Bushido, the code of the warrior
Bushido.
This is the soul of the warrior, the principles that define a knight in Japan. He is called a Samurai. It is an honor to be called for such a duty, it is of great honor both to the individual in question and his family. He will donn the armor, carry the blade that can split iron like warm butter.
Like many reviews already published about Bushido and its code of virtues, I also will comment on why it is valuable to read such book. I read this book because I’ve always had a curiosity to understand the mystical hue around the samurai. They are war heroes, poets in nature. To understand the nature of bushido, I learned, is to understand the nature of a nation, the adherence to a code of honor and virtues.
It is made aware that bushido may only exist in feudalism. In spite of being virtuous, a warrior of the Samurai class lack but one virtue, which is impossible to achieve given the fact that it is by obligation that a Samurai never question his commands. He must give in his life for his superior. He must vow to defend him until death separates the warrior from the master. A samurai then, may never acquire individuality. He will always be a slave to the set of principles dictated by a master who he serves.
It was important to me to understand these principles. It was also interesting to compare the bushido code to modern society, not only in Japan but the world itself. Who, I wonder, has to vow to obey orders under all circumstance? I pondered upon this for awhile when it hit me. The military regimen of X or Y country.
Of course a military regimen functions in accordance to principles similar to feudalism. There is a rank which must, by all costs, be respected. Orders must be obeyed. Thus, the logic, rational mind of an individual is forsaken for the sake of the superiors, self-righteously, presume to know better than his subordinates. Much repsonsibility relies on this office of commanding men to their possible death. Is it not immoral to decide, whilst on a chair, if X or Y warrior should become an unnamable unit on a chess board, a battlefield?
It is a very sensitive subject, I agree. I invite all readers to read the code of the warrior, bushido. I invite you to linger on what becoming such a warrior means. To be virtuous in one manner does not mean you are virtuous as a whole. There are virtues regarding yourself in respect to your interaction with others; and then there is the virtue of an interaction with yourself. This is the moment to refer you to the book written by Ayn Rand: The Virtue of Selfishness.
Is there a code where a warrior may act virtuous in all manners? Perhaps. Are the heroes we read about and watch in movies virtuous in all manners possible? Who would be the perfect soldier? Are mercenaries better than soldiers under allegiance to a superior chain of command?
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