This is the fourth in an ongoing series of reviews, which I call the Samurai Papers. The previous three reviews have been of the films: Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, and Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto.

This is the first in this series to look at a book rather than a film. This short digression is meant to help us in aspects of our inquiry into samurai films. It is important, in order to understand the Samurai genre, to know something of the history and context of this cultural tradition. The Hagakure will help us along that road.

Hagakure , or Hidden Leaves was written in the seventeenth century by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a retired Samurai. Tsunetomo was a retainer of Nabeshima Mitsushige.

In Hagakure he set out to detail every aspect of conduct for a Samurai. It is, quite literally, a text book for the Samurai life. Like the writings of Confucius it details not only ethical behavior, but goes so far as to discuss how one should dress. Hagakure discusses every aspect of conduct from grooming tips, and etiquette, to battle strategy, and death. It is filled with important tips. For instance Tsunetomo informs us that it is rude to yawn in public. If one must yawn they should hide their mouth to obscure the act. The same goes for sneezing. If possible, one may stifle a yawn by rubbing their forehead.

More important than the etiquette is the information about battle, honor and death. The Hagakure offers the following advice:

"When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about going at it in a long roundabout way. One's heart may slacken, he may miss his chance, and by and large there will be no success. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong. When a certain man was going to the sutra readings at the Jissoin in Kawakami, one of his pages got drunk on the ferryboat and began to pester one of the sailors. When they landed on the other side, as the page had drawn his sword, the sailor took a pole and struck him on the head. At that time the other sailors all ran up together carrying oars and were at the point of striking the page down. However, as the master passed by with an air of not knowing what was happening, one of the other pages ran back and apologized to the sailors. Then, pacifying his comrade, he accompanied him home. That night the page who had been drunk learned that his sword was being taken away from him.”

Then, the author continues:

“Now, first of all, it was an insufficiency on the master's part not to have reproved and pacified the drunken page while they were on the boat. Furthermore, even though his page had acted unreasonably, after he had been struck on the head there was no reason for an apology. The master should have approached the sailor and the drunken page in an apologetic manner and cut them both down. Certainly he was a spiritless master."

Immediacy, it seems, is at the heart of the Samurai life. One should not bother taking long, drawn out routes. One should rush headlong into battle, even if this will mean certain death. The samurai does not spend too much time planning, but acts instinctively. This is the heart of honor.

Hagakure is divided into short sections, each detailing a certain point. Some points are simply stated, others are illustrated with stories of great Samurai, teachers, and priests. This style manages to teach a bit of history, while instructing the path of the warrior. It is a nice way to teach us how a samurai should behave.

We can see its influence in Samurai films. In Sanjuro Mifune’s character is ridiculed by the young men, because he does not follow the rules set forth in Hagakure. In fact, he scratches in public, and even yawns without making ant attempt to hide it. At first the young men have no respect for the samurai that fails to heed the words of this book. Only after he has proven himself in battle will they begin to understand that he is in fact a great warrior.

In Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, the main character (a modern day samurai) carries a copy of the Hagakure with him everywhere he goes, and reads from it often. He has chosen to live his life by the rules and regulations set forth in this fine book. All this despite the fact that he is an American living in the inner city at the end of the twentieth century. Obviously this book has had a profound influence on this character.

We can see, also, that the master samurai in Seven Samurai, clearly follows the rules set forth in this book. Kurosawa was from a family that had formerly been samurai warriors. It is certain that he would have read this book, and been intimately familiar with the rules that it sets forth.

The Hagakure is an easy read. It flows smoothly, and makes its points with great clarity. The use of illustrative anecdotes helps to keep the book entertaining, and exciting to read. This book is not only a text for samurai wannabe’s, but can serve as something of a guidebook for the life of anyone interested in honor and restraint. It is similar, in certain ways, to the writings of Confucius, and to Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching.

I keep my copy of Hagakure next to my copies of the Tao Te Ching, and I refer to them both often. These are great books, that lend one a greater understanding of Eastern culture. I highly recommend this book.

As we look more deeply at films that fall into the samurai genre we will notice again and again that the rules in this book are followed (or transgressed with consequences). This well greatly help our understanding.

This has been the fourth in the ongoing Samurai Papers series. The first three reviews in the series are:

Yojimbo
Seven Samurai
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Now that we’ve covered this important book, we will return to the films that make up the genre. Next up is the wonderful Sanjuro, which was mentioned above. This means, of course that we are back to Kurosawa, and Mifune. Close readers of these essays will notice that Mifune never seems to leave our attention.


Addendum May 27, 2003. I've changed my mind about the next review. Next up will be Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Then we will get to Sanjuro










Recommended: Yes