The Seven Virtues of Bushido – Honour
“Mine honour is my life; both grow in one.
Take honour from me, and my life is done.”
– William Shakespeare, Richard II
What virtue could be immediately attributed to the feudal knights of Japan? Likely, it was their personal trait to be professionally upheld. It was the valuation of their family name, it was who they were as people, and what they sought endlessly in both peace and war; it was honour.
An honourable life lends itself to the six other virtues we’ve examined:
Rectitude: To honour and adhere to the law
Courage: To honour and utilize your capabilities in times of action or adversity
Benevolence: To honour the emotions and circumstances of others
Respect: To honour others in proper deportment, discourse, and behaviour
Truthfulness and Sincerity: To honour yourself and others in speaking and acting honestly
Duty and Loyalty: To honour your due service and agreements
Throughout the feudal ages and through to the past century, the Japanese warrior class have not placed a hair’s width between who they are, and their ancient honour. A loss of honourable action is what compelled seppuku, and the ultimate gesture to the emperor is what inspired kamikaze, both of which were premeditated acceptances of death and immediate extinguishing of their own lives, to either restore or promote honour, respectively.
Thank goodness we’re Canadians in the 2010s.
Honour is still a noble virtue to live by, beyond empirical ties and warrior lifestyles. We may still exist as deeply virtuous. That might answer the question as to why one chooses to pursue the classical martial arts today. Honour is best described as esteem and worth, and training in such formalized schools as dojo foster and develop that sense in a very unique way. It is the effort of an honourable sensei to guide, instruct, and develop students on their own path of martial training. As long as a student is willing to learn, a sensei is willing to teach; and that goes beyond simply technique. Through physical exercise, mental pressure, and spiritual introspection, that what is produced is someone who lives lawfully, bravely, compassionately, tactfully, honestly, and dutifully; an honorable human being.
Your author sincerely hopes this summer’s blog posts on the Seven Virtues of Bushido have been enlightening and inspiring. For those who were not part of the dojo community during the spring of 2013, I went through a nine week immersion in the Seven Virtues of Bushido. Seven weeks were spent with special emphasis on living each virtue. The eighth week was living one virtue a day, and the last culminated with seven days of silence, time spent in deep and silent consideration of my efforts. Whether or not the reader would like to immerse themselves in thought involving ancient Japanese warrior virtue, time spent without spoken word is strongly recommended as a life experiment.
A new year of training is well underway. See you in the dojo.
Until next time,
Mr. Kenney McCoy, Shodan