Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
fair to say that if boys did well at school it was because they liked learning, and valued the
honor of receiving awards from above, for there was little material benefit to be gained,
since inefficiency or ignorance were not likely to deprive one of one's post. It is true that
the central government did have a system of salaries for certain posts that it had to fill, but
they were very few in number,and not open to those on“outside lord” domains. It was dif-
ferent for a woman, who could be dismissed by her husband if she did not match up to his
requirements,sothatshehadaspurtolearnherjobthoroughly,butnoschoolstoteachher.
(28) The Shogun Yoshimune in full regalia.
By their early training then, the
samurai
learned to be respectful and loyal to his su-
periors, to conduct himself with dignity and decorum, to judge conduct by standards of
morality and never by worldly success, and to act justly to those beneath him. Although
the majority of them got on quietly with the work that came their way, using precedent in
making decisions, and sometimes acquiring considerable administrative skills (which were
tobeofgreatusewhenthewholesystemcollapsedinthe1860s,andmanyformer
samurai
turned to the task of modernizing Japan), their rigid class-consciousness and their certainty
oftheirhighplaceinsocietymadethemintosomeofthemoststiff-neckedandintransigent
men the world has known. When their ancestors were fighting the civil wars that preceded
the seventeenth century, they tended to be practical soldiers, with a flexible professional
