For Japan the samurai‘s commander is the daimyo. For knights their commanders are the lesser lords. (A) Code of honor In document B it is discovered that the samurai’s code of honor and the knight’s code of honor are very similar. (A) For example, in the code of Bushido I saw that in the first sentence it said, “The business of the samurai consists…In discharging loyal service to his master.” (B) In the code of Chivalry I noticed that in the last sentence there are descriptive words of what a knight should be. One of the words was loyal just like the samurai.
The Sword in Japan In this paper I would like to examine the sword’s role in Japan. It can be used as a tool to examine the ancient history of Japan up to the present as the sword has played a very important role in Japan, especially since the Heian Period of Japanese history, while the sword can be used to examine Japanese history and different ruling periods in Japan, I would like to explore the history of the sword. The sword has played a very important role in Japanese history, and I would like to examine the role that the sword played, from its beginning role in Japanese society to the present, to lastly examine the current day role In order to understand the role of the sword in Japanese history, we need to understand more about the sword itself. The katana is a large curved sword. It is mostly used for practice and dueling, however samurai used the sword alongside the wakizashi in war.
Table of Contents Introduction 2 History of Confucianism 3 Confucian influence on social and political aspects of society 4 Confucian Institutes 6 Lei Feng 7 Conclusion 10 Bibliography 11 Introduction Liang Shuming, 梁漱溟, 1893-1988, a Chinese philosopher, reformist and follower of the Confucius teachings, who believed Confucianism combined with various Western values to be especially significant to the creation of a harmonious society, defined culture as a people’s way of life – spiritual, social, and material, and furthermore meant that the value of a culture lies in its distinctive differences from others. (Sor-Hoon Tan, 2008, pp. 144). China is one of the oldest societies of world history, dating approximately 5.000 years back, and roughly half of this period has mainly been dominated by Confucian influence shaping the before mentioned values. The founder of Confucianism, Confucius, is considered the most influential thinker and moral philosopher of the Chinese civilization, which is also strengthened by the name he was given, Xianshi, 先師, the teacher from the past or the foremost teacher.
Japanese traditions including respect for family and for the dead also influenced the people of Hiroshima’s actions after the atomic bomb. Because religion is a core component of Japanese culture and society, it too played an influential role. Japanese culture and traditions continued to affect the actions of the six main characters and the people of Hiroshima during the decades proceeding the atomic bomb. Japanese nationalism and sense of cultural identity, a defining point of Japanese society, greatly influenced how the people of Hiroshima responded to their particular situations
Not until Edo period did Confucianism in Japan flourish and entered its peak era, becoming what is known as Japanese Confucianism (Ping & Lili 2010). The three dominant schools of philosophy in Japan were led by Yamaga Sokou, Ito Jinsai and Ogyuu-Sorail. Although the leaders were separated by the differences in their thoughts, they all agreed that Japanese society should be guided by the theory and philosophy of classic Confucianism (Ping & Lili, 2010). While the essence of Confucianism was absorbed by Japanese thinkers at that time, it adopted some unique factors of Japan’s folk customs in order to make it closer to Japanese society. Classic Chinese Confucianism stressed the harmony among social members.
The historical origin of Japanese martial arts can be found in the warrior traditions of the samurai and the caste system that restricted the use of weapons by members of the non-warrior classes. Originally, samurai were expected to be proficient in many weapons, as well as unarmed combat, and attain the highest possible mastery of combat skills, for the purpose of glorifying either themselves or their liege. A large number of schools evolved to teach these skills with those existing before the Meiji Restoration classed as Koryū or old stream. Over time there was a trend away from the traditional purpose to a philosophy of coupling spiritual goals with the striving to perfect their martial skills. The ninth century A.D. marked a turning point in Japanese history with the emergence of the professional warrior (called bushi) and the subsequent rise of the military class to power.
Last, they both have a same idea of people’s rank---if they are born with their level they stay with it forever. For example, if the person is born as samurai (knight) stay where they are so is their children. The difference is that the samurai in Japan dress differently than the European Knights. The samurai wear lacquered leather or metal plates and silk or metal bindings. The knights use metals, chains or plate metal.
Benedict wants to characterize the Japanese culture: I had to look at the way they conducted the war itself and see it not for the moment as a military problem but as a cultural problem. In warfare as well as in peace, the Japanese acted in character. (Benedict1946:5) She explains the notion of taking one’s proper station and various categories of responsibilities in Japan and how Japanese internalize these cultural assumptions through learning and upbringing. Benedict gives importance to “the anthropologist’s premise that human behavior in any primitive tribe or in any nation in the forefront of civilization is learned in daily living. No matter how bizarre his act or his opinion, the way a man feels and thinks has some relation to his experience” (Benedict1946:11).
The function of these castes is to quantify how close a person was to freeing himself from the cycle of death and rebirth. Being born to a higher caste was an indication that one had lived one's previous lives in a holy manner. Likewise, the higher castes had to be careful to live holy lives themselves, less they regress to a lower caste in the next reincarnation cycle, or even worse, reincarnate as some kind of animal. The highest class is the Brahmans, the priestly class. Their dharma is to study and understand the Vedas, the Hindu's holy texts, and bring this knowledge to others.
The first Governor-General of Taiwan was Kabayama Sukenori. He announced the beginning of Japanese power of sovereign of Taiwan by holding a dominion inauguration ceremony on June 17 (Encyclopedia of Taiwan). Other than the Governor-General, the chief civil administrator was very important as well. Goto Shinpei was the most well-known administrator in Taiwan because he had made a lot of great contributions to Taiwanese, and these contributions deeply influence Taiwanese society. Socially, Japanese government strived to work on abandoning out-of-date customs or habits in Taiwan and improving public sanitation.