What’s more, all that a retainer needs to do is to energetically execute his assigned duties. Even so, many have an aversion to their responsibilities, and look on with envy at the duties of others, leading to considerable negligence. Lord Nippō and Lord Taisei-in (Nabeshima Katsushige) set a wonderful example of how duties should be discharged faithfully. Their vassals also did their part and executed their duties with great dedication. Those above sought expedient men for retainers, and those below strived to be of use. In this way, the wills of men high and low were in accord, and so the clan was strong.
Lord Nippō endured indescribable hardships, often bloodied and tested in battle, and there were many occasions in which he was prepared to take his own life by seppuku. Despite the odds, he was also blessed with good luck, and succeeded in keeping his house in tact. Similarly, after almost committing seppuku, Lord Taisei-in came to govern the province [as the first Nabeshima daimyo]. Apart from fighting hard in many a battle, he withstood ordeals in administering the clan, protecting the province, and managing domain policies. He was also devoted in his faith. He said, “I would surely be punished if I thought to neglect the house revived by Lord Nippō. I am duty-bound to ensure that the clan enjoys peace and prosperity down through the generations. With peace, the world will become exquisitely extravagant. People will forget about the harsh times of war and increase their expenditure as they seek a life of luxury. Thus, living beyond their means, warriors of high and low station will fall into abject poverty, incurring much shame in the eyes of the people in and outside the domain, and finally their household will collapse. The veterans in the warrior houses all pass away, and the younger generations of samurai learn only the current trends. For this reason, it is my hope that what I wrote will be talked about by future generations. If my writings are passed on when headship of the clan is transferred, by reading this, the new leader will be able to appreciate the things that have come to pass before his time.” For this purpose, Lord Nippō spent his entire life surrounded by scrap paper as he recorded his thoughts.
There is no way that we can know the secrets of the clan. According to the domain elders, the secret military tactics of kachikuchi28 for achieving absolute victory are conveyed orally from one generation of Nabeshima heirs to the next at the time of accession. Also, in the house safety box there are two texts—Shichōkakuchishō and Senkōsan’i-ki.29 These two military texts are handed down personally to each successive lord.
Furthermore, Lord Nippō recorded in great detail on high-quality torinoko paper the arrangement of matters in the house, outlines for all the various organizations in the domain, protocols for relations with the shogunate, and all financial matters.30
The enduring prosperity of our clan is owed to the hard work of Lord Nippō. We must be eternally grateful. Thus, with all due respect to new lords, I sincerely hope that they take the time to contemplate the hardships of their ancestors, Lord Nippō and Lord Taisei-in, and at least peruse the writings passed down, taking the content to heart. As new lords are mollycoddled from birth by attendants, they rarely experience hardship, and do not know the customs or history of the domain. They simply do as they wish with little consideration of the immense weight of responsibility a lord must shoulder. In recent years, many new initiatives have been enacted and the domain’s administration is faltering.
In such times, crafty retainers who know little of the world put on pretences of their facile wisdom as they think of new schemes, hoping to receive their lord’s favor. They become arrogant and do as they please, causing no end of trouble. To give some examples: the discord between the three branch families of the Nabeshima clan;31 the establishment of the rank of chakuza [directly under chief retainers] to control the domain’s administration; the employment of outsiders into service; promoting teakiyari (reserve warriors) to the higher position of mono-kashira (unit captain); frequent reshuffling of members in kumi (military units); the changing of mansions; appointing chief retainers to the same status as the lord’s kinfolk (shinrui-dōkaku); dismantling of the Kōyōken mansion; amending the domain rules (okitechō); the creation of a system of rank for temples [for exclusive audiences with the lord]; using significant funds for building the west mansion (Nishi-yashiki) by Tsunashige; restructuring the units of ashigaru;32 dividing the lord’s items [after he dies] among retainers; dismantling of the west mansion [by Yoshishige]; and so on. The manner for dealing with such matters changes each time a new lord ascends, and problems arise when they succumb to the lure of pursuing something new.
Nevertheless, the enactments of our ancestors are stable, and the foundations of the clan have not been unsettled in the slightest. Even with a degree of maladministration, if all men abide by the instructions bequeathed by Lord Nippō and Lord Taisei-in, the clan will not suffer, and stability will enable effective governance of the domain.
In any case, not one of our ancestral lords has been a tyrant or of sinister disposition. Not one of our lords has ever been negatively compared to any of other provinces. Our excellence is unquestionable thanks to the inviolable faith of our revered ancestors. In accordance with our customs, Nabeshima clansmen were never exiled to other provinces even when dishonorably discharged (rōnin), and few outsiders from other clans have been employed here. Even a warrior dismissed from his post, or the offspring of men ordered to commit seppuku, are permitted to reside within the principality.
With such strong bonds of fealty, being born into this clan and basking in the munificence and compassion passed down through generations, bears a debt of gratitude which can hardly be expressed with words, written or spoken, for retainers, and even the farmers and townsmen. When employed as a retainer, harden your resolve to repay this debt of largesse through selfless service. If you are made a rōnin, or ordered to commit seppuku, think of this as service also.
Even living deep in the mountains, or from under the ground, continue to wish for the continued prosperity of the clan. This must the first and foremost aspiration of a Nabeshima samurai.
Although presumptuous of me as a hermit, one who has taken the holy orders, not once have I desired to attain Buddhahood in death; instead, I only want to be reincarnated seven times as a Nabeshima clansman, with the determination resolutely etched in my gut to uphold the tranquillity of the Saga domain.
No particular talent is needed. In a word, all that is required is the fortitude to declare that you alone will shoulder the burden of responsibility. As a man, who can I be inferior to in matters of cherishing and serving the lord? As is usually the case with a man’s training, one will not succeed without being haughtily believing in your true worth as a man of service. Each samurai must believe that he alone will carry the clan. Like the axiom, yakan-dōshin (“searching for the Way in a kettle”), one’s feelings can run hot and cold, but there are attitudes that should never be forsaken. The following is my own professed oath:
I will never fall behind others in pursuing the Way of the warrior.
I will always be ready to serve my lord.
I will honor my parents.
I will serve compassionately for the benefit of others.
By chanting these four oaths (shiseigan) every morning and night to the deities and to Buddha, you will become imbued with double your strength, and will never lag behind. Like an inchworm, it is simply a matter of advancing forward, little by little. Even the gods and Buddha started by pledging an oath of allegiance.
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