One should put forth effort in matters of learning.

KATO KIYOMASA, PRECEPTS

As a samurai, you will be expected to set an example to the lowerorders as much by your sensitivity to artistic matters and cultural pursuits as by your firm discipline at home and self-sacrificing behaviour on the battlefield. The first question that any samurai who wishes to cultivate himself in this way is likely to ask is ‘When do I find the time?’ How indeed, amid the hurly-burly of a samurai’s busy life, can he ever hope to isolate that precious moment of stillness?

The answer is closely related to the practice of Zen. Even though I adhere to the tenets of Pure Land Buddhism, I have always recognized that Zen possesses great treasures, many of which are to be found in tranquillity. The composure that allows the samurai to face the prospect of death in battle is also achievable in art, where Zen principles allow the busy samurai warrior to separate himself from the noise around and enter into the aesthetic sphere. Having acquired that moment of stillness the samurai must make a judgment as to how he might best fill it, because some forms of popular artistic expression and entertainment are unspeakably vulgar. The cultivated samurai must therefore exert a considerable degree of discretion when deciding which art forms are acceptable for his dignified indulgence. In this section I have selected a number of suitable categories, which I present to you with carefully considered notes of caution.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the unifier of Japan, shown here in armour and playing a sho. Musical prowess is unusual among samurai but is greatly admired.

The Samurai’s Essential Reading List

True artistic sensibilities can be realized only by years of dedicated practice, but much useful information – about both art and the entire spectrum of samurai behaviour – may be gleaned from great works of literature. The most important of all are the gunkimono (war tales). Written centuries ago, they tell the epic story of how our ancestors lived, fought and died. These are best appreciated when chanted to you by a blind itinerant monk within the confines of your lord’s castle. If this is not possible, then seat yourself comfortably and open the pages of these great tales. You may well be moved to tears as you read the tragic and moving stories therein.

My particular favourite is Heike Monogatari, which relates how the Taira family, who succumbed to overweening pride, were vanquished by the Minamoto family during the Gempei War (1180–85). It describes battles very beautifully as encounters between magnificent samurai warriors, where individual challenges are made to seek out only the noblest of opponents. A single combat then takes place, with no other fighters allowed to join in, and woe betide any vulgar person who spoils the situation by shooting one of the adversaries dead with an arrow! Heike Monogatari is sublime and uplifting, and must be highly recommended to any young samurai who wishes to emulate the deeds of his ancestors, for here they are in all their glorious details. For something more up to date, may I recommend Taiheiki, a glorious tale of the wars of the 14th century. In both you will find unerring and inspiring examples on which to base your own future behaviour.

It is, however, for similar reasons that young samurai should be actively discouraged from reading rubbish such as Mutsu Waki. This notorious chronicle of the samurai wars in northern Japan during the 11th century dwells on military matters in a most unseemly manner. Its pages are filled with unbelievable nonsense suggesting that samurai set fire to buildings and cut down those who tried to flee, or that noble warriors could even be killed by vulgar persons. Leaving aside the fact that these accounts are true, such works should find no place within your castle’s library.

By contrast, poetry is something that all samurai should be encouraged to read and write. Every samurai should be skilled at composing poems, particularly when he is performing the tea ceremony or about to disembowel himself. But care should be taken when selecting which poems to read, as many are written by courtiers who know nothing of the real world, and reading them can weaken the spirit. Novels are to be avoided too, because most of them are written by women.

Poetry is seen as a fitting accomplishment for a samurai to value and enjoy. Not only should he read poetry, but he should also compose verses, particularly when at a tea ceremony or preparing to disembowel himself.

Theatrical Entertainment and the Sensitive Samurai

Many young samurai ask me ‘Should I attend theatrical performances, and, if so, which ones?’ My answer is that there is only one form of theatrical performance sufficiently dignified for the samurai class, and this is the classical Noh theatre. All other forms are sordid and vulgar, so say ‘Yes’ only to Noh.

The finest Noh performances are given by masters of the art, who have imbibed the tradition of centuries. Masked and robed, they will transport you to another realm. The subject matter of most Noh plays is very similar to that of the war tales, and so watching a Noh play is like seeing Heike Monogatari come to life. You will be entranced by the spectacle as the ghost of a dead warrior appears at the edge of the stage and moves to its centre, taking a full half-hour to do so. Such suspense! And what could compare to the drama inherent in the pursuit of the Earth Spider? Unmissable!

I must, however, introduce a warning, because there has been a new form of theatre recently introduced to Edo called Kabuki. It is popular with merchants and other lewd and sordid persons. At first sight it looks very similar to the Noh theatre, but there are profound differences that I believe make Kabuki a serious threat to the stability of society and a practice injurious to the morals of the samurai class. After considerable pressure from colleagues I went to see a Kabuki performance and was thoroughly shocked. None of the actors wore a mask, and the plot was not about a dignified warrior encountering ghosts and dying honourably (as might be expected from something that will watched by the impressionable lower classes). Rather it concerned a samurai family of the present day, and the difficulties they were experiencing while going about their noble duties in conformity with the Confucian teachings about filial piety. That such lower-class persons should dare to enact upon a public stage a matter about which they can have no understanding is an affront to public morality. Worst of all, at one point in the play the actor playing the head of the household (to whom the other household members should have been paying the utmost respect) pretends to trip over a bucket, at which the audience laughed. At this point I walked out in disgust.

In time, I hope, His Most Excellent Highness may be persuaded to ban this affront to public decency that holds the samurai class in such contempt.

Ink Painting for Pleasure and Profit

Would you be willing to try your hand at an art form enjoyed by one of the greatest swordsmen of our age? I am sure you would, so why not try painting with black ink? Painting – I hear you ask – is that not a pursuit suitable only for perfumed courtiers? No it is not, because this art form is practised by no less a person than the great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, whom you may have encountered during one of his frequent warrior pilgrimages. Like most kengo (master swordsman) of his ilk, Miyamoto Musashi travels the country seeking suitable opponents, whom he challenges and frequently kills. After such a bout he will retire to a nearby temple and produce a quick ink painting. The absence of colour ensures the absence of vulgarity, so why not try it yourself? You don’t actually have to kill someone before you begin.

Football – The Beautiful Game

Kemari (football) is a gentle pastime dating back centuries. Courtiers may be seen playing it within the wisteria-covered gardens of the imperial palace. Some samurai have been known to indulge a passion for football, and even the great samurai commander Oda Nobunaga was fond of it.

Kemari (football) is a game that can be enjoyed by samurai as much as by courtiers. Here we see a practitioner kicking the deerskin ball into the air within the precincts of a shrine.

If you fancy a game but are a little nervous about it then remember that all football players come under the benevolent protection of Mari no kami, the three-headed god of football, so there is very little to worry about. First of all you will require a voluminous silk robe, a stiffened black hat, and heavy, lacquered clogs. You then join up with seven samurai comrades who are suitably immersed in the aesthetic sensibilities of the game. Make your way with them to the meticulously raked gravel courtyard of a shrine or palace. A Shinto priest will say prayers of exorcism over a ball made from deerskin. Everyone bows, and the game commences.

The idea is that the ball is kicked from one player to another with the aim of keeping it in the air at all times. That’s really all there is to it, but the overall effect is exceedingly harmonious. As the players kick the ball they comment on the changing of the seasons, or the melancholy fall of cherry blossom, and generously applaud when one of their fellow players performs a particularly artful or aesthetically pleasing move. It is indeed a beautiful game!

Board Games

Sometimes it is pleasant to spend the evening in, and a board game is the perfect way to enjoy a friend’s company. Some games, unfortunately, have associations with gambling, and so anything involving the roll of dice is to be avoided. How much better it is to play shogi, where the pieces stand like two armies of tiny samurai arranged for combat. But better still is a game of go. Shogi may be a battle, but go is total war. One by one you place your white or black stones on the intersecting lines of the board until the territory they surround becomes your own and your opponent’s stones vanish from sight. If hunting provides training for a samurai, then go provides training for a general.

No board game is better for learning strategy than go. Here we see two samurai enjoying the classic trial of cunning.

Gardening – How to Get the Best Out Of Your Rocks

What a joy to the eyes is the traditional Japanese garden. Much of the art of these enclosures takes its inspiration from the aesthetics of Zen, where things are suggested rather than stated openly. The quintessential example of this is to construct a garden consisting only of rocks and sand that will express the transient nature of created phenomena.

Whole books have been written about Japanese garden design, so I will confine myself to just a few elements that I believe provide the key to its understanding. The selection of one’s rocks is all-important. They must possess beauty and harmony, but I think it is going too far to covet a particular rock just because it was once stained by the blood of a dead samurai – as is the case of a certain rock in the garden of the Daigoji in Kyoto. The placing of the rocks will take time and much effort, but this diagram may help by providing suggestions about how three differently shaped stones may be harmoniously combined. You will then wish to add other elements, perhaps a pond, or why not use the karesansui technique, whereby the flow of water, even a mighty torrent, is merely suggested? Once you move on to larger compositions such as this an overall plan is useful, so perhaps consider how a garden involving both a hill and a water feature might look. Finally, do not neglect the possibilities afforded by shakkei (borrowed scenery). Many of the great temple gardens of Kyoto make use of the distant view of the hills of Higashiyama, or just an aesthetically pleasing bamboo grove next door. Adjoining trees, bushes and even the sides of cliffs on adjacent properties may all be brought to bear when creating your harmonious composition. It certainly helps if you have friendly and cooperative neighbours.

Garden design is the perfect accomplishment for a cultivated samurai. This illustration shows various arrangements that can be made using only three rocks. All are exceedingly harmonious.

The Tea Ceremony – Dos and Don’ts

There is no pursuit in all Japan more exquisite, more harmonious or more soothing to the mind than the tea ceremony. Nothing better expresses Japanese culture than to sit in a tea house with the kettle bubbling away, caressing a rare tea bowl, admiring the seasonal flowers of the garden, composing poetry by the light of a harvest moon – simply appreciating the transient nature of all human existence.

The sequence of events in a typical tea ceremony is quite straightforward, and its own simplicity says much about the exquisite nature of the practice. Your guests will assemble in the waiting bower. They will be greeted by the tea master, who will escort them into the tea house. The tea master then enters by a different, knee-high door, thereby showing his humility. The charcoal fire is kindled and water is boiled. With the grace born of years of dedicated practice, the tea master adds the water to the matcha (powdered green tea) and stirs it to a froth. The tea is then drunk. Alas, this bare description cannot do justice to the peerlessness of the entire performance: the admiration of the fine tea bowl; the appreciation of the harmony of the decor and its relationship to the current season; the sharing of conversation and poetry; the experience of stillness.

But to achieve this, the tea ceremony has to be done properly. There are many traps for the unwary, so here are a few dos and don’ts.

DO use a qualified tea master

It takes years to become a master of tea. By all means practise on your friends, but for a really impressive ceremony you must hire someone who is already expert. Leave all the organization to him. You will be admired all the more for your decision to employ him than for any risky ritual that you may yourself have planned.

A samurai kneeling in his formal civilian costume with one sword at his side.

DO choose flowers that are seasonal

A good tea ceremony should reflect the season in which it is performed, so don’t go out of your way to obtain fruits or flowers that are out of season in your part of Japan. It looks vulgar.

DO select exquisite pottery

Your tea master will of course own some priceless tea bowls and cha-ire (tea caddies), but don’t expect him to bring them along to your humble abode. Instead, try to build up your own stock of beautiful ceramics. These need not cost a fortune. Korean tea vessels are much prized, but prices have come down considerably since we allowed prisoners of war from the Korean invasion to stay in Japan and set up kilns. Karatsu is an excellent place to look for a bargain tea bowl, and don’t miss the opportunity to buy a cha-ire in green celadon.

DO ensure that monsters are kept at bay

As the tea ceremony is usually performed out of doors, there is the ever-present danger that a monster may turn up. Tengu and kappa particularly lurk in wooded surroundings, and may be tempted to cause mischief. The simplest way to prevent this is to make an offering to them and then place a notice by your garden gate asking them to keep away. I do this every time and have never had a tea ceremony spoiled by a monster.

DON’T overdo the decoration

It may seem unnecessary to make this point about a ritual that involves restraint and harmony, but there can be an unfortunate tendency among samurai to try and outdo each other in the exquisiteness of the surroundings in which the tea ceremony will take place. A simple hut is all you need. Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi – it is true – had a tea room where the interior was covered in gold leaf, but this is getting very close to vulgarity.

DON’T smash your tea bowls

Matsunaga Hisahide smashed his priceless tea bowls before committing suicide. Please note that this was a special case and an exceptional situation. Displays of temper during a tea ceremony are also totally unacceptable. If you spill scalding tea on your lap remember that the Way of the Warrior requires a display of self-control.

DON’T commit murder during a tea ceremony

Unfortunately there have been many instances of people abusing the tea ceremony by exploiting it as cover for a clandestine meeting, or even for carrying out an assassination. Quite apart from the mess, few things destroy the composure and harmony of a tea ceremony more effectively than to have one of the guests murdered.

When the battle is over, samurai can relax in the bathhouse and make themselves presentable to serve their lord once again.

In conclusion, the samurai who embraces the ways of art and peace as skilfully as he embraces the ways of war may be likened to a cart that has two wheels on its axle and thus runs straight in the service of his lord. May you be diligent in both!