Samurai: The Japanese Warrior’s (Unofficial) Manual

You have won the battle and you have survived. What now? You are tired, thirsty; your hair is dishevelled and you are covered in blood. It is so tempting to throw yourself on the ground and sleep, but you cannot. The most important thing is not to be complacent. Just remember Imagawa Yoshimoto at the battle of Okehazama. Ambushes and counter-attacks can occur at any time, so you must never drop your guard. Lord Oda Nobunaga, it must be said, had the wit to learn from his enemy’s mistakes. As he sat within his maku (field curtains) after the battle of Anegawa, one of the Asakura samurai – disguised as one of Nobunaga’s own Horse Guards – sneaked into the tent. The man was swiftly spotted by guards, who were tired but still alert, and put to death.

A badly injured samurai on the battlefield tries to raise himself using his sword as the blood flows from his wounds and soaks into the cords of his armour.

What Should We Do with a Defeated Enemy?

Let us demolish once and for all a very common myth about samurai in battle. The popular view is that after an army is defeated there is nothing left of it. The losing side, it is assumed, will be completely eliminated because their samurai have (a) been killed during the fighting, (b) been executed afterwards or (c) committed suicide. Nothing could be further from the truth. A defeated commander may well be expected to suffer death in one of these three ways, but there is no reason why his followers should meet the same fate on a wide scale. There are occasions when massacres are appropriate, such as after defeating the Ikko-ikki or Christians (indeed any despicable and sordid rabble who will never accept samurai rule and must be made to suffer the consequences), but good fighting men of the samurai class are a precious commodity. It was for this reason that at the time of the final defeat of Takeda Katsuyori by His Most Illustrious Highness in 1582, thousands of Takeda samurai became absorbed into the Tokugawa army. The process was greatly helped by the fact that Lord Oda Nobunaga gave his protégé, His Most Illustrious Highness Tokugawa Hidetada, the former Takeda provinces of Kai, Shinano and Suruga as his reward. His Most Illustrious Highness’s first move was to dedicate a shrine to the memory of the defeated leader Takeda Katsuyori: a wise gesture that was blessed indeed, causing harmony to prevail. Similarly, when His Most Illustrious Highness assisted Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the capture of the Hojo’s Odawara Castle in 1590 he was granted in reward the former Hojo provinces of the Kanto. Of the Hojo leadership none was left, all having committed honourable suicide. Their samurai now serve happily and diligently under the flags of His Most Excellent Highness.

The Head-Viewing Ceremony – Tips from the Experts

I hate to mention the name of Imagawa Yoshimoto again, but we do have to remember that he was surprised and defeated while conducting a head-viewing ceremony. Now I’m not suggesting that head viewing should cease, but might it be best if it were not done on the actual field of battle? The passage of time allows a degree of preparation that would otherwise be impossible. I remember being told by one of Lord Oda Nobunaga’s Horse Guards how they were all invited to a drinking party for the 1573 New Year, which was to be held in Gifu Castle. The high point of the evening occurred when Lord Oda presented for their inspection the heads of the Asai and Asakura families, whom he had defeated the previous year. Each was coated in gold lacquer, and looked suitably horrible. That simply could not have been done on a battlefield.

Here a samurai presents the severed head of his enemy to his commander. The victor will be richly rewarded for his good service and the head will be returned to the victim’s family.

But I digress. If you are determined to have a head-viewing in situ on the battlefield, and want it to be a success, then you must bear two things in mind: the first is security (which goes without saying), and the second is preparation. Fresh heads tend to ooze blood, so mount them on a spiked wooden board (make sure a supply is taken into battle) with some leaves to soak up the gore. If the fight has taken place within a castle, your maidservants can ensure that the heads are washed, the hair is combed and that a label is applied giving the name both of the deceased and of the noble samurai who has taken the trophy. The label may be attached to the pigtail.

A battlefield head-viewing ceremony should always be performed within the privacy of the field curtains. You should take your seat on the camp stool, covered with its tiger skin (I am assuming that you will one day be a general!) Next hold your fan or baton of command in your right hand, and seize the handle of your sheathed sword in the other. The trophies will then be brought to you one by one. You will be expected to examine each specimen closely, noting the expression left on the face at the moment of death, commenting upon the prowess of both victor and victim, and perhaps adding an appropriate aphorism concerning the transient nature of human existence or the impermanence of all phenomena. The brave samurai who has taken the head will deserve reward, while the brave samurai who has surrendered it will have earned your sympathy at the very least. If his death is undoubtedly tragic (for example by dying young or being the last of a noble line) then it is perfectly proper for you to weep a little, but don’t overdo it. It would also perfectly acceptable for you to invite a Buddhist priest to say a few words.

Here are some examples of how heads might look when presented for inspection. Expert interpreters of yin and yang will be able to tell whether the heads are lucky or unlucky by the expressions on the faces.

The next stage is often overlooked. Having examined the heads, commented upon them and had prayers uttered, it is considered the mark of a considerate and generous victor to ensure that the heads are now handed back to the relatives of the victims. This is seldom done, which is a shame, and the example of Lord Oda Nobunaga both retaining the heads and having them gold lacquered is going a little too far in my view. It is a very firm belief within certain Buddhist traditions that a person who has gone as a Guest to the White Jade Pavilion is assured of rebirth in the Western Paradise only if his body is intact. No parts can be missing. You will become known as a good-hearted fellow if you allow Buddhist samurai such as myself to indulge our beliefs.

Don’t Neglect those Rituals of Victory

Just as I placed emphasis on rituals of departure before battle, so I must insist that the rituals of victory are not overlooked in your urge to celebrate. Remember that it was the gods and Buddhas who brought you this victory, so it is very important to give thanks to them. Why not dedicate a bow or sword to the local shrine? The gesture would not go amiss. A suitable monetary donation so that pious monks may say prayers for the dead would also be most appropriate; you may even wish to order a temple to be built on the battlefield, just as His Most Illustrious Highness did at Saigadake in Hamamatsu following the most memorable battle of Mikata ga Hara in 1572. It may be that in the course of the fighting the lands or the premises of local shrines and temples have been damaged – even burned to the ground. In such cases the least you can do is to finance their complete restoration. This can prove highly expensive, as the first shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo, found when he agreed to restore the destroyed Todaiji Temple in Nara following his victory in the Gempei War of 1180–85. Did he fully appreciate that the Todaiji was the largest wooden building in the world?

I feel I should mention here the remarkable post-battle ritual performed in 1600 by the surviving samurai of Onodera Shigemichi, who perished in the flames of Nishimonai Castle. There had long been a local tradition of dancing at times of harvest and rice planting, so the samurai of Onodera danced in his memory, and have done every year since, I believe.