Whilst reading the book Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, internationalism and Bushidō in Modern Japan by Oleg Benesch, I was intrigued by his comments linking the ethic of bushidō to the concept of ‘invented tradition’, coined by Eric Hobsbawm. I thought it would be interesting to analyse whether bushido was an ‘invented tradition’ by discussing how bushidō was adopted into nationalistic discourse within Japan, in order to create a sense of national identity. Therefore, I will be discussing the modern rise of bushidō as a Japanese ethic and whether we can approach this ethic as an ‘invented tradition’.
Firstly, what is bushidō? The popular view across Japan holds that bushidō or ‘the way of the warrior’ was a centuries-old code of conduct and honour embedded in the historical Samurai. However, it came to prominence as an ethic and was well integrated across Japanese society in the modern period. Therefore, Bushidō has become categorised as the “soul” of the Japanese people. 1 The concept of ‘invented tradition’ on the other hand has roots in the historical works of Eric Hobsbawm, whose works became influential during the 1960’s. He argued that new nations which were forming at the end of the Nineteenth Century partook in the invention or re-appropriation of the past for a variety of end-goals. Hobsbawm argued that the concept of ‘invented tradition’ was a particularly contemporary development, because certain narratives were moulded to form an agenda for national renewal during the rise of the nation state. The notion of the ‘invented tradition’ is clear in the modern development of the nation and nationalism, as these traditions attempted to create a sense of unity by establishing a national identity. Eric Hobsbawm wrote that these traditions which “appear or claim to be old are often quite recent in origin and sometimes invented”. 2
It is interesting to ponder whether bushidō therefore can be recognised as an ‘invented tradition’. The formation of bushidō into a national ethic was a modern phenomenon within Japan, as central symbols were borrowed from the historical samurai in order to forge a distinct national identity based on the reverence of “the way of the warrior”. When reading the book Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, internationalism and Bushidō in Modern Japan by Oleg Benesch, the author discusses how bushidō was embraced by Imperialist Japan as a cornerstone of loyalty to the state and was therefore utilised for progressive ends. For instance, it was senior military figures and those within the Japanese governmental sphere in the Twentieth Century who stimulated a form of bushido that emphasised obedience and honour, as it supported their ambitions to assert a more forceful foreign policy. This is evidenced by Oleg Benesch writing that those who created the modern concept of bushidō were “concerned less with Japan’s past than the nation’s future”, as bushidō became a useful tool for inspiring nationalistic devotion. 3 This highlights that bushidō was originally promulgated as a traditional samurai ethic, and only later became a defining trait of Japanese national character.
The formation of bushidō echoes the idea that “communities often (consciously or unconsciously) partake in the invention and re-appropriation of the past for various ends”. 4 Analysing the transformation of bushidō shows that the majority of its legitimacy stems from its alleged historical roots. This is evidenced by the existence of a variety of differing interpretations of bushidō, because “modern theorists often carefully selected aspects of earlier history, philosophy, and legend to support their specific bushidō interpretations”. 5 For example, it is widely understood that the Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa governments utilised and modified bushidō as an ideology which helped to redirect devotion from feudal lords back to the emperor.
However, this ambiguity has meant that bushidō has been endorsed as a timeless ‘way of the warrior’ and, consequently, this tradition is adaptable due to the lack of an exact definition or historic origin. Yet still it is the perceived historical origin of bushidō as a traditional ethic that has bestowed upon bushidō an amalgamation of legitimacy but also suppleness which has allowed it to be adapted and interpreted across a variety of different time periods and situations. In this way, we can understand how bushidō is viewed as an ‘invented tradition’ by historians who argue that the original concept of the ‘way of the warrior’ has been appropriated for Japanese nationalistic ends and to form a cohesive national identity.
- Oleg Benesch, Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, internationalism and Bushidō in Modern Japan, (Columbia, 2011), p.1. [↩]
- Eric Hobsbawm, Terence Ranger, The Invention of Tradition, (Cambridge, 1983), p.1. [↩]
- Oleg Benesch, Bushido: The Creation of Martial Ethic in Late Meiji Japan, (Columbia, 2011), p.3. [↩]
- James Shields, “Review: Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism and Bushidō in Modern Japan”, Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 43 (2017), p.448. [↩]
- Ibid., p.449. [↩]