The Way of The Samurai - Mishima, Yukio (1925-1970)
The Way of The Samurai - Mishima, Yukio (1925-1970)
The Way of The Samurai - Mishima, Yukio (1925-1970)
No Death is in Vain
Day
Translator's Note
vn
Translator's Note
Translator's Note
Translator's Note
—KATHRYN SPARLING
PROLOGUE
Hagakure and I
PROLOGUE
Hagakure and I
time preeminence as socially
obligatory reading had ended, that
its light began to shine within me.
Maybe Hagakure is after all
fundamentally a book destined to
paradox. During the war, Hagakure
was like aluminescent object in
broad daylight, but it is in pitch
darkness that Hagakure radiates its
true light.
PROLOGUE
Hagakure and I
PROLOGUE
Hagakure and I
PROLOGUE
ness, and I have devoted my
passions and energy to living
Hagakure, to practicing Hagakure
ever since. In short, I have come to
be more and more deeply possessed
by Hagakure. But I, who follow the
way of the artist and entertainer
condemned by Hagakure, have been
tormented by the conflict between
the action ethic and my art. The
suspicion I had harbored for years,
that there was inevitably something
cowardly lurking beneath the
surface of all literature, was
articulated. In fact, to tell the truth,
my firm insistence on the
"Combined Way of the Scholar and
the Warrior" 4 I owe to the
influence of Hagakure. Although I
knew full well that there is no
discipline so easy to speak of and so
difficult to perform as the
Combined Way of the Warrior and
the Scholar, I decided that nothing
else could offer me the excuse to
live my life as an artist. This
realization, too, I owe to Hagakure.
Hagakure and I
NOTES
MY HAGAKURE
一現代に生きる
MY HAGAKURE
MY HAGAKURE
is constantly anxious about the
welfare of his daimyo and reports to
him immediately whenever he has
disposed of a problem, his concern
being always to strengthen the
foundations of the realm, he cannot
be called a true samurai in the
service of his lord. (Book One)
MY HAGAKURE
MY HAGAKURE
MY HAGAKURE
NOTES
Hagak
ure
Do I seem to feel
i. In Praise of Energy
2. Decision
I discovered that the Way of the
Samurai is death. In a fifty-fifty life
or death crisis, simply settle it by
choosing immediate death. There is
nothing complicated about it. Just
brace yourself and proceed. Some
say that to die without
accomplishing one's mission is to
die in vain, but this is the
calculating, imitation samurai ethic
of arrogant Osaka merchants. 8 To
make the correct choice in a fifty-
fifty situation is nearly impossible.
We would all prefer to live. And so
it is quite natural in such a
situation that one should find some
excuse for living on. But one who
chooses to go on living having failed
in one's mission will be despised as
a coward and a bungler. This is the
precarious part. If one dies
6. Women
7. Nihilism
13 . A Morality of Appearances
Ruth Benedict (American
anthropologist, 1887-1948) in her
well-known book The
Chrysanthemum and the Sword
defines Japanese morality as "a
morality of shame." There are
various problems with this
definition, but it is quite natural
that the Way of the Samurai should
value external appearances. A
warrior is constantly mindful of his
enemies. The samurai has no choice
but to defend his honor and his
morale by constant anticipation
:"WillI not be shamed before my
enemies? Will my enemies not
despise me?" The samurai's
conscience takes the form of the
enemy itself. Thus, the essential
characteristic
To quote Hagakure:
61
FORTY-EIGHT VITAL PRINCIPLES
rarely allowed to appear in the
presence of adults, and when they
are, they must remain absolutely
silent. Moreover they must not
disrupt the grown-ups' conversation
by speaking among themselves.
Silence is enforced upon a child as
part of the
19 On Intellectuals
A calculating man is a coward. I say
this because calculations all have to
do with profit and loss, and such a
person is therefore constantly
preoccupied with profit and loss. To
die is aloss, to live a gain, and so
one decides not to die. Therefore
one is a coward. Similarly a man of
education camouflages with his
intellect and eloquence the
cowardice or greed that is his true
nature. Many people do not realize
this. (Book One)
It is strikingly characteristic of
Japanese society that one is bound
by the hierarchy of senior before
junior and there is no opportunity
for equal discussion between people
of different ages; this is true of
human relations today as well as in
the
30- Age
31. Adversity
S3
FORTY-EIGHT VITAL PRINCIPLES
38. Cosmetics
S5
40. Shinto
42. Tension
What follows is not unrelated to the
preceding passage. If for the sake of
moral goals a man always strives to
live beautifully, and if he considers
death as the ultimate standard of
that beauty, then all his days,must
be a continuum of tension. Jocho,
for whom laziness is the supreme
vice, discovered a reason for living
in a daily life of unrelieved tension
that never lets up even for an
instant. This is struggle in the midst
of daily routine; it is the occupation
of a samurai.
43- Dignity
44. Egotism
4^. Effeminacy
According to my son-in-law
Gonnojo, young men these days are
becoming effeminate. This is an age
in which people of pleasant
disposition, cheerful people, people
who do not cause ill feelings, gentle
people, are thought to be virtuous,
so that everything has become
passive and strong resolution is no
longer valued. . . . (Book Two)
4J. Pride
NOTES
No Death Is in Vain
APPENDIX
Hagakure
Introduction一Leisurely Talks in
the Shadow of Night
APPENDIX
low status alike will find
themselves in straitened
circumstances, there will be loss of
face within the domain and
without, and in the end the daimyo
house will certainly fall to ruin.
Looking around me at the people in
the household, I see that the old
men are dying and the youth are
alert only to the trends of the
n『葉隠』名言抄
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
mediate death. There is nothing
complicated about it. Just brace
yourself and proceed. Some say that
to die without accomplishing one's
mission is to die in vain, but this is
the calculating, imitation samurai
ethic of arrogant Osaka merchants.
To make the correct choice in a
fifty-fifty situation is nearly
impossible. We would all prefer to
live. And so it is quite natural in
such a situation that one should
find some excuse for living on. But
one who chooses to go on living
having failed in one's mission will
be despised as a coward and a
bungler. This is the precarious part.
If one dies after having tailed, it is a
fanatic's death, death in vain. It it
not, however, dishonorable. Such a
death is in fact the Way of the
Samurai. In order to be a perfect
samurai, it is necessary to prepare
oneself for death morning and
evening day in and day out. When a
samurai is constantly prepared for
death, he has mas-
APPENDIX
J13
Plan Ahead
APPENDIX
'ザ、
f J,
APPENDIX
paper with a single character, with
vigor enough to destroy the paper.
Skill in calligraphy depends entirely
on the energy and spirit with which
it is executed. A samurai must
proceed unflagging, never tiring or
becoming dispirited, until the task
is completed. That is all," and he
wrote the calligraphy.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
Daily Resolution
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
ノノ
is the personincation of samurai
valor, vigorous and indomitable. So
say the brave old warriors' tales. In
daily life, too, such must be one's
resolution.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
a good idea for the daimyo to try
giving retainers their liberty to test
their spiritual strength.
リ8
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
You must have only one true love in
your entire life; otherwise, you are
no better than a male prostitute or
aloose woman. Such conduct brings
disgrace on a samurai. Saikaku put
it well when he said, "A youth
without a sworn love is like a
maiden without a betrothed: People
cannot easily resist approaching
them, though half in jest,"
APPENDIX
C±3 . Hそ'.
Abstinence in Illness
00
APPENDIX
A Man's Appearance
Whenever there is to be a
consultation, first talk with each
person involved and then assemble
the people whose opinion
APPENDIX
Dignity
APPENDIX
cause he has more ability and merit
than those who were in an exalted
position from the outset一and
therefore we must accord them
even more respect.
Keep Cool
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
聞iv第一二
,s«害第+\I
リ9
160
APPENDIX
tion. You are still young and rather
precocious, and I hope you will take
full notice of what I am saying.
APPENDIX
answer." Even after having given a
cursory answer, it is best to add,
"Let me think about this further,"
thereby leaving room for a
retraction if one turns out to be
mistaken. Then one should consult
freely with this person and that,
without regard to wisdom or status.
A wise man always gives you
unanticipated wisdom, and if you
discuss the matter with uneducated
persons as well, eventually it will
become public talk, which will help
your cause in the end. Also, if you
speak about the matter to your
servants as well, explaining, 'The
opponents are claiming this and
that, and I am thinking of using
these arguments," taking every
opportunity to rehearse your story,
when the actual time comes you
will be able to argue skillfully and
smoothly, and you will sound
absolutely reasonable. However, if
you argue cold, on the basis of your
own opinions, it is extremely easy
to lose even if you are in the right.
In any case, it is desirable to consult
with others in all matters. When
there is no one of wisdom or
education at hand, your wife and
children will do― they have their
own kind of wisdom, after all. Josui
Mura says too that in such a
situation one needs the wisdom of
age. When there are points to be
made, it is a good idea to make
them at once. Later on they may
sound lame or like an apology. Also,
at intervals you should hammer in
your points, like a chicken spurring
the ground. In making the
opponents understand your
arguments, you will do them a
service by teaching them various
things, and your victory will be even
more splendid. This is the
reasonable method of arguing.
Silence Is Best
APPENDIX
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