This essay explores how the concepts of Bushido (Way of the Warrior) might be applied to regain a balance between the martial and societal roles of the warrior. It seems that this Japanese concept could be relevant in today's world both within the training hall and without. It also seems that as martial artists, we need to cultivate the qualities of Bushido. With the great emphasis on tournament martial arts and on exercise programs utilizing the martial arts, these qualities are often lacking in martial arts training and, thus, in martial artists. To play a positive role in society, martial artists need to expand their training from simply a hobby to the broader role of warrior (bushi) in our society. Without Bushido or an equivalent, martial arts is of little use. While I draw upon the Japanese ideal for the way of the warrior, other societies had similar warrior codes that can be used as models.
A key to our understanding of how the concepts of Bushido fit into our modern lives is to understand the historical and societal aspects of Bushido. Like the bushi, there is no clear history of the development of Bushido. The actual code called Bushido was not even written down until 1685 by Yamaga Soko (Ratti and Westbrook, 1973). It grew with the culture of Japan evolving from the "house codes" of conduct for each local lord. As the warrior caste developed in Japan and gained control, so did this code of conduct. The evolution of this code of conduct was influenced by many major eastern philosophies including Taoism, Buddhism, Shintoism and Confucianism.
The historical development of Bushido is interesting because there seems to be similar influences on the martial arts today (discussed later).There were two major phases in the development of this ideal. The first was prior to unification under the Tokugawa Shogun while the second was during the Tokugawa rule (Newman, 1989). Prior to the Tokugawa rule, Japan underwent a great deal of war. Likewise, its bushi and the ideals they followed were geared towards proficiency in arms. The code of the warrior (not yet known as Bushido) was simple. The key attributes to strive for at this time were: Sincerity in the pursuit of excellence and perfection (makato); the cultivation of both martial (bu) and literary (bon) pursuits; and, commitment to the lord even to the death (Turnbull, 1990).
During the relatively peaceful rule by the Tokugawa Shoguns there developed 7 interconnected characteristics (justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty to the lord) that have come to make up the ideal of Bushido. It was during this same period of time that many do forms came into existence changing the emphasis of the bushi from strictly combat oriented (bujutsu) to areas of human development too (budo). In a way, Bushido can be thought of as a bridge between bujutsu and budo. The well known martial artist and historian, Donn Draeger (1979) makes the following distinctions between bujutsu and budo: classical bujutsu was concerned with combat, discipline and morals while classical budo was concerned with morals, discipline and aesthetic form. While these concerns overlap, they are not the same nor is the emphasis the same. One can see how the moral guidance provided by Bushido might lead a student of bujutsu to change the emphasis of their study towards the goals of budo. Anyone who has studied a jutsu for many years probably makes this shift at some point in their training.
Most likely, few ever achieved all of the ideals represented by the warrior code. Nonetheless, pursuit of Bushido makes sense since without such ideals, the bushi (whose job after all was combat) would have just been soldiers dealing out destruction with no means of making moral decisions. It also makes sense from the perspective that without the goals provided by this code of conduct, the bushi would have had no goals during the peaceful years of Tokugawa rule. Bushido would have provided a guide for moral conduct and an ideal to strive for.
Bushido still has the same basic character as it did in times past: to cultivate right behavior, to live with personal integrity, to learn politeness, benevolence and loyalty. Of all the characteristics ideal to Bushido, this last has changed the most for a number of reasons. While loyalty to the lord might still exist in Japan, in America it would be outdated since there are no lords. That is not to say that loyalty itself is outdated. Pursuing loyalty to one's self, to ideals, to ones companions in life are worthy goals. Developing and polishing these characteristics is important because it means that we do not just learn how to kill, maim and harm, we learn to use our skills and knowledge for positive change in our society. This is a key difference between those who engage in martial arts as a hobby, physical exercise, sport etc. and those who view the study the martial arts as part of their lives.
A problem that appears in American martial arts is that people focus on winning contests as a major goal. This seems contrary to the way the martial arts could be practiced where one is not concerned with gain or loss (Takuan, 1986). For instance, in traditional Judo, there was kata (practice of form), randori (free practice) and shiai (competition). Unlike today, shiai was only a small part of Judo. The whole demeanor of shiai was much different than today's competitions. In the past shiai sometimes continued until someone collapsed from exhaustion or even died (Harrison, 1982). Indeed, shiai was originally known as shi ni ai or to symbolically meet death (Muromoto, 1995). Gichin Funakoshi (1989), the founder of Shotokan Karate, states this as we must "win by losing". As long as people try to win, they are missing the whole point. For the true bushi there is no winning, no losing, there is only achieving goals. Buddhism talks about one of the "poisons" being attachment. As long as people are attached to winning or losing, they are not focusing on the path.
One consequence of this focus on sport and competition is a diluting of concepts of right behavior and a general deficit in developing etiquette. What is often lacking today is refinement of character through the study of the martial arts. If martial arts are to be pursued for development of self, perhaps we should train to provide the proper role models to others. Competition tends to inflate egos and can lead to one person or school "bad mouthing" others. Is this really the role model to provide? Until this century, etiquette in Japan was a matter of life and death. A commoner who insulted a warrior risked immediate death. One bushi insulting another often led to a duel where one or both warriors would die. Quite a motivation for correct behavior (the ancient equivalent of no pain no gain?).
One only has to read about such noted modern bushi as Kano Jigoro, Ueshiba Morihei, Yamaoka Tesshu, Funakoshi Gichin and others to learn that competition and fighting were only minor aspects in the study of budo. They trained, not to be strong, but to recognize their own weaknesses (Funakoshi, 1989). Developing character to accomplish what was needed was far more important. For instance, "karate-do is not only the acquisition of defensive skills but also the mastering of the art of being a good and honest member of society" (Funakoshi, 1989). They would have been much different (and probably not as complete or great people) if they had approached their budo with the goals that many in this country now approach the martial arts.
If we keep these ideals of Bushido, we need to adapt them to modern society. Obviously, the means by which modern bushi "restrain violence with force" has changed from the methods employed by the bushi of old Japan. Martial artists do not normally carry around swords and make war as then. Modern martial artists are not in the same position of power that the bushi of Japan were. Nonetheless, while the means to accomplish goals has changed with changes in society and venue, one role of the bushi could remain the same which is to uphold peace and implement justice with force if necessary. What this means is that martial artists and perhaps their arts must evolve. Some practitioners have the attitude that they and their art must not change. Any biologist can tell you that each living being needs to change and adapt to new and varying conditions in order to survive.
There is not a simple path to accomplish this. Both in and out of the dojo, one must exemplify the characteristics of Bushido (or the tenets of your particular art). Instead of just learning these tenets by rote, it means creating an environment for your students that encourages this development including discussion of the various tenets. This is not a process that necessarily occurs without guidance. If you and your students do not exemplify the ideals of your art within the dojo in a "controlled" environment, it is unlikely you will exemplify these ideals outside the dojo.
Cultivating Bushido outside the dojo may also mean using the skills taught in the martial arts to "do right action" or as Don Juan (Castaneda, 1968) would say, follow a path with heart. To do this it is necessary to continue refining how we view and develop our martial art by improving both technique and principle as well as solidifying the integration of mind and body. By doing this we can make our art truly an integral part of our being and apply our budo to all aspects of our lives.
One of the main drawbacks of studying martial arts in the USA today is that it is usually far removed from actual conflict. Instead it relies on contests. This is a similar problem to that encountered in the latter half of the Tokugawa Shogunate where many bushi died in duels of "honor" rather than for their lord (Turnbull, 1990). One way to counter this trend is to take on tasks that demand the resolution of conflict. To take on tasks that make positive change in our society. To use our skills and knowledge to make decisions that are life-enhancing, not death-giving; choose paths that have heart, not paths that weigh us down; make goals that work towards a better community, not goals that are at best neutral and at worst destructive. This might include providing immediate help to someone being assaulted or teaching someone how to avoid assault. It might mean using the art of strategy to stifle, redirect or otherwise influence a potentially violent situation into a less violent alternative. It might also mean using the self confidence gained from martial practice to address problems others are daunted by. The end goal would be to "restrain" violence. If to restrain violence is the ultimate expression for the bushi, it seems a logical extension that one devoted to the various martial arts would wish to hone their skills. Certainly competition can be part of this, but should not be the only means. Such honing not only improves skills, it improves one's ability to use these skills in creative and not always obvious ways. As mentioned earlier, in many martial systems the master practitioner stops violence without necessarily resorting to physical intervention.
In summary of the above, part of the way to cultivate Bushido is to first cultivate the internal attitude necessary. We need to examine and meditate on ourselves to develop correct inner demeanor that is reflected by our outward behavior. We also need to change our outward behavior to implement changes in ourselves (Mind-Body One). It seems that to achieve these ideals it is necessary to link inner self and outer action so that doing and being are in balance. This seems to be a step many in the martial arts today miss which makes their excursion into these arts merely an external exercise.
Following this path is not for the timid. It is probably for this reason that this path was followed by warriors in the past and in a way has come to define what a warrior is today, one who is able and willing to follow this path.
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Acknowledgments
I wish to thank B. Bickford, Dr. J. Butler, Sifu D. Coleman and Reverend
D. Lewis for discussion and critique of early versions of this paper.