01 The Founding of the Nation Let us begin with Ushiwaka Maru, who lifed in Kyoto in the twelfth century. A stalwart boy, he defeated the ferocious monk Benkei in a swordfight. Benkei admired his opponent so much that he became Ushiwaka Maru's faithful retainer, for life. How is Ushiwaka Maru related to Minamoto no Kurou Yoshitsune, the young general who rode down the ateep hills of Hiyodori Pass, to crush the Heike at the battle of Ichi no Tani in 1185? They are one and the same. As a boy he was Ushiwaka Maru, and as an adult he took the name Minamoto no Kurou Yoshitsune. This change of name took place at his coming-of-age ceremony, which is equivalent to the present-day adulthood ceremony. A youth is accepted and treated as an adult, taking on responsibility as a man. The coming-of-age ceremohy therefore was a solemnly celebrated occasion. But Ushiwaka Maru could not have the formal ceremony, because he was born under an unlucky atar in the first year of the Heiji era (1159) in Kyoto. Within a year his father Minamoto no Yoshitomo lost in a war and was beheaded. Ushiwaka Maru, a newborn baby, fled in his mother's arms but was eventually arrested. He was placed in the custody of the Buddhist monks Mt. Kurama in the north-eastern part of Kyoto. There he trained himself, and escaped. On his way to the city of Hiraizumi in the northern provinces, he set up his own coming-of-age ceremony at the Kagami Station in Ohmi Province (Shiga Prefecture), because there was no one to arrange it for him.　He was said to have been sixteen, but that was by the oldfashioned calender, so he must actually have been fifteen. He was an exception. Generally the coming-of-age ceremony was a most formal and sacred occasion, as in the case of his ancestor in the fourth generation, Hachiman Tarou (1041-1108), a famous general whose about name was Minamoto no Yoshiie. Minamoto no Yoshiie was an elegant man. Once he was appointed Governor of the Northern Provinces to pacify the uprisings of that region. When he came to the Barrier of Nakoso(in Fukushima Prefecture), he saw cherry blossoms in bloom, falling and flying with the wind. Prizing the bloom he composed the famous poem: "How I wish to forbid the blowing wind, At the Barrier of Nakoso, the 'forbidding' gate. But the mountain cherry blossoms are falling, Filling the rord, to narrow down the pass." The name Nakoso means "forbidden to come." This poem describes how the petals from the cherry blossoms fell and flew about in the air, filling the rord so that the pass seemed narrowed, and therefore forbidding passage. Minamoto no Yoshiie was a fierce man of valour in warfare. Yet he was touched by the falling cherry blossoms, and made this poem. People have admired him ever since for his cultivation and tender heart. Minamoto no Yoshiie was called Genta as a boy. When he was seven, he had his coming-of-age ceremony at Iwa Shimizu Hachiman-guu Shrine in Kyoto, before the Gods. Thus came his adult name, Hachiman Tarou Yoshiie (Tarou means a first-born son.) Generally boys had the ceremony at fifteen, and became adults, responsible for their words and actions. Before this they were treated leniently as children. The ceremony, therefore, was the pivotal point in one's life. Some exceptional boys like Hachiman Tarou had it earlier. Houjou Tokimune (1251-84), who was called Shouju Mura as a boy, bacame Tokimune at age seven. A man of great deeds, he became an important figure in the Government (Bakufu) at fourteen, was a government envoy to negotiate with the Mongols at eighteen, repelled the Mongol invaders at twenty-four, annihilated the foreign enemy of one million at Hakata Bay at thirty-one. Thus at age seven, he must have had the character and cultivation of an adult. In form, coming-of-age is mere ceremony. But in spirit, it means making a resolution to attain what is expected of an adult: integrity, and a clear objective. Confucius was a philosopher in ancient China, preceding Jesus Christ by five hundred years. A great thinker, he touched and influenced a wide range of people over a long period of time. He might be said to stand side by side with Jesus Christ of the West, and Buddha of India. Confucius said, "At fifteen, I set my heart on learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty I knew what were the biddings of Heaven." Confucius made a resolution and set a purpose in life at age fifteen. And at thirty, he stood firmly on his resolution, and had no doubts. Gesshou (1817-58), a monk who left Yamaguchi Prefecture for Kyoto to dedicate himself to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, wrote a famous poem: "I am a man, and I love home with resolution. If I do not complate my learning, I will not, return, though I die. My ashes need not be placed in a graveyard − Lush mountains to bury them are eveywhere." Here again, "resolution" and "learning" refer to setting one's objectives in life, and establishing the direction towards it. At this time one's life is set into a determined course. For individuals, the coming-of-age ceremony is form, and making a resolution is spirit. Let us consider peoples. There is a similar occasion for a people: the founding of the nation. The beginning of the Japanese people goes back to antiquity. Society must have been scattered and irregular, with no unified purpose or commonly shared responsibility. But when unification came to give a purpose, under a singular will, ready to take on responsibility in relation to other peoples, the founding of the nation took place. Some say that the Japanese are a mixed race. The Japanese people incorporate others well, so they must have accepted other peoples and intermingled. But the central core, the main source of vigour, is distinct in character. Some scholars have worked on skeletal and hematological data, and reported that Japanese physical characteristics are also found at the lower delta of Yangzi River in China, through the Okinawa Islands, and in Kyuushuu. Shikoku, Honshuu, and other surrounding islands. The Japanese people comprise a group in themselves. Yet on the basis of reseach on bone structures and blood, they share those uniform physical characteristics with other peoples. What would have happened to the Japanese people if they had not founded a nation ? The people who live in the lower delta of the Yangzi River are similar to the Japanese people in skeletons and blood type, but they do not share much in common with the Japanese identity. That is why it is so important to found a nation, unify the will of the people to form a cohesive unit, and proceed towards a higher objective in an organized way. In summary, for an individual, there is coming of age and resolution. For a group of people, coming of ade and resolution correspond to the founding of the nation. In the next chapter we will examine how this took place in Japan.

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