Question

"The entire country will soon be in the hands of your master, Lord Ieyasu. Ifthis is so, the men who served him will no doubt hope to become daimyo byhis appointment. You should know that if such feelings arise, they are inevitably the beginning of the end of one's fortunes in the Way of the Warrior. Being affected by the avarice for office and rank, or wanting to become a daimyo and being eager for such things ... will not one then begin to value his life? And how can a man commit acts of martial valor if he values his life? A man who has been born into the house of a warrior and yet places no loyalty in his heart and thinks only of the fortune of his position will be flattering on the surface and construct schemes in his heart, will forsake righteousness and not reflect on his shame, and will stain thewarrior's name of his household to later generations. This is truly regrettable." -Torii Mototada (1539-1600)

"Because of some business, Morooka Hikoemon was called upon to swear before the gods concerning the truth of a certain matter. But he said, 'A samurai's word is harder than metal. Since I have impressed this fact upon myself, what more can the gods and Buddhas do?' and the swearing was cancelled. It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. It is the same for anything that is called a Way. Therefore, it is inconsistent to hear something of the Way of Confucius or the Way of the Buddha, and say that this is the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all says and be more and more in accord with his own. A person who is said to be proficient at the arts is like a fool. Because of his foolishness in concerning himself with just one thing, he thinks of nothing else and thus becomes proficient. He is a worthless person. -Tsunetomo Yamamoto (1659-1719)
Comparing the two passages about the samurai shows that:

Answer 1

Both Torii Mototada and Tsunetomo Yamamoto discuss the samurai's ethos with an emphasis on loyalty, duty, and the danger of pursuit of personal ambition. They articulate an expectation for samurai to live by bushido, prioritizing their lord's interests above all else. Historical transitions, such as land grants by Tokugawa Ieyasu or the Meiji Restoration, illustrate the practical shifts that affected the role and status of samurai in Japanese society.

Step-by-step explanation:

When examining the passages about the samurai ethos reflected by Torii Mototada and Tsunetomo Yamamoto, both of which span the transformative periods of Japanese feudal history, we observe a deep-rooted concern with the purity of the way of the warrior or bushido. Mototada emphasizes the impending corruption that may come with a craving for status and how such desires compromise the traditional martial valor of a samurai, aligning with the virtues of fealty and selflessness portrayed within the samurai code.

He highlights the consequences of personal ambition, which include the degradation of loyalty and martial prowess. Yamamoto’s excerpt from the famed Hagakure further stresses the singular focus of the samurai’s life; loyalty and duty are paramount, transcending all other ways or teachings. This outlook delivers a critique on specialized proficiency as a detriment to the broader perspective and integrity required for the samurai path.

Both quotations underscore the notion that for a samurai, social ambition and personal interests should never overshadow the duty and loyalty owed to one's lord. This idea is reflective of the historical context wherein samurai were expected to embody bushido, which was central to their identity and existence. The ethos conveyed espouses a life dedicated solely to service without compromise; a samurai's word is as strong as steel and needs no further validation. The way of the samurai is described as an all-encompassing path, one that requires the practitioner to forsake all else in pursuit of martial excellence and loyalty. This intrinsic devotion defined the samurai's role within the tightly controlled societal framework of feudal Japan, which witnessed the rise and fall of numerous shogunates and daimyos.

The influence of Buddhism, specifically Zen Buddhism, on samurai life and its relation to the arts during peacetime demonstrates how the samurai in fact and fiction were not solely warriors but also supporters and creators of cultural practices. Nonetheless, despite their high social status and connections to art, samurai were subject to the whims of political landscapes, such as the changes brought by Tokugawa Ieyasu's allocation of lands or the Meiji Restoration's ushering in of modernization and the eventual abolishment of the samurai as a class.