planning to receive in his castle three ambassadors from

  A scene from The 47 Ronin

  the emperor of Japan, who would present the emperor’s New Year’s greeting. It was to be a formal occasion, and one that would require elaborate ceremonies. The shogun appointed Lord Asano to lead the ceremonies. But Lord Asano, who was from the provincial town of Ako, was not familiar with the intricate customs of court. He would have to depend on advice from the shogun’s Master of Court Etiquette, Kira Yoshinaka.

  Lord Asano sent Kira gifts in return for his help. Kira was not satisfied with the gifts but did not tell Lord Asano. Instead, he pretended to help but in reality would tell Lord Asano nothing, or worse, would tell him the wrong thing. Once Lord Asano arrived in court dressed in short trousers—as Kira had advised him too—only to find everyone else wearing long trousers.

  Lord Asano did the best he could. But at the farewell. ceremony, he was deeply embarrassed when he stood in the wrong place. Kira would not help him. Angered, Lord Asano drew his wakizashi and slashed Kira on the forehead.

  The shogun was furious—even to draw a weapon in court was a serious offense. He ordered Lord Asano to commit seppuku, the formal name for hara-kiri. The lord wrote his farewell poem and committed suicide. His lands were taken, and his 47 samurai became ronin.

  The 47 ronin vowed they would avenge their master’s death, even though they knew that the shogun would demand that they, too, would have to commit suicide if they succeeded in killing Kira. But to a samurai, life is short. Like the cherry blossoms, it blooms, then fades. More important is honor.

  The Ceremony of Seppuku

  Kira suspected a plot and had the men watched. So for two years, the ronin pretended to live carefree lives, drinking in taverns and visiting women. At last, Kira’s spies gave up.

  One snowy night, dressed in armor they had secretly had made, the 47 ronin sneaked into Kira’s mansion and cut off his head. Wrapping their grisly trophy in a white cloth
, they placed it on Lord Asano’s grave, with a message claiming responsibility.

  As they expected, the shogun ordered their

  The 47 ronin take revenge.

  suicide. And in 1703, the ronin carried out his order. The people of Japan hailed the 47 ronin as heroes. They were buried next to their master, Lord Asano. Today, people still visit their tombs, and their story is told in books, plays, and films.

  MUSASHI AND THE FLIES

  One day, three ronin were eating supper in a country inn, when a fourth samurai sat down to eat some distance from them. His clothes were torn and dirty, and his hair was a mess. But at his belt he wore two fine swords, decorated with gold and jewels. The man looked poor, but the swords were worth a fortune. So the ronin decided they would provoke the stranger into a fight, then set upon him and rob him.

  Raising their voices, they began to insult the strange samurai. “What a slob” said one. “His ancestors must have been pigs,” said another. They laughed rudely.

  But the stranger did not look up. He did not even seem to notice the flies buzzing around his head, as he calmly ate his rice with his chopsticks.

  The three ronin grew louder and more insulting. But the strange samurai just finished his rice and put his bowl aside. Then, without looking up, he struck at the air with his chopsticks. Zip...zip...zip...zip! In four precise movements, he picked the flies from the air and dropped them into the bowl. There was no more buzzing.

  And the inn was quiet too. For the three ronin; recognizing a master, had run away.

  The samurai, of course, was Miyamoto Musashi.

  A samurai in his garden.

  5

  DAILY LIFE OF THE SAMURAI

  A SAMURAI HOUSE AND GARDEN

  Samurai houses were wooden, with high thatched roofs supported on pillars. Inside the house, light, moveable wall panels slid along grooves in the floor, so the shapes and sizes of the rooms could be changed. The heavier outer walls were made of bamboo covered with plaster. Except for the kitchen, which had an earthen floor, the wooden floors were raised off the ground to keep the house dry and airy. Floors were covered with rectangular straw mats called tatami. Tatami are still used today They are always the same size (about 6½ feet long by 3 feet wide.) The Japanese measure their rooms by the number of tatami it takes to cover the floors.

  Samurai houses were furnished very simply, with elegant screens, low tables, and cushions. Clothing was stored in wooden chests, while bedding could be rolled and stored in cupboards.

  The main room always featured a raised alcove called a tokunoma, in which was displayed a single object of beauty—a scroll, painting, floral arrangement, or piece of pottery—that the owner and guests could meditate upon. Samurai would use this room to receive guests and to host the tea ceremony.

  The size of a samurai’s house depended on his wealth and rank. A samurai’s wealth was not measured in money, but in koku—the amount of rice his fields produced. One koku was the measure of rice it took to feed one person for one year. The peasants who farmed the fields lived in a humble village on the samurai’s land. During times of war, a samurai might call upon these men to follow him into battle.

  The estates of a wealthy samurai were often at risk of attack. So the complex where he lived would include a courtyard, stables for horses, and outbuildings to house his warriors. Surrounding it all he would build a high wall, and his gates would be guarded from a lookout tower by his best archers. If he suspected an attack, he would order his men to dig a moat around the walls and to dampen the roofs with mud to protect them from flaming arrows.

  Whether at war or at peace, a samurai tried to find peace within himself through meditation. Often, he sought the tranquility of his garden or his private teahouse overlooking the garden. Samurai gardens were works of art, designed with flowers and trees, sunlight and shade, pools of water, or simply sand and rocks, to represent truths about the nature of life. One samurai made a garden entirely of sand. He arranged it to flow like water, to symbolize the stages of being. The sand poured from the mountainous heavens, a symbol of birth; it circled rocks and other obstacles that symbolized the challenges in the valley of life; and at last it disappeared into the earth, to a hidden end, symbolic of the mystery of death.

  SAMURAI RELIGION

  Japan’s oldest religion is Shinto, “the way of the gods.” The followers of Shinto worship spirits, or kami, who live in many places—rivers, forests, mountains, and caves. Kami are not really gods; rather, they are the spirits of places and objects that allow people to feel connected with all things. Shinto shrines, marked by a red gateway, or torii, were built in every Japanese village to honor their gods and ancestors. The spirit of the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu was proclaimed such a kami. The most important Shinto deity is the sun goddess Amateratsu, ancestress of the emperor. Today, the Japanese reverence for their ancestors and nature, and many of their traditional customs, are rooted in Shinto.

  Buddhism was brought to Japan from China in the 6th century. It soon found favor with the imperial family, who wished to temper the power of the Shinto priests. By the time of the samurai, there were several Buddhist sects. Most samurai were Zen Buddhists. Zen taught its followers to seek enlightenment and salvation within themselves, through meditation—not through the worship of a god or gods. Zen meditation took great discipline. The goal was spiritual harmony, a oneness with the flow of life and death. The ideas of Zen were especially appealing to the samurai warriors, who knew their life could end at any moment. Zen Buddhism has influenced many aspects of Japanese culture—the arts, the tea ceremony, poetry, gardening, even flower arranging.

  With the arrival of Europeans in the mid-16th century, many samurai became Christians—this time, the powerful daimyo sought a way to temper the power of the Buddhist priests. But more important than any religion to the samurai was his own code, bushido—the Way of the Warrior, with its seven values: justice, courage, benevolence (generosity), politeness, honesty, honor, and loyalty.

  SAMURAI EDUCATION

  Samurai children were surrounded by the symbols of their warrior class from the moment of birth. During the birth of a Japanese baby, the father or a priest pulled on a bowstring so the twanging noise would frighten away evil spirits. At birth, the child was considered to be one year old.

  A newborn samurai boy was given a small sword in the form of a charm to wear at his belt. At age five, he was given his first haircut, and at seven, his first wide trousers, or hakama. But the most important ceremony, called the gembuku, came at age 15, when the boy would officially become a man. He received his adult name, an adult haircut, and, best of all, his first real sword and armor.

  The sons of wealthy samurai were tutored in reading, writing, and the classics of Chinese literature until the age of 10 or 12, when they were sent to study at a monastery for another four or five years.

  Lessons in sword fighting, spear fighting, and archery began early. Boys were taught first by their fathers, and later perhaps by a local sensei (teacher) often a ronin. The most talented warriors might be sent to special training schools. On Boys’ Festival Day (the fifth day of the fifth month) the young samurai would fight a mock battle with wooden swords. But the best training for warriors was at war—and the sons of samurai would follow their fathers into battle while still in their teens.

  Samurai daughters were not formally educated. But they were sometimes allowed to listen to their brothers’ lessons. As an adult, a samurai wife ran her husband’s estate when he was away at war, balancing the accounts, ordering the supplies, and supervising the workers and servants.

  Girls were also trained in the martial arts. Their specialty was the yari (straight spear) and the naginata (curved spear). Samurai women held to the same standards of honor and loyalty as samurai men.

  There are many examples of samurai women who fought beside their husbands on the battlefield. The most famous was Tomoe, who fought against the Tairain the Gempei War. In one famous battle, she killed many m
en. The enemy leader tried to capture her and ripped the sleeve of her garment. Furious, she cut off his head and presented it to her husband.

  SAMURAI FOOD AND CLOTHING

  The samurai diet was quite simple. Most

  Samurai boys training in the art of sword fighting.

  Samurai daughters also trained in the martial arts

  important were rice dishes that often included fish, vegetables, or seaweed. The most devout Buddhists did not eat meat. But in peacetime, most samurai hunted for game to eat as well. Drinks included tea and sake, a wine made from fermented rice.

  Food was attractively arranged and served on low lacquer tables by the wife or a servant. It was considered very rude to breathe on another person’s food, so the trays were carried high above the head.

  Both men and women were very proud of their appearance. Both wore long-sleeved gowns, called kimono, that were belted around the waist, white cotton socks, and straw sandals or wooden clogs.

  Samurai women wore several layers of kimono, each in a different color or pattern, to show their wealth. Their hair was very long and shiny. At one time, it was fashionable for women to pluck out all of their eyebrows and to paint false ones high on their forehead. It was also considered beautiful to whiten the face and to blacken the teeth.

  Samurai men wore wide, skirtlike trousers called hakama over their kimono. On special occasions, they would add a jacket called a kataginu. The katagmu had winglike padded shoulder, and was decorated with the clan crest, or mon. Mature men shaved the top of their head at the front.