(born London, England, 1925; died Bologna, Italy, 1976) author of many works on Japanese culture.
Ph.D., University of London, 1951. Lived in Japan from 1956-59. Later moved to New York where he taught at Columbia University, in the department of East Asian languages and cultures, from 1960 to 1976. He was chairman of that Department from 1966-69.
In addition to The Nobility of Failure (1975), notable works include Nationalism and the Right Wing in Japan: A Study of Post-War Trends (1960), The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan (1964), and the Dictionary of Selected Forms in Classical Japanese Literature (1966).
*YOSHITSUNE
Yoshitsune Minamoto (1159-1189) is the legendary subject of countless books, plays and poems inspired by his sensational military victories early in his career, but even more by his subsequent tragic downfall.
Historically, Yoshitsune is remembered for his military successes, culminating in his annihilation of the Taira clan at the battle of Dannoura in 1185. This victory enabled his older half-brother, Yoritomo Minamoto, to establish the shogunate government which would last until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
The ninth son of Yoshitomo Minamoto, Yoshitsune was sent to be trained as a Buddhist novice after his father was defeated and executed by Kiyomori Taira. He escaped and fled to a remote part of northeastern Japan, where Hidehira Fujiwara, head of the northern Fujiwaras (a branch of the noble house that had ruled the court for centuries) gave the boy protection from the Tairas.
At the age of 21, in 1180, he joined the forces Yoritomo was assembling to fight the Taira clan. But after Yoshitsune's final victory at Dannoura, Yoritomo turned against him and sought his life. Many speculations surround Yoritomo's motives. Jealousy was most likely a factor, suspicion of Yoshitsune's ambitions another. Yoshitsune was considerably lower in caste than Yoritomo, and Yoritomo was never willing to accept him as an equal. Yoshitsune, for his part, continuously flouted his brother's authority.
As the stories relate, Yoshitsune then flees to the remote northern mountains, a fugitive from his brother's merciless pursuit, with a small band of devoted followers. Among these was the warrior-monk Benkei, who protects him and repeatedly saves his life. They finally reach the castle of Hidehira Fujiwara, Yoshitsune's former protector, who agrees to shelter him. But the elderly Hidehira dies, and his son Yasuhira betrays Yoshitsune.
Overwhelmed by thousands of Yoritomo's warriors, Yoshitsune's nine followers acquit themselves nobly in battle as they fall one by one. Finally, Benkei goes into his last battle, fending off the attackers to give Yoshitsune time to perform his ritual suicide with dignity.
The best source for reading more about the successful military career of Yoshitsune is the thirteenth-century epic, Heike Monogatari (The Tales of the Tairas). Gikeiki (The Chronicle of Yoshitsune) is a fifteenth-century compendium of all the Yoshitsune stories which had accumulated over two and a half centuries, and focuses on his fugitive years. It is the most important source for the Yoshitsune legends. Both works inspired innumerable tales, dramatic dances, and plays for the No, kabuki, and puppet theaters.
*HARAKIRI
*SUICIDE
Harakiri literally means "belly cutting". It is the vulgar term for ritual suicide in feudal Japan (1192-1868), while seppuku is the formal word. An extremely painful form of suicide, it was the honorable way for a samurai warrior to avoid death at the hands of an enemy.
It developed after the introduction of Buddhism, with its emphasis on the transitory nature of life, and had become an entrenched practice among the warrior class by the twelfth century. Seppuku could also be handed out as a form of punishment, but either way it was considered a demonstration of courage and superior moral character.
*TRAGIC HERO
The Japanese have a long tradition of tragic heroes, people who have suffered irreversible defeat and failure, champions of lost causes, sincere idealists who would not stoop to calculate or compromise and were overcome by their more worldly enemies.
These defiant individuals have secured an emotional place in the hearts of the Japanese people, who live in a largely conformist society. The sympathy the Japanese people hold for the plight of the tragic hero reflects the major emotional theme in Japanese culture and art, mono no aware, a deep feeling for the pathos of things.
*MR. KIMURA
The owner of the model shop interviewed by Shigeru in the video.
*THE NOBILITY OF FAILURE
Morris, Ivan, The Nobility of Failure, New York, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1975. See Ivan Morris.
*SAMURAI
Samurai literally means, "one who serves." It refers to a member of the hereditary warrior class which became prominent after Yoritomo Minamoto formed his military government in 1192.
The samurai developed a code called bushido (The Way of the Warrior) based on Confucian and Zen Buddhist principles. Bushido regulated every aspect of the warriors' lives and profoundly influenced Japanese culture.
*BOY'S DAY CELEBRATION
Shigeru's mother, Mrs. Miyagawa, explains:
"The origin of this celebration (Tango-no-Sekku) on May 5 and also that of Girl's Day (March 3), goes back to when infant mortality rates were high and families would offer prayers for the health, strength, and long life of a newborn child. The disease of a sick child would be cast into an effigy and the effigy hurled into a river, removing the child's sickness with the current.
"From these simple effigies evolved the sets of fancy, detailed dolls presented to a boy on the first May 5 after his birth by his parents, grandparents, and other relatives and brought out for display each succeeding Boy's Day. Usually the set includes samurai dolls, a white horse, a samurai armor, a helmet, and a Japanese sword. You can see these dolls in the photo behind Shigeru. In the center is a large samurai doll, called shoki .
"Another custom of Boy's Day is to fasten three carp streamers made of cloth to a pole outdoors. Carps symbolize endurance and strength because they swim against the current. As the wind blows into the open mouth of these bag-like carps they stretch out and look like real carps swimming upstream."
*ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE JOHN
Robin Hood was born around 1160 in Locksley, Nottinghamshire, England. A popular hero who stole from the rich to give to the poor, he first appeared in print in the 1377 edition of Piers Plowman. But the most important work on the Robin Hood legend is A Litell Gest of Robyn Hode, appearing in 1510 and comprised of 456 four-line stanzas of his adventures. Since then he has been the subject of many books, plays, movies (played by Errol Flynn and, more recently, Patrick Bergin and Kevin Costner), and TV series.
The legend includes the story of Robin meeting the gigantic Little John on a bridge. Little John challenges Robin, refusing to let him pass. They duel with long poles, and Robin overcomes Little John, throwing him into the water. Little John, impressed by his opponent, joins the outlaw Robin to fight the against the injustices of the feudal authorities.
*BENKEI
Benkei is a central figure in The Chronicle of Yoshitsune, a fifteenth century work which focuses on the tragic hero Yoshitsune's fugitive years. As the hunted hero becomes increasingly passive and despondent, Benkei, his loyal retainer, proves his devotion to his master by repeatedly taking appropriate action to defend and protect him.
Benkei is drawn larger than life in these stories--a blustering giant, an outrageous warrior priest, a terrifying superman, stronger than a hundred men. With energy and grace he seems to make up for the prowess that his master has lost, and becomes a bedrock of loyalty to Yoshitsune in his sad decline.
Corky writes:
Benkei comes up in the expression "uchi Benkei" which parents use to refer to a child who is well-behaved and even meek outside the home, but a (difficult) warrior at home.
*MINAMOTO
The Minamoto family, also known as the Genji, was one of the greatest samurai families, descended collaterally from the ninth century emperor, Seiwa. They became the ascendant power in Japan during the twelfth century when Yoritomo Minamoto, with the help of his half-brother Yoshitsune, defeated the Taira clan and established a military regime in Kamakura. Yoritomo died in 1199, and the rule of the Minamotos ended when his son Sanetomo was assassinated in 1219.
*MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO: about name order
*YORITOMO
The standard name order in Japan is:
family name , given name
In the name Minamoto no Yoritomo, Minamoto is the family name, "no" is an older form no longer used which means "of," and Yoritomo is the given name. So his name would literally mean "Yoritomo of the Minamoto family."
When you use a persons last name only, it is normally followed by one of the many types of honorific titles, such as:
"san" - this is a basic form used for both men and women.
"sensei" - literally means "teacher," and is used to address lawyers, doctors, writers, artists, politicians, etc.
"kacho" - title for the managerial class. There are several other titles used among this class in business, based on rank within the organization. It can get quite complicated, especially when executives from one company are visiting another company.
Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199) is a well-known name in Japanese history. He was head of one of the great samurai families and established the bakufu military dictatorship that ruled Japan from 1192 to 1868. He moved the seat of government far from Kyoto to Kamakura, where he had himself appointed shogun by the emperor, a title which can be roughly translated as generalissimo.
*TAIRA
Like their enemies the Minamotos, the Taira Family were warriors descended from royalty (collaterally from the eighth century Emperor Kwammu). After Kiyomori Taira led them to power, their glory lasted only about twenty years. They were crushed in 1185, just four years after Kiyomori's death, by his arch rival Yoritomo Minamoto. Their fall inspired the popular saying, "Even the proud Tairas did not last long."
*NINTENDO
Nintendo is the proprietary name of a Japanese company that makes a series of popular computer games. The name is also used for some of their games. The word "nintendo" can be roughly translated as "leave luck to heaven."
*GIRL'S DAY FESTIVAL, HINAMATSURI
Girl's Day is also known as Momo-no-Sekku (Peach Festival), peach flowers connoting the feminine qualities of grace, beauty, and gentleness. Girls receive sets of dolls related to these virtues, representing the imperial court.
*MEIJI PERIOD
Meiji ("Enlightened Rule") refers to Emperor Mutsuhito's reign, from 1868 to 1912. It ended the military government (bakufu) established by Yoritomo Minamoto in 1192 and marked a period of Japan's transition from a feudal nation to a modern industrial power.
*NYUGAKUSHIKI
There is a nyugakushiki on entering elementary school, and a new one on entering junior high and then another for high school.
*KAMIKAZE
Morris, Ivan, The Nobility of Failure, New York, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1975, page 470:
"Divine wind," name taken from the immense typhoons that (at least according to tradition) saved Japan from the fury of the Mongols in the 13th century. It came to designate the organized suicide tactics in 1944-45 which, it was vainly hoped, would have a similar effect in preserving the nation from disaster. (During the Pacific war the word was shimpu, the Sino-Japanese reading of the characters for kamikaze.).
