Hello everybody. Recently I was reading the book THE FIGHTING SPIRIT OF JAPAN by E. J. Harrison. At the 8th chapter of this book there is the following poem:
“I have no parents; I make the heavens and the earth my parents.
I have no home; I make saika tanden my home.
I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power.
I have no means; I make docility my means.
I have no magic power; I make personality my magic power.
I have neither life nor death; I make a um my life and death.
I have no body; I make stoicism my body.
I have no eyes; I make the flash of lightning my eyes.
I have no ears; I make sensibility my ears.
I have no limbs; I make promptitude my limbs.
I have no laws; I make self-protection my laws.
I have no strategy; I make sakkatsu jizai (literally “free to kill and free to restore to life”) my strategy.
I have no designs; I make kisan (taking opportunity by the forelock) my designs.
I have no miracles; I make righteous laws my miracles.
I have no principles; I make adaptability to all circumstances (rinkiohen) my principles.
I have no tactics; I make kyojitsu (emptiness and fulness) my tactics.
I have no talent; I make toi sokumyo (ready wit) my talent.
I have no friends; I make my mind my friend.
I have no enemy; I make incautiousness my enemy.
I have no armour; I make jin-gi (benevolence and righteousness) my armour.
I have no castle; I make fudoshin (immovable mind) my castle.
I have no sword; I make mushin (absence of mind) my sword.”
The writer of the book does not explain the source. As referance (i am not sure) has a book by a Japanese writer Kumashiro Hikotaro. On web, this poem seems that belongs to a 14th century anonymous samuray. I could not find where these verses are at Hikotaro's book.
Does anyone know the excact resource of therse verses?
Help would be great.
The links for the books of Harrison and Hikotaro are the followings:
The Fighting Spirit of Japan
国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション - 気合術 : 殺活自在
Thank you all my friends.