Legacy of the Samurai Essay Example for Free

Legacy of the Samurai Essay For seven centuries, the samurai ruled Japan as the powerful warrior class. As a class of warriors and knights, they led society in feudal Japan. The loyalty to his lord was much more important than his allegiance to his friends, family and even the emperor. Their philosophy was one liberated him from fear, and for these reasons, the samurai came to be the dominate force throughout medieval Japan. War played a central part in the history of Japanese samurai. As regional clans gathered manpower, resources and struck alliances with each other, they formed a hierarchy centered around a toryo, or chief. This chief was typically a relative of the emperor and a member of one of the two dominating clan families of the pre-samurai era. Though they were originally sent to regional areas for a fixed four year term as a magistrate, the toryo usually declined to return to the capital when their terms ended. Their sons inherited their positions instead and continued to lead the clans in suppressing rebellion throughout Japan during the middle and later Heian period. (Cook 24) One main reason why conflict between clans was so predominant was because they were typically started as a result of land ownership. Only a fifth of Japans land was suitable for agriculture. The struggle for control of land eventually gave rise to the samurai class. The samurai eventually became a class unto themselves between the 9th and 12th centuries A.D. They were called by two names: samurai which means knights and bushi which means warriors. The samurai came from guards of the imperial palace and from private guards that the clans employed. They also acted as a police force in and around Kyoto. These forerunners of what we now know as samurai had ruler-sponsored equipment and were required to hone their martial skills. They gave complete loyalty to their daimyo (feudal landowner) and received land and position in return. Each daimyo  used his samurai to protect his land and to expand his power and rights to more land. The first samurai were servants, yet their advantage of being the sole armed party increasingly became apparent. By promising protection and gaining political clout through political marriages they amassed power, eventually surpassing the ruling aristocrats. (Kure 10-12) In the late 12th century, the two most powerful clans served the emperor of Japan: the Taira clan, and the Minamoto clan. These two families became bitter rivals, and in 1192, Minamoto Yoritomo led his clan to victory over the Taira. The emperor, the traditional head of the Japanese government, declared Minamoto Yoritomo shogun, the head of the military. However, Yoritomo used his new power to strip the emperor of all political power, make his position as shogun permanent, and set up a military dictatorship known as bakufu. So, the samurai went from being servants of the land-owning daimyos to being the rulers of Japan under the shogun. (Dean 21) Over time, powerful samurai clans became warrior nobility, who were only technically under the court aristocracy. When the samurai began to adopt aristocratic pastimes like calligraphy, poetry and music, some court aristocrats in turn began to adopt samurai customs. (Dean 22) In spite of various scheming and brief periods of rule by various emperors, real power was now in the hands of the shogun and the samurai. The reign of the samurai lasted until the late 19th century. The image of the samurai that is probably most well-known is that of a sword expert, brandishing his curved katana with deadly skill. However, for the first few centuries of their existence, samurai were better known as horse-riding archers. Firing a bow while riding a horse was a demanding task, and mastering it required years of relentless practice. Some archers practiced on targets tethered to a pole, which could be swung to make a moving target. For a time, living dogs were used as moving archery targets, until the shogun abolished the malicious practice. (Turnbull 45) The amount and form of a samurais training depended on the wealth of his family. In  lower-class families, sons were sometimes sent to village schools for basic education, but they received most of their samurai training from their fathers, older brother, or uncles. Training in martial arts was considered very important, and often began at age five. Sons of wealthy families were sent to special academies, where they were tutored in literature, the arts, and military skills. (Daidoji, Ratti, and Cleary 6-10) Swordsmanship was taught in a similarly relentless manner. The most recognized weapon of the samurai throughout history was the katana. The oldest swords were straight and had their early design in Korea and China. A katana was never worn without its companion sword, the wakizashi; it was a shorter sword with a broader blade. Together the two swords are referred to as daisho, meaning large and small. The word dai (large) represents the katana and the word sho (small) represents the wakizashi. The smiths who created the katana for the samurai are widely regarded as the finest sword makers in history. (Daidoji, Ratti, and Cleary 42) The samurais desire for tougher, sharper swords in battle gave rise to the curved blade. One of the biggest problems in making a sword is keeping it sharp. A weapon made with a hard metal will keep its edge, but will be brittle and prone to breaking. Japanese sword smiths solved this problem by making the core of the sword with a soft metal that wouldnt break. This core was then covered with layers of harder metals that were repeatedly folded and hammered until there were literally millions of layers of metal laminated together. The edge was so sharp that a skilled swordsman could slice a human in half with one blow. Upon completion, the sword tester took the new blade and cut through the bodies of corpses or condemned criminals. They started by cutting through the small bones of the body and moved up to the large bones. Test results were often recorded on the nakago (the metal piece attaching the sword blade to the handle). The samurai often gave names to their swords and believed it was the soul of their warriorship. (Sato 28-33) In addition to swords and bows, samurai used a variety of bladed-pole arms. One of the more common Japanese pole arms was the naginata, which consisted of a sharp blade two to four feet in length mounted on a wooden shaft that  was four to five feet long. The extra reach afforded by these weapons allowed infantry to hold attackers at bay, or make a first strike before an attacker with a sword could reach them. They were also very effective against mounted opponents. (Kure 170) A big change occurred in the late 15th century because of the consistency of war and the introduction of guns into battle. In the 16th century, European traders arrived in Japan for the first time. The Japanese paid large sums for their matchlock guns, quickly mastering the smithing techniques needed to mass produce the weapons. Although the gun is not traditionally associated with samurai, it was a major influence on Japanese warfare from that point on, allowing daimyos to raise large armies of relatively untrained men armed with cheap guns. Many samurai adopted the unreliable weapons, which were best used as a backup to the more trustworthy sword. (Turnbull 73) The sword played a very key role in the methods and philosophies of the samurai. Without the samurai bushido, they would be considered by modern terms to be heartless killers. Bushido means way of the warrior. It was at the heart of the beliefs and conduct of the samurai. The philosophy of bushido is freedom from fear. It meant that the samurai transcended his fear of death. That gave him the peace and power to serve his daimyo faithfully, loyally and die honorably if necessary. Duty is a primary philosophy of the samurai. In order for the samurai to truly be able to serve his purpose, death must be ignored. An excerpt from _Code of the Samurai_ exemplifies this ideology: _One who is a samurai must before all things keep constantly in mind†¦the fact that he has to die. If he is always mindful of this, he will be able to live in accordance with the paths of loyalty and filial duty, will avoid myriads of evils and adversities, keep himself free of disease and calamity and moreover enjoy a long life. He will also be a fine personality with many admirable qualities. For existence is impermanent as the dew of evening, and the hoarfrost of morning, and particularly uncertain is the life of the warrior†¦_ (15) Religiously, Zen Buddhism spread among samurai in the 13th century and helped to shape their standards of conduct, particularly overcoming fear of death and killing, but among the general populace Pure Land Buddhism was predominant. (Kure 12) Honor was so important to the samurai that they would frequently take their own lives in the face of failure, or if they had violated bushido. This honor-bound suicide became very ritualized, taking the form of seppuku. Also known by the more popular phrase hara-kiri, seppuku was a way for a samurai to restore honor to his lord and family, and to fulfill his obligation of loyalty even if he had failed as a samurai. (May 2) Ritualized seppuku involved the samurai wearing the proper garments while he was presented with the ritual knife, wrapped in paper. The samurai would then take the knife and cut open his own stomach, from left to right, with a final upward cut at the end. However, seppuku was not a solitary act, and few samurai were left to die a slow and excruciating death from disembowelment. Another samurai would typically stand behind the one committing seppuku, and behead him with a sharp sword shortly after the seppuku cut was made to spare him from unnecessary suffering. (May 3) The original motivations for this method of death may well have been purely practical. Cutting off ones own head is impossible, and the spirit was felt to reside in the stomach, slitting the belly open was felt to be the most straightforward (if not quickest) way to die and free the spirit. (May 5) Although, seppuku may seem crude in modern day society, it was the only way to regain ones honor, and looked upon as honorable even after the samurais decline towards the end of the 19th century. The role of the samurai during peacetime gradually declined, but two key factors led to the demise of samurai: the urbanization of Japan, and the end of isolationism. As more Japanese citizens moved to the larger urban centers of Japan, there were fewer farmers producing the necessary rice to feed the  growing population. The lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the shoguns and most daimyos started to eat away at the economic system. Many Japanese, including lower class samurai, grew dissatisfied with the shogunate because of the deteriorating economic circumstances. (Dean 37) In 1853, U.S. ships sailed into Edo Bay with Commodore Matthew Perry at the helm, intending to deliver a message from President Millard Fillmore to the emperor. Although the emperor was still considered a figurehead, the shogun truly ruled the country. President Fillmores message was clear. He wanted to open trade relations with Japan, he wanted shipwrecked U.S. sailors to be treated properly by Japanese soldiers and citizens, and he wanted to open Japanese seaports as a resupply stations for American ships. (Kure 167-9) In Perrys wake, a rift divided opposing views in Japan. Some wanted to reject the American offer, continue with isolationism, and maintain their ancient traditions. Others, however, realized that Japan could never defend their country when faced with the better technology of the western civilizations. They proposed opening the gates of Japan with the intention of learning everything they could from the Americans, terminating isolationism and becoming a stronger world power. Ultimately, the bakufu decided to open Japanese seaports for American resupply, and later decided to establish trade with America. (Avakian 41) The emperor initially refused to approve to the treatys conditions, but because he was merely the face of Japanese government, the bakufu went ahead with the treaty anyway. Several factions of rebellious samurai wanted Japan to stay the same, and therefore supported the emperor and began a civil war against the bakufu. To much surprise, they overthrew the shogun, ending the Tokugawa period and restoring the emperor to his rightful power. Lower class samurai took positions of leadership within the administration, controlling the government from behind the new emperor, a young man by the name of Emperor Meiji. This event is known as the Meiji Restoration. (Avakian 43-48) Throughout Japan at the time, the samurai numbered 1.9 million. The samurai in Japan were not merely the lords, but also their higher retainers, people  who actually worked. With each samurai being paid fixed stipends, the upkeep presented an immense financial burden, which provoked the emperor and his oligarchy to act accordingly. Whatever their true intentions, the oligarchs started a slow and deliberate process to abolish the samurai class. First, in 1873, it was proclaimed that the samurai stipends were to be taxed on a rolling basis. Later, in 1874, the samurai were given the choice to convert their stipends into government bonds. Finally, in 1876, this option of conversion was made obligatory. (Avakian 49-54) Finally, in 1876, the emperor banned samurai from wearing their swords, leading to the creation of a drafted standing army. The final bell had tolled for the samurai they no longer existed. Not surprisingly, this led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots, the Satsuma rebellion, eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was, however, put down swiftly by the newly created imperial army The new army was trained in Western tactics and utilized more advanced weapons. Ironically, the core of the new army was the Tokyo Police force, which was formed largely of former samurai who had helped the emperor regain his empire. This sent a strong message to the nonconformist, rebellious samurai that their time was indeed up. (Kure 172-174) The samurai continue to impress, and serve as a model for obedience, reverence, and loyalty on so many different scales. The incredibly rich heritage provided by this elite class of warrior leaders can be linked to the foundations of numerous facets of the life we lead today. Although the samurai cease to exist, their spirit of honor and discipline has found a home in modern times. From the kamikaze pilots of Japan in World War II, to martial artists and even modern businessman who look to bushido as a guide to living an honorable life, samurai continue to positively influence Japan today. BIBLIOGRAPHY Avakian, Monique. The Meiji Restoration and the Rise of Modern Japan. Boston: Silver Burdett, 1991. 38-54. Cook, Harry. Samurai: the Story of a Warrior Tradition. New York: Sterling, 1998. 22-35. Yuzan Daidoji, Oscar Ratti, and Thomas Cleary. The Code of the Samurai. Boston: Tuttle, 1999. 10-44. Dean, Arlan. Samurai: Warlords of Japan. New York: Scholastic Library, 2005. 19-37. Kure, Mitsuo. Samurai: An Illustrated History. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2001. 10-179. May, Nick. Seppuku a Practical Guide. Gaijin Gleaner (1997): 1-5. 1 Dec. 2006 . Sato, Kanzan. The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide. New York: Kodansha International, Ltd., 1983. 28-80 Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai Warfare. New York: Sterling, 1996. 44-73. Yamamoto, Tsunetomo, and William S. Wilson. Hagakure: the Book of the Samurai. Tokyo: Kodansha America, 1983. 17-65.

Comparing Matthew Arnolds Dover Beach and Gerard Manley HopkinsGods

Comparing Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach and Gerard Manley Hopkins'God's Grandeur      Ã‚   Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," and Gerard Manley Hopkins' "God's Grandeur" are similar in that both poems praise the beauty of the natural world and deplore man's role in that world. The style and tone of each poem is quite different, however. Arnold writes in an easy, flowing style and as the poem develops, reveals a deeply melancholy point of view. Hopkins writes in a very compressed, somewhat jerky style, using sentences heavy with alliteration and metaphors. His tone, though touched with sadness and perhaps even anger at man, unlike Arnold's poem, reveals an abiding sense of hope. Basically, each poet is presenting a very different view of Faith, and consequently of man's ultimate condition. Matthew Arnold begins his poem by describing a calm, beautiful scene. Dover Beach is lying "fair" in the moonlight. It is high tide and he sees the coast of France and "the cliffs of England... / Gleaming and vast, out in the tranquil bay." All seems lovely and quiet. According to Baum's research on the date and circumstances of the poem, Arnold is probably speaking to his new bride (86) as he says, "Come to the window, sweet is the night-air." But gradually the reader senses a shifting of mood and tone. Now he describes the "line of spray... / Where the sea meets" the land as "moon-blanched." And the tide, tossing pebbles as it comes, is a "grating roar" with a "tremulous cadence slow" that "bring[s] / The eternal note of sadness in." This melancholy mood grows deeper as he thinks of man's long span of history-- "The turbid ebb and flow / of human misery."    In the next stanza beginning with line twenty-one, Arnold gets to the reason ... ... in a sky that is brown, not completely black because God's Spirit is hovering in love over the dark world still, like a mother dove brooding over her nest.    Obviously, both poets recognize the darkness in the world; and both see love as a light in the   darkness. Arnold's love is human love from one individual to another and even that seems uncertain. The redeeming love Hopkins speaks of is God's love for man and His creation. That love is unchanging and indestructible--an abiding hope in the darkness. What a difference faith can make.       Works Cited Baum, Paull F. Ten Studies in the Poetry of Matthew Arnold. Durham: Duke UP, 1961. Boyle, Robert S.J. Metaphor in Hopkins. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1961. Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading Reacting Writing. 3rd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1991.

North Carolina as a colony

North Carolina is one of the thirteen colonies established by England around 1650. The  territory was called Carolina in honor of Charles the First.  Queen Elizabeth I of England granted Sir Walter Raleigh a charter for the establishment of a  settlement in North America. Sir Raleigh and the Queen planned to establish a colony to be able to  explore for treasures and to scout for a strategic location where they can raid loaded Spanish ships. Based on these reasons, an expedition was sent in 1584 to explore for a suitable location and also  bring samples of the nature’s bounty on the area. After the successful exploration, the group  returned to England. In 1585, the first group of colonists was organized and they arrived at the north  end of the Roanoke Island. Ralph Lane with seventy-five men was left in the island while Sir  Richard Grenville, leader of the expedition returned to England to get additional food supplies and  additional men. Friction with the natives occurred when the settlers attacked a village in response to  the stealing of a silver cup by the natives. By April 1586, relations with a neighboring tribe had  degraded to such a degree that they attacked an expedition led by Lane to explore the Roanoke River.1 There was still no sign of Grenville’s fleet and due to hardships encountered, the settlers  accepted the offer of Sir Francis Drake to return to England.  Ã‚  The second group was led by John White and they arrived in June 1587. White tried to  reestablish friendly relations with the neighboring natives. At first, the natives were hostile and  aloof. But gradually the English gained their confidence by offering glass beads and dolls as signs  of friendships (Hale 128). But the aggrieved tribes whom Ralph Lane attacked were still unfriendly  to the new colonists and shortly thereafter, one colonist was killed by these natives. Fearing for their  lives, White was elected to return to England to inform of their situation and ask for help.   Two  significant events occurred shortly after the colonists’ arrival: two â€Å"friendly† Indians were baptized  and a child was born. Virginia Dare, as the baby was named, became the first child bor n to English-  speaking parents in the new world.2 But White was delayed in coming back to the colony because  of the following reasons: the vessel was not in good condition to travel back home and in crossing  the Atlantic Ocean; the refusal of the captain to sail back to the colony during winter time and then  the war with the Spanish Armada was imminent   and all the able ships were tasked to fight. He was  able to return in the spring of 1590 and found only the remnants of what was once a settlement. There were no signs of life, only the word â€Å"CROATAN† carved on a nearby tree.3   The second  failure can be attributed by factors beyond the control of the settlers. Although Sir Raleigh was  given a charter to colonize, attention was focused on the war with Spain. Cole and Warren  concluded that, â€Å"because England was so completely involved in fighting the Spanish Armada in  1588, no supplies were sent, nor any communications maintained with the settlements†. (403) The  colonization might have been successful if the expedition was fully equipped with farm implements,  food supplies and able manpower who are trained to do hard work in cultivating the soil. They  should have establish friendly relations with the natives to preserve their lives as well as with the  natives’. The impact left by Ralph Lane and John White on the area was that they had spread Christianity and English language to the new world.   It is ironic that Stuart Monarch James I rather than the visionary Elizabeth succeeded in  finally planting the British flag on the American shores. (Garraty and Gay 663) In 1607, three  shiploads arrived at Jamestown sent out by the London Company of Virginia. Captain John Smith  imposed a semi-dictatorial attitude to his men to check their incompetence and lack of initiative. His  edict, â€Å"He who does not work shall not eat† (Cole and Warren 406) was effective that they soon  cultivated crops especially staple crops and tobacco. By 1610, more settlers arrived and by 1612,  there were exportation of tobacco to other places. Significant too were the introduction in 1619 of  representative government – important to the Englishmen who contemplated migration to the New  World – and the beginnings of Negro servitude – important despite its inhumanity, to the economic  future of North America.(Garraty and Gay 665) Reference List Cole, Fay-Cooper, and Harris Gaylord Warren. An Illustrated Outline of History of Mankind. Grolier Incorporated: New York, 1963. Garraty, John A., and Peter Gay. The Columbia History of the World. Harper and Row: New York, 1972. Hale, John R. Age of Exploration. Time-Life International: Nederland, 1974. â€Å"Historical Highlights of North Carolina †.The State Library of North Carolina. 3 April 2006. 14 Nov. 2006. â€Å"Roanoke Island†. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 14 Nov. 2006. 15 Nov. 2006.

Discussion of the View that Violence on Screen Can Cause...

Discussion of the View that Violence on Screen Can Cause Violence in Society The screening of violence and the effects it has on the media ahs been a controversial issue for a long time. Many researches have been carried out to prove or disprove the hypothesis that violence in the media can cause violence in society and as a result many theories have been formed. A theory that supports this hypothesis is the Hypodermic syringe model developed by Vance Packard in 1957 and a reflection of the popular belief at the era. The hypodermic syringe model sees the audience as a homogenous mass without any background experiences and therefore immediately affected by what they see in the media. Even though†¦show more content†¦Another study was carried out by Eron et al in 1987 who studied over 800 eight and nine year old boys and girls. They observed each child for signs of aggression and asked other people whether each child was aggressive. They then went on to study the children’s viewing habits and found a positive correlation between the amount of media violence watched and the violence in children’s everyday behaviour. This study like the bobo doll study ignores the fact that other factors might have been at work, such as peer pressure influences. Also in the Eron study, there is no distinguishing between the types of violence, whether it’s fictional or real life violence and also the criteria for children to be seen as violent is not distinguished. However there have been real life incidents that would support the hypodermic syringe theory, such as the shootings in the Columbine High school. A theory that disagrees with the Hypodermic syringe model is the Cultural effects model. This theory doesn’t believe in the media having an immediate affect on the audience and recognizes the fact that the media audience is very diverse. Rather this theory argues that audiences are exposed to the media so much that the come to accept the preferred reading of programmes in the media. This theory suggests that audiences are exposed to violence in the media so much that theyShow MoreRelatedEssay on Media Violence: Censorship Not Needed1591 Words   |  7 PagesMedia Violence is a Menace, but Censorship Not Needed      Ã‚  According to John Davidsons essay Menace to Society, three-quarters of Americans surveyed [are] convinced that movies, television and music spur young people to violence. While public opinion is strong, the results of research are divided on the effects of media violence on the youth in this country. Davidson wrote that most experts agree that some correlation between media violence and actual violent acts exists, yet the resultsRead MoreMedia Violence Essay1320 Words   |  6 PagesMedia Violence Media violence is one of the most debated public issues society faces today. 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