Katsui's Story: Class Dedifferentiation In The Samurai

Musui’Story is a samurai’s autobiography that describes the Tokugawa society. Katsu was born as the third son of Otani family, and was given away to a family with hereditary privilege. Unlike Hagakure: The book of the Samurai, and other Samurai books written functionally. Musui’Story taught all Samurai after him a lesson by telling his unworthy and complicated life of a samurai’s way, running, cheating, lying, challenges and triumphs. This essay would analyze Katsu an a subject to demonstrate the real samurai’s life reflecting the class dedifferentiation in the late Tokugawa Era.
Katsu was one of the samurai at that age and his behaviors brought his life contradicted almost every code of the Bushido. In his earlier years, he slipped away from studying, and had a bad relationship with his grandmother. He was easy to lose temper and fighting back to every insult. During his adult year, he even stole money from his brother showing his lack of respect for the ethic. Although there are defining moments that transformed Katsu’s character, he had run away from twice and punished by his father strictly. The life of Katsu was full of lies, deceits and worthless fights and nearly everything he did broke the rules. Later Katsu continued his deceitfulness by lying to officials about simply being a swordsman. He even exaggerated his
Samurai lived by the code of Bushido, which emphasized on the rule that they should respect and honor those above them on the social class. And they should obey all the commanders. On the contrary, the reality is a large percentage of samurai become jobless and homeless at the end of Tokugawa Era. Less of governmental offices can provide them occupations as the long period of peace for 200 years. So without war, the samurai’s role and life style dramatically changed since there was no more