Kitsuno-dono,
I found the article very interesting, and posed the question to one of the Japanese doctors at the hospital where I am a nurse.
He told me that while the Samurai 'code' was based on honor, and selflessness for one's liege, one must recall that it was also a
system deliberately set up by the Tokugawan Shoguns for purposes of control. This information is also on the 'newcomers must read'
list.
This honor was ultimately, oh, what's the word.... starts with a 'p', I think..... distorted anyway, the concept of 'shame'
gradually became the over-riding concept. Japan was also badly humiliated in WW2. Since that time, he said, the drive to achieve,
to excel, to be the best has become almost psychotic.. There is so much competition for places in schools, then in jobs, that a
single failing mark can spell a lifetime at a lower economic level. There is so much stress, and emphasis on the shame of defeat,
that these children are taught that it is weak to admit any sort of frailty, of fear, of differing opinion.
One can see traces of this pressure in our own society, and indeed, the world. We are ever pushed, and push each other, to
accomplish more, earn more, drive faster, kill each other more efficiently...... the list just goes on and on and on.....
---------------------------------------
I realized 'The Last Samurai' was not about Algren, that he was merely a story vehicle. Many historians, aficionados, re-enactors
and others were outraged at the lack of authenticity. But, the director and producer made no such claim to authenticity.
'To know life in every breath' is not the mindset of a person who seeks death. It is the mindset of a person who knows that death
may take him at any time, and sees the world with a clarity of mind heightened and appreciative of the Present.
This phenomenal state of mind is experienced to some degree by every person who has had a life-threatening experience. It is
experienced more acutely by those who experience combat, police, fire, and rescue personnel, indeed anyone who consciously chooses
this way of life has contemplated the potential consequences. It is also why some people become adrenaline junkies, because it is a
very real high..... an organic high, produced by ones own hormones.
I might start a flame here, but it is my niggling thought once in awhile, that even our revered Miyamoto Musashi was perhaps not a
very stable person, formidable though he was, even without a weapon in hand. Even if he was rock solid psychologically, perhaps his
communication skills were wanting. Perhaps, as in many languages, errors in translations of his works and intent have occurred.
I think, or at least I choose to think, he was trying to say that if we live in the Present, and choose our actions according to our
honor, that path may lead to death: so be it, if that is our destiny. But, in pursuit of our path, we must also notice, appreciate,
and revere that which around us is Life. It is so tentative, that to lose a moment of it is wasteful. One cannot Live if one is
already Dead; one cannot know Death without having Lived. I definitely don't think his was a shame-based way of life.
The fictional Katsumoto died with his honor intact for he would not compromise his principles, nor allow the possibility of the
smarmy Omura to take him prisoner for further humiliation.
This is, to me, a distinct difference from the seppuku of shame, of despair, or correct me if I use the wrong work, the sempuku of
revenge. Way different mindset. The contrast is stark.
____________________________
Okey-dokey, fire at will ----- launch arrows---- sharpen your swords ---- but I want to say that I mean no disrespect, that I choose
to view the 'code' as a positive path of honor and it has served me well. I wanted to present perhaps another point of view.
Rizii
----- Original Message -----
From: Kitsuno
Subject: [samuraihistory] Article: Samurai cult or social evil in suicides
The 2003 movie "The Last Samurai" has left a deep impression of Japan
in the Western world. The namesake last samurai is not Nathan Algren,
played by Tom Cruise, but Katsumoto, played by the Japanese actor Ken
Watanabe. The last samurai is a perfect figure who makes the American
born again as a samurai. The climax of the movie is the samurai's
suicide. Killing himself with his own sword in the fluttering cherry
blossoms, Katsumoto's last word is "perfect." He was talking about
the beauty of the cherry blossom rain and the equally splendid ending
of a samurai's life.
We cannot
rule out the suspicion that the suicides were "social homicides," a
last, belated call for help.
The writer is the JoongAng Ilbo's London correspondent.
by Oh Byung-sang
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200410/15/20041015220713733990009080908
1.html
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