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Over the centuries, many samurai became accomplished
poets. Minamoto Sanetomo (1192-1219), the third Kamakura shogun,
published an anthology of his poems, the "Kinkaishu", and Taira Tadanori
(1144-1184), the younger son of Taira Kiyomori, achieved fame as a poet.
Even during the constant fighting of the Sengoku Jidai, some samurai developed
artistic talents to match their martial accomplishments. Date Masamune
(1565-1636), the daimyo of Sendai in northern Honshu, was known as the
"One-eyed Dragon" after being wounded in battle. He cut away the damaged
eye as it hung down his cheek, to prevent an enemy seizing it during the
fighting. It might be supposed that such a man would have no time for poetry,
but he was so moved by the beauty of mount Fuji that he felt inspired to
write:
"A world of recluses"
While poetry, calligraphy and other literary
arts attracted samurai devotees, perhaps the most popular mode of artistic
expression with the samurai class as a whole was the art of Cha no Yu,
or the tea ceremony. Deriving from rituals followed in Chinese Buddhist
temples, the tea ceremony was introduced to Japan by the monks Eisai (1141-1215)
and Dai-O (1236-1308). The abbot of Daitokuji, Ikkyu (1398-1481), passed
on the art to his disciple Shuko (1422-90), under whose patronage the tea
ceremony ceased to be the exclusive province of Zen priests and attracted
a secular following.
As a Zen-inspired art, Cha no Yu aims to develop
a sense of natural simplicity; a direct experience of reality, uncluttered
by intellectual considerations. The utensils and setting selected for the
ceremony reflects this aim, being made of plan, natural materials.
The Zen master, Takuan (1573-1645), described
that the ideal conditions for the tea ceremony: "Let us then construct
a small room in a bamboo grove or under trees, arrange streams, rocks and
plants trees and bushes.... In this room we can enjoy the streams and rocks
as we do the rivers and mountains in Nature... we listen quietly to the
boiling water in the kettle, which sounds like the breeze passing through
pine needles, and become oblivious of all worldly woes and worries; we
then pour out a dipperful of water from the kettle, reminding us of the
mountain stream, and our mental dust is wiped off. This is truly a world
of recluses, saints on earth".
The
great warlords, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotmi Hideyoshi, were both enthusiastic
patrons of the tea ceremony. Hideyoshi was so fascinated by the practice
that, in 1587, he staged a vast public event open to anyone interested
in the art of Cha no Yu; more than 1500 small enclosures were erected in
the Kitano woods to accommodate enthusiasts from all over Japan, and on
the first day tea masters served over 800 guests.
some of Hideyoshi's warriors regarded the
tes ceremony with suspicion. Kuroda Yoshitaka observed that it was dangerous
to sit so close to a possible enemy while unarmed. But even he conceded
to that the ceremony might have some value; the isolation and calm of the
tea house provided the ideal location for private discussions of sensitive
military matters. For many samurai, the tea ceremony become simply another
means to display their wealth and sense of fashion, and vast sums were
paid for the pottery, bamboo and metal utensils used in the ceremony.
However while the samurai pursued various aesthetic
and artistic pastimes, it is important to remember that there was always
a suspicion that the acquisition of literary or artistic skills might weaken
a warrior's fighting ability, corrupting their elite code with the values
and practices of the merchant classes. For, as Daidoji Yuzan warned: "Rather
then becoming such a dilettante, it would be better to have no knowledge
of the way of Tea at all, and to be unpolished to the point of not even
knowing how to lift a bowl. These words are for the understanding of warriors".
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