The spirit of Bushido

The spirit of Bushido is the moral code and philosophy followed by the samurai class in Japanese feudal society. It is like the chivalry that appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages and the integrity respected by Chinese Confucianism in the feudal era. ?The same, it is one of the foundations of spiritual rule in feudal society.

The spirit of Bushido in the strict sense originated from the Tokugawa Shogunate era in Japan. As the end of the Warring States Period in Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate not only acquired major Japanese territories such as Edo and Osaka from the predecessor Toyotomi clan, but also It also inherits the samurai spirit that has been passed down by the samurai class since the Dahua Reform.

Some Japanese scholars, represented by Yamaga Sono, combined some specific spirits of Shintoism, Japanese Zen Buddhism and Confucianism with the Japanese samurai spirit and gradually developed the spirit of loyalty to the emperor, respect for the ancestors, concentration, calmness, and fear of death. The spirit of Bushido at the core of the Five Ethics of Confucianism. According to existing historical data, the spirit of Bushido became a written code in the 16th century at the latest.

The spirit of Bushido, like the ruling ideas used by other feudal dynasties, has also experienced constant inheritance and changes. According to the main connotations of Bushido spirit, it can be divided into the pre-Edo period, the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration. the last three stages.

Before the Edo period under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan's samurai spirit centered on advocating personal glory and family reputation. It was not about loyalty but about personal strength. This created the unique characteristics of the Warring States period? The phenomenon of the subordinate overcoming the superior focuses on enhancing the political power of individuals and families. The samurai of this era were also great warlords and great politicians. Typical representatives include Taira Kiyomori, Ashikaga Takauji, Akechi Mitsuhide, etc.

In the Edo period, in order to stabilize society, the Tokugawa shogunate formulated many laws and regulations for the samurai class. They instilled the ideas of duty, loyalty to the master, repaying kindness, self-denial, sacrifice, and tenacity into the bushido spirit, and Externally, express rules were also formulated to strictly restrict the behavior of the samurai class. These express laws gradually formed what is now known as the Bushido spirit, and objectively promoted the stability of Japanese society. Representative figures of this era include Yamaga Moyuki, Yoshida Shoin, etc.

After the Meiji Restoration, Japan implemented policies such as the equality of the four peoples and the abolition of the sword order in the process of Westernization. The samurai class was greatly weakened. However, with the rise of Japanese militarism, the core of the bushido spirit was reshaped. The pair's complete obedience to the emperor and their bravery and fearlessness, even at the expense of their own lives, led them to the path of no return in the service of militarism.

The Spirit of the Sword

The allusion to the sword is that when you meet an extremely skilled swordsman, you, a fellow swordsman, should dare to use the sword in your hand and fight hard even though you are not very skilled. , even if you die by your opponent's sword, it is the glory of being a swordsman. In short, the spirit of "bright sword" is the spirit that a soldier can be killed but cannot be humiliated, that is, the spirit that will never tolerate humiliation and survive in vain, the spirit that "blood stains the battlefield and makes the rainbow turn into a rainbow," and that sacrificing one's life for the country is a heroic spirit.