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Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

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Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#11

Post by jbooth »

danso wrote: post #2

If the concept of Bushido didn't become popular until Japan's modernization (at the end of the 19th century)...how much of Japan's conduct in WW2 (notably, the fighting until death) can be attributed/blamed to this misinterpretation of samurai history? Looking at the Wikipedia entry for Kamikaze [1], I was surprised to read that the concept of suicide attacks only became formalized late in the war (June 1944), rather…

If you're talking about Japanese conduct during the war, I'd find the rampant war crimes a lot more notable than the fighting until death.

Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#12

Post by cyberferret »

Interesting that the author mentions that the term "Bushido" wasn't really a thing until last century. I was sure I saw the term mentioned in the writing of Miyamoto Musashi, but I assume that might have been a modern translators interpretation. (I read the English version, not the native Japanese one).

Also, some of my favourite graphic novels by Stan Sakai, Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima seem to mention the term too, but seeing as they are modern writers, I assume they 'westernised' their dialogue to suit.

Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#14

Post by duskwuff »

danso wrote: post #2

If the concept of Bushido didn't become popular until Japan's modernization (at the end of the 19th century)...how much of Japan's conduct in WW2 (notably, the fighting until death) can be attributed/blamed to this misinterpretation of samurai history? Looking at the Wikipedia entry for Kamikaze [1], I was surprised to read that the concept of suicide attacks only became formalized late in the war (June 1944), rather…

Discussed in the article. Read the section titled "FASCISM – NITOBE'S UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE".

Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#16

Post by knowtheory »

hoodoof wrote: post #4

Related but at a tangent - after a lifetime of interest in karate I came to realise that most of the stuff taught at karate is not practical. Katas and karate punches and kicks - most of this better thought of more as dancing or ceremonial. A bit like Tai Chi - except that Tai Chi claims no real world martial value. The myth remains however of karate being great self defence training. Our local karate club is packed…

for what it's worth, there are a bunch of combat tai chi practitioners out in the world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcc0jNJwgJA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HQnuWY13ac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iw4xFD-47Q

Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#17

Post by iwontreddit »

danso wrote: post #2

If the concept of Bushido didn't become popular until Japan's modernization (at the end of the 19th century)...how much of Japan's conduct in WW2 (notably, the fighting until death) can be attributed/blamed to this misinterpretation of samurai history? Looking at the Wikipedia entry for Kamikaze [1], I was surprised to read that the concept of suicide attacks only became formalized late in the war (June 1944), rather…

> how much of Japan's conduct in WW2 (notably, the fighting until death) can be attributed/blamed to this misinterpretation of samurai history?

Japanese soldiers' "fighting to the death" nonsense was myth invented many years after WW2 by allied "historians" to justify the mass murder of japanese soldiers by the allies.

It's not that the japanese weren't willing to surrender. It was that the allies ( unfortunately out of extreme racism ) wouldn't allow japanese soldiers to surrender.

If you dig a little past the history/propaganda and look at the raw data/facts/etc of the pacific war, you will learn how brutal the pacific war was. And how racist the allies were towards the japanese soldiers. Nearly every japanese soldier who was wounded was butchers and killed as were nearly all japanese POWs.

It was called the "no prisoner policy" of the allied soldiers. And if you want to read about some more base aspects of the pacific war, go read about the mutilation of the japanese soldiers by the allied soldiers. Some real sick shit.

The more you learn about the real nature of ww2, you realize that there was no good side in that war. Just two evils fighting each other.

Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#18

Post by mirimir »

hoodoof wrote: post #4

Related but at a tangent - after a lifetime of interest in karate I came to realise that most of the stuff taught at karate is not practical. Katas and karate punches and kicks - most of this better thought of more as dancing or ceremonial. A bit like Tai Chi - except that Tai Chi claims no real world martial value. The myth remains however of karate being great self defence training. Our local karate club is packed…

Aikido is far better in that regard.

Edit: I mean that it's more usable in real life.

Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#19

Post by pierrec »

knowtheory wrote: post #10

So, the only academic paper in the sources in the post is a PhD thesis which appears to be the entire argument undergirding this post. If you're interested in the subject, that might be a good place to start: https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/...

While it might be a more authoritative place to start, it's not the only academic paper in the sources, and it's definitely not the entire argument undergirding this post. I for one appreciate when he pulls out a citation that make you raise an eyebrow.

Re: Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

#20

Post by hoodoof »

BoysenberryPi wrote: post #15
hoodoof wrote: post #6

HN mods need to rewrite title to "Bushido seems not to be what people think it is."

Why? Does the language bother you for some odd reason?

Have you not noticed that HN often rewrites titles to be more factual about the content of the target?
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