Talk:Kuroda Nagamasa

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Notes on regulations
NOTES ON REGULATIONS

Kuroda Nagamasa (1568-1623 A.D.)

Kuroda Nagamasa was the son of a Christian daimyo, Kuroda Josui, and was baptized Simeon in 1583. He was to become well known as a great strategist. While still young, Kuroda was put under the auspices of Oda Nobunaga and later served under Toyo­tomi Hideyoshi. He participated in the battle of Shizugadake at the age of 15 and later joined the campaign for the pacification of Kyushu. In 1592 and again in 1597 he shared command of the vanguard invasion troops in Korea with Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa. Although he had helped Konishi out of some mili­tary tight spots in Korea and was—like Konishi—a Christian, Kuroda supported Tokugawa Ieyasu during the fighting at Seki­gahara, and for his efforts was enfieffed at Chikuzen becoming Lord of Fukuoka Castle.

Both Kuroda Nagamasa and his father Josui were well known for their regard for the advice of others, and Nagamasa even set aside one night a month when he would sit with a number of his trusted retainers and allow all to talk freely with the mutual promise that none would become angry over what was said, or gossip about it later. These were called the "Meetings Without Anger."

Although baptized as a Christian at an early age, Kuroda, un­like his father, gave up the faith when it became officially pro-scribed.

The Regulations given here were written a year before Kuroda's death to his eldest son, Tadayuki, and the clan elders, and can be found in slightly varying forms in the precepts of his own father, Josui. Kuroda, as do many of the samurai in this book, extols the balance of the arts of peace (Confucian learning and literature) with the arts of war, and encourages fairness and sympathy toward the other three classes of people. His precepts differ from the others in the emphasis he laid on economics, a predisposition he surely inherited from his thrifty father. Most of this material is in concrete terms and has been omitted here. The Regulations is a verbose document and the reader can almost feel Kuroda's hesi­tancy to conclude his advice in the end. His circumspect council was not unheeded by his descendants, however, and the clan con­tinued well into the next chapter of Japanese history.

Notes on Regulations

If a general who is to maintain the province does not have a special consciousness, his task will be a difficult one to attain. His attitudes must not be the same as the ordinary man's. Firstly, he must be correct in manners and etiquette, must not let self-interest into government, and must take care of the common people. Moreover, he must be prudent in selecting the things that he has interest in; for what the master prefers, all the other warriors will also, and even the farmers and townspeople will take pleasure in them. If he does some trifling thing for pleasure, he should do it in such a manner that it will not cause attention; and he should not forget even for a moment that he is the model for the four classes of people.

Generally speaking, the master of a province should discharge his duties with love and humanity, should not listen to slander, and should exercise the good. His governing should be as clear as the bright sun in the bright sky, and he should think things over deeply in his mind and make no mistakes.

The arts of peace and the arts of war are like the two wheels of a cart which, lacking one, will have difficulty in standing. Natural­ly, the arts of peace are used during times of tranquility and those of war during times of confusion, but it is most essential to not forget the military during peaceful times nor to disregard scholas­tics during times of war. When the master of a province feels that the world is in peace and forgets the arts of war, first, military tactics will fall into disuse, the warriors of his clan will naturally become effeminate and lose interest in martial ways, the martial arts will be neglected, the variety of weapons will be insufficient, weapons handed down through generations will become rusty and rot, and there will be nothing of any use during times of emer­gency. If the Way of the Warrior is thus neglected, ordinary mili­tary tactics will not be established; if a military situation were to suddenly arise there would be panic and confusion, consulta­tion would be unprepared for, and the establishment of strategy would be difficult. When one has been born into the house of a military commander, he should not forget the arts of war even for a moment.



Again, what is called cherishing the Way of the Warrior is not a matter of extolling the martial arts above all things and becoming a scaremonger.



Moreover, if scholastics are neglected during the times of war, legislation will be unestablished, self-interest in government will abound, and, as there will be no real love for the members of the clan or the common folk either, the people who carry grudges will be many. Even in the battlefield, if one has only hot-blooded bravery he will not be in accordance with the Way; and being thus unmindful of his soldiers, acts of loyalty will be rare.

Generally speaking, for the master of a domain to cherish the arts of peace is not at all a matter of thinking that he must read many books and write poetry. Rather, it is essential that he know the Way of Truth, that he be particular about his efforts in the scrutinizing of every matter, that he be just in all affairs and make no mistakes, that he be correct in recognizing good and evil and demonstrate rewards and punishments clearly, and that he have a deep sympathy for all people. Again, what is called cherishing the Way of the Warrior is not a matter of extolling the martial arts above all things and becoming a scaremonger. It is rather in being well-informed in military strategy, in forever pondering one's resources of pacifying disturbances, in training one's soldiers without remiss, in rewarding those who have done meritorious deeds and punishing those who have committed crimes, in being correct in one's evaluation of bravery and cowardice, and in not forgetting this matter of "the battle" even when the world is at peace. It is simply brashness to make a specialty of the martial arts and to be absorbed in one's individual efforts. Such is certainly not the Way of the Warrior of a provincial lord or military commander.

There is no special technique in the military strategy of our clan. Its essentials are simply in carrying out the orders of the master and chief retainers carefully, and in the unity of our sol­diers. The strength of our soldiers will be as hard as metal or stone if, during uneventful ordinary times, one will be sympathetic toward his retainers, give rewards without regret to those who de-serve them, and demonstrate this attitude to all men, thus harmo­nizing by one's own sympathy the hearts of the upper and lower ranks and earnestly encouraging the bravery of one's soldiers. If such is done, there should be no doubt of victory.

Moreover, if a man who is a military commander has no sense of authority,' it will be difficult to command the masses. Yet, to understand this incorrectly, and purposely develop a sense of au­thority will cause great harm. When one understands "authority" to mean taking an attitude of intimidation toward everyone, acts in a high-blown manner even when meeting with the clan elders, uses rough words for matters of no consequence at all, refuses to listen to the admonitions of others, perseveres in his own mistakes, and forcibly shoves through his own opinions, even the clan elders will not rebuke him and he will likely be pulled along (a destruc­tive path) by his own actions. If one acts like this even toward the clan elders alone, it will eventually reach to all his warriors, and by simply fearing the master they will have no thoughts of loyalty, will think only of their own positions, and will commit no true acts of service. Thus, if the master slights men because of his own pride, his retainers and even the common people will move away from him. One should understand well that this will inevitably bring on the destruction of his domain. What may be called true authority is brought about first in bearing oneself with the correct etiquette and in making clear the distinction between right and wrong, reward and punishment. If one will act in this way, and be neither prideful nor intimidating toward others, the retainers and common people will not respect him simply out of fear, or despise or make light of him, and he will be endowed with a natural authority.

It is essential that the above precepts are kept, and that the reserve funds for the castle are added to without remiss, bit by bit over the years. After a number of years this should amount to a great bit of wealth, and after 100 years our clan should be able to accumulate the better part of the currency in the realm.

Again, the present peaceful administration of the country is liable not to last forever. With the passage of 100, 150 or 200 years, there may well be some upheaval. There are examples of this in the past, and it is of utmost importance to be resolved in having a determined plan for this beforehand. When the country has been thrown into confusion and one's resources are few, it will be difficult to conduct military affairs and render meritorious services. And, it will be difficult to give ample protection to the fief.

You who are my descendants should tread in my footsteps, absolutely abide by these precepts, strive to be economical, behave yourselves all the more prudently, dispense benevolence to the people, be just in government, and carry on the family customs in a manly way. If you will do this, the entire country will hear of the benevolence of our clan and there will be many who are swayed to follow us. Particularly, there are samurai who under-stand the double Way of the scholar and warrior well, and who mean to make a name for themselves in this world. As such men choose their own masters well, they will without a doubt gather here even without being invited. This coming to pass, our clan will naturally excel others, and will clearly prosper both materially and in terms of authority.

However, to oppress the people and covet the possessions of the samurai in one's desire to become quickly prosperous is abso­lutely laying the foundation for the destruction of the fief.

Precious metals and jewels are not necessarily treasures. Rather, one should consider his samurai and the common people as his wealth, and bring them up with gentleness and benevolence. Gold and silver are not necessarily to be recklessly accumulated; and when one receives wealth and distinction naturally through years of meritorious deeds, no disasters are likely to follow.

Both lord and vassals should observe these principles well, manage things in a way that there will be no mistakes, and not act contrary to my precepts.

Again, there may be some among my descendants who act unjustly and selfishly, do not listen to admonitions, act freely with-out observing these precepts, and recklessly make expenditures. If this should occur, the clan elders should confer together and re-move that man, choosing another with good character from my descendants to be lord. Thus will our house continue.

It is essential that the clan elders understand the purport of these things well, and pass them on to each and every one of my descendants.

It is vital that these articles be strictly and permanently ob­served.

To my son, Tadayuki and the Chief Elders

Nagamasa

Notes

1  : This character is difficult to capture in a single English word. It carries the meaning of both dignity and authority and perhaps comes close to an ideal of dignified charisma. Needless to say, it was considered an essential during the Warring States Period.