Japan Book Club: Bushido: The Soul of Japan – Part 3
With short days on Wednesday and Thursday, and no school at all on Friday this week, I feel okay about giving you guys a little more work to do.
Believe me, the TAP teachers realize that this is a complicated and confusing book, but we really feel that even the most basic understanding of it will go a long way to help you understand the Japanese culture.
This week we want you to read three chapters of the book – that’s only about 15 pages, so take your time and read for understanding, not just to get through it. Honestly, Mr. Curtis is reading each chapter twice, because the first time is tough, but the second time through them it makes a lot more sense. Don’t be afraid to take the time to look up words that you don’t know – but, in the questions we’re going to ask you what a few words mean – make sure you’re putting what you think they mean based on the book, not a copied definition from the dictionary.
Read chapter 3 Rectitude, chapter 4 Courage, and chapter 5 Benevolence. After you’re done reading, answer the questions below.
If you haven’t opened a copy of the book yet, here it is again – Bushido: Soul of Japan.
If you are confused by the questions or can’t figure out the answers, you may post questions to the teachers and other students in the comments section here. This is a tough book, so let’s be sure to help one another understand it.
- What is rectitude?
- Who were Mencius and Confucius?
- What is Giri?
- What is courage according to the book?
- What is benevolence?
- What is a paternal government?
Every student in our Japan group is required to participate. You must comment on this post with your thoughts, then come back and comment on what other people have said – you are required to make an effort to keep the conversation going by replying to at least 2 other students (more than just “I agree” or “you are right.” Give them reasons why you agree/disagree or what they said that was meaningful – make this a discussion).
Minooka TAP 
1) Rectitude is the idea of choosing the right thing to make you a better person.
2) Both Mencius and Confucius were Chinese philosephors who taught ideals on how to improve your life and to choose and do appropriate things.
3) Giri is one’s duty to his master or superior.
4) The book defines courage as “…doing what is right.”
5) Benevolence is the act of doing something good to others. Sometimes, it means the forced service to one’s government.
6) Paternal government is when the government watches closely on your social life and business. They do this because they don’t think you can do it yourself.
I think that benevolence is sometimes a forced service to one’s government. Benevolence is going out to war and fighting for your country along with being charitable. Serving your country is an act of doing good to others, so it fits nicely with it’s defenition. Without benevolence, we would have no army.
1. Rectitude is the “power of resolution” as said in the book, but, in other words, means choosing the “correct” decision that will either help or make you into a better person.
2. Mencius and Confucius were philosophers that both taught teachings of main Bushido and written novels of Bushido that became famous among all ages of Japan.
3. Giri is someone’s duty to their superiors, parents, the society, and so on.
4. Courage, according to the book, was the “doing what is right.”
5. Benevolence is the act of being kind and good to others.
6. Paternal government is when your whole life is being watched by the government.
A paternal government reminds me of communism. Everything is scrutinized by the government to the point where you can not live a normal life, all because of the false assumption that poeple cannot conduct themselves.
1. Rectitude is the power of deciding what to do that will do you better and make you better.
2. Mencious and Confucius were philosophers who strived to help people live better lives and do what is right.
3. Giri is your duty to your superior.
4. Courage, according to the book is, “Courage is doing what is right.”
5. Benevolence is doing something nice or helpful to others and it can come in many forms.
6. Patenal government is when the government pays close attention to your life with others and your business life because they don’t think you are able to support yourself.
The idea of paternal government sort of freaks me out. It seems like their stalking you, though I know that’s not the case. This may be done because they need to be sure you can, as you said, support yourself but it’s a little uncomforting.
You’re absolutely right on that note i see howw it can be frightening but like you said they need to see if you can survive on your own make sure you don’t become raw meat. I mean ijf you think about its like they’re are the formal more suddle version of parents watching over you. Like family is always there if need them and really its not like they actually stalk. Infering on what I read it seems more like the monitoring is moderate and you don’t really know who they are when they its like an undercover job
Excatlly… Now I know that if I move out of the country, I’m checking twice to make sure there is no paternal government. That idea just creaps me out too.
1. Rectitude is basically the capability of making decisions that will later make you into a greater person.
2. Confucius and Mencius were both philosophers that focused on helping others have better lives.
3. Giri is someone’s duty “to parents, to superiors, to inferiors, to society at large, and so
forth.”
4. In the book, courage is simply ” doing what is right.” What the book also defines as courage is “the knowledge of things that a man should fear and that he should not
fear.”
5. Benevolence is simply the act of doing something to others that is helpful and thoughtful.
6. Paternal government is when the government analyzes you. They survey your professional and social life. This is used because they need to be sure you can fend for yourself.
To me, benevolence kind of reminds me of communism. People are doing nice things because it is the right thing to do. There is no reward for doing these acts. If a culture depends on this, they will crumble.
Now that you mention that, it does. But it also reminds me of a “if we lived in a perfect world…” senaro too.
I’m a big fan of philosophy and when I found out about Confucius and Mencius being philosophers, I was entertained a bit to learn about that.
A paternal government is one that should not have ever even been thought of. When you think about it, if you have to (or think you have to) watch someone and support them because they supposedly can’t do that themselves, why would you want them in your country anyway?
I, personally, like the idea of ‘rectitude’.
1. Rectitude is “the decision to make the right choices” that you may or may not make. To make them is said to make you a greater human being.
2. Mencius and Confucius were famous Asian philosophers whose teachings were influential among all ages. They worked to help others live better lives.
3. Giri is a person’s duty to their superiors, masters, society, etc.
4. According to the book, courage has different meanings. In its simplest form, courage is just “doing what is right”. Plato defines it as “the knowledge of things that a man should and should not fear”.
5. Benevolence is the act of doing good to others in being kind and helpful.
6. Paternal government in basically when the government stalks you. They watch you closely in case you need support, because they don’t think that you can handle life by yourself.
Plato’s defintion of courage, I find, very interesting. I typically think of it as an act of doing something brave. This, as well as the other definition, changed my perspective a little bit and shined a new light on it.
I find Plato’s defintion intresting much like Persephone because I thought courage was being able to work up the ability of doing something without fear not knowing what or what not to fear.
i love how you said that government stalks you because it was probably exactly like that.
1) Rectitude is making the right decision that will make you a better person.
2) Mencius and Confucius are philosophers from China that taught how to make life better by making the right choices.
3) Giri is a person’s duty to there leader, master, or superior.
4) In the book, courage is defined as doing what is right.
5) Benvolence is when you do something for someone that was nice and/or helpful.
6) Paternal Government is when your government analyzes you so they are sure you are able to live by yourself.
I think the definition of retitude is a good princapal to have because you can than know that you will have a better future because of it.
I find it weird that to somebody, the right thing to do is different then to somebody else. When you are young your parents teach you to do the right thing in their eyes. They don’t have the same opinions as everybody else, that is why everybody makes different decisions that they might think is right, even if everybody else thinks it is wrong
i agree with drew not every one has the same opinion. however it would be imposible to get every one to agree on one thing. for an example look at the voteing for presidents you see how many people vote for one person then you see how many people voted for the other. then you have the people that didn’t vote at all because they did’t like any of the choises.
I feel like rectitude and Giri fit hand in hand, as they are kind of the same concept.
1. Rectitude is a decision that will better yourself and make you a better person.
2. Mencius and Confucious were Chinese pholisphers how influced other people to make the right decision.
3. Giri is the duty of a person to a superior authority.
4. Courage has many definitions but the definition in the book is doing what is right.
5. Benvolence is when a person is being helpful or nice.
6. Paternal Goverment is when the goverment watches and analyzes your life just to be sure that you can make it on your own.
It’s kind of scary how the government watches you. I don’t understand how they think that we can’t control our own life. They think we aren’t smart enough.
i agree Syd, whether we know it or not, the government controls almost everything we do because they dont trust us to do it right.
I liked how you said that Giri is ones duty to a superior authority because it would make sense due to the fact the japanese are very respectful
1) Rectitude is the willpower and strength to make the right decision morally.
2) Mencius and Confucius were both Chinese philosophers both important to many cultures but help in the idea that make the right and good decision help themselves and others. Mencius is basically the Confucian after Confucius.
3) Giri is the concept of the categories of moral obligations and duties to people they were to respect.
4) Courage is defined as ” doing what is right” and “the knowledge of things that a man should and should not fear”.
5) Benevolence is helping or doing an act of kindness or good to someone.
6) Paternal government is when the government checks up and/or watches you to see if you are in need of someone to live with you do to the fact you can live by yourself alone.
I really like the definition of courage that says what a man should and should not fear. It gives both a broader outlook and a deeper outlook of courage through different people’s eyes.
1) Rectitude is one’s ability to make a correct, good, and just decision.
2) Mencius and Confucius were Chineese philosiphers that influenced and guided people to not only make the right decisions, but to guide people on how to treat one another.
3) Giri is the duty that we owe to everyone.
4) According to the book, courage is doing what is right. Plato says that courage is “The knowledge of things that a man should fear, and that he should not fear.
5) Benevolence is the act of doing cheritble things that are nice and helpful.
6) A paternal government is a government where the leaders assume that the people can not handle their own affairs, so people are watched under the government’s eye.
I liked what Plato said, it reminds me of when we read our first book, “The Big Wave”, and how each and everyone of us had a different opinon on fear.
I find it interesting that Mencius and Confucius guided people to make the right decisions, yet also guided those people to guide others to make the right decisions. I kind of starts a chain between society.
its kind of creepy how the government watches over you.. it would be scary to me.
I really like how you put that it is an ability rather than a decision, to do right, good, etc.
1.What is rectitude?
Recitude is to being able to make the right choices in your life without a second thought.
2.Who were Mencius and Confucius?
Mencios and Confucius were both philosiphers who taught people how to make the right choices in life.
3.What is Giri?
Giri is the duty that people have to their superiors and those above them.
4.What is courage according to the book?
Courage is doing what is right.
5.What is benevolence?
Benevolence is doing something that is nice or kind to others.
6.What is a paternal government?
A paternal goverment when the goverment watches ang gives close attention to your life.
I think its interesting how Mencius and Confucius taught people to do the right thing. Doing what is right is the opinion of the person doing it. Something that you think is right may not seem that way to someone else.
I never thought of that. An example of this is in the book The Big Wave, when Jiya had to choose whether to live with the Old Gentleman or with Kino and his family. Jiya choose to live with Kino, but someone else in the exact same situation could choose to live with the Old Gentleman, because they thought it was the right choice.
Rectitude was the great ability to be able to make a choise that will eventually reflect upon you being a noble and honorable person (basiclly, making a right desicion that is good not only for one but many). Mencius and Confucius were two ancient philosiphers that showed people how to live a live that benefits the human and others around from making the right descions for life and teaching the art of compasion for others. Giri was the duty of those who have one of higher authority to give true respect and repaying them for what they have done for ourselves. Courage is the book is doing what is right in life and in Plato’s words, the knowledge of what to fear and not. Benevolence was and is the act of kindness and good for others. It could be from giving birthday money to taking a bullet for another. Finally, a paternal government was a system of government where they could not have faith in the citizen and had to be very observitive on what you do.
I like how you fit all of those questions into paragraph form, and how you discribed rectitude by using Mencius and Confucius.
Rectitude is being able to chose to do something wisley and to make good choices in your life.
Mencius and Confucius were ancient philosiphers who pretty much tought people how to make wise decisions.
Giri is the duty of a person to be respectful of a superior authority.
Courage is doing what is right.
Benevolence is acting kind and respectful to and towards others no matter who that person may be or the situation they are in.
Paternal government is when the government keeps a close eye on your life to be sure that you can do things on your own.
i think that if our government kept that close an eye on us all, we may(or maybe not) be a little better off have a sense of security. I wonder how the people thought of this type of government.
1. Rectitude is choosing the right choices in life.
2. Mencius and Confucius were philosiphers that taught how to make good decisions.
3. Giri is a persons duty to be respectful to those of higher authority.
4.Benevolence is being kind and respectful to others no matter what.
5. Paternal government is when the government watches you to make sure you can survive and do things by yourself.
one thing to bug you about, you forgot one 😛 and i like that your answers get straight to the point so it tells me exactly how you feel.
1. Rectitude is the “power of resolution” as said in the book, but, in other words, means choosing the “correct” decision that will either help or make you into a better person.
2.Mencious and Confucius were philosophers who strived to help people live better lives and do what is right.
3.Giri is a person’s duty to their superiors, masters, society, etc.
4. In the book, courage is defined as doing what is right.
5.Benvolence is when a person is being helpful or nice.
6.A paternal goverment when the goverment watches ang gives close attention to your life.
I don’t like the idea of a paternal goverment, even if its to make sure you can handle life on your own. It just makes you more nervous so you are almost guaranteed to mess something up.
The idea of paternal government kind of creeps me out. like lyssette said, it makes you nervous and stresses you out more
1. Rectitude is the decision to make right choices and to become a better person.
2. Mencious and Confucius are famous philosophers that ought people to make good, right decisions that benefit both them and others.
3. Giri is the duty a person has to their superiors.
4. Courage can mean many things, but according to the book, courage means “doing what is right”.
5. Benevolence is doing something nice or kind to others.
6. Paternal government is when the government watches you if they think you can handle yourself.
I think the whole idea of paternal government is a little creepy. I wouldnt want a group of people making sure I can handle my life because it’s your life and nobody should have to “watch” you.
haha… i like how you described the paternal government.. it is actually somewhat like that
1. Rectitude is making the right choices in ones life.
2. Mencious and Confucius were two philosophers that wanted to help people to have rectitude and to life better.
3. A person’s duty to their masters, upperclass superiors, and even society was defined as giri
4. Courge is diong what is right, it was defined in the book.
5. Having benevolance is being kind and nice to everyone regardless of teir standings.
6. Paternal government is a very involved, attentetive government that pays close attention to your life.
Have you ever done an act of enevolance?
I like how you said that benevolence is being kind to those regradless of who they might be. It sshows me that if you are nice and kind to everyone then you will have no problem with people. Conflict with others will not be a problem for you.
1. Rectitude means the rightness or principal of conduct.
2. Mencius and Confucius were both Chinese philosophers during the Chin dynasty.
3. Giri is a duty to ones master.
4. Courage is defined as “doing what is right” in the book.
5. Benevolence is being kind and nice no matter how they stand in life.
6. A paternal government is a government is a government that is very involved in your life, kind of like 1984 or Maoist China.
I like how Courage is defined as doing what is right in the book. When you think about it in life it takes a lot of courage to do what is right.
Do you think it would be hard to live a life of Giri ?
1. Recitude means that duribg your life you should make the right choices.
2.Mencius and Confucious were Chinese philosophers during the period of the Chin dynasty.
3. Giri is the duty of which you owe to the higher class or to the one you serve.
4. According to the book courage is “doing what is right.”
5. Benevolence is giving to a person respect in kindness and nice greetings no matter what they’ve done or what they’ve been through you give them the respect that a person was born with having and that is not cruelty.
6. Paternal government is a government that reflects on your life, watching whta you do, making sure you aren’t falling apart in the real world.
I like how you describe benevolence. It makes me understand that no matter how cruel or low standing you are, a person should still treat you with respect.
i agree with hannah that you described benevolence good. because your saying that no matter what someone dose every one is born with a sertin amount of respect and they should always be treted with at least that amount of respect.
1.) Rectitude is making the right decision that will make you a better person
2.) Mencius and Confucius were Chinese philosephors who taught ideals on how to improve your life
3.) Giri is a person’s duty to their superiors, masters, society, and so on and so forth
4.) according to the book, courage was “doing what is right”
5.) it is when you help or do an act of kindness or good to someone
6.) It is when your life is being watched by the government
I agree with you on Your defenition of Giri, but i’m confused on why they have a duty to socioty. Because socitoy doesnt nessecarly controll you and everyone in a socioty is difffent.
1. Rectitude is the decision to make right choices to become a better person.
2. Mencious and Confucius were Chinese philosophers who strived to help people live better lives and do what is right.
3. Giri is a person’s duty to be respectful to those of higher authority.
4. According to the book, courage was defined as “doing what is right.”
5. Benevolence is when you do an act of kindness and respect to someone no matter what their standards may be.
6. Paternal government is a very involved government that pays close attention to your life.
1. rectitude is to make the right choices to become a better person.
2. mencius and confucius were chinese philosephors who tried to better your life.
3. giri is your duty to the higher class.
4. according to the book it is doing whats right.
5.Benevolence is the doing of good things that are nice and helpful.
6. paternal government is a government that watches over you.
1. Recitude is making the descision you choose that will make you a better person.
2. Mencius and Confucius were Chinenese philosiphors that taught ways to improve your life.
3. Giri is a person’s responsibility to their community, masters, and teachers.
4. Courage is doing what is right, in the book.
5. What you help of do good for someone.
6. When you are constantly being watched by government.
1. Rectitude is the right choices you make in life.
2. Mencius and Confucius were Chinenese philosiphors. They wanted to help people live better lives.
3. Giri is the right reason and that sense of duty people get.
4. Courage is, according to the book, what is right, no matter what the road lies ahead with no complants.
5. Benevolence is love and care; doing nice things for others.
6. Paternal government is a type of government that pays close attention you and your daily life.
1. Rectitude is the act of making good decisions, with the result of making you a better person.
2. Mencius and Confucius were Chinese philosophers.
3. Giri is your duty to someone superior to you.
4. According to the book, courage is what is right. I totally agree with that, too.
5. Benevolence is what you do in an act of caring, and being nice to others.
6. Paternal Government is a type of government that is very annoying, in my opinion. It pays extremely close attention to you, and your everyday life.
1. Rectitude is deciding what to do that will make you better.
2. Mencious and Confucius were philosophers that taught people to im thier lives
3. Giri is a person’s responsibility to their community, masters, and teachers.
4. it is doing whats right
5.Benevolence is what you do in an act of caring, and being nice to others.
6. Patenal government is when the government pays close attention to your life with others and your business life because they don’t think you are able to support.
1. Rectitude is the right choice you make in life.
2. Mencious and Confuncius were Chinese philosophers.
3. Giri is the duty to your higher class.
4.Courage is doing what’s right.
5.Benevolence is love and caring; doing nice deeds for other people.
6. Patenal government is when you are constantly watched by the government.
1.) Rectitude are the things that build you up or the good choices you make
2.) Mencious and Confucious were philosophers.
3.) Giri is your responsibility to your superior.
4.) Courage is doing whats right, AND NOT BEING SCARED ABOUT IT EITHER!!!
5.) Benevolence is what you do in an act of caring, and being nice to others.
6.)Paternal Government, in basic terms, is when your being watched.
1. Rectitude is being able to make decisions that will later make you a greater person.
2. Confucius and Mencius were both philosophers that tryed helping others have better lives.
3. Giri is a person’s duty to their superiors, masters, society and more.
4. to the book courage is doing what is right
5. Benevolence is doing something that is nice or kind to others.
6. Paternal Goverment is when the goverment watches and analyzes your life just to be sure that you can live by your self
I find it funny how the paternal government can just check in and have it make sure that you can manage your own life.
1- a rectitude is ones ability to make the correct decision, in life.
2- Mencius and Confusius were philosiphers who wanted to make your life bettter, and good.
3- A Giri is a person job to respect others that hove high athority over them. The higher class a master, parent, teacher, etc.
4- Courage, according to the book is”doing what is right.”
5-Benevolence is an act of doing good, being kind to people.
6-A paternal goverment is when the goverment watches you. They know your life basicly, and they analyz you and they do this so they know you can do things by yourself.
1. Rectitude is the morally correct behavior, in other opinions.
2. Mencius and Confucius were both Chinese philosophers who wanted to live and help other live better/ sinless lives. They enforced what Bushido is.
3.Giri is the duty or what someone else in society wants and expects us to do.
4.What the book says courage is, is “doing what is right”.
5.Benevolence is what you are willing to do that is nice or kind to someone else.
6. A paternal government is a government that watches over you and looks at exactly what you do in your social and business lives.