Trying Out One's New Sword

[BIG]

Pdf Tsujigiri.. By Mary Midgley...

 

http://www.ghandchi.com/IONA/newsword.pdf

 

 

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[John A Stuart]

A complex subject. We could debate for hours on it. The difference between, ethical behaviour, moral behaviour, proper behaviour, proper conduct, the social contract, right and wrong. As with antiques, I follow a simple path; do no harm. John

[BIG]

I do not see this as a complex subject with a lot of varietys. Against the bushido code, against the religions and against the Tokugawa law.

Starving ronins, grazy samurai...

 

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[general_piffle]

I do not see this as a complex subject with a lot of varietys. Against the bushido code, against the religions and against the Tokugawa law.

Starving ronins, grazy samurai...

 

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Could you expand please Peter on your original posting of the PDF (I read it with interest) and your reply above? I'd like to understand your view more completely. Thanks.

[TETSUGENDO]

Joel,

 

I think Peter's feelings on the subject are clear and concise.

 

Cheers,

    -S-

[general_piffle]

Steven

 

Thanks for your view. I would not ask for myself if I weren't interested in understanding more. For example, I'm interested in Peter's comment 'starving ronins, grazy samurai' in relation to Midgely's definition of tsujigiri. Whether or not Peter wishes to expand is entirely up to him.

 

With regard to asking other members questions, as Midgely says on page 164 "Isolating barriers simply cannot arise here". 

 

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Joel

[TETSUGENDO]

I agree Joel.  If Peter wishes to expound further he no doubt will, I would not presume to.  I simply direct you to think on the matter of CONTEXT.

 

-S-

[Ontario_Archaeology]

The author is using this as an example to criticize anthropologists that just go to remote islands and are able to make their clean ethnographic papers without worrying too much about "getting it wrong". Do we know how often new swords were actually tried out in the way described in the paper? The author didn't give us that information. We know that the test was also done on criminals, which isn't mentioned, a related practice, but a different situation. In my opinion, the "glorification" and the infatuation that the West has with the Samurai, and their way of life, probably downplays some aspects or their life and over exaggerates others. I believe that the situation of trying out a new sword while at a cross roads probably didn't happen as often as we would like to think. 

By analyzing the situation described by the author, we can draw few conclusions. By leaving any sort of middle ground, and condemning or applauding the actions we are guilty of doing the same thing the anthropologists going to small islands do, making the cultural analysis neat and clean.

On a personal note, I think that the author has hit the nail on the head, I find that in far too many anthropology courses the readings, and the lecturers make leaps to make the culture "clean". A good example I have come across is when I was learning about Natives in SW Ontario. The discussion was about living on the Res, and the drug/alcohol abuse. The prof and the assigned readings painted the individuals as victims of colonialism, that the government was not putting enough money towards those problems. The reality is much muddier than that, having met and spoke to about 100 different people while working, the drug / alcohol abuse isn't due to colonialism, it is out of boredom. People are killed in drinking and driving accidents every few months, but nothing is done because any money the counsels get from the government is stolen and distributed to their family, not used for its intended purpose.

Now the example I used is a personal one, I am sure if I dug deeper I would find other cultural reasons and different reasons. That is the benefit of working with a living population. The example of testing out ones new sword is a cultural practice from a dead population. We can use written records to try and understand it more, but I find that they will always be embellished to push some sort of agenda.

 

Hopefully this adds to the conversation,

 

Thanks.

 

Matt

[John A Stuart]

More than just boredom. There are differences in familial upbringing and self identification that exacerbate misdirected motivation. One major influence is 'otherness', and you see it among newly immigrant communities as well, a failure to assimilate the mores and standards of the majority community while maintaining cultural identity. John