Christ, the Cross and Culture: The True Samurai of God
by Stanley Inouye

Shame. Bushido. Seppuku. These three concepts seem to be key elements of Japanese culture that can be used to present Christ in ways that are meaningful to people of Japanese ancestry. While still remaining consistent with Scripture, these concepts help to form the basis for an alternative to the traditional gospel message.

The idea that shame is a predominant cultural orientation of the Japanese is well-documented. The desire and need to avoid bringing shame to oneself and to one's family and race generally influence behavior more than the factor of guilt. Unlike Americans who tend to operate according to a set of principles of moral behavior and absolute standards of right and wrong, the Japanese live by a code of behavior that is more situational. While guilt occurs when an absolute standard is violated, shame occurs in a relational context.

For the Japanese, shame is experienced when a person in a given situation fails to behave in a manner considered appropriate by others. This failure is usually attributed to a lack of character and poor moral development. And because of the sense of collective identity found in Japanese families, any shame brought to one family member is often felt by the entire family.

Just as we can trace many of the roots of American morality to the Puritan Ethic, so shame has its roots in Japanese history. They are found in the relational nature of Bushido, which is the ethical code of the samurai. The samurai were the warrior class during Japan's feudal period which dates back to the twelfth century.The alliances established between ruling and warrior class families lasted for generations. Within these mutually dependent relationships, the ruling class families bestowed great privileges on their retainers and provided abundantly for their needs. In return, the samurai made themselves totally available to their retainers, providing whatever services the ruling class families requested.

The samurai code of Bushido emphasized that the samurai were to live lives without selfish regard for their own welfare. They were to live from a purity of heart and principle. According to Furukawa, author of Idea of Bushido and its Background, the goal of a samurai was to serve his lord without consideration of his own self and to preserve the honor of those to whom he was indebted.

According to the Bushido code, devotion to one's lord was to be so strong that no sacrifice in service to him, including death, was too great to make. In fact, Furukawa believes that the essence of the samurai life can be communicated through the statement, "Bushido consists in dying...." Such "dying" was based on anticipation of and obedience to the needs, wants and will of others. It meant continually possessing an attitude of dying to self - emotionally, psychologically, and physically, if necessary. If a samurai did not display such total commitment to his lord at all times, he brought shame to himself, his family, his lord and his lord's household.

In the event shame did occur, there was one way that it could be removed. The samurai could commit seppuku, or the form of ritual suicide more commonly known as hara-kiri . For the Japanese, the taking of one's life to erase shame was well respected. Unlike the Western concept of suicide, where death is seen as an escape from responsibility and life's problems, seppuku indicated willingness to assume full responsibility for the shame and to sacrifice oneself for the benefit of others.

Since one person's shame was also experienced by family and close associates, seppuku was committed to remove the shame from those to whom the person was devoted. Such presence of mind and strength of character was required to carry out the intricate and precise ritual of seppuku that it was seen as sufficient to erase shame, preserve honor and heal relationships. The selflessness, self-control and courage displayed caused others to alter their previous assessment of the person's character, moving them to forgive and overlook the shame. With the shame blotted out, honor was restored and relationships between the individual, his family and lord were re-established. Seppuku, rather than representing termination, enabled continuation of life within relationships that would have otherwise remained broken. It was actually the ultimate symbol of samurai virtue.

Such are shame, Bushido and seppuku briefly defined. To answer how these elements of Japanese culture relate to a meaningful presentation of the gospel to Japanese people, it is necessary to examine Scripture. Scripture itself reveals how they can be used to illuminate the meaning of God's message.

Hebrews 12 says that Jesus "endured the cross, despising the shame." What kind of shame did Jesus despise? How is it related to the Japanese sense of shame? I am convinced that the shame the author of Hebrews is referring to is far greater than the ridicule and humiliation Jesus suffered during his ministry and death of the cross. I believe that the shame Jesus despised was the shame that Adam and Eve brought upon humankind in the Garden and which we perpetuate today.

The creation account in Genesis tells of our intended relationship with God. In many ways, how we were to relate to our Creator is similar to the relationship between the samurai and their lord. The samurai were to represent the oneness and solidarity of their master's household. They were to know the mind and reflect the character of their lord. By their regalia, they reflected the wealth and power of their retainer. They were endowed with the authority and power of their master to protect and extend his kingdom, to do the will and work of their lord.

So, we too, were created in God's image, to reflect His character and glory. We shared an intimate relationship with our Creator and were provided for abundantly by Him. We were endowed with authority and power and were given dominion over the earth and all it contained. Indeed, we were to be samurai, but to the Lord of lords.

Just as it was shameful for the samurai not to carry out the wishes of their lord, so it was shameful for us to disobey God in the Garden. But the shame that Jesus despised was brought on by more than our act of disobedience. It had to do with the deterioration of our very character that began with that act. As a result, we were no longer able to reflect the purity and righteousness of God's character. The oneness we had experienced with God was gone and the intimate and harmonious relationship we had with Him was broken. When we were driven out of the Garden, we became samurai without a lord - isolated, disconnected, without purpose, without power and full of shame. We brought shame both to ourselves and to God.

But God did not leave us in that state. He provided a way for our shame to be erased and the relationship with Him to be re-established. God sent His Son to earth. Jesus came as a living example of all that the Creator intended us to be. He did not come to imitate that which was human but to demonstrate in what ways we humans were to reflect the divine. Jesus, Lord of lords, became the visible image of God, the True Samurai. As one with the Father, He knew the mind of God and could portray the Father's moral character. He exhibited the eternal nature of God and emitted the radiance of God's glory. He devoted himself entirely to doing the will of the Father and committed Himself to the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. And in the tradition of Bushido, He sacrificed His life on the cross in obedience to the Father, so that God's honor and domain might be restored and extended. Jesus gave His life so that our relationship with God could be healed. His death on the cross was a demonstration of His purity of conscience and selflessness of motive. The prophetic requirements surrounding Christ's death were as intricate and precise as those necessary to fulfill the ancient Japanese form of ritual suicide. In fact, within the context of Japanese culture, Christ's death can be seen as a form of seppuku.

The shame that we brought upon ourselves and God could only be erased through an act like seppuku because it demonstrated a willingness to accept full responsibility for our actions. However, since we failed to acknowledge that responsibility, Jesus, the True Samurai, out of His love for us and His obedience to the Father, bore our shame and did what was required to erase it. His death on the cross displayed the kind of integrity and character that was needed to remove our shame. If we identify with His death as an expression of our own willingness to do whatever is necessary to erase our shame and restore our relationship to our heavenly Lord, then the requirement of seppuku is fulfilled and our relationship to God is healed. We can be His samurai once again. And through Christ's example and resurrection, we also can have the pattern and power necessary to bring glory rather than shame to God.

The goal is to see more people of Japanese ancestry embrace Christ. What has been presented here represents only a beginning. Much work remains to develop a presentation of the gospel that is simple, clear and meaningful to the Japanese. But I believe that we are at least closer to where we want to be. I pray that the Lord of lords will continue to direct us as we seek to make Christ known to His lost samurai.

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