Abstract This paper examines how the book "The SamuraiBanner of FurinKazan" by YasushiInoue introduces the reader to many aspects of the Samurai class in Japanese history and to the role of Bushido. The paper explains that the primary focus of Bushido is on loyalty and honor, tied to the mastery of the martial arts and the physical requirements for being a warrior. It then looks at how these elements are included as part of the texture of this novel, written in modern times about the Japan of the sixteenth century, a turbulent time in Japanese history through which the Samurai and its code provided a bulwark against deeper change.
From the Paper "The Zen school placed its greatest emphasis on self-power, on the active mobilization of all one's energies towards the realization of the ideal of enlightenment. In its more austere forms Zen Buddhism had no time for rituals or philosophical study. It found favor with the samurai class for all these reasons. Their fortunes were then in the ascendant, and their members, men who lived constantly under the shadow of death, needed a spiritual way that would give them an authentic path of spiritual development. At the same time, Zen had an aesthetic side in the Zen virtues of spontaneity, simplicity, tranquility, and aloneness. "
Abstract In this article, the writer highlights the corporate profile of the Banner Health Medical Center and discusses the legal history. The writer cites cases in South Dakota and New Mexico on the sale of facilities and as cited by another case on the requirements to treat the uninsured The writer then provides a discussion on what the Medical Center can offer from a human resources standpoint. This paper highlights the legal issues and ramifications that the Banner Health Medical Center has and/or is experiencing and then follows-up on a review of the Human Resources activities.
From the Paper "Banner Health Medical Center is a corporate organization of 21 health centers ranging from hospitals to specialized clinics to psychiatric facilities to laboratories located across seven states, including: "Alaska Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming". Peter Fine is the President and CEO of the Phoenix, Arizona based corporation that boasts assets of $3.1 billion, $2.6 billion in revenue and over 25,000 employees. While a full medical center/hospital like facility exists outside of Scottsdale in Mesa, in Scottsdale proper Banner Health Medical Center has a Behavioral Health Hospital."
Abstract This paper discusses the development of the Samurai system in Japan and the ethical system that was created for the Samurai which, in turn shaped the behavior of the bushi, or warriors. According to this paper, this ethical system was influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism as well as other ethical systems and religious doctrines. This indicates how the Samurai system affected other aspects of Japanese culture."
From the Paper "Most Westerners know Samurai only from films, and such depictions give only a sense of the social, religious, political, and ethical aspects of the Samurai class in Japanese society. The comparison often made with the Western gunfighter is only partially applicable, and the Samurai held a much more important and respected place in Japanese society for a much longer period of time. The ethical elements in Samurai thought are particularly powerful and controlling of Samurai behavior and serve to give the Samurai class the basis for its social position and for the respect of the people. "
Abstract The following paper will consider the Samurai in four parts: history, the development of the code, the belief and way of the Samurai, and the Bushido code.
Abstract The paper discusses the Samurai and their code of honor. The paper talks about Japan's warrior class and various aspects of the code, including the absence of the fear of death. The paper includes the concept of an honorable death to regain honor. The paper concludes with the impact of the code of honor on Japanese soldiers in World War II.
From the Paper "In Japan, the warrior class was known as Bushido. The Samurai and Their Use of Bushido: Integral to this code was an absence of any fear of death and the belief that dying in battle would bring honor to one's family and one's lord."
Abstract This paper explains that, in "On the Waterfront", Kazan directed a simple story of good against evil, moral values against corruption, and what it means to sacrifice oneself for the good of others. The author believes that Kazan's direction turned this simple message into an incredibly powerful film that will never age. The author points out that Kazan assembled a brilliant cast: Marlon Brando as the protagonist, Rod Steiger as his brother, Lee J. Cobb as the union mob boss, Karl Malden as the local priest, and Eva Marie Saint as Brando's love interest. The paper relates that Kazan used simple and uncomplicated shots, thus adding more power to each scene.
From the Paper "There were several scenes that Kazan's direction made powerful and memorable. To show just how Friendly ran the docks and how this effected the men, Kazan shot a scene in which one of Friendly's goons throws tokens up in the air and watches the men scramble for them. A man had to be picked, had to have a token to work on the docks. This scene shows the desperateness of the men and how Friendly operation controlled their livelihoods. Kazan used the roof scenes with Terry and his pigeons to give a glimpse into his character, the real Terry. The taxi cab scene with Terry and Charlie shows the intimacy between the two brothers as Charlie breaks down upon hearing Terry's confrontation that Charlie was responsible for ending his fighting career. Kazan used the ship's horn to block Terry's confession to Edie, allowing the audience to only hear bits and pieces, however, the look on her face lets the audience know that he has told her the truth. Kazan could have used complicated dialogue to convey the message of these scenes; however, he instead, shot them simple and uncomplicated, thus adding more power to each scene, the less said the better."
Abstract This well-researched and clearly written paper details the numerous differences in both the Samurai and Ninja philosophies. Due to the differences in their religious and social origins, valuing ceremony versus intimidation and their general code of fighting ethics, the Samurai and the Ninja followed different paths of honor. The writer details the religious aspects of both Japanese warriors. The Samurai were strongly associated with religions that enforced inflexible dogmas. The Samurai were generally Shintoists or followers of Confucianism. In contrast, the Ninja were associated with religions that did not have strict unmovable dogmas. The Ninja were mainly Zen Buddhists. This paper examines the Samurai and Ninja's role and status in Japanese society. The Samurai were considered an exalted part of society, whereas the Ninja were perceived as social outcasts. The writer also delves into the fact that the Ninja and the Samurai warriors occupied different social classes and approached life with very different personal philosophies. The fact that the Samurai and the Ninja held such different values helps to explain the vast differences between the two groups of warriors, which are detailed in this paper.
From the Paper "Although the Ninja were considered social outcasts, they were not solitary. In fact, the Ninja worked in organizations, which were separated into three layers: jonin (high ninja), chunin (middle ninja), and genin (low ninja). The ninjas all worked under a daimyo. Structure within Ninja groups ranged, with some having little structure and others being organized almost like an army unit ("Ninja"). However organized, all Ninja followed the ninpo or okite. The most important rule of the ninpo was to keep the secret of the Ninja. In fact, the most severe crime was to leave a Ninja family and not return ("Ninja"). Those who did so were called nukenin, and their family members would bring them back, whether dead or alive ("Ninja"). This was done in order to prevent ninjas from revealing the secret of the Ninja or of revealing the identity of the daimyo for whom the ninjas were working."
Tags: japanese, philosophy, buddhism, religion, theology, society
A critical sociological analysis of honorific individualism in the process of Japanese State formation as communicated in the book " The Taming of the Samurai" by Eiko Ikegami.
Abstract In this book review of "The Taming of the Samurai" by Eiko Ikegami the author looks at the book as a critical sociological analysis of Japanese state formation. He centers on the fact that in reconstructing the history of Japanese state development, Ikegami focuses on the samurai class and the honorific individualism by which that class is historically defined. The author explains "The Taming of the Samurai" as an exploration of samurai class identity as it was constructed, maintained and reformulated within progressive periods of medieval and modern Japanese history. In conclusion the author regards "The Taming of the Samurai" as an argument of remarkable clarity, ambition and integrity stating that Ikegami has undertaken a broad historical survey, addressing multiple centuries of Japanese history and arriving at a compelling evaluation of samurai honor as the decisive cultural resource articulating Japanese state formation.
From the Paper "Ikegami has at this point led her reader down a path of coherent historical argument, arriving at a convincing theory of Japanese State formation as the result of samurai's honorific individualism. The Tokugawa shogunate represented the strict, hierarchical socio/political organization of early Japanese statehood. The true vitality of the samurai honor culture under the Tokugawa becomes apparent once more after the Meiji restoration in 1868. (Ikegami 360) The revival of meritocratic rewards and the rebirth of incentive for individual accomplishment witnessed the reemergence of the samurai class as national leaders in the process of rapid-paced, Japanese Westernization and modernization."
Abstract This paper analyzes the movie "The Last Samurai" with an emphasis on embellishing historical facts for pure entertainments reasons. It looks at how, even though the film was a blockbuster success, the screenplay fails in terms of the factual portrayal of a part of Japan's history by romanticizing the Samurai myth.
Outline
The Real Samurai vs The Movie Samurai The White Samurai Conclusion
From the Paper "The character of Captain Algren was pro-Samurai, not necessarily as a supporter of their ideology but a follower of their values of discipline and loyalty. Algren's pro-Samurai inclination was obviously meant to show how, in the face of the modern Japanese man being coaxed by Americans, there was still some good left in the "white" man. Algren's character was simply too good to be true. He was a "victim" of the Civil war that saw him traumatized by the inhumane actions which he was forced to do against Native American Indians since he was a member of a cavalry tasked to exterminate the breed. Then, without explaining further that Algren and the American contact of the Japanese were civil war buddies, Japanese officials are forced to take a drunken excuse for a former soldier as a trainer of an army planned to quell the Samurai rebellion."
Abstract Discussion of the Samurai warrior class. Its domination of early Japanese society. Equivalent of Sumarai class in other societies, Europe and the U.S. Films about the Sumarai. Moral code of the Samurai depicted in the book CODE OF THE SAMURAI written to education yhoung Samurai in the 18th Century. The training program. Influence of Confuscianism.
From the Paper "Code of the Samurai
The samurai warrior class came to dominate Japanese society because for most of its history the country has been at war. Apart from the Mongol invasions of the 13th century and the debacle of World War II, the warfare has been internal ? warlords fighting each other, or the central authority of the shogun.
One has only to see some of the historical dramas filmed by the great director Akira Kurosawa, such as The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, or Ran to get a vivid sense of what the samurai were all about. Once the strangeness (to Westerners) of the bizarre dress and armor is registered, and one gets acclimated to a different culture and age, the motivations of the characters become clearer. For the samurai, there is usually an issue of honor to ..."
Abstract This paper analyzes the 1957 film, "A Face in the Crowd". It contends that it is a masterful film and director Elia Kazan created a work that was both cynical and illuminating about the way that politics works in the United States. The author explores the theme of power corrupting the citizenry. It also analyzes the central character of Lonesome Rhodes.
From the Paper "A Face in the Crowd" is a masterful film that is especially worth viewing during election years when as a citizen we must negotiate the path to picking new leaders a path that is filled with misdirection and barriers. Elia Kazan who directed this film created ..."
Abstract This paper discusses Hall's book, which contains stories that span the possibilities of experience from birth to death. She talks about the political life of the samurai, as well as family life. The book is a compilation of the experiences of life in Japan, if one happened to be samurai during the medieval period of history. The book covers both times of peace and times of war as it looks at the lives of different types of samurai.
From the Paper "The Samurai class of Japan seems to have made a difference in how women were treated, even though women were included as being Samurai and had to follow the Bushido code of conduct. It seems, especially after reading the stories in Life Among The Samurai, that the class distinction and level of poverty added to the intensity of male dominance. Women as a group have been historically disadvantaged relative to men of their race, class, ethnicity, or sexual identity. The roles of wife and mother have, seemingly, been seen as being accomplished through acts of sacrifice and suffrage."
Abstract This paper explores the teachings of Zen and how the Zen philosophy influenced the Japanese samurai. A brief history of the Zen philosophy and the samurai is included.
Abstract This paper investigates the codes of honor and the ideals maintained by the Samurai, as well as the reasons that these principles were so highly valued by the Samurai class.
Abstract This paper reviews the movie "Seven Samurai" based on "Shichinin no Samurai", a 1954 black and white film by Akira Kurosawa. The paper takes a look at the structure of the movie, as well as the richness of the film and the cinematic technique.
From the Paper "Seven Samurai," filmed in linear structure, is set in 16th century Japan, and is the story of a poor farming village that is regularly attacked by bandits, who steal their rice crops at harvest and take their women as well. Before harvest time approaches again, the villagers decide to hire a group of samurai to help defend their homes and crops for the price of lodging and food, a total of seven samurai are enlisted. The first half of the movie depicts how each samurai joins the group, and their journey to the village, where they teach the farmers how to fight and how to secure their village. The last part of the movie shows several skirmishes with the bandits, all of which lead up to the final battle scene.
As Gary Morris points out, this epic deals with "war, honor, courage, and yes, that homo subtext ever present in male bonding movies, punctuated by Toshiro Mifune's enthralling butt-baring performance."
