Book Review of “heart of the Warrior” by Catarina Blomberg
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This is my review on “The Heart of the Warrior,” written by Catharina Blomberg. In this review I intend to go through each chapter pointing out what the chapter discussed and what I learned from reading this book. I chose this book because it seemed interesting and something that was worthwhile for the time I spent reading it. This book seems to take a more in depth look at what we have touched on in class.
The introduction chapter of this book deals with a brief history of how the samurai or “Bushi” come to exist and how they impact Japan throughout history. The book goes into detail about the many different ethical aspects of bushi (a warrior), and how they should strive to live their lives. Many of these aspects are illustrated in the Gunki Monogatari, which is a form of literature that became popular in the early Kamakura period. These tales would paint the picture of the samurai and the brave and dashing warrior who fought for what they stood for and had the strict code of honor that came to be known as bushido, or the way of the warrior (ix).
Most of these works were written by bushi for bushi, and it took that state of mentality to understand the true meaning of many of the works. The Samurai also had their own ideas when it came to traditional religions such as Shinto and Buddhism. These were peaceful religions, which discouraged violence, and bloodshed but the bushi, being professional warriors were called on to take life without hesitation. The code they lived by also meant that they lived simple lifestyles and were expected to be chivalrous (74).
The first chapter of this book is titled, “The Formation of a Warrior Nobility,” and deals with how the class of samurai came to be and how far it dates back in history. The earliest representations of Japanese warriors are clay figures called “haniwa” which were found on ancient grave mounds around 250-500 A.D. These figures were often wearing suits of armor and armed with swords. The earliest soldiers seem to have belonged to local leaders and guarded the leaders land from invasion from outside forces. Japan was unified and and Emperor took power in 646 A.D, and a government which was modeled after the Tang dynasty in China now ruled. A centralized military unit was organized which would be called upon when needed (6.) The first set of military guidelines came as the Yoro Code, which were revised later into the Taiho Laws, which set the rules for military guards, palace guards, and the armed personal guards to the Emperor. The term “Samurai” can be traced back to the word, saburahu, and meaning, “to serve a master.”
The second chapter entitled “Bushi Attitudes Towards the Traditional Religions,” deals with exactly what the title states. There were several forms of religion in Japan at this time. This first was Shinto, which is basically an agricultural religion, which focuses on the harvest of rice, as well as cleanliness and purification by means of cold running water (18). The next major religion of the time was Buddhism. This came from China most likely through Korea and became popular. Chinese monks were invited to teach the people and Japanese monks were sent to China to learn the religion and bring back their knowledge. Another major religion was Confucianism, which is composed of ethics and came to Japan even earlier than Buddhism through traveling merchants. Confucianism has a moral code in which everyone should know his or her place in the hierarchical system. It also outlines the five different types of relationships, which are between lord and servant, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, and friend and friend. These guidelines helped to shape the backbone of Japanese society (20). As stated earlier a big difference in the way a normal Japanese citizen and a samurai would interpret the religions is the fact that as part of his job and being expected of him, that the bushi would have to kill. The bushi tended to be especially fond of the Shinto God of war, Haichiman as they would often send offerings to the haichiman shrine in Usa. There were different religious sects of samurai such as the Shugendo, which incorporated Buddhism and Shintoism as well as some Chinese Taoism in their beliefs, the Yamabushi which means those who sleep in the mountains, and the Shugenja, who practice austerities. The Yamabushi tended to appear to be the most fearsome because of their residence being in the mountains which the Shinto beliefs said is where the spirits of the dead live (33). The Yamabushi also practiced goma, which were fire ceremonies where participants would cross a bed of hot coals. I believe that this is the reason that they were deemed as being so worthy of being feared, they would perform feats that would cause serious harm to any normal person. Also, the samurai as well as most Japanese believed that when something bad such as a natural disaster or plague took place that it was because the God(s) had been angered such was the case in 1185 when a major earthquake hit Kyoto. It was thought that the angry spirits of fallen warriors caused this and prayers were said to appease them (39). The Confucian ideas of peace and caring also leaked over to the justice system as it was common for people to treat each other kindly and with respect. This always was not the case however; samurai retained the right to cut down anyone whom they came upon who did not dismount from their horse or if the samurai felt insulted. In some instances tsuji-giri, which means roadside cutting, took place just to test a new sword out on an unlucky peasant.
The third chapter of this book is called, “Duty, Privilege, and Loyalty: Religious and Practical Concerns.” The first part of this chapter deals with Swords and Sword fighting techniques used by the bushi. The bushi carried two swords, one long sword called a katana, and one short sword called a wakizashi, this would become the most important symbol of their status. In 1588 Toyotomi Hideyoshi made it illegal for anyone other than samurai to carry swords in an effort to put and end to the civil uprising that was taking place (48). The process of creating these swords was a very intense and serious matter. The sword smith would often fast for several days and practice sexual abstinence and pray constantly. He would also purify himself through Shinto rituals and wear priests robes. The smith would usually sign the tang of the sword so that it could only be read when dismounted (55). It was also customary to test the quality of a blade on corpses of executed criminals or sometimes as mentioned earlier on unlucky bystanders. “A blade of exceptional quality could cut through the corpses of three men with one blow” (56). A blade which