The two duties of a warrior, whether he be of high or low rank, are facing the field of battle and the construction of fortifications. When the entire country was at war there were battles here or military operations there, both morning and night, and a warrior did not have even a single day of rest. Concomitant with the battlefield was the construction of fortifications. Warriors, both high and low, labored quickly day and night on such things as fortresses, stout moats, stockades and battle and boundary fortifications, and the pains they took were extraordinary. In times of peace, however, there are no battles, and consequently no construction of fortifications either. Thus, for samurai of any class serving a military commander there are various regulated functions such as being on guard duty, being in attendance to the lord, acting as his messenger, or even in just being in the area. There are, however, people who wonder if these are the real duties of a warrior. These people do not think of the essential two functions regarding the field of battle and the construction of fortifications even in their dreams at dawn. Such men will grumble and complain about giving up what is theirs, even though the amount is small, at the time when their masters are ordered by the Bakufu to help in some government construction and, as the expenditures are great, the master requests some help in dividing the expense among all his retainers. This, in the end, arises from a lack of awareness that the essential duties of the warrior are facing the field of battle and the construction of fortifications.
Moreover, even for the regular duties of watchman, attendant and messenger, there are men who consider their own jobs as toilsome, and, though they are not greatly ill, will make excuses to be absent from work, will rely on aid from their comrades, and will have no second thoughts at all about the trouble they may be causing others. Or, hating to make the expenses or to take the trouble for the journey as a messenger, some will feign illness and take their leave, passing the expenses and trouble on to others. Finally showing up to work, they will be oblivious to the scorn of their fellows.
Beyond this, there are those who, when in attendance or on an errand, must go to some place close by and will grumble unabashedly in front of their comrades about having to go to the same place twice in one day or about the violence of the wind and rain. Such men manifest a degenerate attitude towards their duties, regardless of the fact that one must go to pains in one way or another, and are nothing more than menials and lackeys in the skins of samurai.
No matter how exacting one's duties may be, if it is some function performed indoors or accompanying the master as he goes about places nearby, it is certainly no trouble at all. Why is this so? Every time the warriors who were born in the Warring States Period went to battle, the heat of the summer scorched their armor, the cold winds of the winter blew between it and their bare skins, and they were faced with all manner of difficulties. Yet, there was no way to escape or stave off that heat and cold, and so they slept by the roads in the mountains, the sleeves of their armor spread as pallets, beaten by the rain and covered by snow. To eat and drink, moreover, they had nothing more than brown rice and salty soup, and the hardships and privations they endured on the field of battle or in attacking and defending castles were surely of no ordinary kind. When one thinks these things over, he can see that the three peacetime duties previously mentioned are easy indeed. Thus, if one approaches his unexacting duties with a faltering heart, how will he be able to bear the pains of battle or travel? And is this not something to be ashamed of before the scorn of warriors with understanding?
To come into this world in the house of a warrior, one should be with his armor day and night, making his lodging the mountains, plains and shores. Yet, being born in a time of peace, men of both upper and lower rank sleep under mosquito netting in the summer, and under comforters in the winter, eating the things they please morning and night, living lives of ease. This being understood as great good fortune, there is no reason at all for thinking of guard duty in the mansion, accompanying the lord to nearby places, or messenger duty as being laborious or burdensome.
Concerning this matter, one of the elders of the dan of Takeda Shingen in Kai, Baba Mine no Kami, a man especially accomplished in archery, had the words "Constantly Living on the Field of Battle'' hung on his wall. It is said that these words have been passed down for everyday application.
Since times long past there has been the saying "priest and samurai," and when one thinks a bit about why this is so, he will surely see the similarity between the two.
In Zen Buddhism, for example, the titles zasu and shuso are given to the normal priest, just as normal samurai are given very low posts. Next, as priests are promoted they are given the titles of tanryo and seido, just as warriors are given the titles of metsuke, tsukaiyaku, kumigashira, or kachigashira. Finally, although the priest himself is still the same, when he wears the colored robe, holds the symbols of his sect, and lectures to great numbers of priests, he is titled a choro or osho. Among warriors, the man who is entrusted with the banners, battle coat, and baton of command, and who gives the order of battle and maneuvers the troops, is called a samurai daisho, an ashigaru daisho, or one of the six military bugyo. When considered in this way, there is a similarity between the organizations of the Buddhist order and that of the warrior, and thus we have the saying "priest and samurai." However, when it comes to discipline in studies, it can be thought that the discipline of warriors in training is far inferior to that of priests.
This is because in Buddhism, while yet a novice, the priest leaves his own teacher and makes pilgrimages to the various temples, meeting various scholars and famous instructors, and making continuous efforts in meditation. As he is promoted through the positions of tanryo, seido, chore, and osho, even becoming the head priest of a main temple, he masters his studies without the least bit of embarrassment, waiting for his departure from this world. This is truly discipline at its utmost. Although one would hope this would be the same in the military class, those who are in training and have not yet been assigned duties or have been given low posts have either received an inheritance from their parents or taken over the headship of a house after a parent's retirement. Thus, their stipend is considerable and they are lacking in neither clothing, food nor shelter. While still young they raise a family and sleep in morning and night. Because they do not make efforts in studying the martial arts--which are the everlasting law of the samurai--they have even less interest in tactics and strategy, which are more distant. In this way they slide through each day, the months turning to years, while their hair turns white and their foreheads bald, and they somehow take on the look of respectable elders.
When such a man is selected to take charge of an open post, even if just the light duty of tsukaiban, he is quickly overwhelmed by the position. Somehow, however, with the aid of his seniors and associates he manages to do it. If he is then given the difficult job of envoy to a distant province, he is quickly shocked and muddles the preparations for the trip. Off to his seniors and associates he goes to find out the protocol for this duty or else borrows old memos and notes on the subject, and in the end manages the job, fortunately escaping disaster. Such could not be called the basic Way of the Warrior. The reason is that there is a limit to the duties of a warrior; and while the common samurai who is yet without an assignment is doing nothing both day and night, he should think over when and to what kind of the duties he is liable to be assigned, and what the lord's pleasure is likely to be. He should also thoroughly think through the ways of performing the various duties, and, if there are experts in these fields among his relatives and kin, when meeting with them he should dispense with small talk, and ask repeatedly about the things one expects to encounter in the future, memorizing the details. And if there are old notes and sketches on these subjects, he should collect them, look them through, and copy them down, even if they would be of no use at the present.
If he will grasp the gist of things in this way, he will take a rational and assured course, no matter when or to what kind of duty he may be assigned.
Moreover, under normal conditions one can conduct his affairs by relying on his seniors and associates, and depend on the aid of their instruction. But if something unexpected occurs and events are imminent, one cannot depend on the aid and guidance of experts, and, for better or for worse, will have to solve matters by his discernment alone. Especially for the campaign duty of tsukaiban, one will have to have an understanding of the number of troops involved, the battle array's quality of arrangement, the castle's strengths and weaknesses, the advantages and disadvantages of the lay of the land, and the prospect of victory or defeat. Thus, it has been said since times long past that the duty of gunshi is a difficult one.
For a tsukaiyaku, however, even if his reconnaissance contains mistakes, it is for the most part a matter of his own oversights and indiscretion. But those with the rank of ashigaru taisho and above--who hold the baton of command, maneuver great numbers of men, and hold the command of the battle--occupy an important office indeed. This is because it is an old and venerable military law that victors will strike men while the defeated will be struck. Thus, the life and death of the multitude of one's allies hang on the general's orders. To have no understanding of this and nevertheless rashly accept command, conceitedly putting oneself above all the other samurai, is the height of outrage.
This would be the same as a Zen priest sleeping through his days as a common monk, neglecting the studies of his sect, advancing through his seniority, and by means of his bald head, rising to the offices of chore and osho, wearing the colored robe, holding his religious symbols, and lecturing to great numbers of priests.
This false priest, however, holding such a position in the Buddhist world and committing some outrage, simply becomes a laughing stock to his disciples and an embarrassment to himself--he does not bring troubles to all those below him. This is different among warriors; for the samurai daisho, the various gashira, and bugyo who would be the military equivalents to the osho, endanger the lives of their men and allies when they make mistakes in commands or maneuvers, or lose the battle of the day. Their losses are great, indeed. Thus, it is essential that one understand this well, and if he is going to find his calling among warriors, while he is yet a common soldier without assignment and has spare time, he should aim to discipline himself not only in the martial arts of a samurai, but in strategy and tactics as well, becoming well acquainted with the more secret principles. It is essential, too, that he study and discipline himself so as to never be lacking in the ability to execute all his duties, even that of taking command.