New Vs. Old Samurai

In the morning of August 6, 1945, the United States military dropped a devastating nuclear weapon on the city of Hiroshima, Japan followed a few days later by the detonation of another nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. It is hard to imagine that this nation which had suffered devastating blows to all facets of its government from the results of WWII would today be one of the most technologically advanced nations with the second largest economy in the world following only the United States. Japan had not always been such a modernized country and in fact was once a feudal society. It was only through the revolutionary views and efforts of certain individuals that Japan would evolve into what it has become today. One of these great men in Japanese history is Yukichi Fukuzawa. He is widely revered as a national hero for the Japanese people and recognized as the hero who paved the way for modernization. Through his autobiography, The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, readers can observe the historical struggle between Westernization versus isolationism. The autobiography shows tremendous insight to the status of the Tokugawa society samurai during those times and the birth of a new age of thought of samurais led by Yukichi Fukuzawa.

In order to understand the status of the samurai in Tokugawa society as it is defined in The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, it is necessary to be familiar with the historical background of his time. Yukichi's life spanned from 1835 and 1901, a period which comprised greater and more extraordinary changes that any other time in the history of nation of Japan. Yukichi was born into a feudal society that promoted isolationism. During this period there was a struggle for power between the Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal military dictatorship run by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family against the Kinno, supporters of the emperor. Ultimately the emperor faction would win and give birth to the Meiji period. Yukichi develops a strong interest in Western language (Dutch and English), customs, and technology. His studies in the Western civilization drew deep criticism in his time.

The status of a samurai in Tokugawa society as it is depicted in the autobiography can be broken down to many different characteristics. One such characteristic of the samurai during the Tokugawa society is his undying loyalty to the Shogunate. This undying loyalty to the Shogunate has roots from classical Chinese Confucianism. The samurai during this period are very much like the 47 retainers in the play Chushingura. The 47 retainers in the play Chushingura seek to avenge their master's death by assassinating the higher classed samurai responsible. Their master died by means of seppuku, a traditional form of suicide by the samurai in attempt to retain his honor. 2 Although similar to the retainers in Chushingura, the samurai in the Tokugawa society have a broader approach to this form of undying loyalty. These samurai have a value of undying loyalty to their direct master in the sense that they will die for their Shogun rather than the emperor, who should technically be their supreme lord.

Another characteristic of the samurai in the Tokugawa period depicted in the autobiography was the social hierarchy within the samurai class. This characteristic also has deep Chinese Confucianism roots. During the Tokugawa period there was a hierarchy that everyone from society can be classified into. The samurai class was at the very top of the social hierarchy, followed by the farmers, artisans and merchants.3 However, as the Tokugawa period progressed the samurai was losing power. Not only was there this social hierarchy, but there were also different levels of power within each class. The samurai class itself had different levels of power. Yukichi himself was from the lowest samurai class was not born into the benefits that higher ranked samurai had.

Yukichi and other samurai were very dissatisfied with the samurai hierarchy. In fact, many men including Yukichi opposed the whole feudal system social class structure. When Fukuzawa reflects on his father who passed away, he speaks in a context of pity; perhaps because his father had little room for advancement because of society's strict system. Yukichi's father wanted to see him become a priest because he knew this was possible even under strict social restrictions. A priest received the highest level of respect for the lower samurai class. Yukichi, however knew that just like his father had, that he had to at least appear to be content to the strict structure of the feudal regime structure so long as the shogunate existed. Yukichi and his peers were born into this type of samurai class in which they were subject to discrimination. For example, some samurai of this level wore towels around their face when in the marketplace in order to hide their shame.

Probably the biggest characteristic of a samurai in Tokugawa society their view on the most challenging political issue which was how to deal with Westerners. Most samurai during the rival state of warfare between the Shogunate and the emperor faction were against the influence of western nations.4 They believed that anyone outside of Japanese heritage were impure. One such example in the book is when a prince of England visiting Japan goes through a purification ritual. The prince may have seen this as a welcoming show of respect; its true purpose was to purify this white man which they viewed as "unclean." They believed that it was necessary for the nation of Japan to stay isolated from other nations, especially the western civilization. The emperor faction initially accused the shogunate as being disloyal to the ruling emperor family because the shogunates were not as extreme against western influence. The samurai during the Tokugawa period took a ronin approach against those who seemed supportive of westernization. Scholars such as Fukuzawa were in endless danger of being killed by radical samurai.

Yukichi was a samurai by his own definition and by contemporary practice. In many ways he is different from the image of samurai depicted in the play Chushingura. One such way that Fukuzawa is different is his sense of loyalty in following traditional samurai attitude toward combat. The samurai in Chushingura would never retreat from any type of confrontation because it would be deemed dishonorable.