Their national strategy was based on Chinese philosophy, primarily the ideas of Confucius. “In Neo-Confucian thought, there has to be a balance between military power and cultural skill,” Buckland says. The effect has been an increase in investment in soft power in rooms with the scent of courtrooms.
Trustees of the British MuseumSamurai became adept at military tactics, as well as sophisticated arts such as painting, poetry, musical performance, drama, and the tea ceremony. A fan depicting an orchid painted by a samurai painter in the 19th century is one of the most beautiful and unexpected items in the exhibition.
The Disney/FX series Shogun, currently in its second season, tells the fictional story of one of the turning points in samurai history. In the 1500s, clan leader Tokugawa Ieyasu (represented in the series by the fictional Toranaga Yoshii) established a highly successful government that lasted 250 years.
This meant that there would be no major battles within Japan, and samurai would take on a new role. Instead of commanding the battlefield, they began to manage the nation. “They’re ministers, they’re MPs, they’re tax collectors,” Buckland said. They undertook tasks that permeated the entire court, “down to guarding the city gates.”
Source: BBC Culture – www.bbc.com
