Chapter 5 Chapter Three
To understand the Japanese, one must first understand what they mean by the phrase "each in his own place" (or "each in his own right").Their belief in order, hierarchy, and our belief in freedom and equality are polar opposites.In our view, it is very difficult to justify hierarchy as a viable social structure.The reliance of the Japanese on hierarchy rests on a whole conception of the relationship between man and his fellows, and between the individual and the state. A description of their national customs, such as the family, the state, religious beliefs, and economic life, must be given. , we can understand their views on life.
As with domestic problems, the Japanese view all problems of international relations in terms of hierarchy.For the past decade they have portrayed themselves as atop the pyramid of international hierarchies, a position that has now been replaced by the West, but their acceptance of the status quo is still deeply rooted in hierarchy system concept.Japan's diplomatic documents have repeatedly shown that they take this concept seriously. The preamble to the Japan-Germany-Italy Triple Alliance Treaty signed by Japan in 1940 stated: "The Imperial Japanese Government, the German Government and the Italian Government are convinced that making all countries in the world 'each in its own right' is the prerequisite for lasting peace..." The Emperor issued when the treaty was signed The imperial edict again touches on this point.The imperial edict said: Carrying forward the great righteousness in Bahong, creating the gods as one universe, fulfilling the great teachings of our emperor's ancestors and emperors, and I also miss them at Suye.The turmoil in this world is unknown, and the cause of human misfortune is unknown.What I cherish is the early detection of disasters and the restoration of peace... The Three Kingdoms Covenant is established, and I am very happy.Only all nations can get their own place, and the people of the world will know their careers. This is an ancient great cause, and the future is still far away...
On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese special envoy delivered a statement to U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull, which also mentioned this point very clearly: ... It is the unswerving state policy of the empire to make all nations in their own right ... and the above-mentioned making all nations The fundamental national policy of the empire runs counter to each other, and the imperial government absolutely cannot tolerate it.
This memo is in response to the Hull memo issued a few days ago.In the memo, Hull emphasized the most basic principles that the United States respects, just as hierarchy is in Japan.Secretary of State Hull proposed four principles, namely: the inviolability of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; mutual non-interference in internal affairs; reliance on international cooperation and reconciliation; and the principle of equality.These are the main points of American belief in equal and inviolable rights, and they are also the principles that we believe must be followed not only in international relations, but even in daily life.Equality, for Americans, is the highest and most moral basis for aspiring to a better world.For us, it means freedom from arbitrary oppression, interference, and coercion; it means that all people are equal before the law and that everyone has the right to improve their living conditions.These are the cornerstones of fundamental human rights that are being organically realized in the world today.We stand for the justice of equality even when we ourselves undermine this principle; we declare war on hierarchy with great righteous indignation.
This has been the consistent view of Americans since the founding of the nation.Jefferson wrote this principle into the Declaration of Independence.In addition, the Bill of Rights written into the Constitution is also based on this.The formal words written in the public documents of a new nation are important precisely because they reflect a way of life that the people of this continent have formed in their daily lives, a way of life different from that of Europeans.An important document of international reporting on the United States is the work on equality issues written by the young Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville after visiting the United States in the early 1830s.He was an intelligent and keen observer, able to see many virtues in the strange world of America.To him, the American continent was a completely different world.The young Tocquewi grew up in a French aristocratic society that, in the memory of those still active and influential at the time, was first shaken and shocked by the French Revolution and then by the New The violent Napoleonic Code.He spoke highly of the novelty of the American order of life and showed tolerance.But he viewed it from the point of view of the French nobility.His book reports on the old world and the new on the horizon.He believed that the United States was the outpost of human development that would also occur in Europe, albeit with some differences.
He therefore reported on this new world in detail.Think it's only here that people really think of each other as equals.Their social intercourse rests on a new, comfortable basis.People are all talking as equals.Americans have never been rigid about hierarchical etiquette and other trivial details, neither asking others to have these etiquettes, nor granting them to others.What they like to say is that they are not in favor of anyone.There were no old aristocratic or Roman families there.The social hierarchy that dominated the old world disappeared.These Americans, he said, believed in equality, and had little faith in anything else, and even liberty, when they thought otherwise, actually neglected it, whereas equality was practiced.
Americans are deeply inspired by this book, which describes the life of our ancestors more than a century ago through the eyes of foreigners.In our country, although there have been many changes, the basic outline has not changed.After reading this book, we believe that America in 1830 is already the America we know.There were and still are people in this country who, like Alexander Hamilton in Jefferson's day, preferred an aristocratic social order.But even the likes of Hamilton admit that our way of life in this country is anything but aristocratic.
Therefore, what we proclaimed to Japan on the eve of Pearl Harbor, the highest ethical foundations on which America's policy in the Pacific rests, also spoke of our most deeply held principles.We are sure: every step in the direction we point will improve this still imperfect world.And when the Japanese declare their belief in "everyone gets his own place," it is also based on the living standards cultivated by his social experience.Over the centuries, inequality has been the norm of organized life for the Japanese nation, the most predictable and the most widely accepted.The act of acknowledging hierarchy comes as naturally to them as breathing.However, this is not a simple Western-style authoritarianism.Both those who rule and those who are ruled by others act according to traditions quite different from our own.Now that the Japanese recognize American authority at the apex of the hierarchy, it is all the more necessary for us to have the clearest idea of their habits.Only then can we paint a clear picture of how they would act in the circumstances.
Although Japan has westernized in recent years, it is still an aristocratic society.Every greeting, every contact between people must indicate the nature and degree of social distance between the two parties.Whenever a Japanese speaks "eat" or "sit" to another Japanese, he must use different words according to the degree of closeness between him and himself, or the seniority of the other party. There are several words for "you", and different "you" must be used in different situations; verbs also have several different roots.In other words, the Japanese, like many other Pacific peoples, have "honorific words" that are used with proper bowing and prostration.All these movements have detailed rules and conventions.Not only must you know who to bow to, but also how much to bow.A bow that is quite modest to one master may be considered impolite to another who has a slightly different relationship to the bower.There are many ways to bow, from kneeling on the ground, putting your hands on the ground, the forehead touching the back of your hands, to simply moving your shoulders and nodding your head.A Japanese has to learn which salute to perform on which occasion, and it has to be learned from childhood.
Not only are class distinctions often recognized with proper decorum (although this is extremely important), gender, age, family ties, past associations, etc. must also be taken into account.Even between the same two people, there are different degrees of respect in different situations.A commoner does not need to bow to his close friend, but if the other party wears military uniform, the friend in civilian clothes must bow to him.Adhering to a hierarchy is an art that requires balancing factors, some of which can cancel each other out and some of which can reinforce each other in a given situation.
Of course, there are also people who don't stick to etiquette with each other.In the United States, this refers to people in their respective family circles.When we return to our own homes, we throw away all formality.But in Japan, it is precisely at home that etiquette is learned and carefully observed.When the mother is carrying the baby, she should press the baby's head with her hand to teach the baby etiquette.When a toddler staggers and walks, the first lesson to be learned is to learn to respect father and brother.Wives bow to their husbands, children bow to their fathers, and younger brothers bow to their older brothers; girls, regardless of their age, bow to their older brothers and younger brothers.Bowing is not just a formality.It means: the person who bowed originally intended to handle things by himself, but now recognizes that the other party has the right to intervene; the party receiving the gift also admits that he has to bear certain responsibilities corresponding to his status.Hierarchies based on gender, seniority, and primogeniture were at the heart of family life.
It goes without saying that filial piety is a lofty moral code shared by both Japan and China.Chinese explanations on filial piety were introduced into Japan along with Chinese Buddhism, Confucian ethics and Chinese secular culture as early as the sixth and seventh centuries.However, the nature of filial piety inevitably changed to suit the different structures of the Japanese family.In China, even now, one still has to be loyal to one's great clan.This large clan may have thousands of members, and the clan has jurisdiction over all members and is supported by them.Of course, China has a vast territory and the situation varies from place to place, but in most areas, the residents of a village probably belong to the same clan.China has a population of 450 million, but only 470 surnames.People with the same surname more or less admit that they belong to the same clan.The residents of a certain area may all belong to the same clan.Also, families living far away from home in cities may be of the same ancestry as them.In a densely populated area like Guangdong, all clan members unite to operate and maintain a magnificent clan ancestral hall, and on the days of ancestor worship, they jointly pay homage to thousands of ancestral tablets descended from the same distant ancestor.Each clan has its own property, land and monasteries, and has a fund to support promising clan children to study.It contacts and reconciles scattered members, and every ten years or so it publishes a carefully updated genealogy, recording the names of those entitled to share in the ancestral favour.It has family rules passed down from generation to generation, and when the clan disagrees with the authorities, it can even refuse to hand over prisoners of its own clan to the authorities.In the period of feudal monarchy, this kind of semi-autonomous large clan community was only occasionally managed by the state in name, and those officials who were appointed by the constantly changing governments and were free and easy were outsiders in this region.
In Japan, the situation is quite different.Until the mid-nineteenth century, only noble and warrior families could use the surname.Surnames are the foundation of the Chinese clan system. Without surnames or something equivalent to surnames, clan organizations cannot develop.In some clans, a family tree is one such equivalent of a surname.But in Japan, only the upper classes hold genealogy, and the records of that genealogy, like the Daughters of American Revolution, trace back from the present living, not from ancient times to the present. List the descendants of the ancestors.These two methods are quite different.In addition, Japan is a feudal country.The object of allegiance is not the big clan group, but the feudal lord.That lord was a local lord, a marked difference from the ephemeral Chinese officials who were always outsiders in the region.In Japan, what matters is whether the person belongs to the Satsuma domain or the Hizen domain.A person's bond of connection is the domain to which he belongs.
Another way to institutionalize the clan is to worship distant ancestors or clan gods at "shrines" or "sanctuaries."Such activities can also be participated by "common people" in Japan who do not have surnames and genealogy.But Japan does not have a ceremony to worship distant ancestors.In shrines where "common people" participate in sacrifices, villagers gather together without proving that they are of the same ancestor.They are called the "children" of the deity enshrined in the shrine.It is called so because they live in the fief of this worship god.Like villagers all over the world, these worshipers—villagers, of course, are related to each other because they have settled down for generations, but they do not come from a close clan group with a common ancestor.
Unlike a shrine, ancestor worship is performed on a "Buddhist altar" in the family room, where only half a dozen spirit tablets of recently deceased relatives are set up.In all social classes in Japan, people worship their fathers, mothers, grandparents and some close relatives in front of this Buddhist altar every day, and offer food.On the Buddhist altar is a spiritual tablet similar to a tombstone.Even if the words on the tombstones of great-grandfather and great-grandmother are no longer legible, they will not be re-engraved, and the cemetery three generations ago will even be quickly forgotten.Japanese family ties are as thin as they are in the West, and perhaps most closely related to those in France.
Therefore, Japan's "filial piety" is only limited to the families in direct contact.At best, it only includes fathers, grandfathers, and uncles, uncles, and their descendants. The implication is that in this group, everyone should determine a position appropriate to their seniority, gender, and age.Even if a wealthy and prominent family that accommodates a larger group, its family will be divided into independent branches, and boys below the second son must set up a separate family and become a "branch".Within this small, direct contact group, the requirements for "each in his own right" are very detailed.Until the elder officially retires (retires), he must be strictly obeyed.Even today a father of grown sons must ask his aged grandfather for permission to do anything until his own father retires.Even if the child is thirty or forty years old, the parents still have to arrange their marriage alone.As the male head of the family, the father held up the chopsticks first when eating, and he was also the first to bathe in the bath. The whole family saluted him respectfully, and he only had to nod to accept the salute.There is an extremely widespread riddle in Japan, which is translated in the Conundrum form of our country: "Why does a son ask his parents for advice like a monk asking for hair on his head?" (Buddhist monks must be shaved) The answer is: "No matter how hard you think about it, you can't do it."
"Everything in its own right" means not only a difference in generation, but also a difference in age.When the Japanese express the extremely chaotic order, they often say "non-brother and non-brother", just like we say: "neither fish nor fowl".In the eyes of the Japanese, the eldest brother should maintain his elder brother's character like a fish in water.The eldest son is the heir.Tourists speak of "the eldest son of Japan who acquires a sense of responsibility at an early age."The eldest son has privileges not far removed from that of the father.In the past, the younger brother would surely soon become dependent on the eldest son.Now, especially in rural areas and towns, according to the ancient rules, it is the eldest son who stays at home, and the second and third sons may enter the wider world, receive more education and earn more income.But the ancient hierarchy remains strong.
Even in today's political forums, traditional elder brother privileges are on full display in discussions of Greater East Asia policy. In the spring of 1942, a spokesman for the Lieutenant General of the Army Ministry made the following statement on the issue of the Co-Prosperity Sphere: "Japan is their elder brother, and they are Japan's younger brother. This fact must be known to the residents of the occupied areas. Being more sympathetic will create a tendency in their psychology to abuse Japan's good intentions, and even have a bad influence on Japan's rule." In other words, it is up to the elder brother to decide what is good for the younger brother, and he is forcing such things Don't be "excessively considerate".
Regardless of age, a person's place in the hierarchy is determined by being male or female.A Japanese woman walks behind her husband and has a lower social status than her husband.Even if they put on suits, walk side by side with their husbands, and walk in front of their husbands when they enter the door, once they change into kimonos, they still retreat behind.In Japanese families, girls can only watch the gifts quietly, and the care and education expenses are all taken by the brothers.Even if there were a few higher schools for young women, the emphasis of the curriculum was on teaching manners and manners, and they could not be compared with the boys' schools in mental training.When the principal of a girls' school told the students from upper-class families in the school that they should learn a little European language, the reason was that they hoped that they would be able to dust off the books used by their husbands and insert them into the bookshelves correctly.
Still, Japanese women enjoy a great deal of freedom compared with most other Asian countries, and this is not simply a phenomenon of Japan's Westernization.They never had their feet bound like the upper class women in China.They can walk freely in and out of shops and streets without having to hide themselves in boudoirs, which is the envy of Indian women.In Japan, the wife is in charge of the family's purchases and money.When money is in short supply, she has to pick out something and send it to the pawn shop.It is the housewife who calls the servants, and she has a great say in her son's marriage.After becoming a mother-in-law, she even took charge of the housework, as if she had never been a submissive daughter-in-law in the first half of her life.
In Japan, the privileges created by seniority and gender are great.But those who exercise this privilege are not so much despots as trustees.The father or elder brother is responsible for all family members, living, dead, and those to be born.He has to make major decisions and ensure their implementation.However, he does not have unconditional power.His actions must be responsible for the honor of the family.He must enable his sons and brethren to remember the family's legacy, both spiritual and material, and demand that they live up to it.Even as a farmer, it is a noble duty to pray to the ancestors to bless him.The higher the class status he belongs to, the heavier the responsibility to the family.The demands of the family are higher than those of the individual.
When encountering major events, regardless of family status, parents must call a family meeting and discuss them at the meeting.For example, family members may travel from far away to attend an engagement meeting.The process of making a decision is not personal.The opinion of a wife or brother may also be decisive.If the head of the household ignores the opinions of others and acts arbitrarily, he will put himself in a very difficult situation.Of course, the decisions made at the meeting may be difficult for the person whose fate is decided.However, those elders who have always obeyed the decisions of the family council will uncompromisingly demand that the younger generation obey like themselves.The binding force behind their demands was very different from the arbitrary power given to fathers over wives and children by law and custom in Prussia.It is not less compulsive for this reason, but the effect is different.In family life the Japanese do not learn to respect despotic power, nor do they easily develop the habit of submitting to it.However harsh the demands, the will of the family demands obedience in the name of the concern of all its members, that is, in the name of this highest value, in the name of a common loyalty.
Every Japanese first learns the habit of hierarchy at home, and then applies this learned habit to the wide range of economic life as well as politics.He understood that one owes all respect to those who are "in their rightful place," whether or not they are truly dominant in the group.A husband who is dominated by his wife or an elder brother who is dominated by his younger brother is still respected by his wife or younger brother in formal relations.The apparent boundaries between privileges are not violated by someone manipulating them; the apparent relationship is not altered to accommodate the actual relationship of dominance; it remains inviolable.These sometimes even bring some strategic convenience to those who exercise real power regardless of their official status.Because this will cause less attacks from others.The Japanese know from experience in family life that the strongest support for a decision is the conviction of the whole family that the decision will preserve the family's honor.Such decisions are not arbitrary orders imposed by a despot who happens to be in the position of patriarch.The Japanese parent is more like a custodian of material and spiritual property, which is very important to all members and requires them to subordinate their personal will to its requirements.The Japanese are opposed to the threat of force, but this does not weaken obedience to family demands, nor does it lower respect for people with specific identities.Even though the elders in the family were less likely to become strong dictators, the hierarchy in the family could still be maintained.
The above superficial introduction to the Japanese family hierarchy is far from enabling Americans who have different standards in interpersonal relationships to understand the generally recognized strong emotional bonds in Japanese families.There is a rather solid cohesion in the Japanese family, and how to obtain this cohesion is one of the subjects studied in this book.To understand the demands of their hierarchy in the broad spheres of political and economic life, it is necessary first to recognize how they learned this habit thoroughly in their families.
The habit of hierarchy in Japanese life is as strong in class relations as in families.Throughout history, Japan has been a strictly hierarchical society.A nation with a centuries-old habit of hierarchy has its great strengths as well as its great weaknesses.In Japan, hierarchy has been the norm of life in Japan since the history of writing, even dating back to the seventh century AD.By then, Japan had absorbed its way of life from a non-hierarchical China and adapted it to its own hierarchical culture.In the seventh and eighth centuries the Japanese emperors and their courts had set out to enrich Japan with the highly civilized customs of China that Japanese envoys admired.They undertake this undertaking with unparalleled energy.Before that, Japan didn't even have written words.In the seventh century, Japan adopted Chinese ideograms to describe its own language, which was quite different from China.Before that, Japan had a religion in which 40,000 gods guarded mountains and villages and blessed people.This kind of folk religion has gone through countless changes and has continued to this day, becoming the modern Shinto.In the 7th century, Japan imported Buddhism from China in its entirety as a "protection of the supreme good of the country".Prior to this, there were no huge permanent buildings in Japan, whether official or private.Therefore, the emperor built a new Nara city modeled on the capital of China.Many magnificent Buddhist Garan (temples) and monasteries were also built in various parts of Japan following the Chinese style.The emperor adopted the ranks and laws that his envoys had learned from China.It is difficult to find anywhere in the history of the world that another autonomous people has so successfully and systematically absorbed foreign civilizations.
From the start, however, Japan failed to replicate China's non-hierarchical social organization.The official position system adopted by Japan is awarded to administrative officials who have passed the imperial examination in China; it is awarded to hereditary nobles and feudal lords in Japan.These became part of the Japanese hierarchy.Japan was constantly divided into many semi-independent vassal states, lords were often jealous of each other's power, and many social customs were also related to the privileges of lords, retainers, and servants.No matter how persistently Japan imported culture from China, it failed to adopt a way of life sufficient to replace its hierarchy: for example, China's bureaucratic administrative system and China's combination of people of various identities and occupations into a large clan clan system.Japan also failed to embrace the Chinese notion of a secular emperor.In Japanese, people in the royal family are called "Yunshangren", and only people from this family can inherit the throne.China often changes dynasties, but Japan never happens.The Emperor is inviolable, the Emperor himself is sacred.The emperor and his court ministers introduced Chinese culture to Japan, but they never imagined how China arranged these aspects, and they never imagined how much they had changed.
Thus, although Japan imported various cultures from China, these new civilizations only opened the way for centuries of conflict between hereditary lords and retainers, that is, the struggle for dominance.At the end of the eighth century, the aristocratic Fujiwara family took power and drove the emperor into the background.Later, the feudal lords opposed the rule of the Fujiwara clan, and the whole of Japan fell into civil war.Among the heroes, the famous Minamoto Yoritomo conquered all his opponents and became the actual ruler of the country under the ancient military title of "General". The full name of "Shogun" is "Grand General Conquering Yi". Like the general practice in Japan, as long as Minamoto Yoritomo's descendants can control other feudal lords, this title will be hereditary by the Minamoto family.The Emperor was a mere figure, and his importance consisted only in the fact that the generals had to accept his token bestowals.He has no executive power.The actual power was in the hands of the shogunate, and it used force to deal with the local lords who refused to obey in order to maintain its rule.Each feudal lord, or daimyo, had his own armed retainers, or "samurai."These samurai completely obeyed the daimyo, and in times of turmoil, they were always ready to challenge the "position" of a rival daimyo or supreme ruler general.
In the sixteenth century AD civil unrest became endemic.After decades of turmoil, the great general Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated all his opponents and became the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603.The Tokugawa family had hereditary shogunship for about 260 years. It was not until 1868 that the "dual rule" of the emperor and the shogun was abolished, and the Tokugawa regime came to an end in the modern era.The long Tokugawa period was in many ways one of the most remarkable periods in Japanese history.It maintained an armed peace within Japan until its eventual collapse, effectively enforcing a centralized system that served Tokugawa's political ends.
Tokugawa Ieyasu once faced a very difficult problem, and did not find an easy solution.Some powerful feudal lords had opposed him in the civil war, and did not submit until the final defeat.This is the so-called "waiyang" (that is, collateral daimyo).He allowed the daimyos to continue to control their domains and retainers.Among the feudal lords of Japan, the daimyo did continue to enjoy the highest autonomy in their domains.However, Tokugawa Ieyasu did not allow them to enjoy the honor of Tokugawa retainers and forbade them to hold any important positions in the shogunate.All important positions were reserved in the hands of "Fudai" (direct line daimyo), that is, those who supported Tokugawa Ieyasu in the civil war.In order to maintain this difficult political situation, Tokugawa Ieyasu's strategy was to prevent feudal lords (that is, daimyo) from accumulating power and prevent any alliance that might threaten the rule of the shogun.Not only did the Tokugawa clan not abolish the feudal system, but, in order to maintain the peace of Japan and the rule of the Tokugawa clan, they also tried their best to strengthen this system and make it more consolidated.
Japanese feudal society was divided into complex classes.Everyone's identity is fixed by heredity.The Tokugawas consolidated this system and made detailed regulations on the daily behavior of members of each class.The head of each household must post signs at the door relating to their class status and hereditary status.His clothing, food, and houses where he can legally live are all in accordance with the regulations of hereditary status.Under the imperial family and court nobles (gongqing), Japan has four hereditary ranks, in order of warriors (samurai), farmers, workers, and merchants.And then there are the untouchables.Among the Dalits, the most numerous and the most well-known are the "filthy", that is, people who engage in various filthy occupations.They are scavengers, buryers of condemned prisoners, skinners and tanners of dead animals, etc.They are the "untouchables" of Japan, more precisely, they are not considered human beings at all, since even the roads that pass through their tribes do not count as mileage, as if the land and its inhabitants did not exist at all.These people live in extreme poverty, and although they are allowed to practice approved occupations, they are excluded from formal social organization.
The status of merchants is only above that of the untouchables.No matter how surprised Americans are, this is a high reality in a feudal society.The merchant class was always the destroyer of the feudal system.Once merchants were respected and prospered, feudalism fell.In the seventeenth century, the Tokugawa clan promulgated a severe lock-up order unprecedented in any country in the world, which fundamentally eradicated the foundation of merchants.Japan once traded overseas throughout the coastal regions of China and Korea, and a merchant class necessarily developed with it.The Tokugawa ruled that anyone who builds or drives ships over a certain size must be punished with death to curb this trend.Small boats that were permitted to be built or piloted could neither sail to the mainland nor transport goods.Domestic trade was also strictly restricted, and checkpoints were set up in each vassal border, strictly prohibiting the entry and exit of goods.There are other laws that confer a low social status on merchants. The "Luxury Prohibition Order" stipulates the clothing of merchants, umbrellas, and the expense limit at weddings and funerals.A merchant cannot live in the same area as a samurai.The law does not guarantee them immunity from the abuse of the privileged class - the samurai sword.The Tokugawa's policy of perpetuating the low status of merchants would undoubtedly fail in the money economy by which Japan was functioning at the time.But the Tokugawas tried to do just that.
It was the samurai and peasants who maintained the stability of the feudal society, and the Tokugawa shogunate froze them separately.Before Tokugawa Ieyasu pacified the world, the great famous general Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already used the famous "Sword Hunting Order" to separate the two classes.He confiscated the peasants' weapons and stipulated that only warriors had the privilege of wearing swords.Samurai can no longer double as farmers, artisans, or merchants.Even the lowest-ranked samurai could not legally engage in production. He became a member of the parasitic class, drawing annual tribute rice from the peasants' taxes as a salary every year.The daimyo distributed the confiscated grain to each samurai retainer according to their share.The samurai does not have to consider the source of livelihood, he has become completely dependent on the lord.Earlier in Japanese history, the strong bond between the feudal daimyo and his samurai was forged in the bloody wars between the feudal states.In the peaceful Tokugawa era, this bond became economic.Unlike medieval European knights, Japanese samurai were neither small chieftains with land and serfs, nor wealthy soldiers.They are people who live on their salary, and the amount of their salary was determined according to their family status in the early years of Tokugawa.The salary was not rich. According to estimates by Japanese scholars, the average salary of the entire samurai class was almost the same as that of farmers, and it was only enough to maintain the most basic living.For samurai families, it would be a headache if several heirs shared this salary.As a result, the samurai limited the size of their families, for whom prestige depended most embarrassingly on wealth and appearance, so their creed was that simplicity was the highest virtue.
There was a huge gulf between the warriors and the other three classes, farmers, workers, and merchants.The latter three classes were "common people", while the samurai were not.The samurai's saber was not simply a decoration but a sign of their privilege and class.They have the right to use sabers against the common people.This has been a tradition since before the Tokugawa period.The decree promulgated by Tokugawa Ieyasu stipulates: "If you are rude to a samurai, or to a commoner who is disrespectful to his superiors, he can be killed immediately." This is nothing more than confirmation of old habits.He gave little thought to the interdependence of the plebeian and warrior classes, and his policy was based on strict hierarchy.Both the commoner class and the samurai class were under the command of the daimyo and had direct contact with him.Each of these two classes stands on a different ladder, and each ladder has its own set of laws, rules, domination, and mutual obligations from top to bottom.There is an insurmountable distance between people on the two ladders.Sometimes circumstances require repeated bridge building between two classes, but this is not inherent in the system itself after all.
In the Tokugawa period, samurai were not only wielding swords, but also managers of feudal lords' property and experts in various elegant arts, such as classical Noh and tea ceremony.All paperwork is handled by them, and the strategy of the feudal lord is also implemented by their ingenious skills.Two hundred years of peace is a long time, and opportunities for individuals to wield swords are very limited.Just as merchants developed the urban lifestyle of comfort and refinement in spite of strict hierarchy, so samurai, while always ready to fight, developed fine arts.
关于农民，法律上虽无明文保障他们免受武士欺凌及强加的沉重年贡和各种限制，但仍有某些安全保障。农民对农田的所有权受到保护，而在日本，有土地即有威望。德川统治时期禁止土地永久转让。与欧洲封建主义不同，这条法律并非保障封建领主而是为了保障每个耕作者的利益。农民拥有一种他所珍视的永久权利，在耕作土地时，就像今天他们的后裔在稻田里一样地不辞辛苦。尽管如此，农民仍然是养活整个上层寄生阶级的阿特拉斯。这个寄生阶级大约二百万人左右，其中包括将军的政府、大名的机构、武士的俸禄等。他们要交实物税，也就是要将一定比例的收获量上缴给大名。同样是水稻农业国，暹罗的传统赋税是百分之十，而德川时代的日本则是百分之四十，实际交纳的还要高。在有些藩中高达百分之八十。此外，还经常有强迫徭役和无偿服务，消耗农民的精力和时间。同武士一样，农民也限制自己的家庭规模。整个德川时代，日本全国人口总数几乎是停滞的。在一个长期和平的亚洲国家，这样停滞的人口统计数字足以说明那个时期的统治状况。不论是靠年贡生活的武士，还是生产者阶级，这个政权对两者都实行了斯巴达式的严格限制，但在每个下属与其上级之间也有相对的可依赖性。人们都很清楚自己的义务、特权及地位。如果这些受到损害，最贫困的人也会提出抗议。
即使处于极度贫困，农民也进行过反抗，不仅对封建领主，而且也对幕府当局。德川氏统治的二百五六十年间，此类农民起义不下一千次。其起因并非由于“四公六民”的传统重赋，而是抗议累增的赋税。在无法忍受的情况下，他们成群结队涌向藩主，但请愿和裁判的程序则是有秩序的。农民们写好请求匡正苛政的请愿书，递呈藩主内臣。如果请愿书被内臣扣压，或者藩主置之不理，他们便派代表去江户把状子呈送给幕府的将军。在一些有名的起义中，农民在江户城内的大道上拦截幕府高官的乘舆，直接呈递状子以保证不致被扣压。尽管农民呈递状子要冒极大风险，但幕府当局收到状子后则立即审查，其判决约有半数对农民有利。
然而，幕府对农民请求所作的判决并没有满足日本对法律和秩序的要求。农民的抱怨可能是正当的，国家尊重他们也是可取的。但是，农民起义领袖则已侵犯等级制的严峻法令。尽管判决对农民有利，可是农民起义者已经破坏了必须忠贞这一基本法律，这是不容忽视的。因此，他们要被判处死刑，不管他们的目的如何正确。甚至农民们也承认这种无法逃脱的命运。被判处死刑的人是他们的英雄，人们聚集刑场，起义领袖被投入油锅、被砍头或被钉上木架，农民群众目睹行刑也绝不暴动。这是法令，是秩序。他们可以在事后建祠，奉之为殉难烈士。但对于处刑，他们却认为这是他们所赖以生存的等级制法令的核心，必须接受。
简而言之，德川幕府历代将军都力图巩固各藩的等级结构，使每一个阶级都依靠封建领主。大名在每个藩中居于等级制的最高地位，对其属下可以行使特权。将军在行政上最主要的任务就是控制大名。他采取一切手段防止大名之间结盟或推行侵犯计划。各藩藩界设有哨所关卡，查验过往行人，严禁“出女入炮”，以防止大名私运妇女出境或偷运武器入境。非经将军许可，大名不能联姻，以防止导致任何政治联盟的危险。藩与藩之间的通商也受到阻碍，甚至彼此之间不能架桥。另外，将军还派出许多密探了解各地大名财政收支，一旦某一藩主金库充盈，将军就会要求他承担耗费资财的土木建筑工程，以使其财政状况降至原来水平。各种规定中最有名的一项就是，每年之中，大名必须在京城（江户）住上半年，当其返回自己领地时，也必须把自己的妻子留在江户（东京），作为将军手中的人质。幕府就是如此费尽心机，以确保自己的权势，并加强它在等级制中的统治地位。
当然，将军并不是这一等级制拱桥中的拱心石，因为他是奉天皇之命来掌握政权的。天皇和他的宫廷世袭贵族（公卿）被迫隐居在京都，没有实际权力。天皇的财政来源甚至低于最小的大名，甚至宫廷的一切仪式也由幕府严格规定。尽管如此，即使有权有势的德川将军，也没有丝毫废除这种天皇和实际统治者并列的双重统治。双重统治在日本并不是什么新奇事，自从十二世纪以来，大元帅（将军）就以被剥夺了实权的天皇的名义统治这个国家。有一个时期，职权分化更为严重，徒有其名的天皇把实权托付给一位世袭的世俗首领，后者的权力又由其世袭政治顾问来行使。经常有这种权力的委托和再委托。德川幕府即将崩溃的末年，培里将军也没料想到将军背后还有天皇。美国的第一任驻日使节哈里斯（Townsend Harris）于1858年和日本谈判第一个通商条约时，也只好靠自己来发现还有一位天皇。
实际上，日本人关于天皇的概念是太平洋诸岛上一再被发现的那种概念。他是神圣首领，可以参与政治，也可以不参与。在一些太平洋岛屿上，他自己行使权力；在另一些岛屿上，则将权力委托给别人。但他的人身则是神圣的。在新西兰各部落中，神圣首领是神圣不可冒犯的，以致不能亲自取食而必须由专人奉食，这奉食的汤匙都不许碰到他那神圣的牙齿。他外出时必须由人抬送，因为凡经他神圣的双脚接触过的土地都自动地成为圣地，而归神圣首领所有。他的头部尤为神圣，任何人都不可触摸。他的话可以传达到部落诸神的耳朵里。在某些太平洋岛上，如萨摩亚岛、汤加岛，神圣首领与世俗生活完全没有关系。世俗的首领掌管一切政务。十八世纪末到过东太平洋汤加岛的詹姆斯·威尔逊（James Wilson）写到那里的政府时说，它“和日本最为相似，在那里，神圣首领是军事将领的某种政治犯”。汤加岛的神圣首领不参与政务，却执掌宗教仪式，他要在果园中接受采下的第一颗果实并领导举行仪式，然后，人们才能吃这些果实。神圣首领去世时，讣告时要用“天堂空虚了”这种词句，并在庄严的仪式中葬入巨大的王墓。但他却毫不干预政治。
天皇，即使在政治上毫无实力，即使是所谓“军事将领的某种政治犯”，按照日本人的定义，在等级制中仍然占有一个“恰当地位”。对日本人来说，天皇积极参与世俗事务，并非衡量天皇身份的尺度。在征夷大将军统治的长达几个世纪的年代中，日本人始终如一地珍视天皇和他在京都的宫廷。只是从西方的观点看来，天皇的作用才是多余的。处处都习惯于严格的等级地位角色的日本人，却持有不同的看法。
上自天皇，下至贱民，日本封建时期的极为明确的等级制在近代日本也留下了深刻的痕迹。从法律上宣告封建制度结束只不过是七十五年前的事，根深蒂固的民族习惯是不会在一个人的一生之间消失的。我们在下一章中将会看到，近代日本的政治家们也在审慎地计划，以求大量保存这一制度，尽管国家的目标有了根本的改变。日本人与其他独立民族相比，更加受这样一种世界所制约，在这个世界里，行为的细节规范规定得宛如一幅精密地图，社会地位是规定了的。两百多年期间，在这个世界里，法令和秩序是靠铁腕来维持的。在这期间，日本人学会了把这种繁密的等级制等同于安全稳定。只要他们停留在既知领域之内，只要他们履行已知的义务，他们是能够信赖这种世界的。盗贼得到控制，大名之间的内战受到制止。臣民如果能证明别人侵犯了他们的权利，他们可以像农民受到剥削一样提出诉讼。这样做个人虽有风险，却是大家公认的。历代德川将军中的最开明者甚至设置了“诉愿箱”（控诉箱），任何一个公民都可以把自己的抗议投进箱中。只有将军持有打开这个箱子的钥匙。在日本，有真正的保证足以纠正侵犯性行为，只要这种行为是现存行为规范所不允许的。人们非常相信这种规范，并且只要遵守它，就一定安全。一个人的勇气和完美表现在与这些规范保持一致，而不是反抗或修改这些规范。在它宣布的范围内，它是一个可知的世界，因而在他们眼中也是一个可信赖的世界。它的规则并不是摩西十诫中那些抽象的道德原则，而是极为详细的规定：这种场合应该如何，那种场合又该如何；武士该如何，平民又该如何；兄长应该如何，弟弟又该如何；如此等等。
在这种制度之中，日本人并没有像一些生活在强力等级制统治下的民族那样，变成温良恭顺的民族。重要的是要认识到：日本各个阶层都受到某种保障。甚至贱民阶层也得到保证垄断他们的特种职业，他们的自治团体也是经当局认可的。每个阶层所受的限制很大，但又是有秩序和安全的。
日本的等级限制还具有一种诸如印度等国所没有的某种灵活性。日本的习惯提供了一些明确的手段以调节制度，使之不致破坏公认的常规。一个人可以用好几种办法来改变他的等级身份。在货币经济下，高利贷主和商人必然会富裕起来。这时，富人就使用各种传统的方法跻身于上流阶层。他们利用典押和地租而变成“地主”。的确，农民的土地是不准转让的，但是，日本的地租非常高，因此把农民继续留在土地上对地主又是有利的。高利贷主们则住在那块土地上收取地租。这种土地“所有”权使他们在日本有钱有势。他们的子女与武士阶层通婚，他们自己也就成了绅士。
另一个变通等级制的传统方法就是过继和收养。它提供了一条“购买”武士身份的途径。尽管德川氏横加限制，但商人还是富了起来。随之，他们就千方百计让自己的儿子过继给武士当养子。日本人大多招女婿而很少收养子。入赘的女婿称“婿养子”，成为岳父的继承人。他付出的代价是很大的。他的姓氏将从生父家的户籍中抹去，转入妻子家的户籍，姓妻子家的姓并和岳母一起生活。代价虽高，但获益亦不浅。富有的商人家的后代成了武士，穷困拮据的武士家庭则与富贾结成亲戚。等级制并未破坏，依然如故。但经过变通手段，为富者提供了上层等级的身份。
因此，日本的等级制并不要求只能在同一等级内部通婚。有好几种公认的手段可以在不同等级间通婚。其结果，富裕的商人逐渐渗入下层武士阶层。这种情况对加深西欧封建制和日本封建制的显著差异有重大作用。欧洲各国封建制度的崩溃是由于有一个逐渐发展、力量日益增强的中产阶级的压力，这个阶级统治了现代工业时代。日本却没有产生这样强大的中产阶级。商人和高利贷主以公开允许的方法，“购买”上层阶级的身份。商人和下级武士结成了联盟。在欧洲与日本的封建制度都处于苟延残喘之时，日本竟然容许比欧洲大陆更大的阶级流动性，这一点实在令人惊奇。然而，日本的贵族和市民阶级之间几乎没有任何阶级斗争迹象，就是这种情况最令人信服的证据。
说日本这两个阶级的共同目标对双方都有利，这是很容易的。但是，在法国也可能对双方都有利；在西欧也有过二三类似的例子；但阶级的固定性在欧洲却十分顽强。在法国，阶级冲突竟导致剥夺贵族财产。在日本，他们却彼此接近起来。推翻衰朽幕府的联盟就是由商人、金融阶层和下级武士组成的。日本到近代仍然保留贵族制度，如果没有被容许的阶级流动手段，这种情况是很难出现的。
日本人喜好并且信赖他们那一套繁密的行为规范，是有其当然理由的。这种规范保证了遵循者的安全；它允许对非法的侵犯进行抗议，并可加以调节以适应自己的利益。它要求相互履行义务。在德川幕府于十九世纪后半叶崩溃时，日本没有任何集团主张废除这些规范。那里没有发生“法国大革命”，甚至连“1848年式的革命”（指“二月革命”）也没有发生。然而，形势已无可挽回。从一般平民直到幕府将军，每个阶级都欠商人和高利贷的债。人数众多的非生产阶级和巨额的财政支出已无法维持。财政窘迫的大名已无力支付其武士侍从的定额俸禄，整个封建纽带的网络已只能供人嘲弄。他们企图靠对农民增课已经很重的年贡来避免沦亡，寅收卯贡，常年预征，农民贫困已极。幕府也濒临破产难以维持现状。1853年培里司令官率舰队前来之时，日本国内危机已达顶点。他强行闯入日本之后，又于1858年签订了日美通商条约，当时日本已处于无力抗拒的地位。
当时响彻日本的口号是“一新”，即“恢弘往昔”、“王政复古”。这和革命是对立的，甚至也不是进步的。与“尊王”这个口号联在一起并同样广为流行的口号是“攘夷”。国民支持回到锁国政策黄金时代的政治纲领。极少数领导人懂得这条道路是如何行不通，他们努力奋斗，却被暗杀。似乎毫无迹象足以表明这个不喜欢革命的国家会改弦易辙，会顺应西方模式；更不用说五十年后竟能与西方国家争雄竞长了。但这一切还是发生了。日本发挥了与西欧各国完全不同的固有长处，达到了高层人士和一般舆论都没有要求过的目标。十九世纪六十年代的西方人，如果能从水晶球中看到日本的未来，他们是绝对不会相信的。因为当时地平线上似乎并没有巴掌大的乌云足以预示二十年后会有一股风暴横扫日本列岛。但是不可能的事情竟然发生了。日本那落后的、受等级制束缚的民众急速转向一条崭新的道路，并且坚持走了下来。
Notes:
Notes: