Author ｜
Wai-ming Ng
Abstract ｜
Essays, novels and folklores in China and Japan contain many touching stories about loyal dogs. While becoming an ethical embodiment, loyal dogs show different definitions of loyalty in these two nations. They stand for gentlemen and loyal ministers in China, whereas they serve as a model for samurai in Japan. Bushidō 武士道 (samurai ethics) stressed absolute loyalty to their lords and dying for their lords was regarded an honor and responsibility. This moral preference can be found in the stories of loyal dogs. Like samurai, loyal dogs in Japan were willing to die for their masters and follow their masters into death. Tales of loyal dogs reached the peak of their popularity during the Tokugawa period (Edo or early modern, 1603-1868). Many stories and relics appeared and loyal dogs who died for their masters were buried and worshipped in Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples. Their stories were widely circulated through local history records, essays, novels and ukiyoe 浮世繪 paintings. Stories about loyal dogs that committed suicide to follow their master into death (junshi 殉死) deserve special academic attention, as they demonstrate that the philosophy of death in bushidō became influential in Tokugawa Japan. Based on primary sources, this article examines the intellectual significance of the tales of the loyal dogs and their implications for an understanding of the rise of bushidō in Tokugawa Japan.
keywords ｜
royal dogs, bushidō, junshi, loyalty, Tokugawa Japan