The Ways of the Samurai Read online

  They bound their long hair in a ponytail, which could be folded forward onto the scalp. It was considered a disgrace ever to cut the ponytail off.

  SAMURAI PASTIMES

  The samurai practiced many martial arts as sports to keep them in shape for war. Matches between experts were always well attended. Kyudo (archery), kendo (swordsmanship), and sumo (wrestling) are still popular today. Swimming and hunting were also enjoyed.

  Samurai attended the noh theater, slow-moving classical dramas based on Japanese history. But high-ranking samurai were forbidden from attending the more popular kabuki theater, which was noisy and colorful. Many samurai would go anyway, hiding their faces under huge, basketlike hats. Tales from the Gempei War were favorite plots. Also popular was the bunraku, puppet dramas acted by almost lifesize puppets. All three forms of theater are still practiced in Japan.

  Samurai could learn lessons in strategy by mastering the game of go. Often compared to chess, go is played with black and white stones, that are placed on a square board. The object is to surround and capture the opponent’s stones.

  A samurai warrior was discouraged from one favorite pastime—gambling. He might survive the most ferocious battle. But if he gambled, he risked his armor, his horse, and even his sword.

  A great samurai warrior was expected to have a highly developed sense of beauty. Many samurai pastimes helped him to find serenity away from the battlefield. The tea ceremony, with its strict rules for preparing and serving tea to a guest or guests, was one such pastime. It required great calm and concentration. Also popular were group cherry blossom viewings, snow viewings, and moon viewings, as well as incense contests, in which the winner identified the greatest number of smells.

  More solitary occupations, all highly regarded, included painting, writing poetry, calligraphy, playing the flute, and flower arranging.

  In all arts, sports, and pastimes, samurai judged the efforts of man to be most beautiful when they embodied simplicity, elegance, harmony with nature, and purity of thought.

  The armor of the Samurai

  6

  WAYS OF THE WARRIOR

  There were many ranks within a samurai army. At the top were the general and his officers. They commanded troops of cavalrymen, who rode small stocky war horses. Cavalrymen were armed with naginata and swords. Next came the archers and spearmen, who travelled on foot. Armed attendants who served the troops came last.

  By the 16th century, the lower classes of warrior, or ashigaru, were trained to use lightweight firearms called arquebuses. An arquebus would only fire a single bullet at a time. So some groups of ashigaru trained as expert archers. Their job was to make sure the enemies’ heads stayed down while the gunmen reloaded.

  Samurai knew there would be no luxuries while on the road. So before going to war, they ate three lucky foods: dried shellfish, or awabi; kombu, a kind of seaweed; and chestnuts.

  During wartime, samurai ate twice a day. Meals consisted of measures of rice, dried fish and vegetables, pickled plums, and seaweed. Rice was wrapped in cloth and transported raw, because once it was cooked, it would not keep well. The rice was fried or roasted in an iron war helmet that converted into a pan. Sometimes it might be dampened for cooking later. But if no water was found for cooking, the warriors had to eat dry rice.

  To ready himself for battle, a samurai warlord would carefully bathe and perfume himself. Then he would dress and put on his armor. This could be an elaborate process, ending with a terrifying mask and helmet.

  During the battle, the warlord would command his troops from horseback, or he would conceal himself on a hilltop behind curtains, called maku. In battle, the warriors could tell who was who by banners, called sashimono, they fastened to their armor. These were decorated with the clan crest, or mon. Officers signaled their troops by waving war fans or tasseled batons.

  After a battle, high-ranking samurai often performed a tea ceremony. But another ceremony fell to the winner of the battle. It was the duty of the victorious general to review the heads of his important enemies, which had been taken as trophies. The heads were washed and their hair was combed, then they were neatly mounted on a plank for presentation.

  To discourage decapitation, samurai wore iron collars and helmets with heavy neck guards. But before going into battle, the courteous samurai burned incense inside his helmet, so, in the event his head was taken, it would smell pleasant.

  EQUIPMENT OF THE SAMURAI

  SAMURAI ARMOR

  Samurai armor was treated with the same respect and formality as a samurai sword. It was considered a grave insult, for example, to look at the inside of another’s helmet.

  Samurai armor was built of many scales of lacquered iron, laced together with silk or leather. The result was a suit of armor that was light—only about 25 pounds—and flexible enough to be folded and carried in a box. Just as jujitsu, a samurai form of unarmed combat, emphasized flexibility over brute force, so did Japanese armor find its strength. In contrast to the European knight in steel plate armor, who had to be hoisted onto his horse, an armored samurai could climb a castle wall, leap onto his horse, run into battle, and turn quickly to avoid a slashing sword. Armored samurai could even swim. But samurai armor did become heavy when muddy or wet, and was likely to freeze in winter and to attract lice in summer.

  Putting on a suit of armor was a lengthy process. First came the undergarments: a loincloth and kimono; loose, patterned trousers; cotton or leather socks; and cotton leggings. Next came the armored shin guards, and sandals or fur boots. Leather gloves and armored sleeves were followed by a padded armpit protector. Then came the chest protector, or cuirass, which included skirt panels that covered the hips. A sash, or obi, was tied around the waist, and the katana and wakizashi (swords) thrust through. Final pieces of body armor were the shoulder guards, into which the shaft of the sashimono, or clan banner, could be fitted. If he worried that his head might be taken, a wealthy samurai might also add an iron collar.

  Next the warrior would cover his head with a cotton cap to serve as padding for the heavy helmet. Then came a lacquered iron face mask, which might represent a demon, ghost, or barbarian. An old warrior might choose the mask of a young man, while a youth might want to look older and experienced. Finally came the helmet with its long neck guard. Samurai of high rank would fasten a horned crest or other ornaments to their helmets.

  Over his armor, a samurai might wear a sleeveless surcoat or tentlike cape. In addition, he might carry a head bag to hold the severed head of an opponent, a provision bag, ropes used for tying or climbing, and medical supplies. All samurai were trained in wound dressing and knew how to set broken bones.

  SAMURAI WEAPONS

  The basic samurai weapons were the katana, a long, curved, single-edged sword, and the wakizashi, a shorter blade used for such tasks as decapitating an enemy or performing seppuku.

  But samurai warriors also made use of other kinds of blades at various periods. These included the nodachi, a sword that was carried slung across the back and was longer than the katana, and several sizes of dagger, called fan to and aikuchi

  The bow and arrow were also very important. Bows came in many sizes and were made of bamboo. Arrows had reed shafts and heads of steel. Some arrowheads were perforated so they would whistle shrilly as they flew through the air. Samurai arrows could pierce even iron and steel plates.

  Spears were essential in warfare. The two most common types were the naginata, or curved spear, the use of which is still studied today; and the yari, or or straight spear. Some spears were made to be thrown, like javelins. Others were hooked, for use in climbing walls or grabbing enemy armor.

  Samurai also studied the use of more unusual weapons, such as the wooden staff (bo or jo), the jitte, a dagger with sharp hooks at the hilt, and the folding iron war fan, or gunsen.

  SAMURAI TRAINING

  Samurai knew that true mastery of the martial arts involved more than physical strength and technique. Equally important were
the principles of mental concentration (haragei), and centered, focused energy (ki). While a warrior practiced regular breathing to find calm and stillness within, he also learned to use his breath to explode into action with a ferocious kiai, or “spirit shout.”

  In order to help develop these skills, the warrior would practice set sequences of movements, called kata, over and over again, slowly at first, then with increasing speed, until they became effortless and perfect. The movements were based on strategies of attack, defense, and counterattack. They could be practiced alone with an imaginary foe or with a partner who played the role of an opponent. The techniques and movements had descriptive names. For example in kendo, or swordfighting, students, practiced the “four-sides cut,” the “wheel stroke,” the “thunder stroke,” and the “scarf sweep.”

  Kata are meditative exercises as well as lessons in technique. Today, all of the martial arts use kata or similar sets of movement patterns to help train their students. Ideally, the warrior experiences a oneness of body, mind, and spirit as he moves in time and space—as if time and thought cease to exist. What remains is pure being.

  Masters of the martial arts were believed to develop an almost psychic awareness of the world around them. One tale tells of a kendo master who was training his three sons. He had a guest for tea and decided to give a demonstration. He placed a vase over the door so it would fall on the head of the next person to enter the room. Then he called his youngest son, who hurried into the room. The vase fell on his head. But before it could hit the floor, the boy whipped out his sword and cut it in two.

  “My youngest son has a long way to go,” said the master. He put up a second vase and called his middle son. This son caught the vase in midair before it could land on his head.

  “My middle son has much to learn, but he is working hard and improving,” said the master.

  Then he replaced the vase and called his oldest son.

  The first son felt the weight of the vase as he put his hand on the door. So he slid the door open a crack, caught the vase as it fell, then opened the door the rest of the way, entered, and replaced the vase at the top of the door. The master nodded his approval. This son was doing well.

  The ninja.

  7

  THE SAMURAI’S SECRET WEAPON: NINJA

  The samurai loved secret weapons. A favorite was a spear that looked like an innocent priest’s staff. In the days of the samurai, warriors and peasants alike learned to defend themselves with everyday objects, such as fans, smoking pipes, or hairpins. They also became expert with such tools as the sickle, ax, or whirling chain. Two tools that made excellent weapons, the tonfa and the nunchaku, were originally used to husk rice and to beat grain. Study of these weapons has recently been revived in Japanese martial arts schools.

  One martial art from the days of the samurai is shrouded in mystery. This is ninjitsu,“the art of stealth,” or “the art of invisibility.”

  The ninja, practitioners of ninjitsu, were a samurai warlord’s most formidable secret weapon. Ninja were expert at spying, sabotage, assassination, and escape. They used exotic weapons and trickery to accomplish their aims, methods that today seem to combine the skills of James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, and Houdini. As masters of secrecy, the ninja represented the dark side of bujutsu. They were feared but not respected and were hired to do the “dirty work”—tasks an honorable samurai, who was expected to fight openly, could not do himself,

  Ninja families lived in the most wild and remote regions of Japan. Each family had its secrets, which were never revealed to outsiders. There were three ranks of ninja: leaders, who contracted with outsiders for ninja services; their assistants, or middle men; and the agents who carried out the dangerous missions. These agents were despised in Japanese society, and were tortured and executed if captured. But they were the most feared and were believed to have magical powers.

  Ninja training began in earliest childhood with practice in running, jumping and climbing, swimming and diving, balancing on railings, hanging from tree limbs, and standing as still as a statue. Children were taught to dislocate their joints so they could squirm under fences or escape from knotted ropes. By the time they reached adulthood, ninja were strong, agile, and nearly immune to pain, fatigue, and cold. They could run 100 miles without resting, could walk on their hands in the dark to avoid tripping or bumping the furniture, and were expert in walking sideways, swiftly and silently, leaving no footprints. A ninja could skirt a shaded wall and never be seen.

  Ninja were masters of disguise and illusion. No one knew who they were. A ninja might live as a beggar in a city, a potter in a nearby village, and a traveling actor or priest in between. A man might dress as a woman, or a woman as a man. Ninja clothing was reversible, usually dark on one side and light on the other. Ninja practiced the art of camouflage, wearing all black at night and white in the snow. A ninja in a gray cloak could roll into a ball and take the form of a rock, staying motionless for hours. He could blend in with a tree limb or a wall or could hide underwater for hours on end, breathing through a bamboo reed.

  Like Sherlock Holmes, ninja were alert to clues in their surroundings. They knew, for example, that rising birds could signal an ambush. They could tell by a man’s breathing if he was pretending to be asleep.

  Ninja were expert in preparing medicines, including a pill that was supposed to prevent thirst for five days. They were also skilled with chemicals, drugs, poisons, and perhaps even hypnosis. Poisons could be tipped onto darts or added to an enemy food supply. Blinding acid might be blown into an enemy’s face. One concoction was an itching powder, another put enemies to sleep, and a third made them laugh uncontrollably. While the warriors were distracted, the ninja would sneak over a wall or through a gate.

  Ninja also made their own explosives, including small grenades and land mines. A ninja might lay a line of charges to be set off by a trip wire, to warn him of approaching enemies. To enter a house secretly, he might start a fire on the side opposite the rooms he planned to search. He might wear a horrible mask and blow fire through a tube to terrorize the enemy. Then, he might seem to disappear in a puff of smoke—a homemade smoke bomb set off to aid his escape. Poisonous smoke screens were also a ninja specialty.

  Ninja often used simple trickery to gain entry to a castle or fort—dressing as a dancing girl, for example, or pretending to be sick. Once inside, they would carry out their deadly missions.

  But just as often, ninja stealthily scaled the walls of a castle using special equipment. One device was a “cat claw,” a band of spikes that fit across the palm of the hand, with which the ninja could even walk across a ceiling. A ninja concealed along a ceiling beam could gather much information, or even carry out an assassination.

  Other climbing aids included ropes, rope ladders, and pulleys. A favorite tool was a two-bladed dagger, with one blade curved to hook on to walls or cut throats. Because they could climb anything, ninja were known as “human flies.”

  Ninja made use of other startling devices. They built portable boats and rafts and curious foot pontoons that they used to walk on water. They are said to have used giant kites to fly over enemy territory, sometimes dropping bombs. A winglike gliding device called the “human eagle,” made of bamboo and cloth, was used to parachute behind enemy walls. And for use in castle sieges, the ninja created a kind of ferris wheel that could be loaded at the bottom and deliver ninja to the top, where they could jump over a wall one after another.

  Ninja rarely used weapons that had only one purpose. A ninja sword, for example, had an extra-long, hollow scabbard that could be used as a breathing tube or blow gun, a club, or a place to conceal messages or poisons. If the sword was leaned against a wall, the hand guard, also extra-large, served as a foothold. Once atop the wall, the ninja could pull the sword up by a cord, also useful for a multitude of purposes.

  Other ninja weaponry was equally ingenious. Shuriken were small, razor-sharp iron stars that a ninja could throw with perfect accuracy
from as far as 35 feet. They came in many shapes, all deadly. Shuriken made useful tools for digging, poking, and scraping as well. Ninja carried nine different shuriken, because nine was a lucky number. There were two important techniques for throwing shuriken. First was from a standstill, without appearing to have moved a muscle. Thus, a ninja could kill an enemy at a distance while seeming to blend in with an innocent crowd. Second was while running, so the ninja could be long gone by the time his victim fell to the ground. If he was chased, however, a ninja could reach into his pouch and throw little spikes, or tetsu-bishi, at the eyes and feet of his pursuers.

  Many people believed the ninja were magicians who could change into animals or become invisible. The ninja did not discourage this idea. Instead, they thought of tricks to support peoples’ superstitions. If a ninja was being hunted, for example, he might bring along a trained monkey, dressed exactly like himself. He would let his pursuers see him, and lead them into a forest. Then he would set the monkey loose and disappear up a tree. His enemies would run terrified from the forest, screaming that the ninja had transformed himself into a monkey!

  Today, tales of the ninja, with their supernatural powers and impossible missions, are celebrated in Japanese films and cartoons.

  Two Kendo swordsman fighting.

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  STUDYING THE MARTIAL ARTS

  People who live in America, Japan, and all over the world can still study the martial arts left to us by the samurai.