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Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Copyright © 2014 Alexander Bennett
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ISBN: 978-1-4629-1425-8 (ebook)
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CONTENTS
CONTEXTUALIZING THE HISTORICAL SETTING AND SOCIAL MILIEU
UNRAVELING THE ESSENCE OF HAGAKURE
IDLE TALK IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT
BOOK 1
BOOK 2
BOOK 3
PERTAINING TO FEALTY
PERTAINING TO DEATH AND WAR
PERTAINING TO WOMEN
MISCELLANY
MAIN EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SAGA DOMAIN AND YAMAMOTO JŌCHŌ’S LIFE
FOREWORD
When I heard that Dr. Alexander Bennett was going to translate Hagakure by Yamamoto Jōchō (Tsunetomo), my initial thought was that the final result would surely be very interesting. This is because Dr. Bennett possesses a profound knowledge of, and deep insight into, the world of Japanese bushido. This expertise has been enhanced by his extensive practical experience of the traditional martial arts of Japan, and his proficiency in this domain is highly acclaimed.
First of all, I would like to briefly introduce Dr. Bennett’s extraordinary background and unique experiences in Japan, as doing so will illuminate the reasons why he is such a worthy translator of this classic text. He was born in New Zealand in 1970. In 1987, he came to Japan for the first time as an exchange student. Through participating in club activities at his host high school in Chiba Prefecture, Dr. Bennett stumbled across the traditional budo art of kendo. This experience led to an insatiable fascination with Japan’s martial culture. When his year-long sojourn in Chiba finished, he returned to New Zealand, but it wasn’t long before he was back in Japan for another couple of years, from 1989 to 1991, to further his study of kendo and other martial arts.
Dr. Bennett graduated from the University of Canterbury in his hometown of Christchurch in 1994. He received his Ph.D. in Humanities and Sciences from Kyoto University in 2001. His doctoral dissertation, written in Japanese, was an impressive investigation of bushido that was eventually published in 2009 by Shibunkaku in Kyoto as The Bushi Ethos and its Evolution: An Investigation of Bushidō from the Perspective of the History of Social Thought.
In 2002, Dr. Bennett became a research associate at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, where I met him for the first time. Following his tenure of research at the IRCJS, he taught Japanese culture at the Faculty of Liberal Arts in Teikyo University, and then moved to his current position as an associate professor at the Division of International Affairs, Kansai University. For many years he has been the driving force behind Kendo World, an endeavor he was instrumental in establishing as the world’s first English language kendo magazine in 2001. Dr. Bennett currently holds the ranks of 7th-dan in kendo, 5th-dan in iaido, and 5th-dan in naginata, and is a living embodiment of the ideal of bunbu-ryōdō—being accomplished in both the literary and military arts.
For quite some time now, he has advocated the practical teaching of zanshin as a key concept in the culture of bushido. What is zanshin? Literally “lingering heart,” simply put it is an important principle in the martial arts which means to maintain psychological and physiological alertness at all times, even after achieving victory in combat or a match. It entails remaining vigilant, calm, and collected after the engagement, and mustering complete control over the surge of adrenaline in your blood. Expressing emotions of joy in victory or anguish in defeat are unacceptable. Throwing one’s arms up in exhilaration shows a lack of vigilance and respect.
Thus, zanshin can be described as a state of mind in which one shows constant awareness and self-control. Dr. Bennett