Heinz-Murray 2E.book

Chapter 8 Japan 335

eighteenth centuries. We see the

ethics of filial piety, though the

recipient of loyalty and devotion

is the lord, not the parents; of cor-

rect conduct and “etiquette” (li—

ritual); of “benevolence” (ren—

humaneness). But there is an-

other dimension to Bushido as

enunciated by Daidoji Yuzan, a

single-minded concentration on

death. We will need to return to

Buddhism for clarification.

Zen Buddhism and

Samurai Culture

There was a saying during

the Kamakura period: “Tendai is

for the imperial court, Shingon

for the nobility, Zen for the war-

rior class, and Pure Land for the

masses.” The saying reflects

high consciousness of a class

structure and of a multistranded

Buddhism, diverse enough to

provide disciplines and doctrines

suited to the very different social locations of its devotees.

Tendai was founded by the monk Saicho (767–822), who traveled to China

and returned to open a monastery at Mt. Hiei. He attempted to synthesize all

the sects of Buddhism that perplexed the court with their various claims, teach-

How does a samurai face death?
The samurai has to set before all other things the consideration of how to meet his
inevitable end. However clever or capable he may have been, if he is upset and wanting
in composure and so makes a poor showing when he comes to face it all, his previous
good deeds will be like water and all decent people will despise him so that he will be
covered with shame. For when a samurai goes out to battle and does valiant and splen-
did exploits and makes a great name, it is only because he made up his mind to die.
And if unfortunately he gets the worst of it and he and his head have to part company,
when his opponent asks for his name he must declare it at once loudly and clearly and
yield up his head with a smile on his lips and without the slightest sign of fear.

Source: Daidoji Yuzan, The Code of the Samurai, A. L. Sadler, Transl. North Clarendon, VT:
Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1941.

This evocative 1860 photograph of a young

samurai captures an expression of dignity

and endurance as the samurai class came to

an end. The Meiji Reforms abolished the

samurai class in the 1860s.