JAPANESE CIVILIZATION - Essay Example

Question A daimyo in Tokugawa period. As a man of service, it is not right to be discriminating. Thus, it is not good for a Samurai to be involved in the judgment of right and wrong, whether something is righteous or unrighteous, loyal or disloyal, proper or improper (Hagakure, 474). Therefore as a daimyo, the relationship with the land and with all categories of people should be that of an indiscriminative nature. In the light of this, the merchants, the artisans, the samurai and the commoners should all be treated equally.

Commitment to service, with a focus on only one thing, success is a sure way to control the land and obtain wealth. The sense of commitment to never be defeated in anything, even at the point of death is a guarantee to obtain success and wealth. In the words of the writer, “if one is aroused, heaven and earth will move in response,” (Hagakure, 476). This is a justification enough to put everyone in total focus of their goals, without any thought of failure, which ensures that they can achieve anything.

The obligation of daimyo to the land (bakufu) is to constantly fight for it, staying in the state of preparedness at all times to engage in a fight to protect the land, even to the point of death. “I have found that the way of samurai is death. This means that when you have to choose between life and death, you have to quickly choose death,” (Hagakure, 479). This obligation influences samurai’s life and that of his family to total devotion towards the protection of their role in leadership model.

The expectation of the people, regardless of their categories, whether as merchant, commoner, artisans or samurai is that bravely and victory should be exuded at all times. This serves to give daimyo the confidence to handle all challenges and triumph at all costs.Work CitedHagakure, The Way of the Samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Translated by Takao Mukoh, Angkor Verlag, 2000. 473-480. Print.