Below
is an other excerpt from the Book “My Narrow Isle” by Sumie Seo
Mishima. She was born at the beginning of the 20th century on a
Samurai family. Although at this period Samurai had lost their
privileges, their spirit was still very much alive. After the death
of her father the author was still in third grade, and she went to
live with one of her maternal aunt in Tokyo. Here she explains a
little more about her Uncle, and the education he received as a young samurai.
Uncle
had a very serious face. He seldom smiled and almost never laughed or
got angry. His movement was slow and ceremonious. Whenever I showed
any sign of haste or feeling, he told me that it was most unbecoming
to a samurai woman.
Once I was struck in the street by a signboard
blown off by the wind. He said it was most careless of me to be
struck by such a thing as a signboard. One should train oneself to
have self control enough to dodge any unexpected attack.
When
he was young, he ans his two brothers were disciplined by their
father under a rule that anyone in the family might strike any other
person at any time of the day and night even when the victim was
asleep, provided in the latter case the attack was made with a
sufficiently loud cry preceding the blow. The one struck was not to
make any complaint, however severe the blow might be.
In this way the
young samurai were trained to self composure coming from supremely
trained watchfulness, which Uncle said had proved useful in saving
him from various possible accidents even after samurai sword-fighting
had been made illegal.
His
swords had long been put aside, but anyone could tell he was a
samurai by his lordly carriage.
If you think this was harsh, consider the attitude
these young men were able to develop. This kind of upbringing makes you become totally responsible for yourself. Something happens to you, you have nobody else to blame but yourself.
We are surrounded by sorry people - of all political horizons - who keep blaming society
for how unfair life is to them. Not much can be done for them. If you try to ease their pains, they will find something else to feel sorry about. If they had
received this kind of education, they would probably not have this
kind of attitude.
And let us be clear about this. We are all responsible for this, not just their own parents...
Beside that, I
am also a firm believer in letting kids fights at school – open
hand fights – no knives or guns of course. Fights allow
testosterone and resentment to be vented before they accumulate so
much that you feel the need to kill someone with a gun.
Before we ask teachers to carry guns, we should let kids settle their
disputes with their fists.
But this is another story...
