Musui's Story

Katsu begins to dabble in selling swords, as well as learning how to do shadow lotteries, deeds clearly at odds with samurai ideals, yet they represent the stark reality of Katsu’s monetary situation (Katsu 74, 84). Katsu evolves into a unique figure because, while he does not always follow samurai ideals, he does realize the weight his status holds, and he does not shy away from using it to acquire privileges that he would not receive otherwise. Because of his social standing and his benevolent nature, even Katsu’s friends come to his aid with money, as they create a savings association and place Katsu as the head without even having to put in an initial payment (Katsu 95). Another example would include an incident near the end of the autobiography, where Katsu goes out of his way to bail out his landlord by tricking the villagers that he would use his samurai status to shame them in the eyes of the Osaka magistrate (Katsu 129-142). Essentially, Katsu gains a mastery of using his samurai ideals to help his maligned reality, and through it he can call in favors, rely on his friends for monetary support, and use his status to awe members of society.

The samurai were a powerful warrior class in Japan, and were very skilled with a sword. Samurai used swords and were trained very well to do many things such as fire a bow while on horseback. The samurai practiced Buddhism, which is a religion that taught people to respect the world to reach enlightenment. When the samurai disobeyed The Bushido Code, they committed Seppuku, which is ritual suicide for the samurai. Japanese culture was influenced by the samurai warrior class.

Buddha in the Land of Kami reviews Japan on a historical account. It revisits the story of the Kami and elaborates on the country’s uniqueness. Significant to Japanese culture, this film recognizes Chinese culture as the primary influence on Japan formation. The film given categorizes as a historical documentary that appears to be in the setting of Japan from the seventh and twelfth centuries. Although World History; Culture, States and Societies, explore a different time frame (500 B.C.E- Seventh century), there are still many similarities as compared to the documentary; such as the importance of the Kami, and the role Chinese culture play on the development of Japan.

The major periods that shaped Japan’s history and future were the Heian-era of Aristocracy and the Kamakura period of Samurai. The Heian-era and the Kamakura period are interesting because of their differences in social structure, tradition, and culture. In the Heian era, the aristocrat’s social class was sought by many because of their social and cultural status. When the warrior rise in the Kamakura age the social classes change dramatically between aristocrat and warrior. The Heian-era (794-1191) was an age of self development in Japan’s culture and tradition. Before the Heian-era, Japan

During the post classical period, 650 C.E to 1450 C.E, Japanese leaders were confronted with several issues that threatened political order in Japan. The problems that arose during that time included a lack of respect for Buddhism, for example, monks were not taking their vows seriously. Another problem included the division between classes in the social structure, one instance was when the lady-in-waiting in the temple showed disdain for the peasants in a lower class than her. Ultimately, one last problem was the lack of overall respect for the government. Samurais were not being properly trained and the Daimyo were fighting among themselves simply for power. The issues that presented themselves during this time period can be solved in many ways. Buddhism, a unified religion, reestablishing Confucian values and relationships, and properly training the Samurai are just

The samurai were the feudal warriors of ancient Japan. For thousands of years they upheld the code of bushido, the way of the warrior. Samurai were around for thousands of years, but when did they disappear? Does the code of bushido still exist to this day? Exploring the history of the samurai will give an explanation to what has happened to these formidable warriors.

Musui 's Story is a samurai 's autobiography that portrays the Tokugawa society as it was lived during Katsu Kokichi 's life (1802 - 1850). Katsu Kokichi (or Musui) was a man born into a family with hereditary privilege of audience with the shogun, yet he lived a life unworthy of a samurai 's way, running protection racket, cheating, stealing, and lying. Before we discuss how Musui 's lifestyle was against the codes that regulated the behavior of the samurai, it is essential that the role of the samurai in Japanese society be understood.

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

On the surface one may connect Bushido to Japanese tactics and strategy in World War II, but this relationship is only on the surface. Suicide charges and kamikaze pilots may look like and very well be ritual suicide, but the meaning is far too different. In Bushido killing oneself is the ultimate clearing of honor and debt. However the Japanese military coopted this premise and heavily altered the idea that shaming your master was reason enough to enact seppuku into essentially not winning being reason enough to do so. Continuing, the other tenants about honor, respect, and learning were countered by the poor treatment of prisoners, the numerous atrocities committed upon those in occupied lands, and blatant racial attacks on everyone that

People say samurais are very well disciplined because of Bushido, and it is true. Bushido was the rule of the samurai code. Samurais were expected to live disciplined lives. In source 4, “The business of the samurai consists...in discharging loyal service to his master if he has one, in deepening his fidelity in associations with friends, and ...in devoting himself to duty above all” (Source 5). This statement can mean that samurais had to be devoted to being a samurai no matter what. Which meant staying true to all the rules. Also this is important because, not only did they have to be loyal to their duty, but also loyal to their friends and family. It can also be said,

He is well aware that his defense of Japan's tight society is subject to criticism, and at the end of his book he concedes the widespread corruption underlying so many Confucian societies, the diversity that makes overall judgments tricky and the racial homogeneity that may play a great part in enforcing Confucian harmony. But he sticks to his central thesis, fortified by his obviously pleasant recollections of living in Japan.

Bushido comes from medieval Japan, but until the 1600's it was something that had to be taught by a master. It was later written down for everyone to see and understand (Hurst 16). Bushido comes from all kinds of traits. It comes from Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shintoism. All these schools of thought and religion has formed the code of the warrior that the samurai follow in their everyday life (Clark 2). Buddhism teaches the samurai that you need to detach yourself from worldly feelings, wants, and needs. This was so that the samurai would not fear danger or death (Clark 3). Zen mediation teaches the samurai how to focus to rid themselves of unsteadiness and of all

The samurai was considered as a Clan. The samurai committed suicide if they were defeated, but disagreed. The samurai were considered as Bushi, Buke or Buddha. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely anonymous with bushi. While the samurai were numbered less than 10% of the Japan's population so Samurai was a small but powerful part of Japan. Japan has a history that dates back thousands and thousands of years ago and was founded as in the martial arts that can be learned by children to adults.The Samurai were accorded special status after 1600. They alone had the village of wearing two swords, they married only among their own class, and they passed their own class, and they passed their privileges on to their child.

Japan is an unique oriental country in many aspects, especially in politics and economy, both western practices and traditional nationalism are coexisted in this country. The period 1890-1940 was just followed the Meiji restoration, and was typical in the history of Japan, at that time, Japan was on the way from a feudal country to a capitalistic country, called modernization. Many western practices were being more and more adopted, however, at the same time, traditional rules still had strong influences in Japan. Under this background, this report will discuss the Japanese cultural factors during 1890-1940 that influenced the disclosure

War played a central part in the history of Japanese samurai. As regional clans gathered manpower, resources and struck alliances with each other, they formed a hierarchy centered around a toryo, or chief. This chief was typically a relative of the emperor