Loyalty of the Samurai
Alone, he sprang onto the bridge and shouted in a mighty voice, "let those at a distance listen and those that are near see; I am Tsumui Jomyo Meishu, the priest. Who here dares to fight me, a warrior worth one thousand men? Come out, anyone who thinks himself worthy." (Leonard 77). And unloading twenty-four arrows like lightning flashes, he slew twelve men and wounded eleven more....He threw off his shoes and ran barefoot across the beams of the bridge like a large cat stalking its prey. He pulled out his "naginata" (pole-sword) and sliced through five more of the enemy, but on the sixth it snapped....Flinging it aside, he drew his sword and cut down eight men. As ferocious and ruthless as they may have seemed, the samurai were nicknamed "the gentlemen warriors" for their sly and cunning ways. In fact, the word Samurai means "to serve" and that's exactly what they did. This paper will discuss what honor and loyalty mean to a samurai."The samurai prized honor above wealth or life." ("Japanese Samurai" "World Book", 1986 Ed.). A samurai warrior did not care for wealth or riches. That meant nothing to them for having the honor of the people around you, can-not be bought, but must be earned.
Because it was so painful, seppuku had become a ritual that restored a samurai's honor if he had lost it. In General, samurai society was dominated by men, but history records that the female members of the samurai clans often displayed a fighting spirit and a concern for honor and duty matching that of the men. com/nuclearwinterz/nwzinc/documents/samurai. A monument to her was erected in the Hokai temple in Aizu Bangemachi, Fukishima province. Self-renunciation was very important for women and remained so even at the end of the 19th century, despite the popularity of western ideas. It was also the way in which a samurai was supposed to follow his lord in death, a practice officially prohibited in the Edo period, but honored as the ultimate in sacrificial loyalty. On occasion, however, a samurai was forced to commit seppuku, disembowelment with one's sword, in apology for offending his lord in some way. The maker of the samurai sword was widely honored and respected. There are many incidences of lesser known smiths with less talent would forge the signature of a well know sword maker and apply it to his own blades to increase their value. When he got back to Japan, his sense of dishonor led him to commit seppuku. Only the best blades that the smith produced were worthy of his signature. To avoid the disgrace of capture, she told her sister Yuko to remove her head and take it home. The Bushido code put emphasis on loyalty, justice, refined manners, martial spirit, honor and so forth.
Common topics in this essay:
World Book,
Jomyo Meishu,
Mind Friend,
Nakano Takeko,
Bangemachi Fukishima,
,
Heavens Earth,
commit seppuku,
world book 1986,
loyalty honor samurai,
Japanese Samurai,
Samurai World,
japanese samurai world,
samurai world,
samurai samurai,
1986 ed,
japanese samurai,
word samurai,
loyalty honor,
book 1986 ed,
book 1986,
honorable death,
samurai world book,
honor samurai,
|
Acceptance Essays
