Great points. What is "sadism" according to our modern sensabilties (which
include all sorts of acceptable sadisms of our own)? And what is a proper,
appropriate response to an action seen as being an outrage within the
context of 17th century samurai ethics?
The following is all speculative, as this is a list discussing samurai
history and not a list where we discuss Japanese cinema. However, reading
what I've read, and drawing a few speculative conclusions (which might be
wrong): I would not be at all surprised to see that an account existed at
one time in a clan's logbook about a begging ronin who had bamboo swords
being forced to commit seppuku with his own bamboo wakizashi. So I will
continue my discussion as one of possible history and not as a discussion
about a film.
Put yourself in the viewpoint of a 17th century clansmen (hanshi). You serve
your clan and lord faithfully. The wars are over, still you wish to uphold
the code of bushido (which by the way had NOT been recorded as a "how to"
official manual). Some ragged fellow wearing two swords and who speaks the
language of a man of the samurai class appears at your clan gate. He tells
the oft-repeated story about how he's a ronin who is so poor he wants to
commit seppuku in a corner of your clan's back yard. How many times have you
heard this sad tale before?
Fast foward a bit to modern times. Many of us, at least in the U.S. (and
probably in other countries) have seen the ragged folk on the corners with
signs "will work for food." But when some of these folks are approached to
actually do some work, they give excuses. And it turns out that they don't
want a job, they want a handout.
Back to 17th century Edo in Japan. You, the loyal hanshi, invite the poor
guy in and relate to your superiors this sad tale that he bears. Does he
really want to commit seppuku or is he just looking for a handout? You
decide that it doesn't matter, that your clan stands for upholding samurai
honor and a samurai must be taken at his word. So he will commit seppuku, as
he has stated that he wishes to do.
Then somewhere along the line, you and your fellow clansmen discover that
the ragged ronin was carrying bamboo sword blades. This brings a whole
different issue to the fore. Because as a loyal samurai and hanshi, you have
learned all of your life that "The Sword Is The Soul of the Samurai." And
yes, this idea of the sword, as opposed to other weapons, being so important
to fighting samurai was largely not true in earlier times of Japanese
history. But by the time of the peaceful Edo period, this idea had become
almost "gospel." So in this particular time, the sword is supposed to be the
"living soul" of the samurai.
So this ronin has commited an outrage by having sold his sword blades and
hiding his shame by carrying replacement blades of bamboo -- which would be
totally useless in a real fight. Why did he do it? To feed his starving
family? Because he needed the money for more sake or opium? Who knows? And
according to our 17th century hanshi and his colleagues -- who cares? In
effect, the man has sold his soul. And must be punished simply for that. But
on top of it, he claims to want to participate in the sacred ritual of
seppuku. And doesn't possess the means for doing so. It's clear that the
lying wretch is trying to extort the clan for a handout and has no intention
to commit seppuku.
So you and your colleagues decide to take a stand for Bushido. Not only
force this guy to commit seppuku, but force him to use his own sword to do
it. What a way to send a message that the code of Bushido isn't dead, even
though it has taken a battering in recent, peaceful times.
Back a bit to the fictional account written by Takiguchi Yasuhiko (which
later became the film, SEPPUKU). In these works, the account of the bamboo
sword seppuku becomes public record, and there is no protest against this.
So unless the accounts of these events were vivid figments of Takiguchi's
over-active imagination, it can be logically speculated that this act by a
clan, which some of us here and now consider an act of sadism, was
considered acceptable within the context of the society where it happened.
History is full of atrocities that occured that were considered acceptable
within the context of the times where they took place. It's chilling. Not a
pleasant subject; it seems easier for a lot of us to wander off in
speculations about how noble the samurai were and always have been. Not so.
So why am I drawn to this whole speculation? I'm working on a piece of
historical fiction where one of the characters, an impoverished 18th century
ronin, has pawned his swords and has replaced them with bamboo blades. And
must deal with the consequences of that action. He doesn't try and gain
money by claiming to want to commit seppuku. Still, he runs into harrowing
choices and events. And I get to ruminate in the issue of what really
constitutes a "soul" and whether or not it might be encased in a sword. And
also run head-on into other issues that go beyond 18th century Japan.
Again, my two mon. Which has turned into a few ryo. Perhaps useless
ramblings.
Nina
_____
From:
samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Thomas Davidson
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 8:01 AM
To:
samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [samuraihistory] Ii Clan
Hi Nina,
"Concerning the Ii clan ... [snips]
"But in actual history: I was wondering: during the 17th century, did
the historical Ii clan actually have any tendencies toward the type of
sadism that the film shows them to have?"
This is a broad topic, and I am only an amateur, but allow me to offer
somew views on this topic, and maybe some others might chip in. A bit
lengthy, but it's a big topic.
Every comment need be headed 'In my view... '
I don't think it was sadism per se, but such an attitude existed and
was general to its class. These men were largely warriors without a
war, so they looked at other means to demonstrate their prowess, and
one means was to ensure that others stuck to the code.
[snip rest of very informative post]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]