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The Samurai
Legacy
Those samurais who had hoped for a revival of the
samurai class were genuinely disappointed. A Samurai Council set up in 1868
never reconvened after 1870, and those who had the desire to serve in the Meiji
bureaucracy were obligated to give up “traditional loyalties” in favor of a
“whole-hearted loyalty” to
state.
However, the samurai legacy still lives on till
today…….
Continuity
of samurai legacy in Japanese politics
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-clan based politics in Japan had its root in the
samurai tradition.
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-Japan’s political reformation was led by the Choshu
and Satsuma clans during the 1870s and 80s. “Samurai factionalism survived
into the party system established in the 1890s.”
The samurai
legacy in area of technological development
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-Samurais such as Sakuma shozan (1811-64) propounded
the idea of “Eastern ethics and western science”
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-Many of the earliest entrepreneurs had samurai
background. One of them was Iwasaki Yotaro (1843-85) a retainer of the Tosa
clan, who founded one of the most powerful company in Japan today, Mitsubishi.
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-Go Rin No Sho
(The Book of Five Rings) written by Miyamoto Musashi is popular among
businessmen who see it as a guide for business practice, making sales campaigns
like military operations, using the same energetic methods.
Surviving
samurai traditions
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-Leaders of Japanese armed forces promoted traditions
of the samurai as an example to soldiers. The belief that death was preferable
to defeat or capture was extensively expounded during World War two, in addition
to the infamous kami-kaze suicide missions made by Japanese pilots.
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-In the 1930s, the military leaders took over the
civilian government. Under the regime, “the
twin creeds of Shinto and Bushido” were used to sanction Japanese ruthless
expansionist policies during the 1930s, and later to justify “atrocities
committed …during the second world war.”
Samurai
legacy of martial arts
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-Japan martial arts like Judo, Karate, Aikido, Kendo
are now practiced throughout the world as methods of self-defence,
self-discipline and sport. Some of those who are highly skilled are non
Japanese.
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Revival of
Samurai traditions
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-The Japanese has a tendency to “turn to the
samurai past in defining their national identity”
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1980s: emphasis on stoic endurance (ganban)
which provided the basis for a spectacular game show called “Za
Ganb”.
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-Samurai comics / adverts/ historical epics are
“a staple of TV”
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-Samurai has also become a favourite subject matter
for films like Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” or “Ran” which evoke a
glorious past.
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