what a great book! a different one from “the count of monte cristo”!
DISCLAIMER: it contains minor spoilers to the book! but i’d still recommend reading the book if you’re interested :)
characters
toronaga. an unpredictable, patient, calculating and selfish leader! everybody thinks that they know toronaga plans, but in reality he’s only who truly knows them and everybody only sees the plan toronaga wants them to see. how meticulous and cunning!
blackthrone, the “anjin-san”. his character development is astonishing! from someone who detest the culture of a foreign land, called a barbarian to being a hatamoto, samurai, living the way of bushido.
immersing in their culture, learning the concept of karma, “shigata ga nai neh” and the haramony (wa). instead of being ruled by his emotions, now he’s patient and sees the bigger picture.
his seppuku, though thwarted gave him a new life in this foreign land. this was when he truly accepted himself and only focused on the present moment. he’s the “anjin-san” in japan and not in england.
wa, karama and “shigata ga nai neh”
to the people, death is called the Void (what a not so scary name). it’s always close to them due to natural disaster and seppuku. thus, they look at life through the lens of karma, “shigata ga nai neh” and being patient. if something happens, they get flustered in the moment but quickly snapping back to realise it’s their own karma.
and they understand everybody has their own karma and they’ll not interfere with it!
for yabu-san, before he performed seppuku, due to the failure of his plan, he was reflecting joyously at how close he was to accomplishing his plans. moreover, after giving his last instructions, he even wrote a death poem. he accepted his departure to the void with peace and tranquility
for others, after a close encounter with death, instead of fear, they laugh, have better appreciation for their life and more importantly they gain a sudden clarity of mind
like how when toronaga nearly died during a quake but the anjin-san saved him. at that point, most of his worried are freed and after the incident he seems to gained better clarity of what he’s going to do next
the same things was true at the council of regent. everybody was gathered, worried about the impending war but in the midst of discussion, a earthquake happened. they thought they’re going to die but didn’t. that somehow made them zoom out on their decision. they laughed, enjoyed the fact that they’re still alive and then decided with conviction to have war.
upon close to death, their mind is cleared and a decision is made.
the houses are made with wood. to accommodate to the nature of natural disaster. even if a house is damaged, it’ll be rebuilt in a day. they’re sad in the moment but not perpetually and when it happens they just say “shigata ga nai neh”. what an absolute surrendering to things they can’t control and focusing on what they can.
random tid bits
interestingly, the book defines patience as not giving in to the seven emotions: joy, anger, adoration, anxiety, grief, fear and hate. it doesn’t mean to suppress your emotions, rather you engage with it in the moment internally but you don’t show it on your face to others. giving an expressionless look.
oh and they piss but on people, to either shame them or make a deal. pissing to make a deal sounds insane, but thinking about it, it kinda isn’t because it shows that you can be trusted at one your most vulnerable moments (fully naked)