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gone about twenty yards along the edge of the moat when a retainer of Genzaernon's yelled out, "Hey, Hey!" from the
other side. As Genzaemon was turning around, the condemned man attacked him with his sword. Genzaemon ducked
backwards, drew his sword, and cut the man down. He then returned home.
He put the clothes he had been wearing at that time into a chest and locked them up, never showing them to anyone
for the rest of his life. After he died the clothes were examined, and it was seen that they were rent. This was told by
his son, Genzaemon.
Okubo Doko is said to have remarked :
Everyone says that no masters of the arts will appear as the world comes to an end. This is something that I cannot
claim to understand. Plants such as peonies, azaleas and camellias will be able to produce beautiful flowers, end of
the world or not. If men would give some thought to this fact, they would understand. And if people took notice of the
masters of even these times, they would be able to say that there are masters in the various arts. But people become
imbued with the idea that the world has come to an end and no longer put forth any effort. This is a shame. There is
no fault in the times.
While Fukahori Magoroku was still living as a dependent second son, he once went hunting at Fukahori, and his
retainer, mistaking him for a wild boar in the darkness of the undergrowth, fired the rifle, wounding him in the knee
and causing him to fall from a great height. The retainer, greatly upset, stripped himself to the waist and was about to
commit seppuku. Magoroku said, "You can cut your stomach open later. I don't feel well, so bring me some water to
drink." The retainer ran about and obtained some water for his master to drink and in the process calmed down. After
that the retainer was again about to commit seppuku, but Magoroku forcibly stopped him. Upon returning they
checked in with the man on guard, and Magoroku asked his father, Kanzaemen, to forgive the retainer.
Kanzaemon said to the retainer, "It was an unexpected mistake, so do not be worried. There is no need for reservation.
Continue with your work.''
A man by the name of Takagi got into an argument with three farmers in the neighborhood, was soundly beaten out in
the fields, and returned home. His wife said to him, "Haven't you forgotten about the matter of death?" "Definitely
not!" he replied.
His wife then retorted, "At any rate, a man dies only once. Of the various ways of dying -dying of disease, being cut
down in battle, seppuku or being beheaded--to die ignominiously would be a shame," and went outside. She soon
returned, carefully put the two children to bed, prepared some torches, dressed herself for battle after nightfall, and
then said, "When I went out to survey the scene a bit earlier, it seemed that the three men went into one place for a
discussion. Now is the right time. Let's go quickly!" So saying, they went out with the husband in the lead, burning
torches and wearing short swords. They broke into their opponents' place and dispersed them, both husband and wife
slashing about and killing two of the men and wounding the other. The husband was later ordered to commit seppuku.
CHAPTER 10
There was a certain retainer of Ikeda Shingen's who started an argument with a man, grappled him to the ground,
thrashed him soundly, and trampled on him until his companions ran up and pulled them apart. The elders conferred
over this and said, "The man who was trampled should be punished." Shingen heard this and said, "A fight is
something that goes to the finish. A man who forgets the Way of the Samurai and does not use his sword will be
forsaken by the gods and Buddhas. As an example to subsequent retainers, both men should be crucified." The men
who had pulled them apart were banished.
In Yui Shosetsu's military instructions, "The Way of the Three Ultimates," there is a passage on the character of
karma.' He received an oral teaching of about eighteen chapters concerning the Greater Bravery and the Lesser
Bravery. He neither wrote them down nor committed them to memory but rather forgot them completely. Then, in
facing real situations, he acted on impulse and the things that he had learned became wisdom of his own. This is the
character of karma.
When faced with a crisis, if one puts some spittle on his earlobe and exhales deeply through his nose, he will
overcome anything at hand. This is a secret matter. Furthermore, when experiencing a rush of blood to the head, if
one puts spittle on the upper part of one's ear, it will soon go away.
Tzu Ch'an was on the point of death when someone asked him how to govern the country. He replied:
There is nothing that surpasses ruling with benevolence. However, to put into practice enough benevolent governing
to rule the country is difficult. To do this lukewarmly will result in neglect. If governing with benevolence is difficult,
then it is best to govern strictly. To govern strictly means to be strict before things have arisen, and to do things in
such a way that evil will not arise. To be strict after the evil has arisen is like laying a snare. There are few people
who will make mistakes with fire after having once been burned. Of people who regard water lightly, many have been
drowned.
A certain man said, "I know the shapes of Reason and of Woman." When asked about this, he replied, "Reason is
four-cornered and will not move even in an extreme situation. Woman is round. One can say that she does not
distinguish between good and evil or right and wrong and tum- bles into any place at all."
The basic meaning of etiquette is to be quick at both the beginning and end and tranquil in the middle. Mitani [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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