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Japanese Legends. Momotaro “Peach Boy”. Momotaro is discovered inside the peach. Momotaro & Friends. Momotaro & friends set off for the island. Momotaro & friends fight the demons. Momotaro & friends return home victorious. Kaguya-hime “Bamboo Princess”. Formalist Criticism
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Formalist Criticism Biographical Criticism Historical Criticism Psychological Criticism Mythological Criticism Sociological Criticism Gender Criticism Reader-Response Criticism Deconstructionist Criticism Cultural Studies Criticism Critical Approaches
Bushido’s Seven Virtues • 義Gi – Rectitude • 勇 Yu – Courage • 仁 Jin – Benevolence • 礼 Rei – Respect • 誠 Makoto – Honesty • 名誉Meiyo – Honor • 忠義Chuugi – Loyalty
義 Gi – Rectitude • The power of resolution: • “Rectitude is the power of deciding upon a certain course of conduct in accordance with reason, without wavering – to die when it is right to die, to strike when to strike is right.” • “Rectitude is the bone that gives firmness and stature. As without bones the head cannot rest on the top of the spine, nor hands move nor feet stand, so without rectitude neither talent nor learning can make of a human frame a samurai. With it the lack of accomplishments is as nothing.” • “Duty”
勇 Yu – Courage • Courage must be exercised in the cause of Righteousness or it is unworthy to be counted amongst the virtues. • “Perceiving what is right and doing it not, argues lack of courage.” ~Confucius~
仁 Jin – Benevolence • In a ruler, a paternal government: • Through one perspective, an amalgamation of democracy and absolutism • “When the prince loves what the people love and hates what the people hate, then is he what is called the parent of the people.” ~Confucius~
Bushido as an Ethical System • Very loosely translated as a form of chivalry • Chivalry from ME chivalrie, from FR chevalerie from FR chevalier from L caballarius meaning “horseman” • Bu-shi-do means “Military-Knight-Ways” • Code of moral principles, which the knights were required to observe • Not a written code, but organic growth of centuries of military history
Sources of Bushido • Buddhism (Zen): “represents human effort to reach through meditation zones of thought beyond the range of verbal expression.” ~Lafcadio Hearn~ • To put oneself in harmony with the Absolute
Sources of Bushido Shintoism • Believes in innate goodness and purity of the human soul • Brought about awareness of national consciousness in the individual rather than moral • The country is itself a sacred place of the gods and forebears. • Ancestor-worship made the Imperial family the fountainhead of the whole nation – the incarnation of heaven on earth. • Focuses on Patriotism and Loyalty, but not so much as doctrines as impulses
Confucius • Five moral relations: (the governing and the governed) • Master and servant • Father and son • Husband and wife • Older and younger brother • Between friend and friend
礼Rei – Respect • Different from outward appearances of propriety that lack empathy for the sensibilities of others • Rei expresses the spiritual significance of social graces and decorum; a graceful expression of sympathy
礼Rei – Respect (continued) • Cultural differences – West vs. East – Gift giving: • West: “This is a nice gift; if it weren’t nice, I wouldn’t give it to you for it would be an insult to give you anything less.” Attention to the material aspect of the gift • East: “You are a nice person and no gift is nice enough for you. Accept my gift as a token of my good will.” Attention to the spirit of the gift
誠 Makoto – Honesty • The difference between truth (makoto) and fact (honto)
名誉 Meiyo – Honour • Consciousness of personal dignity and worth • Fear of disgrace • Intense sense of shame countered by preaching magnamity and patience
忠義 Chuugi – Loyalty • The interest of the family and of the member is one and inseparable. There is no individual interest for father, son, husband, or wife • The state antedates the individual • If subject and master differed (subject following bushido principles) loyalty was demonstrated by subject using every available means to show his master the true path; often, the samurai made his final appeal by shedding his own blood (seppuku) as a demonstration of his sincerity
Chushingura “Chushingura is an all-encompassing term for the entire body of cultural production that ultimately stems from the Akô Incident of 1701-03.” ~Henry D Smith II, Columbia University~ “Rethinking the Story of the 47 Ronin.”
The Aftermath • The attack was the most exciting incident to occur in recent memory • It brought immediate acclaim and admiration • More than 60 years had passed since the last armed conflict; the incident seemed like a great battle • Oishi and the Ronin took on the aspects of a victorious general and his army
The Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, wished to reward Oishi and his men, despite the way he had treated Asano two years earlier • He made of show of bowing to the will of the people in doing so • Leading scholars of the day believed that the Ronin should have been held up as examples and rewarded • Some criticized Kira's son for not assisting his father and also for not committing seppuku after the raid
The Dilemma • The Ronin were legally wrong, however, their actions were in accord with the official moral code • As the weeks passed, the case was increasingly considered on its legal aspects
The Legal Points • They were trained soldiers • Formed a secret army • Waged a brief campaign
The Legal Points (continued) • They had fought a small civil war, not a personal cause • It was planned: • Battle plans • Structured command • Intelligence operations • Supply lines • Bases of operation
The Legal Points • They used weapons and tools from a supply depot in Edo • War drums • Whistles • Code language • Ladders • Battering mallets • Uniforms • Armor, swords, spears, and bows
The Long View • Their actions could not be condoned regardless of the nobility of their motive • If the Ronin were released, the relatives of Kira would be honor-bound to seek revenge • All the relatives of the late Asano would be obligated to protect the Ronin • The ensuing feud could precipitate a civil war that would threaten the Tokugawa Shogunate
The Lord Abbot Weighs In • Advice sought from the Lord Abbot of Kwanei Temple at Ueno • His opinion was that it was best to let them die as martyrs • If they were allowed to live, some may become tempted by the adulation and compromise their character through dishonorable acts
The Final Chapter • On the 4 February 1703, the Ronin were informed that they would be permitted to die by their own hand • The presiding daimyos stalled until dusk in the hopes of receiving a pardon • Within two weeks, the first Kabuki play, “Chushingura” was staged
Formalist Criticism Biographical Criticism Historical Criticism Psychological Criticism Mythological Criticism Sociological Criticism Gender Criticism Reader-Response Criticism Deconstructionist Criticism Cultural Studies Criticism Critical Approaches
Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892 – 1927) • Considered by many to be Japan’s greatest short story writer • Heavily influenced by Western writers such as Poe, Strindberg, Dostoevsky, and Flaubert • Part of a literary movement that centered on the magazine Shin Shicho (New Current of Thought) • Intent on undermining the influence of the romanticists and aesthetes of early 20th century
Akutagawa Ryunosuke1892 - 1927 • Philosophy: the writer should not be overly influenced by either beauty or idealism • Mission: replace emotion with reason.Writings often tended toward the surreal, the grotesque, and the fantastic • Mixes the mythology of Japan with the style of modern Western writers
The Hell Screen (1918)(Jigoku hen) • Medieval in spirit • Feudalism within living memory; rule of might vs. rule of law • Original language is a language of understatement, unlike English • Embodies simultaneous qualities of horror and elegance • “Extravagance and horror are in his work but never in his style, which is always crystal clear.” ~Jorge Luis Borges~
The Hell Screen (1918)(Jigoku hen) • Complex story in two major sections with an unreliable narrator, a court flunky of the Great Lord of Horikawa • At the time of the narration, he has been with the Great Lord for over twenty years • Narrator praises his lord, yet it becomes evident through anecdotes that the Great Lord is immoral • The reader suspects that the narrator knows more than he is saying
The Hell Screen (1918)(Jigoku hen) Dramatis personae • Narrator • Great Lord of Horikawa • Yoshihide, the painter • Yuzuki, his daughter • The Abbot of Yokawa • Pet Monkey • Yoshihide’s apprentices
Great Lord of Horikawa • Goes beyond ordinary expectations; tends to be ‘over-the-top’ • Mansion is of greatest grandeur and boldness of design • Anecdotes: • Passed unhurt through mysterious scene of pandemonium in front of the Imperial palace • Gift of 30 white horses at an Imperial banquet • Propitiated the wrath of a god during bridge construction • In possession of the Hell Screen
Yoshihide • Perfectionist; art is more important to him than anything else, with one exception. Nothing takes precedence over his art. • All agree that his work is startlingly brilliant, but there is always a sense of the grotesque and melancholy about it: “The Five Phases of the Transmigration of Souls” makes one hear the sighs and sobbing of spirits and smell the stench of rotting corpses. • Arrogant; also stingy, harsh, shameless, lazy, & avaricious • Ugly: with his crouching stance he is nicknamed “Saruhide” (monkey hide)
