What is "Bushido?"

[arnisador]

Budo and Bushido are so interrelated

Yes, absolutely true.

 

[heretic888]

When it comes to codes and "Warrior ethos" I often see the "well they didnt really live like that" response. To which I say "well naturally so". Codes are more Ideals to be lived up to more than they are laws. These Codes are the ideals that "Warriors" use to carry them through the "why am I here doing this" moments. Its the Marine "esprit de corps" that makes them Marines, sets them apart, and is in part a component of what allows the Marines to accomplish what they have. The historic Knights didnt "live" the Chivalric code 100% anymore than the Samurai "lived" the Bushido Code.

Well, I think the point that Dr. Friday was trying to get at in his article was that the historical samurai of the Sengoku-Jidai typically behaved in the exact opposite manner to the ideals associated later expressed in the Hagakure. It wasn't a simple matter of not living up to these lofty ideals expected of the samurai. Rather, it was an almost complete disregard for these ideals altogether. Although, rare individuals such as Uesugi Kenshin could be seen as possible exceptions to this norm.

Covert tactics and betrayals were both commonplace in Japan's history. Schools such as Katori Shinto ryu include some teachings that would be regarded as "ninjutsu" nowadays. Kusunoki Masashige and Minamoto Yoshitsune fought their campaigns almost entirely on the basis of guerilla warfare and subterfuge. Oda Nobunaga met his end via the betrayal of one of his closest retainers. Even in the realm of mythology, Prince Yamato Takeru no Mikoto actually disguises himself as a woman to assassinate a political rival! And, even the mythical first emperor, Jimmu Tenno, employs retainers that utilize disguise and misdirection to infiltrate into enemy territory!!

Another point that Friday brings up is that the actual vassalhood relationships between samurai and daimyo was a bit different during the Sengoku-Jidai when compared to the Edo-Jidai. The motivating goals seem to be moreso mutual self-interest on the part of both parties, at least during the Sengoku-Jidai. This differs substantially with how things were done during the Tokugawa's rule.

Regarding the European knight's "chivalry", I would wager that --- like the Hagakure's "bushido" --- it was moreso a product of later thinkers retroactively projecting their values onto the "glorious past".

That's just my take, anyway. :asian:

 

[Tgace]

More than likely...however none of it negates the value of the "codes" themselves. And many of the "house rules" of the "pre-bushido" age do espouse many components of a "Warrior code" and actions the lord expected of the retainers.

I believe this is much like the difference between how a modern millitary officer thinks himself a "warrior" and how the 19 y.o. private imagines himself. They can be two vastly different things in thought and practice.....

I also think we are casting our version of "morality" on the Bushido code. Remember we are talking about warriors that idealized concepts like...

"I would like to spare you," he said, restraining his tears, "but there are Genji warriors everywhere. You cannot possibly escape. It will be better if I kill you than if someone else does it, because I will offer prayers on your behalf."

Their whole concept of mercy, honor, and all the other ideals experessed were of an entirely different "tack" than what we consider them now.

 

[heretic888]

More than likely...however none of it negates the value of the "codes" themselves. And many of the "house rules" of the "pre-bushido" age do espouse many components of a "Warrior code" and actions the lord expected of the retainers.

Oh, don't get me wrong.

I'm not saying that the codes themselves are value-less, or that Tsunetomo somehow invented all the ideas for "bushido" in the late 1600's. This is all clearly rooted in long-standing mores in Japanese culture, which themselves seem to have their basis in the Confucian philosophy imported from China.

All I'm saying is that, say, "underhanded" tactics seemed to have been widely embraced in Japan's feudal period. One could even dare to say that such strategies were expected during times of war...

But, to be fair, I do recall reading references to a "kyuba no michi" (translated: "way of the bow and horse") in some of Turnbull's translations of the Kamakura-Jidai texts. To my knowledge, however, this "way" was never explicitly laid our or codified in any fashion.

Laterz.

 

[Tgace]

Of course "honor" on the field of battle between individual combatants could have been (and probably was) vastly different from the concept of "honor" in regards to the assassinations, intrigues and other instances mentioned.

 

[Colin_Linz]

Budo and Bushido are so interrelated that I dont believe you can say one is "better" than the other....

http://karatethejapaneseway.com/floating_world/srsi_bushido_article.html

I can’t see this at all, they are fundamentally different. Yes some core values are the same, but there is a huge difference between the fundamental tenant in Bushido of loyalty at all costs to the master. I haven’t read the article yet, but I will do so, but it will have to be well researched before I can place it ahead of what of what senior sensei from Japan have taught me regarding Budo and it’s meaning (it is a grading subject), or how the Toyo Budokan defines budo. The following is a quote from Doshin So’s book Shorinji Kempo, its philosphies and techniques, printed in 1970. This is by a Japanese man that lived for 28 years in China and had a high level of knowledge of Chinese and Japanese written language and martial art history. I apologies for any strangeness that may be apparent, I don’t have the time to go through the OCR scan for errors.



One may be inclined to think of martial art as incongruous with the teachings of Shorinji Kempo. But one must not confuse Kempo with other schools of martial arts prevalent today, many of which center on cultivating sheer strength, which is then measured by how many bricks one can break in a blow or whether one can fight a bull bare-handed, etc.... Others stress winning in competitions and are, therefore, no different from such sports as boxing or wrestling. There are also schools aimed at cultivating strange powers such as the ability to put one's shoulder and arm joints out of and then back into place. Unlike these schools, the martial

art of Shorinji Kempo is characterized neither by the cultivation of brute force or strange powers nor by competitions in which one loses or wins. The cultivation of a balanced man in harmony with others is the objective of Shorinji Kempo, and its martial art is strictly in line with this aim.

As the Chinese (and Japanese) term for martial art budo has special significance in expressing the essence and original meaning of what has been translated "martial art," let us examine it closely. It is composed of two Chinese characters-bu and do: The first is defined in the Setsurrtonkiji, written in about A.D: 120 in the Later Han Dynasty; as "to stop a spear"; i.e. to quell violence and set conditions aright. : The second, do; means "the way" and is the character used in writing Shinto, Tao, etc.... The original meaning of the term budo is, therefore, the way to suppress violence and to return to the way of Man; or more generally, to promote peace and understanding between rivals. In other words; budo` is not a "martial" art in the sense of being a tool of : attack or a method of winning competitions. Furthermore budo is not a training method for strengthening the body to emanate brute force or a means of achieving self-satisfaction. In its original and true sense, budo emphasizes the principle of harmonious coexistence. Therefore, the role of budo is purely defensive and lies in the creation of human beings with social con­sciousness equipped with the power to eliminate evil elements in society and to terminate and prevent conflicts.

The reason why budo has deteriorated into a mere sport on the one hand or into a means of inflicting injury and inciting violence on the other lies in Man and not in the nature of budo itself. For as a knife can be used either to pare an apple or to kill, Man is responsible for the constructive or destructive consequences of any potentiality. The martial art of Shorinji Kempo, whose aim is in line with the original meaning of budo, actively cultivates peace, happiness, and harmony among men by making these and other ideals easily accessible in the form of experience.

 

[Tgace]

I think we have a difference in definition. Budo developed out of Bujutsu, both of which were rooted in and grew from the soil of Japanese concepts that made up Bushido. As we have been discussing, Bushido is/was more a compiliation of various philosophies and writings than a code pre-Tokugawa..check out this excellent article.

http://martialarts.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://kiaiyamabushiryu.tripod.com/Archives/Jan2000/NewsArt5.html

Although Bushido is not a martial art or form, it is still related to the origins of Bujutsu and Budo. It is one of the reasons how and why the bushi developed bujutsu.

 

[Bester]

I have a question:

How come the guys that cry the loudest about a lack of "Bushido" and "Martial Spirit" are quiet on this thread? Seems to me they should be the ones educating us, right? Unless all their information was from movies and badly translated books? Hmm?

 

[Colin_Linz]

I think we have a difference in definition. Budo developed out of Bujutsu, both of which were rooted in and grew from the soil of Japanese concepts that made up Bushido. As we have been discussing, Bushido is/was more a compiliation of various philosophies and writings than a code pre-Tokugawa..check out this excellent article.

http://martialarts.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://kiaiyamabushiryu.tripod.com/Archives/Jan2000/NewsArt5.html

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The two concepts have been around for many years stretching back to early China. It was said that Bodhidharma (Daruma) introduced budo to China. Now there is little proof of this story, and we can all believe what we wish to, but the arts studied at the Shaolin temple were of a fundamentally different nature to the arts already practiced in China. This art was called Arohan no ken, or Nalo-jan in later years it was called I-jinsin to distinguish it from zazen. Where as the aim of the martial arts practiced in China at this time was purely efficient fighting methods. The martial arts practiced at the Shaolin temple were for developing the characters of the practitioners, and a form of gyo or ascetic training to reach enlightenment. This attitude of training mirrors the attitude of budo and is vastly different to that of bushido. Certainly they share similar concepts, but ultimately Bushido is all about making yourself a better tool for your master, while Budo is about self development and a greater awareness of humanity and the world we live in. This is why Bushido was promoted so heavily by the Japanese leaders at various times, with its Confucianism philosophy it was seen as a good tool to develop obedient followers.

 

[Tgace]

Whatever you want to believe man.....According to most authors Budo, Bujutsu are classified as fighting arts (with some attendant philosophies tied in) while Bushido is purely a Martial Philosophy. :idunno:

 

[Tgace]

In a highly slimplified way, here is the difference between Budo, Bujutsu and Bushido as I have come to understand it.

Early Japanese combat arts were known as Bujutsu, they essentially had no philosophical or spiritual side. They were military arts used for practical application. Later martial arts that were developed with a spiritual side are known as Budo. For example, Judo is a Budo form of the Bujutsu art of Jujitsu. Kendo-Kenjutsu/Kyudo-Kyujutsu etc.

The word Bushido "way of the warrior" is often used when speaking about the martial arts. Bushido is not a martial art, it is a fighting philosophy, a system of combat ethics. Bushido incorporates Shinto and Confucian ideals. By following Bushido, warriors could apply their combat skills in strictly defined right or wrong ways. This "fundamental tenant" of total loyalty was peculiar to the "Japanese" (at the time at least) as a culture rather than to any particular thought system. Thats why Bushido developed where and how it did and would have been across Budo, Bujutsu, Bushido, Buwhateveryouwanttocallit.

 

[Colin_Linz]

Certainly budo are fighting arts, but if you ask a Japanese martial artist if budo and bushido are the same they will offer a similar description to mine. This is not only true with Shorinji Kempo, but also other Japanese forms of Budo. The philosophy and meaning of budo that I offered is the accepted Japanese version, it may not be universally accepted, but it is the accepted concept by the major styles and educational institutes like the Budo Senmon Gakko. The problem in the west is that many finer points of Budo are not that well understood. This is because many westerners don’t have the language skills to discuss complex philosophies, and it is difficult to get good translators that also know the philosophy and can translate it in an accurate manner. This is why our Kohan is still untranslated. It is so hard to find a translator that also understands the thoughts behind what is being said, and has the skills to relay them to a European. As has been said earlier, most Japanese don’t understand budo or bushido.

 

[Colin_Linz]

In a highly slimplified way, here is the difference between Budo, Bujutsu and Bushido as I have come to understand it.

Early Japanese combat arts were known as Bujutsu, they essentially had no philosophical or spiritual side. They were military arts used for practical application. Later martial arts that were developed with a spiritual side are known as Budo. For example, Judo is a Budo form of the Bujutsu art of Jujitsu. Kendo-Kenjutsu/Kyudo-Kyujutsu etc.

The word Bushido "way of the warrior" is often used when speaking about the martial arts. Bushido is not a martial art, it is a fighting philosophy, a system of combat ethics. Bushido incorporates Shinto and Confucian ideals. By following Bushido, warriors could apply their combat skills in strictly defined right or wrong ways. This "fundamental tenant" of total loyalty was peculiar to the "Japanese" (at the time at least) as a culture rather than to any particular thought system. Thats why Bushido developed where and how it did and would have been across Budo, Bujutsu, Bushido, Buwhateveryouwanttocallit.

Broadly speaking I agree with this, although there are a number of Bujutsu sensei that claim they have a self-development aspect too.

The concept of absolute loyalty to the state or master comes from Confucian philosophy, a quote from an article by Karl Friday A second popular theme among modern commentators on bushido concerns the absolute fielty that warriors were supposed to have displayed toward their lords. The loyalty of a samurai is said to have been unconditional and utterly selfless. It is true that exhortations to loyalty were a major theme in shogunal regulations, the house laws of the great medieval feudal barons, and seventeenth and eighteenth century treatises on bushido, as well. But there are at least two problems involved in interpreting from this that loyalty was a fundamental part of the medieval warrior character.

To begin with, the unrestricted loyalty that subjects owe their rulers is a basic tenet of Confucianism and derives little or nothing from any military tradition per se. Japanese government appeals for loyalty from subjects began long before the birth of the samurai class--as, for example, in the "Seventeen Article Constitution" of Shotoku Taishi, promulgated in 603. The concept predates even the existence of a Japanese nation by hundreds of years, and traces back to the Chinese Confucian philosophers of the sixth to third centuries BC. Japanese warlords who called upon the samurai who served them to render unflinching loyalty were not so much defining proper samurai behavior as they were exhorting their subjects on a traditional and general theme of government.

 

[Colin_Linz]

I don't want to divert this thread from its discussion of Bushido, but I found this on a Japanese Judo site and thought it may help to show how Bushido is fundamentally different from Budo, and may help my statement regarding the accepted Japanese definition of Budo. I think article 1 demonstrates a clear departure from the central tenet of Bushido in that it is clearly aimed at developing people with the ability to form moral judgments rather than accept what their lords have decreed. As you read this it will become clear that the meaning of Budo was even difficult to pinpoint by these great masters, but the eventual outcome of their research is in line with Doshin So’s definition that I posted earlier. This group consisted of representatives from Judo, Kendo, Kyudo, Sumo, Karatedo, Aikido, Shorinji Kempo, Naginata, and Jukendo.

The Budo Charter (Budo Kensho)

Established on April 23, 1987 by Japanese Budo Association (Nippon Budo Shingikai)

Budo, rooted in the martial spirit of ancient Japan, is an aspect of traditional culture that has evolved from jyutsu to do through centuries of historical and social change.
Following the concept of unity of mind and technique, budo has developed and refined a discipline of austere training which promotes etiquette, skillful technique, physical strength, and the unity of mind and body. Modern Japanese have inherited these values and they play a prominent role in forming Japanese personalities. In modern Japan the budo spirit is a source of powerful energy and promotes a pleasant disposition in the individual.
Today, budo has been diffused throughout the world and has attracted strong interest internationally. However, infatuation with mere technical training, and undue concern with winning is a severe threat to the essence of budo. To prevent this perversion of the art, we must continually examine ourselves and endeavor to perfect and preserve this national heritage.
It is with this hope that we establish the BUDO CHARTER in order to uphold the fundamental principles of traditional budo.
ARTICLE 1: OBJECT
The object of budo is to cultivate character, enrich the ability to make value judgments, and foster a well disciplined and capable individual through participation in physical and mental training utilizing martial techniques.
ARTICLE 2: KEIKO
When practicing daily, one must constantly follow decorum, adhere to the fundamentals, and resist the temptation to pursue mere technical skill rather than the unity of mind and technique.
ARTICLE 3: SHIAI
In a match and the performance of kata, one must manifest budo spirit, exert himself to the utmost, win with modesty, accept defeat gracefully, and constantly exhibit temperate attitudes.
ARTICLE 4: DOJO
The dojo is a sacred place for training one's mind and body. Here, one must maintain discipline, proper etiquette, and formality. The training area must be a quiet, clean, safe and solemn environment.
ARTICLE 5: TEACHING
When teaching trainees, in order to be an effective teacher, the budo master should always strive to cultivate his/her character, and further his/her own skill and discipline of mind and body. He/She should not be swayed by winning or losing, or display arrogance about his/her superior skill, but rather he/she should retain the attitudes suitable for a role-model.
ARTICLE 6: PROMOTION
When promoting budo, one should follow traditional values, seek substantial training, contribute to research, and do one's utmost to perfect and preserve this traditional art with an understanding of international points of view.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BUDO CHARTER
1. OBJECT
By 1981 interest in budo had become international and the need to establish International Budo University, where people from all over the world could study budo, had become evident. Because of international influences budo had begun to function as a sport. School budo had become more popular because of championships and their promotion. At the same time, the Japanese Budo Association was aware of a growing interest, nationally and internationally, in budo as an expression of traditional Japanese culture.
In response to these trends, Goro Yamanaka, a standing Trustee of the Japanese Budo Association, presented a proposal to the Board of Trustees for the creation of the Committee to Establish the Significance of Budo (a tentative name). The proposal was approved on April 16, 1981.
The mandate of the committee was to investigate and resolve the question "What is budo?" They began by agreeing to try to clarify what spiritual principals regarding the development of the individual are unique to budo and shared by each do. The next step would be to compare these fundamental budo principals with sports from abroad.
2. PROCEEDINGS
The Budo Charter Committee was established by the Board of Trustees of the Japanese Budo Association. They held more than twenty discussion sessions from July, 1981 to March, 1984, and the representatives from each do expressed their opinions and made speeches. The process of clarifying the principals of budo was one of information gathering and consensus building.
Four budo scholars gave speeches at various lecture meetings supported by this committee. Eiichi Eriguchi lectured on "Internationalization of Budo and Its Problems," Dr. Yoshio Imamura on "Changes in the Meaning of Budo," Katsumi Nishimura on "Changes in Budo in School Education," and Shinichi Oimatsu on "the Fundamental Significance of Jigoro Kano's Judo (a founder of Kodokan Judo), and the Object of the Austere Training."
In March, 1983, the Board published an additional issue of a journal, A Report on Modern Budo which summarizes the progress of this research.
Meanwhile, in preparation for drawing up the Budo Charter, the members of the committee obtained cooperation from each do to search for areas of agreement among the do. Beginning in May 1982, a series of articles entitled "An Overall Explanation of Modern Budo" were published by Nippon Budokan in the monthly journal, Budo.
In addition, three sub-committees to the Budo Charter Committee were established to study (1) the origin and history of budo, chaired by Tatsuo Saimura, (2) the outlook for unifying budo, chaired by Shinichi Oimatsu, and (3) the image of the ideal human being, chaired by Kisshomaru Ueshiba. In June, 1983, Hiroichi Tsujihara, who had taken office as a standing Trustee of the Board after Goro Yamanaka, took over the responsibilities of researching the Budo Charter. Thus Hiroichi Tsujihara was added to this Committee of Four to Create the Budo Charter. These Chairmen agreed to make a definite plan on the content of the Charter and hoped to make a charter that would become a concrete guideline for austere trainers.
In October, 1984, the Special Committee To Draft The Budo Charter was formed and Hiroichi Tsujihara was elected Chairman (Kihei Kijima took over in July, 1986). Members are Dr. Yuzo Kishino, Katsumi Nishimura, Goro Hagawa, and Shinji Nakabayashi. The committee has met sixteen times.
In order to reach agreement about the principals of budo the Committee studied the papers presented at the conferences of the Japanese Academy of Budo and other symposiums. They presented a proposed Budo Charter to the Japanese Budo and other symposiums. They presented a proposed Budo Charter to the Japanese Budo Association which was responded to by the dos and revised. On January 19, 1987, the Board of Trustees of the Japanese Budo Association approved the Budo Charter.
3. APPLICATION
The Budo Charter was established by the collective will of the Japanese Budo Association to encourage the appropriate development of budo.
Each do has affirmed the charter, but applied its guidelines subjectively, according to its own requirements.
--------------------------------------
NOTES:
1. The Chinese character (kanji) for the character "jutsu" is composed of gyo, which means road or way, and shutsu, which means stick to the stem. Jutsu is the indication of the road that people stick to for a long time. As a result, jutsu means the method or way that people have stuck to since ancient times, namely, traditional way. Jutsu has the following meanings:
(1) art, skill; (2) traditional discipline; (3) teaching or instructing as one was taught.
2. The Chinese character (kanji) for the character "do" (or "michi") is composed of shinnyu, which means foot movement, and shu, which means head. The head faces toward the direction that one intends to go. It should be the road or way that one can go through. From Chinese character, "do" means the way of thinking, the discipline, and the method that one must follow.
(Notes 3 through 8 omitted)
(Names of the committee members omitted)
THE BUDO CHARTER (BUDO KENSHO) It states the purpose and the meaning of budo training. The Budo Charter Committee included the representatives from the following budo disciplines: Judo, Kendo, Kyudo, Sumo, Karatedo, Aikido, Shorinji Kempo, Naginata, and Jukendo.
Respectfully submitted,
Akihiro Omi

 

[Tgace]

Yes, Japanese thought was influenced by Confucian, Buddhist, Shinto Philosophy. However it was also a "Japenese" rendition. US culture is/was vastly influenced by Christian "Philosophy" however try arguing that we are a Christian Nation. Budo is to Bushido as say an imaginary art called Marine Corpjutsu is to the "warrior culture of the Marines". You could take the "jutsu" and develop it all you want but you cant deny the association or influence of the culture to the fundamental basis of the art...

BTW, your Budo Charter sounds a lot like the "house rules" of the Samurai that Bushido was based on in content and form....

 

[Colin_Linz]

First off, thanks for an interesting discussion.
Are you saying that the techniques are related? If so I would agree; however if you are saying that the concept behind them are similar I would say no. To be truthful I don't know if Budo was a development of Bushido or not, but the two concepts do go back to China and have long been separate, they are for developing a totally different outcome. I'm pretty sure that although the word for budo may sound different in Chinese, it is made from the same characters (kanji) as the Japanese version. Since kanji offer a meaning behind them, not just a sound it has the same meaning. No doubt the Japanese have added something of themselves as they have with the other social and cultural borrowings from China.
Yes, the charter does. Budo may not be a Warriors path, but it is a Martial path, so some of the values hold. The telling difference between the two is the reason behind the training, this is dividing gulf between them. Bushido or Warriors path is to develop strong warriors that offer blind allegiance; where Budo or Martial path, uses martial techniques to foster self development, understanding between people and peaceful relationships. This is the stated aim of the Japanese Budokan, and all its member systems. So regardless of any connections they are practiced for totally separate outcomes. This was my original point. From my perspective I see value in travelling the budo pathway, while the Bushido pathway leaves me cold, the end destination is not something I aspire to.

 

[Tgace]

Yes, thank you for keeping an interesting discussion alive.

Im not saying that Budo "developed out of" Bushido per se. They really arent related in a direct succession line (as budo is to bujutsu) as Bushido is not a martial art, but a "Code". Im saying that Budo is as interrelated to Bushido as the Judeo Christian religions are interrelated tro each other. As much as they may want to deny the relationship, they all developed from a "common ground".

Bujutsu (military arts) were the plain old military techniques used by the Samurai, much like riflery, bayonet, artillery etc. are military "arts" of today. They were employed by the samurai who had developed their own "culture" which was a compellation of religons, philosophies, "house codes", literature etc. that eventually was "codified" as Bushido.

If you are really interested in understanding my view on the matter, this article is excellent...

http://userpages.chorus.net/wrassoc/articles/bushido.htm

During the relatively peaceful rule by the Tokugawa Shoguns there developed 7 interconnected characteristics (justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty to the lord) that have come to make up the ideal of Bushido. It was during this same period of time that many do forms came into existence changing the emphasis of the bushi from strictly combat oriented (bujutsu) to areas of human development too (budo). In a way, Bushido can be thought of as a bridge between bujutsu and budo. The well known martial artist and historian, Donn Draeger (1979) makes the following distinctions between bujutsu and budo: classical bujutsu was concerned with combat, discipline and morals while classical budo was concerned with morals, discipline and aesthetic form. While these concerns overlap, they are not the same nor is the emphasis the same. One can see how the moral guidance provided by Bushido might lead a student of bujutsu to change the emphasis of their study towards the goals of budo. Anyone who has studied a jutsu for many years probably makes this shift at some point in their training.

So yes..I am saying that philosophically they are very interrelated.

The tennants of Bushido (as codified)...justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty to the lord...how the last part invalidates the positive points of all the rest I do not understand. Unless you are an ancient samurai, you can choose to take the good of Bushido and ignore the bad. BTW I find nothing wrong or dishonorable with a sense of duty. IMO its a trait sorely lacking (me me me me) in todays society.

 

[mariaclara]

download a free book by Inazo Nitobe about Bushido.
(type bushido nitobe in your google search box.
or go to www.gutenberg.org/etext/12096)

this can give you a better perspective of Bushido.