CODE FOR THE WARRIOR
HOUSEHOLDS (buke
SHOHATTO)
1. One must wholly
devote oneself to
the civil and the military arts and to the Way of the bow and the horse.
To have the
civil on the left and the
military on the right is the ancient practice. One must be equipped
with both.
The bow and horse are the most important things for warriors. Weapons
are
called dismal instruments, but [sometimes] one cannot avoid using them.
"In times of order, do not forget turmoil." How could one not exert
oneself in training and perfecting oneself [in the use of arms]?
2. Drinking parties and idle, wanton
amusements should
be restricted.
The
rigorous restrictions that codes
of law placed [on this behavior] are especially strict. States have
been lost
because their rulers were infatuated with sex or made gambling their
chief
occupation.
3. Those who have
defied the laws shall not be given
sanctuary in any of the provinces.
Law is
the root of ritual and decorum. Principle can be
violated in the name of the law, but the law cannot be violated in the
name of
principle. Those who defy the laws will not be punished lightly.
4. The greater and
lesser lords of
all the provinces and all their stipended officials must speedily expel
any
soldiers in their service who have been accused of rebellion or murder.
Those
who harbor untoward ambitions
are the sharp instruments that overturn the state, the dart and
sword that cut
off people [from their livelihood]. How could one condone them?
5. From now on, no
one who is not from that province shall be
allowed to live there [freely] among [the inhabitants of that province].
Generally speaking, each province has its own, different
customs. If someone either reported abroad the secrets of his own
province or
reported in his own province the secrets of other provinces, it would
be the
beginning of fawning and flattering.
6. Any repairs of the
castles in the
provinces must certainly be reported [to the bakufu]—as well as
new
construction, which is strictly forbidden!
Walls
extending more than one hundred chi
are a peril to the state. High fortresses and well-dredged moats are
the
origins of great turmoil
7. If new
[construction] is planned or bands are formed in a neighboring
province,
you must speedily inform [the bakufu}.
"All men
are given to
factionalism, and wise men are few. For this reason they sometimes do
not obey
their lords or fathers, or they feud with neighboring villages."' Why
do
they plan new things instead of abiding by the old institutions?
8. One must not contract marriages
privately.
The
bonds of marriage are
the way of yin and yang's mutual harmony. One should not enter them
lightly.
[The explanation of the diagram] kui [in the Yijing]
says: "Marriage should not be contracted out of enmity
[against others]. Marriages intended to effect an alliance with enemies
[of the
state] will turn out badly." The ode "Peach Blossoms" [in the Shijing]
says: "When men and women behave correctly and marriages are arranged
in
the proper season, then throughout the land there will be no unmarried
men."1 To use one's marriage relations in order to establish
factions is at the root of evil schemes.
9. How the daimyo should report for duty.
Chronicles of Japan,
Continued
contains a
regulation saying: "If one is not engaged in official duties, one
should
not at will assemble one's clansmen. One cannot move through the
capital with a
retinue of more than twenty horsemen." Therefore, one should not bring
with oneself great masses of soldiers. Daimyo with an estate of 1
million to
200,000 koku should not be escorted by more than twenty mounted
warriors; those with an estate of less than [i?] 100,000 [sic] koku
should
reduce their escort proportionally. However, when a daimyo is
performing his
official tasks, he may be followed by as many men as his rank entitles
him to.
10.
Restrictions on the type and quality of clothing should not be
transgressed.
One should be able to
distinguish between lord and retainer, high and low.
Ordinary people who
have not been
authorized to wear them cannot wear white robes with narrow sleeves (kosode)
of white damask, kosode made of glossed unpatterned silk and
dyed purple
inside, or purple-lined robes (awase). It is against all ancient law
that
nowadays vassals and soldiers are wearing gaudy clothes of damask,
gauze, or
embroidered silk. This must be strictly regulated.
11. Ordinary people
should not ride
indiscriminately in palanquins.
In the
past, depending on the person,
some families rode in palanquins without [the need to obtain a special]
permission, and some did so after they had obtained permission.
Recently,
however, even vassals and soldiers ride in palanquins. This is really
the
extreme of presumption. Henceforth, a lord of a province and the senior
members
of his house may ride [in palanquins] without first needing to ask for
permission. In addition to them, attendants of nobles, members of the
two
professions of physicians and astrologers, people sixty years and
older, and
sick people will be allowed to ride [in a palanquin] after they have
applied
for permission. The master of vassals and soldiers who willfully ride
[in
palanquins] should be held to blame.
12. Warriors in the provinces should
practice
frugality.
The rich will flaunt their wealth
more and more, and the poor will be ashamed because they cannot measure
up to
the average. Nothing is more demoralizing than this. It is something
that
should be strictly regulated.
13. The lord of a
province should
select those who have talent and abilities for the tasks of government.
Generally speaking, the way of ruling
a state is a matter of getting the [right] men. Merit and faults should
be
clearly examined, and rewards and punishments should always be
appropriate.
When a state has good men, that state will flourish more and more; when
a state
does not, it will certainly perish. This is the clear admonition of the
wise
men of old.
The preceding [code] must be complied
with.
Dated: 7th month
of Keicho 20 [1615] [Dai Nihon shiryo, vol. 12, pt. 22, pp.
19-22; WB]
1. Neither
the Yijing nor the Shijing is
quoted or interpreted correctly here.
From DeBarry p.12