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Rurouni

Submitted by Simon Reynolds on 20 September, 2005 - 5:04am. Leary's "The Cyberpunk: The Individual as Reality Pilot"

"No man is invincible, and therefore no man can fully inderstand that which would make him invincible"

Those are the definitive first words of The Book of Earth from Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings. He has been hailed as one of the greatest samurai to ever walk the face of the earth, and certainly the definition of a ronin. Though a samurai he was, it's not his government affiliation (or lack there of) that made him a ronin by today's standards. Though a master of the sword, he sought to also be the master of the brush...or the non-martialist arts. He felt it necessary to branch out and learn all aspects of art from painting to sculpture to poetry. As he reflected on his life in later years, Musashi realized that he had not walked the path of other men and had achieved mastery over himself, and sought to teach others how to mater themselves, thus Book of Five Rings was written. Being able to do so, as he says "must come from inside you without any preconcieved notions on your part." While Musashi never took to technology or bringing such things to others, it was this learning of self discipline, something so simple, that he brought to the table.

Personally, I like the ideal of a ronin, branching off and doing your own thing. I'm enthralled by the principles of the samurai, especially those with enough honor in their trade to break from government ruling, to become their own person. And if it were up to me, I would gladly take the place of a rurouni, or wanderer, samurai. Some may know of the anime Rurouni Kenshin, in with the central figure, Kenshin, is an ex-samurai (more importantly he was the Battousai, or man-slayer, an assassin if you will,) who'd broken all ties with the Japanese government after he realized their treatment of the people and what exactly they were making him do. He sets off as a rurouni, staying nowhere long, but helping those in need (though that's until he stops in Tokyo and ends up living there.) Personally, I'd love to live the ronin life of Kenshin, but alas, I can't break the chains of my life. I have a set goal I'm trying to achieve, and I don't want to leave that path. And I intend to follow that path, which I can't say leads to being a true ronin.

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I thought that most rounin

Submitted by thanhtran on 20 September, 2005 - 10:39am.

I thought that most rounin were forced out of “samurai-hood” when Japan established a new government… or something. So the idea of a rounin to me always seemed like the rounin was a lost puppy.

On the other hand, the idea of a rounin as a cyberpunk does sound appealing. To just break off from a lord or master or governor and simply live life and serve yourself. Basing my life on such a world view is difficult because I cannot let go. You’re right, we’ve set goals we’re trying to achieve, and we can’t just abandon that path yet. Also, it takes boldness to be a cyberpunk, you have to have marvelous ideas of which you’re willing to put on the table where people will pick at and criticize you.

You referred to the character, Himura Kenshin— although just a character from someone’s imagination, he is still very meaningful and idealistic. Even he had to complete his bloody duties as a samurai before he felt he accomplished something, and then leave his past. Kenshin could’nt really leave his past, it keeps coming back to haunt him throughout his retired life. I think that even if we want to live life with more freedom and independence, it would be difficult because of what we’ve affected, our connections, the people we know, and how society reacts.

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