On my personal motto

Though I am still in the process of fully applying the following in my life, nonetheless it provides me with some insight on how to survive my short stay on Planet Earth.

信長之果斷, - The decisiveness of Nobunaga (1)
家康之能耐, - The resilience of Ieyasu (2)
武藏之堅定, - The firmness of Musashi (3)
政宗之善變. - The adaptability of Masamune (4)

The motto is drawn from four important characters in the Japanese Sengoku (Warring States) Period (~1500-1615): Oda Nobunaga (織田信長), Tokugawa Ieyasu (德川家康), Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武藏), and Date Masamune (伊達政宗). With the exception of Miyamoto, whose spirit and teachings on Japanese swordsmanship is hailed by people worldwide and was the author of the Book of Five Rings, the rest were powerful warlords (daimyos) in this turbulent age.



(1) Nobunaga conquered Central Japan after decisively defeating the large force of Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川義元), though the former's army was outnumbered 7-to-1. Nonetheless his ruthlessness eventually led to his downfall in 1582.


(2) Ieyasu, though initially a vassal to the Imagawa and Oda families, became the winner in the Sengoku Period by founding the Tokugawa Shogunate, the last of its kind in Japan, in 1615. His resilience and patience when things were not going his way was the main reason for his victory over rival daimyos. It took a lot of guts for him to ask one of his sons to commit suicide on Nobunaga's orders, though his subordinates were ready to give their long term allies a fight before doing so (however Ieyasu had to rely on Nobunaga in order to survive at that time).

(3) Musashi's firmness and determination to become the best swordsman in Japan resulted in his victory over his archrival Sasaki Kochiro (佐佐木小次郎) (though the latter was more skilled than Musashi) just before Ieyasu ascended to the title of Shogun. Despite all the fanfare after his death, Musashi was alone for most of his life, which does not fit considering that social networks are the key to success in today's society.


(4) A latecomer to the Sengoku stage, Masamune showed the rest of Japan that he was a force to be reckoned with in the North after the swift unification of the province surrounding Sendai within 2 years at the age of 24. However it was impossible for Masamune to further challenge the dominance of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豐臣秀吉) and Ieyasu, as both have long solidified their positions as hegemons to Japan. He first declared his allegiance to Toyotomi, then later switched to the Tokugawa camp, while maintaining a large degree of independence from the two as they wrestled against each other to determine the ultimate winner (Masamune was right in choosing the latter). It was his adaptability to the changing tides that led to the survival of his clan to this day, though dreams of establishing a Date Shogunate became just a dream. (Edit: The current head of the Date Clan, Date Yasumune, has set up an official website, which can be accessed here: http://www.datemasamune.com/ )