The Knights of Bushido: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes

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It is necessary to have politics, economics, culture, national defence and everything else, all focused on one being, the Emperor, and the whole force of the nation concentrated and displayed from a single point ... reorganized according to the principle of oneness in the Imperial Way. This system is the strongest and the grandest of all ... there is no nation that can compare with our national blood solidarity which makes possible a unification like ours with the Emperor in the centre. Was the Consul-General, the colonel asked, questioning the right of the military commander to take what action he thought fit? Morishima said 'No', but remained obdurate; he was certain that the matter could be satisfactorily adjusted through the normal diplomatic channels. According to the social psychologist Toshio Yamagishi ( ja:山岸俊男, 1948–2018) "Bushido is the ideal human image formed mainly in the Edo period, in other words a virtue in the groupism world." [76] It was the perfect person that fitted the ideal control of the samurai administration in the Edo period. [76] Meiji-Showa (1868–1945) [ edit ] Three samurai with different weapons, the one on the left has a yumi, in the center a katana and on the right a yari The Sino-Japanese War of 1931 — 45 cannot be understood without some knowledge of the events which occurred in Japan prior to its outbreak culminating in the infamous 'Mukden Incident'.

Bushido: The book that changed Japan’s image - BBC Culture Bushido: The book that changed Japan’s image - BBC Culture

The appearance of bushido is linked to that of feudal Japan and the first shogun at the time of Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) in the 12th century. The own moral dimension bushido gradually appears in the warrior culture and landmark in stories and military treaties only from the 14th and 15th century. [47] Thus is noted a permanence of the modern representation of its antiquity in Japanese culture and its diffusion. The samurai of thirty years ago had behind him a thousand years of training in the law of honor, obedience, duty, and self-sacrifice... It was not needed to create or establish them. As a child he had but to be instructed, as indeed he was from his earliest years, in the etiquette of self-immolation. [16] Etymology [ edit ] Bushidō – The Way of the Warrior. Written in Japanese kanji. True warriors have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. Warriors are not only respected for their strength in battle, but also by their dealings with others. The true strength of a warrior becomes apparent during difficult times.In the world of the warrior, seppuku was a deed of bravery that was admirable in a samurai who knew he was defeated, disgraced, or mortally wounded. It meant that he could end his days with his transgressions wiped away and with his reputation not merely intact but actually enhanced. The cutting of the abdomen released the samurai's spirit in the most dramatic fashion, but it was an extremely painful and unpleasant way to die, and sometimes the samurai who was performing the act asked a loyal comrade to cut off his head at the moment of agony. With a new introduction for this edition, The Knights of Bushido details the horrors perpetrated by a military caught up in an ideological fervor. Often expecting death, the Japanese flouted the Geneva Convention (which they refused to ratify). They murdered aircrews, bayoneted prisoners, carried out arbitrary decapitations, and practiced medical vivisection. Undoubtedly formidable soldiers, the Japanese were terrible conquerors. Their conduct in the Pacific is a harrowing example of the doctrine of mutual destruction carried to the extreme, and begs the question of what is acceptable—and unacceptable—in total war. Meanwhile, a conference between Shigemitzu and the Finance Minister of the Republic of China had been arranged to open in Mukden on 20th September 1931 in an attempt to settle 'all outstanding differences between Japan and Marshal Chang Hsueh-Liang'. But it was destined never to assemble for on the night of 18th September the 'Mukden Incident' took place.

Knights of Bushido - Open Library The Knights of Bushido - Open Library

But more trouble was not far off. A plot hatched by Okawa and Hashimoto to bring about the fall of the Government and the creation of a military Cabinet under martial law, only failed because Ugaki, the War Minister, who had been selected by the conspirators as the new Prime Minister, would have nothing to do with the projected coup d'état. Consequently, the 'March Incident', as it was called, came to naught, but the struggle between the Government and the Army was not to end there. Despite the war-torn culmination of this era and the birth of the Edo period, Samurai codes of conduct continued to extend beyond the realms of warfare. Forms of bushido-related Zen Buddhism and Confucianism also emerged during this period. [66] A Samurai adhering to bushido-like codes was expected to live a just and ethical social life; honoring the practices of the gentry in the absence of military campaigns. [66] Edo (1603–1868) [ edit ] Miyamoto Musashi killing a giant creature, from The Book of Five Rings Kashoki (Amusing Notes) by Saito Chikamori (1642) Nabeshima Secretary, Hagakure The Anelects Book cover of Kokon Bushido Ezukushi ( Bushido Through the Ages) by artist Hishikawa Moronobu (1685) Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shinto were each represented by a variety of schools, and elements of all three were commonly combined in Japanese culture and customs. As the embodiment of Samurai culture, bushido is correspondingly diverse, drawing selectively on elements of all these traditions to articulate the ethos and discipline of the warrior. [72] In the 10th and 11th century there was the Way of the Man-At-Arms (Tsuwamon no michi), and the Way of the Bow and Arrows (Kyûsen / kyûya no Michi). [ citation needed] At the time of the Genpei War (1180–1185), it was called "Way of the Bow and the Horse" (弓馬の道, kyūba no michi) [1] because of the major importance of this style of combat for the warriors of the time, and because it was considered a traditional method, that of the oldest samurai heroes, such as Prince Shōtoku, Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Minamoto no Yoshiie (Hachimantarō). According to Louis Frédéric, the kyūba no michi appeared around the 10th century as a set of rules and unwritten customs that samurai were expected to comply. [51] There was also "Yumiya toru mi no narai" (customs for those who draw the bow). [1] This shows there was an emerging sense of ideal warrior behavior that evolved from daily training and warfare experience. [42]By certain treaties and other agreements Japan had assumed an important and unusual position in Manchuria. The aging Yamamoto Tsunetomo's interpretation of bushidō is perhaps more illustrative of the philosophy refined by his unique station and experience, at once dutiful and defiant, ultimately incompatible with the laws of an emerging civil society. Of the 47 rōnin—to this day, generally regarded as exemplars of bushidō—Tsunetomo felt they were remiss in hatching such a wily, delayed plot for revenge, and had been over-concerned with the success of their undertaking. Instead, Tsunetomo felt true samurai should act without hesitation to fulfill their duties, without regard for success or failure. [ citation needed]

Edward Russell, 2nd Baron Russell of Liverpool - Wikipedia Edward Russell, 2nd Baron Russell of Liverpool - Wikipedia

He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1931, but never developed a substantial practice on the Oxford circuit. [2] He developed a career in the Judge Advocate's office from the early 1930s. He became Deputy Judge Advocate General (United Kingdom) to the British Army of the Rhine in 1945. He was one of the chief legal advisers during war-crimes proceedings, for both the Nuremberg trials and the Tokyo tribunal, held following the end of the Second World War. Bushidō ( 武士道) is a Japanese word that literally means "warrior way". It is first attested in the 1616 work Kōyō Gunkan ( 甲陽軍鑑), a military chronicle recording the exploits of the Takeda clan. [17] The term is a compound of bushi ( 武士, "warrior", literally 'military + man'), a Chinese-derived word first attested in Japanese in 712 with the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading), and dō ( 道, 'road, way'). [17] [18] [19] In modern usage, bushi is often used as a synonym for samurai; [17] [18] [19] however, historical sources make it clear that bushi and samurai were distinct concepts, with the former referring to soldiers or warriors and the latter referring instead to a kind of hereditary nobility. [20] [21] The assurance thus given by the Japanese Government was not at all popular with the Army, and the extremists began plotting again to overthrow the party system of government by a military coup d'état, and set up a new Government which would pursue a militarist policy.

During the Muromachi period (1336–1573) the way of the warrior began to refine by inserting in their daily activities, alongside martial training, Zen meditation, painting (monochrome style), ikebana, the tea ceremony, poetry such as the death poem (written by samurai before suicidal missions or battles) [59] and literature. [10]