Here are the Young Samurai at Glendale Gardens receiving training from Nathaniel Stormcloud and enjoying a Japanese inspired lunch at Nourish Cafe.
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Coming Together - National Anthem followed by guided meditation.
Review of the Bushido Code covered this far -Makat0 - Honesty -Rei - Respect -Meiyo - Honour Discuss Samurai Daily Living and Daily Karma Ceremonies. Calligraphy Discuss the Japanese Inspired Lunch. Meet at the Art Gallery 10am.
Guided Tour of the Samurai exhibit. Drawing/Sketching in the Gallery of Samurai Armour Tour rest of Gallery. Mon - Family Crests
Check out this website to see some Japanese Mon, Click Here. To see some Japanese emblems and banners, Click Here Originally, "mon" or family crests were used in Japan in much the same way that nobles in Europe used heraldic devices. Imperial court families have been recorded using "mon" in the 8th century, but the practice was not very widespread or rigorous. With the rise of the samurai class, there was a greater need for identification of friend and foe and "mon" proved popular and easy forms of identification. The wars of the centuries prior to the peace of the Edo period spread the popularity of crests throughout the samurai class and also saw the nobility adopt the custom. Family crests became highly developed and popular during the Warring States and Edo periods, but can be found mentioned as far back as the Nara period (710-794) in the imperial court. Early crests were often simple: the 12th century wars between the Minamoto and the Taira families took place under simple red and white banners (friendly competitions in schools or on television are still conducted under these colors). Crests began to be identified with particular warrior families. The Tokugawa, for example, adopted the hollyhock as its crest while the 16-petal chrysanthemum became the imperial family's. As the prestige of the samurai rose, use of crests spread further; they were eventually adopted by all the court nobility who applied their standards of taste to the design of crests. Their influence essentially imprinted crest designing with strict standards of beauty and simplicity which nevertheless succeed in producing refined levels of creativity pleasing to the eye then and now. During the peace of the Edo period, "mon" attracted the attention of the merchant, the peasant, and the artisan classes. And just as samurai used crests as family identification as well as on battle standards, weapons and armor, these classes also used "mon" in their work as well as for their families. Merchants and artisans put crests on items of business; bills and invoices as well as the actual items produced. Wine was labeled with the company's "mon" or cakes with the producer's crest. They also used "mon" on their clothing after the manner of the samurai. Even richer peasants adopted crests although few of them had the right to bear a family surname until that right was extended to them in the Meiji period. Every prosperous farmer had a "kura" (store house) and on the front and probably on the roofing tiles, he would put his "mon". The ruling samurai class objected, of course, to the appropriation of symbols of great importance to them. Specific complaints were directed at use of a prominent family's crest and general complaints objected to the lower classes using crests at all. Neither complaint was effective; even the hollyhock of the Tokugawa house was appropriated. In this way, "mon" began to develop into trademarks but without the legal framework which protects modern trademarks from being stolen or misused. Crests became more than family identifiers; they were also awarded in return for exceptional service to a lord. The design was often reworked for this purpose in order to both bring into the extended family the loyal retainer as well as to maintain a visible difference between the true family and the retainer's descendants. Crests also developed into an art form. Great effort was spent refining variations of specific designs so that although there are only about 250 basic designs, there are at least twenty times that number of "mon" and probably many more that have been forgotten, lost, or destroyed. By the end of the Edo period, family crests were liberally festooned on clothes, food, packages, wrapping paper, wood block-prints, roof tiles, and so on. Even peasant families, at least the richer ones, in small post-towns along the Nakasendo indulged in use of crests with as much pride as the samurai. In the modern period, use of crests as family crests began to die out; as Japanese clothing gave way to Western clothing, there was no longer any place to wear a "mon". Their use as trademarks and their service as models for design and taste in developing trademarks, however, has remained strong. Today, there are no limits on ordinary people using "mon" and whether walking along the Nakasendo or through the city streets, crests can be seen everywhere. Companies have adopted crests as company logos which are festooned on packaging, containers, and advertising. Advertisements on wooden boards from the turn of the century had stylized "mon" burned into them just as today's plastic cases for beer, sake or soy sauce have them molded on. Coming Together - National anthem followed by guided meditation.
Honesty - Makato - Discussion of this Bushido Virtue and its different meanings. Battle Tactics - Discussed the rules of the Samurai Battlefield and how through history the formations and tactics were formed. We discussed some of the advancement of weaponry and how that changed the tactics on the field. We discussed a few of the different ceremonies to get ready for battle. We learned about 'mons' or 'ka-mons' - which are the emblems the Samurais used to distinguish themselves. We researched some Japanese 'mons' and then designed our own. 10am Meet at Glendale Gard
10:30-12 Japanese sword demo by Nathaniel StormCloud. Nathaniel demonstrated some of the Samurai 'katas' that the warriors learned for their training. He showed the Young Samurai a katana which each had a turn to hold a swing. The young Samurai each also had a chance to use a bokken. Nathaniel taught KIA's to the young Samurai and they had a chance to test the difference. 12pm Tour of the Japanese Gardens 1pm Japanese inspired lunch at Nourish Cafe. The young Samurai learned about chopsticks and had quite the Samurai discussion. SOme of the Young Samurai assisted with making the food and serving. Thanks Nathaniel and Thanks Hailey and Thanks Glendale Gardens! Here is a video showing off the Bow ceremony or performed when a Samurai becomes an adult. This is a modern day ceremony version. Ronin - Bushi or Samurai who were under no obligation or loyalty to a particular lord, or a Samurai whose lord was deceased, or worse, whose lord had been banished and his property confiscated. Actually Ronin functioned as "hired swords" and their very existence went against the philosophy and principles of the Bushido Code.
Respect, Courtesy and Gratitude
Hold in esteem everyone and everything. Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A samurai is courteous even to his enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more than animals. A samurai is not only respected for his strength in battle, but also for his dealings with other men. The true inner strength of a Samurai becomes apparent during difficult times. Right action--a most essential quality Most think of respect as how it is applied to those older than us. However, respect--as it is viewed in Bushido--is very similar to how it was viewed by almost every highly developed and spiritual culture throughout human history. Respect covers not only a reverence for those who hold authority or seniority over you, but it covers a humility toward all manner of life on this planet--and not only the type of life which happens to support our existence. Once again, we must relinquish our desire to dominate and be selfish. Not only do we have to defer to and honor our elders, we must do the same for other men, women and children and set good examples of humility, which actually requires more strength and restraint than aggression or dominance--primal behavior born out of insecurity. A practitioner of Bushido has nothing to prove, nor has any fear of being lessened by others. Always be courteous, humble and respectful, regardless of the situation. The only exception would be when we must defend someone or something close or important to us. The best part of practicing this virtue is the reward it brings to the heart of the practitioner. However, don't do it for any possible reward; do it because it is the right thing to do. In the Code of Bushido, honor stands in an interesting place. It cannot be separated from the other six codes and without it the other six have little power. By adding morality, honor enhances and helps us understand the other codes, and helps us to determine how to handle conflicts in life.
The Code of Bushido was developed for a warrior society driven by class and gender distinctions. This "code of honor" was designed to bring a level of discipline and stability to that society. Today we live in a very different world but the code still has meaning, and can help to make us better people as we work towards "perfection of character." Honor encourages us to return kindness for kindness and to treat all people with respect regardless of social standing. Too often in today's world people such as wait-staff or store clerks are treated with rudeness by those who consider themselves better educated and superior. Unlike in feudal Japan however, where class and gender distinctions were the rule, an honorable person today would never consider treating someone differently because of his or her job, gender, or place in society. Instead, it is the duty of the honorable person to treat all people with respect and to speak out against injustice. Honor is a term that is hard to define and is often misunderstood. Many associate honor with revenge and the idea of "death before dishonor." Many people have gotten into fights in attempts to "defend their honor." The culture of dueling often left men dead after seemingly mild insults, and that culture still exists in today's gangs; or as we saw recently, in today's hockey rinks. What many don't see is that these people aren't fighting over honor. Instead, they are only saving face. They do not see the distinction between honor and face and feel as if their honor has been taken from them. Honor, however, cannot be taken from you by an insult. It can be thrown away by believing the insults and taking revenge but it can never be taken away from you. Instead, honor is within you and is demonstrated in how you respond to others. There is a story of a master swordsman who sat calmly through a barrage of insults from potential robbers. The swordsman avoided a fight by expertly catching four flies with his chopsticks and then getting up and walking away. Traditional misunderstandings of honor would see this man insulted and would say that he should get revenge. In fact, nothing that the robbers could say would take away the swordsman's skill or honor. Fighting them would not make this swordsman more skilled or honorable. It was more honorable for this swordsman to walk away. True honor involves benevolence and politeness towards all people, the courage to do what is right, loyalty to all who have helped us, justice but not revenge, and veracity without causing harm. Six of the Codes of Bushido are inherent in the concept of honor and without honor these other six are meaningless. Imagine veracity without honor: one can be too truthful and cause great damage. Courage without honor can lead us to harm ourselves or others unnecessarily. Loyalty without honor can lead us to follow blindly those who are harmful to us or to others. Honor is clearly the hardest of the seven codes to define and yet it is the most essential. To be honorable, one must decide what is the "right thing to do" and then do it. To be honorable one must demonstrate politeness, courage, benevolence, justice, loyalty, and veracity- The Code of Bushido. |