The Black Belt from the 47 Ronin Temple
Adisa Banjoko aka Bishop
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8 min read
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12 hours ago
A friends journey to Japan to get buy a black belt- gets crazy!
A few months ago, while teaching and training in the UK a friend from SF in The Bay Area. His name is Prof. Greg Watkins at Stanford University. We met through a friend of ours named Remi when Remi invited me to run a youth chess summer program a few summers back. Greg and I hit it off immediately. He teaches philosophy, he knows Shakespeare better than most, and he loved the UFC. How could we not be cool?! He also has a deep respect for Eastern philosophy. I learned a lot from him about Zhuang Zi, Socrates and so much more.
So while I was in the UK, I called him one day to catch up and he said “Hey I’m going to Japan with my wife, do you want me to grab you anything? I was blown away and I said “Please grab me a black belt while you are out there.” He said “OK” and lets say a month or so later he messaged me asking me where to send it.
I told him to send it to America because I was so scared something might happen to it. I did not want it to get lost in the mail, etc cetera. So he sent it to my parents place. This all happened about 4 months back. I came back in October, and my dad had set the belt out for me.
So, while at my parents recently I was talking to my lady on Whats App and I showed her some of the stuff in my old bedroom. I opened one drawer and it had some incense in a purple box with beautiful art and Japanese writing on it.
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My kuro obi at Segakuji Temple in Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkKqGPLkFsU&t=1100s
Adisa Banjoko lecturing on Stoic philosophy at the NXT 45 mens retreat in the United Kingdom.
The box was sealed. The thing is, my parents hate incense. When I was about 13 I bought insense and a little burner for my room. It was the 1983. My parents were like “Don’t try to cover up the smell of marijuana with incense, boy!!” I was such a nerd, I did not even know what weed looked like yet! But I loved the incense and I hated that my parent thought I was trying to smoke something I had never even seen before. I was mischievous though, and it was the 1984. In reflection, their attitude at the time made sense.
My point is, I knew they did not purchase it. But I wanted to burn the incense immediately. I asked her if she sent it before I arrived in the states. She said no but wondered if maybe my parents had bought it for me and maybe forgotten. Once my friend Dr. David Timony sent me some amazing incense. I could tell by the box that something else was happening. I ruled Dr. Timony, my parents and my lady out immediately, and I got off the phone.
As soon as we hung up I wondered if maybe Greg had sent it. I called him. He said “Yeah, that incense came from Sengakuji Temple of the 47 Ronin”. My jaw dropped. The 47 Ronin is one of the best old school samurai stories from the middle ages. It is also a true story. It deserves the popularity of the 300 Spartans.
Check this out:
The story of the 47 Ronin, also known as the Ako Incident, unfolds in 18th-century Japan. After their lord, Asano Naganori, is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official. He was set up to fail by a rival lord named Kira. Asano was ordered to kill himself and his loyal samurai, were made ronin ( become masterless warriors) . Led by Oishi Kuranosuke, the 47 Ronin patiently bide their time, enduring various humiliations and acting as if they have abandoned their samurai code. They take on other jobs. One of Anano’s high level samurai was seen running around bars and lives the life of what some might call a drunken bum. However, their true intention was to avenge their Lord Asano’s unjust forced death. They waited patiently for two years. January 30, 1703 the reunited warriors stormed Kira’s stronghold in a carefully planned attack. After being found in a hidden room, they gave him an opportunity to kill himself with same blade Asano used for seppuku. Kira refused, so and was beheaded with the same blade. The 47 Ronin then turn themselves in to authorities, willingly accepting their fate of seppuku. The tale of the 47 Ronin is a legendary example of loyalty, honor, and their unwavering commitment to avenging a master’s honor- even at the cost of their own lives. They were laid to rest at Sengakuji [Mountain Forest] Temple.
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Map of Sengakuji Temple grounds.
“So, you didn’t get the pictures?” Greg asked in a confused tone.
“What pictures”? I asked even slightly more confused.
“My wife and I bought your black belt at the Isami store and took it to Sengakuji Temple, where the 47 Ronin are buried. We sat the belt at the altar and burned some incense. We took it to the graves of the father and son who led the attack. Then we mailed it to you. We sent pictures of the belt at the altar and the incense together.”
My mind was blown *insert appropriate emoji here*!!