00:00:00
foreign
00:00:01
[Music]
00:00:08
an ancient culture which spans thousands
00:00:11
of years
00:00:12
Japanese Legend says that the islands of
00:00:15
Japan were formed by the tears of a
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goddess as each tear fell into the
00:00:20
Pacific an island formed in its place
00:00:24
in peaceful times Japan was an elegant
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land of Water Gardens cherry blossom and
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poetry
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[Music]
00:00:42
at other times she was torn apart by The
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Fearsome Warriors of the ancient Samurai
00:00:47
[Music]
00:00:55
these men much feared were also revered
00:00:59
as the most powerful people in Japan
00:01:02
its history reveals an incredible story
00:01:10
although archaeological evidence reveals
00:01:13
the existence of a Neolithic culture in
00:01:15
Japan the first period of which there's
00:01:18
any in-depth knowledge is the German
00:01:20
period
00:01:21
the stretch is way back from 10 000 BC
00:01:24
up to 300 BC when the land was people by
00:01:28
nomadic hunter-gatherers
00:01:30
the yayoi period which followed led to a
00:01:33
major transformation in Japanese culture
00:01:35
with the development of new tools and
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water control systems
00:01:39
this made wet rice cultivation possible
00:01:42
changing the face of the Lamb forever
00:01:45
the hunter-gatherers became settled
00:01:47
farmers who formed small communities in
00:01:50
turn distinct political groups began to
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form
00:01:54
Japan entered a new phase with the
00:01:57
cumulus period of 300 A.D
00:01:59
a clear brick with the yayoi culture
00:02:02
happened as political and social
00:02:03
institutions developed rapidly
00:02:06
during this age huge Earth and stone two
00:02:10
Mounds appeared along the coast they
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were called chumuli hence the name
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cumulus period
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these house the dead rulers of various
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independent kingdoms
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as time went by one clan based in the
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Yamato plain area emerged as more
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powerful by the sixth Century the yabato
00:02:29
sun line controlled the hierarchy of
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Clans and subsequent Emperors descended
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from this line
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Buddhism arrived in Japan from Korea in
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the 6th Century during the Asuka period
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Emperor yomai and all succeeding
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Emperors were Buddhists
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Chinese writing techniques had arrived a
00:02:49
hundred years earlier making Buddhism
00:02:51
more accessible to the nobility along
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with Chinese philosophy
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by the end of this period the Japanese
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were also starting to adopt the Chinese
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model for a central government
00:03:03
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during the Nara period of 710 to 794 A.D
00:03:47
the system of centralized Imperial rule
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oritsurio system as the Japanese called
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it was fully enforced this set the
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pattern for subsequent dynasties
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the ritsuyo system continued into the
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high end period but began to crumble in
00:04:03
the 9th century individual Lords built
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up their own military Powers leading to
00:04:09
feuding amongst themselves and the loss
00:04:11
of The Emperor's Imperial power
00:04:13
during this age there was also a
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Breaking of ties with China with
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Japanese creating their own writing
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system
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throughout the Kamakura period of 1185
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to 1333 and administrative structure run
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by Ashokan or commander-in-chief the
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setup
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individual landowners employed private
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armies to defend themselves and the
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Samurai warrior evolved the shogunate
00:04:39
form of government run by the warrior
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class at a distance from the Imperial
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City was to endure for 676 years
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[Music]
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The Cult of the Samurai continued from
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this period in Japanese history right
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through to the 20th century by the
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outbreak of the second world war the
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Japanese Army still lived by the code of
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the Samurai this fanatical devout code
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combined with the cult of Emperor
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worship produced an aggressive fighting
00:05:13
Spirit which conquered huge sways of the
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Pacific in early 1942
00:05:19
in less than a year Japan had gained
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control of East Asia and the Western
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Pacific
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this occupation was brutal and the roots
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of its discipline lay in the cult of the
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Samurai
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eventually the tide would turn against
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them and with that bitter defeat the
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last real links to an ancient tradition
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were finally swept aside but it did not
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die so easily
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the samurai are well known aspect of
00:05:52
Japan throughout the world it's
00:05:55
mainly through Kurosawa films initially
00:05:58
and then things like that Seven Samurai
00:06:00
and other Hollywood remix after that
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the word itself comes from the verb
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Samurai which actually means to serve so
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the samurai were initially the policemen
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the military for the
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aristocracy in Japan
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the samurai rule was initially one of
00:06:20
policemen protecting the property of the
00:06:22
wealthy landowners this role gradually
00:06:25
altered as they became private armies
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serving the Lords
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eventually the sheer number of soldiers
00:06:31
precipitated a period of fighting known
00:06:34
as the age of the Civil Wars
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[Music]
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Warriors came to have a major role in
00:06:41
society when Civil War developed and
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this was
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in the 12th 13th century when there were
00:06:51
Wars between the major Clans or
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coalitions of the Clans
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and
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um
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obviously the time you're fighting it
00:07:01
out had to place a premium on the uh on
00:07:06
on the Warriors
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[Music]
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the Warrior's choice of Battlefield
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weapons would be the katana which would
00:07:35
be which is known as a samurai sword
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the Yari the spear
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and the naginata which was the
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Hollywood
00:07:46
also employed with the Samurai and
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horseback
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which would be the ones we use in the uh
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Kudo which would be the bow and arrows
00:07:55
all these weapons were
00:07:58
related to the Samurai and were used in
00:08:00
battle however
00:08:02
should an instant occur where the
00:08:04
samurai was disarmed
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for example his the sword was broken or
00:08:10
took off him in some way
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they had to resort to an uncombat
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[Music]
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and on combat was a necessity it was
00:08:23
killer be killed and
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they had to really rely on there on
00:08:28
combat skills which over the years is
00:08:31
now developed into
00:08:33
a very effective self-defense means in
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order to service the the Samurai and and
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the armies of the dimio of course there
00:08:42
were large craft Industries when I say
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large I mean that they were little local
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workshops but they covered a large
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number of activities
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Samurai very often was a soldier on
00:08:58
Horseback and so in preparing him for
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war you had of course to prepare his
00:09:04
horse and and so
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most of the castle towns did have
00:09:09
provision for for Smith's and for
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preparing things leather goods for for
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the the horses
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so all in all the activity of War and
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the samurai Society uh
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did give industrial employment in a
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society which was broadly agrarian
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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really
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[Music]
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if you think of Sword making here you
00:10:13
have a very sharp swords made from what
00:10:17
we would call medieval times
00:10:20
with
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remarkably primitive equipment
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and even experts in the field today I
00:10:29
think of them as as excellent By Word
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World standards
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[Music]
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okay
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[Music]
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the samurai sword the katana was the
00:11:11
soul of the Samurai to to look at the
00:11:13
samurai sword you would see a slight
00:11:16
curb curvature
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um they say that the the kisaki which
00:11:22
was the tip of the sword would be the
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face
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um and the soul of the Samurai would be
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embedded
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into the uh into the sword
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the sword was crafted in a very very
00:11:36
special way
00:11:37
so that you had a finished product that
00:11:40
wasn't brittle
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and it wasn't soft it was a mixture of
00:11:44
the two combined researchers say that
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some swords took up to three months
00:11:48
to make
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[Music]
00:11:52
the sword was of great spiritual
00:11:54
significance to the samurai they
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believed the swordsmiths who crafted
00:11:59
these swords had Supernatural powers
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it was essential that before making the
00:12:03
blade they prayed to the gods to help
00:12:06
ward off evil spirits
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the iron would then be hammered and
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folded around 20 times creating a blade
00:12:14
which could cut off an opponent's head
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with just one stroke
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the Samurai battle dress is just as
00:12:21
complicated as the Weaponry Japanese
00:12:23
fighting man of the period carried Flags
00:12:26
strapped to their backs which identified
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them as part of a particular Clan would
00:12:31
often take hours to dress for battle in
00:12:33
their armor
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some Samurai attempted to create faster
00:12:38
methods of preparation hanging the suits
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from the ceiling and lowering them down
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onto their bodies
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the armor was made from small
00:12:45
overlapping iron plates which were
00:12:48
joined by brightly colored cords to form
00:12:51
a decorative and protective skin
00:12:53
on top of this a breastplate would
00:12:55
protect the body along with iron
00:12:57
gauntlets leg Shields and neck collar a
00:13:01
huge variety of increasingly gaudy and
00:13:03
fantastic designs were to be seen as
00:13:06
rival Warlords sought to outdo each
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other in style and ferocity
00:13:10
black shiny lacquer overlaid with gold
00:13:14
was a favorite form of decoration
00:13:16
surely the real ancestor of the Jedi
00:13:18
Knights in Star Wars films must have
00:13:21
come from here
00:13:22
[Music]
00:13:25
the armor known as the yadai was worn
00:13:29
mainly by the Top Samurai
00:13:32
in fact the more important they were
00:13:36
the more heavy padding they had so the
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hierarchy Soldiers the generals the
00:13:41
commanders they would have more
00:13:42
protection they would be the first ones
00:13:45
that they'd tried to kill so sort of
00:13:46
shot with arrows
00:13:48
they would use their yodai and all their
00:13:51
protection give them a better chance of
00:13:53
surviving an attack with arrows that's
00:13:56
just one example of uh why the the the
00:14:00
the armor was born but obviously it was
00:14:02
to give them as maximum protection as
00:14:04
possible whilst on the battlefield
00:14:09
[Music]
00:14:24
yes
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[Music]
00:14:45
[Music]
00:14:56
[Music]
00:15:04
thank you
00:15:09
[Music]
00:15:26
the the Kabuto or the
00:15:29
the Samurai helmet head guard these
00:15:32
would come in various designs
00:15:35
there's no real specific design
00:15:37
each Clan
00:15:39
had their own
00:15:41
distinguished um
00:15:43
pattern or design
00:15:45
some would have horns
00:15:47
in fact the more scarier and
00:15:52
evil looking they were the better this
00:15:54
was the same as the frontal face mask
00:15:57
which what they wore in Battlefield
00:16:01
the nastier it looked and more evil it
00:16:03
looked
00:16:04
and the better this was to
00:16:07
obviously try and scare the opponents
00:16:13
battle masks were not only worn by the
00:16:16
samurai men but also by their small
00:16:18
tough horses even the harnesses and
00:16:21
Saddles would be decorated with
00:16:22
beautifully intricate designs
00:16:24
The Masks of the Samurai horses were
00:16:26
crafted out of leather these were
00:16:28
designed to complement the terrifying
00:16:30
appearance of the warrior giving the
00:16:33
horse an equally bizarre expression
00:16:37
so during the Civil Wars obviously they
00:16:40
merged quite a lot of
00:16:43
different Clans soldiers would group
00:16:47
themselves
00:16:48
and each Clan would obviously have to
00:16:50
have the better on the other Clan and so
00:16:53
each Clan would
00:16:55
have their own special training
00:16:58
which was unique to that particular
00:17:02
group
00:17:04
clans were known as uru which were
00:17:08
schools
00:17:10
so to each each Clan had its own ruha or
00:17:14
particular techniques which they
00:17:16
practice and these were kept secret
00:17:18
obviously if another
00:17:20
Clan or school
00:17:23
uh would find out what they were using
00:17:25
they then they could very easily defend
00:17:27
themselves from it so it kept secret
00:17:30
and uh hopefully they would get the
00:17:33
better advantage over their opponent
00:17:38
[Music]
00:17:49
s
00:18:05
oh
00:18:07
it was argued that the samurai had a
00:18:08
right to rule because of virtue and that
00:18:10
meant that one had self-discipline and
00:18:13
was not after Prophet was therefore was
00:18:15
into service was loyal
00:18:17
and also that one was studied and
00:18:20
learned and became scholar in a sense of
00:18:22
pure in that way virtuous in that way so
00:18:25
this was one aspect of the cult the
00:18:26
other side of the cult though is that
00:18:28
one is absolutely Fearless in other
00:18:30
words willing to die for uh the security
00:18:33
of the country the security of one's
00:18:35
Lord these two aspects one that you were
00:18:37
virtuous that you weren't interested in
00:18:38
profit like the merchants or anybody
00:18:40
else this distinguished you and gave you
00:18:41
therefore the right to rule but at the
00:18:43
same time there was a long tradition of
00:18:45
course of the Samurai essentially a lone
00:18:49
swordsman the fellow who's uh interested
00:18:52
in his honor is as an absolute aspect
00:18:55
and was willing to maybe if his Lord was
00:18:58
killed or someone affronted him
00:19:00
fearlessly seeking revenge for that this
00:19:03
sort of uh not exactly cowboy-like but
00:19:05
in some ways the The Cult of the Ronin
00:19:07
the masterless samurai the one who
00:19:10
maintains this fierceness but with
00:19:12
without seeking essentially training but
00:19:15
also seeking a master to to uh to to
00:19:18
follow to serve Japan was frequently
00:19:20
shaken not only by the warning Lords and
00:19:23
Samurai but also by the forces of nature
00:19:25
the Japanese archipelago is directly
00:19:28
over one of the most seismically active
00:19:30
areas in the world
00:19:31
nature sent not only earthquakes but
00:19:34
typhoons and severe rains causing
00:19:36
flooding and landslides this meant
00:19:39
constructing buildings which could
00:19:40
withstand such forces the famous use of
00:19:43
thin paper-like walls served a practical
00:19:45
purpose so that earthquake victims were
00:19:48
not trapped onto piles of Masonry
00:19:50
[Music]
00:19:58
gradually it evolved into a more
00:20:00
decorative style using more robust
00:20:03
materials
00:20:04
the fact that Japan has the world's
00:20:06
oldest and largest wooden buildings
00:20:08
suggests that Japan had considerable
00:20:11
success in outwitting the elements
00:20:13
common architectural features can be
00:20:15
found throughout the country despite the
00:20:18
great variety of climates
00:20:20
most constructions basically consist of
00:20:22
a box with a large roof which is
00:20:25
sometimes over one half of the total
00:20:27
height of the structure
00:20:28
straight lines dominate Japanese
00:20:30
architecture and curves only tend to
00:20:33
appear on roofs and Eaves
00:20:36
Chinese architecture and City plans were
00:20:39
adopted in the 6th century Buddhism also
00:20:42
arrived in Japan in ad552 bringing with
00:20:45
it a host of architectural and cultural
00:20:48
features
00:20:49
religion in Japan both in those days and
00:20:52
now is different in concept from from
00:20:56
what we're used to in in Western Europe
00:21:00
um in the sense that you do not
00:21:03
necessarily believe only in one religion
00:21:06
that the concept of religion is much
00:21:09
more flexible and so most Japanese now
00:21:13
and in those days could describe
00:21:16
themselves as believing both in Buddhism
00:21:18
and in Shinto
00:21:20
now the focus for
00:21:24
Shinto was the emperor in Kyoto and he
00:21:30
performed various rituals to that end
00:21:35
Buddhism was divided into a number of
00:21:39
sects
00:21:40
some of these sects were Evangelical and
00:21:44
where missionary sects others were much
00:21:48
more dormant and and you might say
00:21:50
academic and spiritual
00:21:59
foreign
00:22:02
[Music]
00:22:12
thank you
00:22:23
from about the middle of the 16th
00:22:28
century
00:22:29
Christian missionaries began to come to
00:22:32
Japan they were initially a Jesuits
00:22:36
they brought with them a certain amount
00:22:40
of
00:22:40
technical know-how from Europe of the
00:22:43
day especially at the knowledge of
00:22:46
gunpowder
00:22:47
which was totally new to the Japanese at
00:22:50
that time
00:22:51
one can understand that in the context
00:22:54
of the Civil War which was going on a
00:22:57
knowledge of how to make gunpowder gave
00:22:59
all the military leaders a considerable
00:23:01
Advantage so there was what you might
00:23:04
call a missionary craze at that time
00:23:07
that the there was a fascination with
00:23:12
the missionaries for the message that
00:23:14
they brought but also for the technology
00:23:16
which they brought
00:23:20
but it soon became apparent to the
00:23:22
Japanese that the missionaries were
00:23:25
themselves divided between the Spanish
00:23:28
and the Portuguese and along later came
00:23:32
the Dutch and the English
00:23:36
namely the Catholics on the one side and
00:23:38
the Protestants and the fact that they
00:23:40
were bitterly divided
00:23:42
and the Japanese began to realize that
00:23:49
this could be a danger because all these
00:23:54
four powers were expensive powers and
00:23:57
that they made Might at the end of the
00:23:59
day have a desire to invade and come and
00:24:04
take over Japan
00:24:05
and so
00:24:07
from early in the 17th century they
00:24:10
began to impose restrictions on the
00:24:13
on the missionaries and their converts
00:24:16
and later on from the middle of the
00:24:20
century they positively excluded
00:24:22
missionaries
00:24:25
that meant that from
00:24:27
1650 or thereabouts
00:24:29
Japan had really only one contact with
00:24:33
the outside world that that is the world
00:24:35
of Europe
00:24:36
and that was through a small Enclave
00:24:39
called called deshima an island
00:24:41
in the in the island of Kyushu
00:24:45
and there they allowed a Dutch colony to
00:24:48
continue to trade and to teach Japanese
00:24:52
things like medicine
00:24:55
and most Japanese ports also had vessels
00:24:59
going to going to China
00:25:02
but these the operations at deshima and
00:25:07
also the operations to China were very
00:25:10
strictly controlled there was a long
00:25:12
period of Japanese isolationism which
00:25:15
endured from the 1650s to the 1850s this
00:25:18
allowed the separate development of some
00:25:20
very typically Japanese cultural
00:25:22
institutions which are very distinctive
00:25:24
from the West
00:25:25
the formal nature of Japanese Society
00:25:27
has reflected worldwide in living
00:25:30
cultural exports such as martial arts
00:25:33
these still provide a direct and very
00:25:35
vibrant link to a ritualized military
00:25:37
Society of the Samurai
00:25:39
its roots can still be traced in the
00:25:42
precise discipline and lethal Grace of
00:25:44
this Most Japanese of traditions
00:25:47
during Japan's feudal era of almost
00:25:49
incessant Civil Wars there emerged a
00:25:51
combative form of self-defense which was
00:25:54
designed by The Warriors to promote
00:25:56
self-protection
00:25:58
the name Jujitsu Loosely translated
00:26:02
means the art of gaining Victory by
00:26:05
yielding
00:26:06
other names such as the art of
00:26:08
flexibility pliancy
00:26:11
and gentleness also are relevant to the
00:26:14
name Jew
00:26:17
it is said that jiu jitsu
00:26:20
was forged out of necessity and tempered
00:26:23
In the Heat of battle
00:26:24
thus it became known as a legendary
00:26:28
fighting art
00:26:29
a real Battlefield martial art which was
00:26:32
used by the Samurai Warriors
00:26:35
[Music]
00:26:42
[Music]
00:26:55
Jiu Jitsu was only a small part of the
00:26:59
Japanese soldiers or the warrior class
00:27:03
exercises and arts which were practiced
00:27:07
for the battlefield
00:27:10
ordinary peasants had very little power
00:27:12
of freedom in Japanese Society the
00:27:14
samurai were at the top of the hierarchy
00:27:16
and only a son of a samurai could become
00:27:19
a samurai
00:27:20
the samurai could kill an ordinary
00:27:22
person for the slightest reason without
00:27:24
the need for any explanation
00:27:27
administration of the land was still at
00:27:29
this stage firmly in the hands of the
00:27:31
diamond the separate Lords each diamio
00:27:34
became what he was by right of Conquest
00:27:37
using their powerful armies of Samurai
00:27:39
to improve their position
00:27:41
[Music]
00:27:50
okay
00:27:52
the shape of Japanese history up to
00:27:55
around 1600 had taken a similar pattern
00:27:58
a power vacuum was created by the death
00:28:01
of the leader Nobunaga in 1598 who only
00:28:04
left an infant son to inherit the
00:28:07
political situation was not resolved
00:28:08
until 1600.
00:28:10
a famous warrior called Tokugawa iyasu
00:28:13
managed to defeat a coalition of Lords
00:28:16
from the Western area of Japan
00:28:18
this famous battle is known as the
00:28:20
Battle of sekigahara it made yasu the de
00:28:24
facto ruler of the country
00:28:26
he was not simply a regent but a member
00:28:29
of the minamoto the Shogun family
00:28:33
after consolidating his power he was
00:28:35
faced with a difficult task of creating
00:28:37
a viable system of government out of the
00:28:40
conflict of a decentralized
00:28:42
Administration system and his own strong
00:28:44
central power
00:28:46
there were various successive Samurai
00:28:49
groups that
00:28:51
controlled the the center of government
00:28:53
from that time from around 1200 and
00:28:57
through the 16th century and the various
00:29:00
periods of stability and instability
00:29:02
Civil War as as most countries of course
00:29:04
but then from 1600 the Tokugawa family
00:29:08
was victorious in a major battle uh
00:29:12
probably one of the world's most
00:29:15
interesting battles in terms of military
00:29:16
history because it was one of the first
00:29:18
major battles actually won by the musket
00:29:20
in the Battle of sekigahara enabled
00:29:24
to secure Primacy over all contenders
00:29:29
and this began the era of the tokungawa
00:29:34
rule and
00:29:37
how he did it was that he created his
00:29:41
own family as Shogun which really only
00:29:45
means military leader
00:29:48
um
00:29:50
now up till that time the nominal head
00:29:53
of the of the country had been the
00:29:55
emperor in Kyoto
00:29:57
and in order to detach
00:30:00
himself and his family from Kyoto he
00:30:04
moved the capital away from middle Japan
00:30:07
the Japan of Kyoto and Osaka and and
00:30:10
moved it to Edo Tokyo strangely enough
00:30:14
he did not try and get rid of the
00:30:17
emperor he accepted him as a as a
00:30:21
spiritual head and he addressed him
00:30:24
always with total respect if not
00:30:28
veneration
00:30:30
on the other hand he always kept spies
00:30:34
from the the Shogun bureaucracy in Kyoto
00:30:39
was most interested in security because
00:30:42
they had actually gained their Power by
00:30:45
betraying the previous family and taking
00:30:48
over so they were interested in
00:30:49
stability the samurai is bureaucrats
00:30:52
they wanted them to be self-disciplined
00:30:53
and good and everything but not to have
00:30:55
any lone wolves or or anyone who was
00:30:58
because someone bumped into them on the
00:31:01
street suddenly to pull out his sword
00:31:02
and cut him down so if the country was
00:31:05
to be at peace the important thing was
00:31:06
to control all these all these Warriors
00:31:09
in order to absorb the energies of the
00:31:13
Warriors
00:31:16
the Japanese government the the leaders
00:31:20
of the day planned an invasion of Korea
00:31:22
the idea being to export all these
00:31:26
energetic young men who were really out
00:31:30
for for Carnage for killing
00:31:33
and uh in indeed I mean an invasion of
00:31:37
of Korea took place in in the 1590s
00:31:41
but that was a typical instance that the
00:31:46
warriors were inclined to get out of
00:31:48
hand at that time
00:31:50
Tokugawa iyasu's control of the diamil
00:31:54
was so successful that his family
00:31:56
supplied a long line of Shoguns who
00:31:58
ruled Japan for two and a half centuries
00:32:01
with a success Shogun once again became
00:32:04
an essential word in Japanese vocabulary
00:32:08
but in order to control the debut the
00:32:11
Tokugawa shogunate were forced to take
00:32:13
more and more Extreme Measures
00:32:16
Shogun controlled the daimyor by
00:32:20
insisting that every other year
00:32:23
they should spend in Edo the capital
00:32:28
and that meant that they were away from
00:32:30
their own
00:32:32
territories and couldn't stir up trouble
00:32:37
[Music]
00:32:38
creating their own armies and and
00:32:40
attacking the the Tokugawa and in
00:32:44
periods when they were not in the
00:32:47
capital
00:32:48
they insisted that the daimyo should
00:32:51
send their wives as hostages to Edo and
00:32:56
so if they misbehaved when they were
00:32:59
back in their home territories the wife
00:33:01
would be held to account
00:33:08
foreign
00:33:11
were traditionally used by the samurai
00:33:14
for the service of political marriages
00:33:16
or seriaku keckon
00:33:18
these help to cement Clans in different
00:33:21
alliances
00:33:22
the political marriage was such a
00:33:24
powerful weapon the Tokugawa yasu banded
00:33:28
on his rise to power
00:33:29
sometimes the woman's own Clan would
00:33:32
expect her to spy on her husband's
00:33:34
family putting a life at Great risk
00:33:37
it was quite acceptable for her husband
00:33:39
to take concubines but his wife was
00:33:41
expected to be completely loyal to her
00:33:43
Lord if she was found guilty of adultery
00:33:46
it was her husband's duty to kill her
00:33:49
the concubines fared just as badly being
00:33:52
no better than servants
00:33:55
foot binding the deliberate breaking of
00:33:57
Bones leading to painful deformation of
00:34:00
the feet was one of the indignities
00:34:01
suffered by women right up until the
00:34:03
turn of the century
00:34:05
small feet were believed to be more
00:34:07
beautiful but binding must a more
00:34:10
Sinister motive one of actually
00:34:12
constricting women's movements
00:34:17
Japanese Gardens reflect all the
00:34:20
harmonious aspects of society with a
00:34:22
sense of ordered elegant formality
00:34:25
in times of Peace Gardens were
00:34:27
considered fashionable places for the
00:34:29
samurai to relax deepened contemplation
00:34:32
and writing poetry
00:34:34
the gardens included a balance of water
00:34:36
stones and bridges and their formal
00:34:38
nature still reflects Japanese society
00:34:41
today
00:34:41
[Music]
00:34:43
foreign
00:34:44
[Music]
00:34:52
[Music]
00:34:59
[Music]
00:35:04
[Music]
00:35:14
foreign
00:35:15
[Music]
00:35:23
[Music]
00:35:28
[Music]
00:35:35
the unification of Japan meant the role
00:35:38
of the Samurai had to change the diamio
00:35:41
were no longer allowed to run large
00:35:43
private armies the feudalistic system
00:35:45
which required practical training to
00:35:47
kill in battle had been replaced and at
00:35:50
the samurai were to survive they needed
00:35:52
to redefine their role in society
00:35:55
during the Meiji restoration which took
00:35:59
place in Japan
00:36:01
the all feudalistic type training was
00:36:04
bad
00:36:05
therefore all soldiers Samurai
00:36:09
had to hand in all weapons such as
00:36:12
katanas as swords Spears
00:36:15
they were confiscated
00:36:18
and so what happened was to get away uh
00:36:22
with the the the need to carry some type
00:36:25
of weapon was still there and in demand
00:36:29
Samurai
00:36:31
carved wooden swords
00:36:34
this is known as the Botto
00:36:36
so um
00:36:38
instead of cutting the opponent they
00:36:41
would bash them
00:36:43
simply because
00:36:45
I was using something like a white oak
00:36:47
very hard wood would still cause
00:36:50
considerable damage to an opponent
00:36:54
from 1600 until 1868 there's almost no
00:36:59
major war in Japan so the the sense of
00:37:02
the martial arts developed many ways we
00:37:03
think of them today as not as sport but
00:37:06
as one keeping it fit and a cult of the
00:37:08
samurai sword there was a time of peace
00:37:10
that the cult developed because the
00:37:11
samurai had to Define themselves and
00:37:14
raise on Detra because in the society
00:37:17
which had been had placed them at the
00:37:19
top
00:37:20
they had to I guess have a theory
00:37:24
legitimizing that position
00:37:26
[Music]
00:37:31
during this period called the Edo period
00:37:34
the samurai became an urban class moving
00:37:37
for the country into the castle towns
00:37:39
and cities although they only
00:37:41
represented seven percent of Japan's
00:37:43
population within the terms they made up
00:37:45
at least 70 percent of the community
00:37:48
the side effect of the Samurai being
00:37:50
forced to neglect their martial arts was
00:37:52
that the old Craftsmen such as
00:37:54
swordsmiths saw a severe decline in
00:37:57
their trade
00:37:58
the economy of the castle towns
00:38:00
flourished however as the samurai
00:38:02
adapted into their new environment
00:38:05
over that period of Two and a Half
00:38:07
centuries the uh the the class structure
00:38:12
changed or at any rate the power which
00:38:15
each of these groups had changed at the
00:38:18
start it was still a feudal situation in
00:38:22
in a situation of of warfare or
00:38:24
potential Warfare but then after two
00:38:27
centuries of Peace the samurai no longer
00:38:30
had a job to do
00:38:32
at this point I think one has to say
00:38:35
that the the samurai
00:38:37
diverged there were those who Rose to
00:38:40
the top and adapted themselves to a new
00:38:43
role and that role could be as
00:38:45
administrators or as school teachers on
00:38:50
the other hand many of them uh really
00:38:54
were unable to adjust to their new role
00:38:57
tended to become drunkard and so one of
00:39:01
the images you get of samurai in the
00:39:03
18th century is of uh layer boats who
00:39:08
just you know go around in these Castle
00:39:10
towns and
00:39:12
are frequently to be found in the
00:39:14
brothel so you know a great decline from
00:39:17
the high days of Bushido and and the
00:39:20
account of the warrior
00:39:29
[Music]
00:39:44
as the castle towns developed and as the
00:39:49
Tokyo became something of a metropolis
00:39:53
then the developed a cultural life of
00:39:57
which had not existed previously so you
00:40:02
had theaters and you had a playwright
00:40:05
like chikamatsu who was the Shakespeare
00:40:07
of Japan you had a group of poets who
00:40:12
are even now regarded as quite
00:40:13
distinguished
00:40:15
uh you have the authors of the ukiaoi
00:40:20
floating Life Wood block prints
00:40:23
representing life in those days you have
00:40:27
um
00:40:28
development of of Japanese music so
00:40:31
Japan was no longer feudal at the at the
00:40:36
at the end of the 18th century it's
00:40:39
becoming increasingly urbanized and uh
00:40:45
people nowadays in Japan are still
00:40:47
looking back on that period as a
00:40:49
creative period the cult then of these
00:40:52
the the loyalty and the strength of
00:40:57
spirit of these men in the willingness
00:40:59
to die for for Honor became the popular
00:41:02
the most crucial myth in Japanese Drama
00:41:06
so the the myth of the loyal Samurai has
00:41:09
crossed over into the modern period and
00:41:12
is still something that is
00:41:15
has a force even when many of the other
00:41:18
sort of traditional things have have
00:41:20
languished in the past
00:41:22
Emperor Hirohito ascended the throne in
00:41:24
1926 and within a decade Japan was on
00:41:28
the verge of being involved in World War
00:41:31
Japan's isolationism had ensured that
00:41:33
she was not subjected to the horrors of
00:41:35
the first world war and so the decision
00:41:37
to show her strength was made
00:41:39
in 1931 the Japanese military Powers
00:41:42
occupied Manchuria and then set up the
00:41:45
state of Manchester
00:41:47
the military were tired of what they
00:41:48
considered to be ineffective feeble
00:41:50
civilian politicians and were determined
00:41:53
to push ahead with Japan's Asian
00:41:55
expansion
00:41:56
throughout the 1930s military extremism
00:41:59
grew bolstered by the traditional ethics
00:42:02
of the Samurai
00:42:03
in December of 1941 Japan launched
00:42:06
attacks on Pearl Harbor and European
00:42:08
Colonial Holdings throughout Asia
00:42:11
in less than a year Japan gained control
00:42:13
of East Asia and the Western Pacific
00:42:16
the occupation was Swift brutal and
00:42:20
Savage
00:42:21
atrocities always occur in war but the
00:42:24
Japanese Army was Notorious in its
00:42:26
treatment of prisoners of War
00:42:28
it's believed that up to 20 million
00:42:30
people died in the Pacific
00:42:32
Samurai traditions of Vengeance combined
00:42:35
with their belief that the most
00:42:36
honorable way to die was fighting made
00:42:38
the Japanese military an awesome
00:42:40
opponent
00:42:41
one of the
00:42:43
main reasons why the samurai were
00:42:46
probably some of the
00:42:47
greatest
00:42:49
Warriors of all time
00:42:52
I want us to look at the the belief that
00:42:54
they had
00:42:56
um
00:42:57
they were ready
00:42:59
to die in battle in fact
00:43:02
one of the greatest honors was to be
00:43:06
killed in battle
00:43:08
so you have a soldier
00:43:10
who can go into Battlefield without
00:43:12
belief he's going to be very very hard
00:43:14
to beat
00:43:15
the the warrior code was as such
00:43:18
that enabled them to carry all these
00:43:21
Necessities things like preparing for
00:43:24
battle
00:43:25
as well as actual battle itself
00:43:27
internally we're prepared
00:43:29
as well as obviously the technical side
00:43:33
and I think the combination of these two
00:43:35
together
00:43:36
the skill and the the inner belief
00:43:40
made them very very strong Warriors
00:43:46
in the modern period of course when
00:43:49
Japan is feels threatened by the Black
00:43:51
Ships of Perry Commodore Perry from
00:43:53
America and the forced opening of the
00:43:55
country many of the the samurai the
00:43:58
young Samurai were the ones who led the
00:43:59
government the restoration and the uh
00:44:02
reforms and things that came in
00:44:04
and the The Cult of the the within the
00:44:07
military both the Navy and the Army were
00:44:10
in many ways especially in the pre-war
00:44:11
period based on these traditional uh
00:44:14
ideas of the of the warrior is someone
00:44:16
absolutely serving the nation and with
00:44:19
the cult the rising cult in the late
00:44:21
19th century Focus back again on the
00:44:23
emperor and absolutely loyal to the
00:44:25
emperor
00:44:29
by 1943 there were signs that Japan's
00:44:32
situation was reversible with its Army
00:44:34
losing Fierce battles in the Pacific
00:44:37
Germany surrendered in 1945 but Japanese
00:44:40
leaders stubbornly refused to follow a
00:44:42
suit
00:44:43
that August the Ultimate Weapon of death
00:44:45
the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima
00:44:48
and Nagasaki
00:44:49
the second world war ended one week
00:44:51
later
00:44:53
the unconditional surrender of Japan was
00:44:56
broadcast by Emperor Hirohito
00:44:58
it was the first time his country heard
00:45:00
his voice
00:45:01
Japan lost its Emperor's claim to
00:45:03
Divinity its Empire and its Army
00:45:07
post-war Japan is now quite different in
00:45:10
structure but the recent history of this
00:45:12
Century has yet to be properly addressed
00:45:14
by the Japanese
00:45:15
the end of the war saw the final demise
00:45:18
of the Samurai although the traditional
00:45:21
martial arts are still studied
00:45:22
throughout the world
00:45:29
there's also a great legacy of Japanese
00:45:31
art and architecture highly coveted by
00:45:33
Art connoisseurs
00:45:35
Japan underwent dramatic reconstruction
00:45:37
politically and economically and now has
00:45:41
one of the most flourishing economies in
00:45:42
the world
00:45:43
the horrific events of this Century have
00:45:46
forced Japan to shed the ancient feudal
00:45:48
ways and look towards a very different
00:45:51
future
