Hagakure

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The Hagakure ( Japanese 葉 隠 , literally: Behind the Leaves ), also known as the Samurai Code of Honor , was created between 1710 and 1716 in Japan during the Edo period .

It is generally believed that by the Samurai Tsunetomo Yamamoto after he zen - monk , the writer Tashiro Tsuramoto was dictated had become. The work is a collection of around 1,300 mostly short lessons, episodes and notes that relate to the daily life of the samurai and also deal with the relationship between prince ( daimyō ) and follower. The original text has not yet been found. It initially circulated hand-copied among the young samurai of the Nabeshima clan in Hizen. As far as is known, fewer than three dozen copies have survived nearly three hundred years. Each copy differs from the other with omissions, additions and misspelled words. However, the "Yamamoto copy", which is kept in the prefectural library of Saga , is considered reliable .

The Hagakure comprises eleven volumes. Yamamoto Tsunetomo did not want to publish it, but the various copies that were in circulation quickly spread as the Hagakure's message attracted interest. Especially in the time when the samurai were often only aristocrats , Yamamoto Tsunetomo's work on Bushidō , the spirit of the warrior, met with great approval in a society that saw itself threatened by decadence. Over the centuries the Hagakure has been loved, condemned and sometimes forbidden as "feudalist propaganda". After the Second World War it became known again through various authors who dealt with it.

Newer authors have tried to adapt the Hagakure to the present day. There have also been attempts to revise the book as a guide for modern managers , and it was even given to units of the Waffen SS . The related works The Book of the Five Rings by the samurai Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) and The Art of War by Sunzi , which was written over 2500 years ago, are traded at similar rates in management seminars today . At this point, however, it should be pointed out that in the Japanese caste system the “greedy” merchant was considered inferior and this view is also reflected in the Hagakure.

The Hagakure has in the west u. a. with the 1999 produced film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai by US director Jim Jarmusch gained greater fame. It also influenced several works and the life of the Japanese author Yukio Mishima .

Structure of the plant

The eleven volumes of Hagakure, together with the introductory chapter "A contemplative night conversation":

  • Volume 1, 2: Lessons
  • Volume 3: Stories about Nabeshima Naoshige , the founder of the Nabeshima clan
  • Volume 4: Stories about Nabeshima Katsushige , the first prince of Saga of the Clan
  • Volume 5: Stories about Nabeshima Mitsushige and Nabeshima Tsunashige , the second and third princes of the clan
  • Volume 6: Ancient Events and Records of the Clan
  • Volumes 7–9: Stories about the followers of the Nabeshima clan
  • Volume 10: Stories about the Followers of Other Clans
  • Volume 11: Supplements

The philosophy of the Hagakure

Tsunetomo Yamamoto

In Hagakure , Tsunetomo Yamamoto defines the philosophical as well as the political and military aspects of his conception of Bushidō . Yamamoto attacks the basic contents of humanism in the field of philosophy and declares them to be incompatible with Bushidō. In terms of politics, he is even more hostile to liberalism . A samurai (literally: servant , "servant" (in English knight stands for knight )) is characterized by absolute obedience to his prince; the meaning of his life is service as a soldier or civil servant . In doing so, he does not shy away from attacking the pacifist content of Buddhism .

  • Quote: "The loyal follower does not realize his own existence, but that of his prince."
  • Quote: "Be therefore fully determined to achieve these goals without wavering in the least, even if the teachings of the Buddha or the gods oppose it."

He vehemently demands a lifestyle based on functionalism as well as elements of idealism in order to fulfill his karma in the best possible way , in the sense of the social function established by predestination . Therefore, for a samurai as a member of the military , militarism , compliance with traditions and paternalism are required. However, the state of consciousness of such a first-class samurai can be reached by anyone who follows it consistently enough. Furthermore, it is the duty of experienced warriors to work towards the spiritual maturity of younger members of their class in this sense.

In some sections, however, the Hagakure requires active conflict regulation, as well as understanding and patience for other people. However, this in turn serves the functionalism of avoiding conflicts with the other samurai or members of other social classes, which can hinder effective cooperation.

The Hagakure Society in Saga philosophy group publishes essays and analyzes that deal with the philosophy of Hagakure in everyday life . This body enjoys an international reputation for having the highest level of expertise on Hagakure.

Hagakure as non-fiction in military training

The work was required reading in the officer training of the Rikugun Daigakkō , as it represents both the essential basis of classical Japanese military sociology and the importance of individual courage in battle . Yamamoto places particular emphasis on psychological warfare in the field of tactics , the methods of which he believes every soldier should learn. These include:

Collective war cry

The battle cry Banzai is intended to convey the vitality, strength and moral strength of the attacking soldiers to the enemy and one's own troops. This is intended to demotivate the opponent and at the same time encourage one's own men.

Shouting insults

Combat situations are moments of extreme emotional excitement and are therefore particularly prone to provocation . By shouting insults and degrading the fallen comrades of the opponent, the latter should be enraged so that he loses his ability to concentrate and is also provoked to retaliatory actions that worsen his tactical situation (e.g. leaving cover).

Superior demeanor

Every soldier should always appear superior, even in the greatest danger, in order to demotivate the enemy. Public discipline and considered action should increase existing doubts and feelings of inferiority of the opponent. In particular, suicide in a calm state of mind in the event of a failure, which an enemy soldier observes at close range, is ascribed an extreme intimidation efficiency.

Mutual motivation

The development of fear and feelings of inferiority in one's own troops should be counteracted by mutual motivation. Every soldier has an obligation to give his comrades spiritual and moral support, to reassure them and / or to convince them of the inevitable victory of their own armed forces.

Hagakure and the Second World War

The Hagakure was socially discredited after the Second World War . In particular, the famous quote “Bushido, the way of the samurai, I have found out, is dying” served to motivate kamikaze pilots.

The Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler was also taken with the samurai culture and tried to spread elements of this worldview in the SS. Rudolf Jacobsen, regimental commander of the Waffen-SS, tells from his memories that Himmler repeatedly emphasized "the Japanese tradition of the samurai" when it came to training the SS. Above all, the book by Heinz Corazza with the title The Samurai, Knights of the Reich in Honor and Loyalty should be mentioned, which Himmler had distributed to the SS men in an edition of 52,000 copies with a preface written by him.

literature

  • Jōchō Yamamoto: Hagakure. (Translation and commentary: Max Seinsch), Reclam, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-15-010694-5 .
  • Tsunetomo Yamamoto: Hagakure. The Way of the Samurai. (translated by Takao Mukoh), Hokuseido Press (Reprint), Tokyo 2002, ISBN 3-8311-1530-3 .
  • ders .: Hagakure. The way of the samurai. (from the English by Guido Keller) Angkor Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1999/2012 (new edition), ISBN 978-3-936018-27-1 .
  • ders .: Hagakure. The Samurai's Book. (translated by Kenzo Fukai) Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2001, ISBN 3-8289-4870-7 ; Droemer Knaur, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-426-87159-9 .
  • ders .: Hagakure. (Ed. and translated from the Japanese by Wolfgang Höhn & Mariko Sakai) Goldmann, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-442-33732-1 .
  • Stacey B. Day, Kiyoshi Inokuchi (eds.): The Wisdom of Hagakure. Hagakure Society 1994, ISBN 4-87378-389-5 .
  • Yukio Mishima : The Way Of The Samurai. Perigee 1983, ISBN 0-399-50907-0 .
  • ders .: To an ethics of action. Hanser, Munich / Vienna 1987, ISBN 3-446-14516-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Victor and Victoria Trimondi: SAMURAI-KULT / The Japanese warrior ideology exerts great fascination on the West , September 25, 2003 in the Rheinischer Merkur.