Secrets of the Samurai. Oscar Ratti

      Any man as thoroughly familiarized with and reconciled to the idea of his own destruction as was the bushi would obviously develop into an extremely dangerous fighter who often needed to be restrained lest he throw his life away heedlessly in combat. Upon the issuing of a command by his direct superior, any bushi worthy of the name would respond without a moment’s hesitation. Since his absolute and concentrated commitment was usually matched by that of his opponent, combat encounters often resulted in mutual slaying. In large-scale battles, then, a master was often forced to rely heavily not so much upon the valor of his individual retainers as upon their number or, in exceptional cases, upon his own strategic acumen—an area in which, as we have seen earlier, few of these leaders are said to have excelled.

      The eagerness with which the thoroughly conditioned warrior of the early feudal period engaged in combat was proverbial. In times of peace, and particularly during the long Tokugawa period, that eagerness betrayed itself in gratuitous, picayune manifestations of contempt and disdain for all other classes, as well as in an hysterical tendency to overreact to even imagined indications of “lack of respect”—if not to turn just plain murderous. These degenerative qualities were clearly linked to the futility and general pointlessness of a samurai’s existence as it became increasingly parasitical during those periods of prolonged peace when he was resented and despised by the “downtrodden masses” (i.e., all other classes) behind their masks of forced servility. “Priests and warriors: dogs and animals!” (shukke, samurai: inuchikusho), as Norman tells us, was a “popular saying,” applied quite often to “these idle and gluttonous fellows” during the Tokugawa period. A retainer’s obsequiousness and servility toward his immediate superiors within the clan hierarchy was a vivid contrast to his arrogance and undisguised contempt for those commoners whom, according to Article 71 of the criminal code (Osadamegaki), he had the freedom and even the duty to cut down on the spot (kirisutegomen) should any unfortunate person, regardless of sex or age, behave toward him in a manner the samurai considered disrespectful or even “unexpected.” His privileged status in society as a whole, however, could not completely disguise the fact that he too was trapped in a system which weighed almost as heavily upon him as it did upon others. For warriors “were subjected to an elaborate, unwritten code of ceremonies and therefore their freedom of thought and liberty of action were extremely limited. They were not allowed to think freely, nor to act according to their own will” (Hayashi, 70).

      The status of a warrior within the clan of his birth or the clan to which he had been assigned by a lawful superior was generally immutable. Only exceptional circumstances might release him from the bond of loyalty and turn him into a masterless warrior (ronin). The ancient ordinances issued by Hideyoshi restricting any changes in a retainer’s status and residence were further reinforced by Ieyasu. Any warrior who severed ties with his clan without permission could not be accepted into the ranks of any other clan. Moreover, the leaders of all other clans were obliged by law to return such a retainer to his former master or answer to the military authorities for lack of compliance with the law. Should a retainer attempt to conceal himself among the peasants, the system of collective responsibility (gonin-gumi) would bring disaster upon the entire town or village if the subterfuge were to be discovered.