Let’s go to Kamakura! Now!
Do you want to dress in a samurai costume? Dressing in a samurai costume has become a little bit popular among foreign travelers recently. Moreover do you want to know samurai spirit? Unfortunately I am afraid that it isn’t easy from present Japanese people, because thoughts in gaining profit and interest has tainted Japanese people and they have forgotten the spirit.
Nonetheless a very malicious incident, which happened during a American football friendship game between two top universities, and many words and deeds after the game jolted Japanese people’s hearts with anger and honesty. Well now, triggered by it I will start a journey of finding the samurai spirit.
Reborn of “Isagiyosa”
A promising young American foot-ball linebacker injured a quarterback of his rival team by a reckless two seconds late tackle. The quarterback received a heavy impact to his back and fell down. Immediately he was carried off the field to hospital. The general director of the injured player’s team, the father of the quarterback and public opinions relentlessly have criticized the linebacker, his general director and his defensive coach and his university.
Breaking approximately three weeks of silence, the young linebacker alone held a news conference. Vowing once deeply for fifteen seconds, he apologized for his malicious field-play from the bottom of his heart and revealed honestly and politely that it was on the command from his defense-coach and his general director. And he declared he couldn’t avoid his fault of injuring the quarterback at any rate. Moreover, he said he has no right to play American football. The young man had faced his weakness and his disappointment to himself through the news conference.
Most Japanese people including the opposing general director and even the father of the injured quarterback sensed the true heart (“magokoro”), to be with clear, honest and coherent grace (“isagiyosa” in Japanese) and the truth in his talk. His isagiyosa jolted Japanese people. And they never have forgiven his general director and his coach (the two people were deprived of their qualifications of coaching by the Kanto American Football Association) and his university, but they have hoped to disclaim of the young defender. The little fire of his isagiyosa influenced Japanese people.
The manifestation of the samurai spirit is not to do anything shameful or not to shame your family’s name. And the mind of samurai spirit is “isagiyosa”(to be with clear, honest and coherent grace). The origin of both not to shame your family’s name and to be with clear, honest and coherent grace is from the Era of Kamakura Bakufu(1192-1333).
Let’s go to Kamakura! Now!
Kamakura is located in the root of Miura Peninsula along Sagami Bay, it takes approximately an hour by train to go to Kamakura from Tokyo. Kamakura is a beautiful small city. You can see some sight-seeing spots on foot. The picture above is Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu, which enshrines the guardian deity of Kamakura samurai. Kamakura is an old city, but it is very simple compared to elegant Kyoto.
The ancestors of Kamakura samurai who built the Kamakura bakufu were farmers who had been dominated by the rules of the emperor’s government in Kyoto. They lived with their land and made the strong unity with other farmers with no aid so as to develop their new plantation. Their lifestyle and the spirituality to live among the severe circumstance made the Kamakura samurai spirit, to be with clear, honest and coherent grace, not to shame their families’ names and “Let’s go to Kamakura! Now!”(Go together to Kamakura by all means).
The old story of a true Kamakura samurai
In the end I will write the old story of a true Kamakura samurai(“Hachinoki”). I hope you will know the essence of Kamakura samurai spirit.
Long, long ago, on a snowy night a monk arrived at a small house for his rest of one night. The house was Tsuneyo Genzaemon Sano’s. He said he lost his land deceived by the relatives of Sano and reduced to poverty. So his wife refused the request because of their poverty, the monk walked away in the snow. Nonetheless Tsuneyo never forgot Kamakura samurai spirit, he felt shame from the bottom of his heart at his excuse. His rethinking based on Kamakura samurai spirit let him catch up to the monk and went back in his poor house together.
In the severe snowy night he had insufficient food to speak of. And he had no firewood, then he was about to burn his loving small sized trees, a palm, a cherry and a pine, in a bowl (“Hachinoki”; equals to “bonsai”), which were kept so far in his house amid his poverty. The monk ordered him to cease his too welcoming act, but Tsuneyo became involved in burning the trees.
Tsuneyo and the monk spent the one night in deep conversation around the sunken hearth where Tsuneyo burned the loving trees. Tsuneyo said; “Even though I am reduced to poverty, If an emergency order of “Let’s go to Kamakura! Now!” occurs, I will go running to Kamakura at all costs wearing my battered armor and my rusty spear on my skinny old horse”. The monk was taken a back by him.
On a spring day after some time had passed, an order of “Come together at Kamakura! Now!” from the Kamakura bakufu reached all samurai. Needless to say,Tsuneyo came running with his skinny horse, his battered armor and his rusty spear. The commander was Tokiyori Hojo, the former governor. Tsuneyo was invited in front of the commander and after a polite greeting he looked up at him with doubt. Tsuneyo was surprised by the commander’s face because the commander was the monk whom he had given the one night rest to. Actually Tokiyori had ordered his subordinates to investigate the poor samurai with his skinny horse, his battered armor and his rusty spear. Tokiyori praised Tsukuyo’s coming with Kamakura samurai spirit, thanked him for the warmth by the small sized trees which Tsuneyo had loved in his poverty. Finally he gave sufficient land in order for Tsuneyo to recover his honor.
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