Hagakure

[Budokan]

Has anybody else read this book about samurai written by a retainer about 300 years ago? Fascinating insight. Here are a few of the more grisly tidbits amongst the Zen messages:

How to deal with a thief: Burn off all the hairs on his body and pull the fingernails out. Then, bore him with drills and subject him to other tortures. Finally, split his back, boil him in soy sauce, and bend his body in two.

Here's how a doctor cured a neck wound to a samurai: Rub a mixture of pine resin and oil on the jaw and bind it with ramie. Attatch a rope to the top of his head and tie it to a beam, bury the body in rice so he can't move. Let the samurai slowly heal.

Finally, this little bon mot: "If you cut a face lengthwise, urinate on it and trample it with your sandals the skin will come off in one piece."

Check this book out if you have a chance. It's a hoot!:)

[DelicateSound]

N i c e . . . . . [shriek] . . . . . [sound of distant footsteps] . . .

[Kristoffer]

"If you cut a face lengthwise, urinate on it and trample it with
your sandals the skin will come off in one piece."

uhm, cool :D what's the name of the book again? LoL

[Kristoffer]

write more Budokan!! : )

[Mojo]

I have a copy of it. Some of the advise seems truely odd. It says if you get cut deep, then you should pack the wound with horse manure.
It also gives advise on having sex with young boys.

[Ford Prefect]

Heh. I have a copy of that sitting next to my bed, but I never got around to reading it. maybe I will...

[ShaolinTiger00]

I like it.

[Stacey]

little boys? What is it with ancient people and little boys. maybe all those priests are just reading the hagakure?

[Leonidas]

I'm pretty sure that was a parody. You know, like there idea of comedy. I dont see it as that funny, but those ancient folk had a wierd sense of humor and they probably got a real chuckle out of it since theres a copy left today.

[Budokan]

I don't think this book was meant to be comedy or satire. It reads that way today, at least to the western mind, but I don't think that was its original intent.

It's mostly filled with vignettes about how samurai should kill themselves at the drop of a hat if there's even the slightest chance of impropriety. That was no joke to them back then, but a living breathing reality.

It's funny to a big dumb white boy from the South like myself, though.:D

[anton]

Hagakure is definitely not a satire or a comedy.
It is a collection of reflections and anecdotes giving both insight and instruction in the philosophy and code of behaviour that foster the spirit of Bushido.It is not a book on philosophy as most would understand it, It is a collection ofsayiongs recorded over a period of seven years and covers a variety of subjects in no particular order. Hagakure remained for many years a secret text known only to the warrior vassals of the Hizen fief to which the author belonged, it later came to be recognised as a classic exposition of samurai thought and influenced many subsequent generations.

AUTHOR: Yamamoto Tsunetomo [1659-1719] - a samurai retainer of the Nabeshima clan (Lords of Hizen province). He became a buddhist monk in 1700 after the Shogunal government prohibited the practice of tsuifuku: suicide of retainer on the death of his lord. The sayings were written down by a younger samurai during the authors seclusion over a seven year period


The work represents an attitude far removed from today's pragmatic materialism, and posesses intuitive rather than rational appeal in its assertion that Bushido is a way of dying.

[anton]

"Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightening, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one's master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead.
There is a saying of the elders' that goes: "Step from under the eaves and you're a dead man. Leave the gate and the enemy is waiting." This is not a matter of being careful. It is to consider oneself as dead beforehand."

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

that's why i like ninjas. they live to stab you in your sleep another day. i wish i could be a ninja.

[Budokan]

Here's another tid bit:

"Those things that are easily understood are rather shallow."

How true!

[Mojo]

After I found this passage ... ' When one unexpectedly has to yawn, if he rubs his forhead in an upward direction, the sensation will stop. '
I found myself yawning last night and tried rubbing my forhead in an upward manner, and guess what, it worked ! It actually stopped me from continuing to yawn. Pretty darn cool.

[Kristoffer]

really? that's wicked

[Mojo]

I swear to god it worked.
Try it the next time you start to yawn. Just place the heel of your palm on your forhead and rub upward. It only took one upward rub to stiflle my yawn.
Suprised the heck out of me !

[strangecaptain]

Everybody should see "Ghost Dog- The Way of the Samurai". Great movie inspired by this very book. The Hagakure is not an intellectual philosophy but a way of action towards utter dedication to one's master. there is some pretty crazy stuff in there. The ****sexuality in it comes from the extremely mysogynist attitudes prevalent in that culture and especially in its warrior class and the singlemindedness of the samurai's focus. In other words, they would rather do each other than "weaken" themselves by wasting time and energy on anything outside the samurai way, especially women, religion, art, etc. Most of it is pretty insane, but their are some pretty profound statements about selfless living. It was a really interesting read. Maybe we could rename it "The Seeds of Japanese Fascism."

[strangecaptain]

They censored h0m0 from h0m0sexuality above.

[anton]

'Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige's wall there was this one: "Matters of great concern should be treated lightly." Master Ittei commented, "Matters of small concern should be treated seriously." Among one's affairs there should not be more than two or three matters of what one could call great concern. If these are deliberated upon during ordinary times, they can be understood. Thinking about things previously then handling them lightly when the time comes is what this is all about. To face an event and solve it lightly is difficult if you are not resolved beforehand, and there will always be uncertainty in hitting your mark. However, if the foundation is laid previously, you can think of the saying, "Mattersof great concern should be treated lightly," as your own basis for action.'