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For those who are interested, here is a further excerpt bearing on
behavior and clothing from "Shakuhachi Zen, The Fukeshu and Komuso"
by James Sanford.
eB
"Ranks and Lifestyles
Once a man had been accepted into the komuso fraternity and given his
Buddhist name, the three seals and the three implements, he would
normally become a kyogai, or wandering monk. The first two ranks to
evolve in the institutionalized movement were those of kyogai and
jujishoku, or kanju. The jujishoku, or senior priests, were the
resident heads of the komuso temples scattered throughout the
country. They were supposed to be fully ordained Buddhist priests who
had taken the tonsure and possessed at least a moderate grasp of
Buddhist doctrine. The rank of kyogai was, by contrast, only
half-clerical. Kyogai wore their hair long, put on garments that,
although formulaic, were not formal monks robes, and wandered about
the country with swords and shakuhachi tucked in their belts. It is a
picture of these men that constitutes the standard Japanese image of
a komuso.
Initially it was not necessary to specify more ranks than
these two, but with the growth and evolution of the komuso new terms
came into being. As the large temples began to gather groups of
permanent residents to themselves, the term jujishoku came to be
supplemented by the ranks jizume and tsumeai, which designated lesser
resident monks. Monks attached to a temple but not livng in the main
precincts were given the title honsoku after the first 'seal'[of the
three seals--not referred to in these emails]. Eventually two other
groups differentiated out of the main body of the komuso. The more
important of these were the 'temporary komuso, called shuen josui or
'assistant flute players with sect connections'. This status was
actually prohibited by Tokugawa law, but by the end of the Edo period
there were many of these temporary komuso. Primarily, this rank or
status was used to incorporate non-samurai who wished to study the
shakuhachi. Although such men could not officially become komuso,
they were granted limited Fuke membership permits with specific
expiration dates. Another rank also forbidden but occasionally found,
was that of kaido, the personal disciples of a particular komuso. As
a final end-product, or possibly degeneration, of the movement,
mention can be made of the appearance in late Tokugawa times of
dandies known as Santo komuso, who dressed in a flashy modification
of the komuso pilgrim costume [see, there is really nothing new under
the sun...].
The kyogai pilgrim was, however, the typical and familiar
komuso. The costume and several peculiar customs of the kyogai
were...fixed by a tradition that traced its origin back to the
Kyotaku Denki biography of Kusunoki Masakatsu. The developed costume
of the kyogai pilgrim consisted as much in secondary paraphenalia as
in his actual clothing. His main outer garments might be either a
shirt and trousers or else a long belted gown with wide sleeves.
Usually these were dark blue in color. In addition, he word gloves
[!] and either straw sandals or high geta [wooden sandals raised on
blocks], the latter footwear becoming typical in the late Edo period.
On his chest the pilgrim carried a kenkon-bari, or 'Heaven and Earth
placard'. This moderate-sized wooden signboard had the slogan
'Non-born, non-dying' printed on its outer side and the pilgrim's
Buddhist name on the inner side. On his back he carried a bedroll
called a fusu. Strung from a cord attached to his cloak were his
san'ya-fukuro, or 'three-valley bags'. These were a begging bag, a
signboard bag, and a small box call a gebako. In addition he bore his
shakuhachi and swords. His face was, of course, hidden under the
tengai basket hat.
After a few weeks on the open road a komuso must have seemed
like a pilgrim long gone on a journey to the next world. And indeed,
the fact that his connectins with the world of men had been severed
would be made quite clear should he die on the road. In such an
event, in accordance with the ritual supposedly initiated by Kusonoki
Masakatsu, his corpse, together with his shakuhachi and gebako, would
be rolled up in his bedroll. The kenkon-bari would be set up as a
grave marker and his tengai placed over it. These would be left to
weather away naturally. No funeral service was necessary since the
wind blowing above his now silent shakuhachi would play an
ever-repeated funeral song.
While on his wanderings, the komuso pilgrim was expeceted to
talk as little as possible. Whether he sought lodging or was about
depart was shown by the way he carried his shakuhachi and wore his
tengai. If asked where he was going, the komuso was to reply, 'There
is no place wherein to dwell,' or 'Whatever direction or quarter'. If
he were asked who he was, he was to give only his temple's name and
his own religious name. If pressed further on this point, he was to
respond, 'What can you ask of one who consists of voidness wrapped up
in the form of a body, and who carries the shakuhachi of infinite
emptiness?' Then he was to back off a little and wave his flute at
the questioners.
If a komuso happened to meet one of his fellows along the
highway, they were to greet each other with prescribed high-pitched
calls. When they came to about two yards of each other, each man was
to hold his shakuhachi in front of himself, pointing it to the
ground. Then he momentarily lifted his tengai above eye level and
quickly dropped it back into place.
This knightly salute between comrades was matched by an
equally specific code of conduct to be followed when encountering
enemies. In such a situation, a komuso was not simply to rush forward
and slay his foe. Before any combat could take place, each man had to
have seconds. Only then could the komuso draw his 'short shakuhachi'
(actually a short sword), and even this was to be done with
prescribed ceremony. The bag in wich his sword was carried was tied
up with a cord that ended in two tassels, symbolizing yin and yang.
These had to be undone and the sword drawn out with appropriate fluid
motions. Finally , the battle proper could begin. This codification
of military etiquette need not be taken as an indication that the
komuso were involved in constant dueling with old enemies, although
their widespread reputation for arrogant rowdiness continued to the
end of the Tokugawa period in spite of the efforts of the main
temples to regulate the sect and curb its members. Rather, such
ritualization seems to have been part and parcel of the komuso claim
to samurai status and of the usually only half-expressed claim that
abused ronin had a quasi-legal right to enter the Fukeshu while
preparing a justified vendetta."
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<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type="text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>More from Dr. Sanford</title></head><body>
<div>For those who are interested, here is a further excerpt bearing
on behavior and clothing from "<i>Shakuhachi</i> Zen, The<i>
Fukeshu</i> and<i> Komuso</i>" by James Sanford.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>eB</div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i><br></i></div>
<div><i>"Ranks and Lifestyles</i></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Once a man had been accepted into the<i> komuso</i> fraternity
and given his Buddhist name, the three seals and the three implements,
he would normally become a<i> kyogai</i>, or wandering monk. The first
two ranks to evolve in the institutionalized movement were those of<i>
kyogai</i> and<i> jujishoku</i>, or<i> kanju</i>. The<i>
jujishoku</i>, or senior priests, were the resident heads of the<i>
komuso</i> temples scattered throughout the country. They were
supposed to be fully ordained Buddhist priests who had taken the
tonsure and possessed at least a moderate grasp of Buddhist doctrine.
The rank of<i> kyogai</i> was, by contrast, only half-clerical.<i>
Kyogai</i> wore their hair long, put on garments that, although
formulaic, were not formal monks robes, and wandered about the country
with swords and<i> shakuhachi</i> tucked in their belts. It is a
picture of these men that constitutes the standard Japanese image of
a<i> komuso.</i></div>
<div><i><x-tab>
</x-tab></i>Initially it was not necessary to specify more ranks than
these two, but with the growth and evolution of the<i> komuso</i> new
terms came into being. As the large temples began to gather groups of
permanent residents to themselves, the term<i> jujishoku</i> came to
be supplemented by the ranks<i> jizume</i> and<i> tsumeai</i>, which
designated lesser resident monks. Monks attached to a temple but not
livng in the main precincts were given the title<i> honsoku</i> after
the first 'seal'[of the three seals--not referred to in these emails].
Eventually two other groups differentiated out of the main body of
the<i> komuso.</i> The more important of these were the 'temporary<i>
komuso,</i> called<i> shuen josui</i> or 'assistant flute players with
sect connections'. This status was actually prohibited by Tokugawa
law, but by the end of the Edo period there were many of these
temporary<i> komuso. </i> Primarily, this rank or status was used
to incorporate non-samurai who wished to study the<i> shakuhachi.</i>
Although such men could not officially become<i> komuso,</i> they were
granted limited Fuke membership permits with specific expiration
dates. Another rank also forbidden but occasionally found, was that
of<i> kaido,</i> the personal disciples of a particular<i>
komuso. </i> As a final end-product, or possibly degeneration, of
the movement, mention can be made of the appearance in late Tokugawa
times of dandies known as<i> Santo komuso</i>, who dressed in a flashy
modification of the<i> komuso</i> pilgrim costume [see, there is
really nothing new under the sun...].</div>
<div><x-tab> </x-tab>The<i>
kyogai</i> pilgrim was, however, the typical and familiar<i>
komuso.</i> The costume and several peculiar customs of the<i>
kyogai</i> were...fixed by a tradition that traced its origin back to
the<i> Kyotaku Denki</i> biography of Kusunoki Masakatsu. The
developed costume of the<i> kyogai</i> pilgrim consisted as much in
secondary paraphenalia as in his actual clothing. His main outer
garments might be either a shirt and trousers or else a long belted
gown with wide sleeves. Usually these were dark blue in color. In
addition, he word gloves [!] and either straw sandals or high<i>
geta</i> [wooden sandals raised on blocks], the latter footwear
becoming typical in the late Edo period. On his chest the pilgrim
carried a<i> kenkon-bari,</i> or 'Heaven and Earth placard'. This
moderate-sized wooden signboard had the slogan 'Non-born, non-dying'
printed on its outer side and the pilgrim's Buddhist name on the inner
side. On his back he carried a bedroll called a<i> fusu.</i> Strung
from a cord attached to his cloak were his<i> san'ya-fukuro,</i> or
'three-valley bags'. These were a begging bag, a signboard bag, and a
small box call a<i> gebako.</i> In addition he bore his<i>
shakuhachi</i> and swords. His face was, of course, hidden under
the<i> tengai</i> basket hat.</div>
<div><x-tab> </x-tab>After a
few weeks on the open road a<i> komuso</i> must have seemed like a
pilgrim long gone on a journey to the next world. And indeed, the fact
that his connectins with the world of men had been severed would be
made quite clear should he die on the road. In such an event, in
accordance with the ritual supposedly initiated by Kusonoki Masakatsu,
his corpse, together with his<i> shakuhachi</i> and<i> gebako</i>,
would be rolled up in his bedroll. The<i> kenkon-bari</i> would be set
up as a grave marker and his<i> tengai</i> placed over it. These would
be left to weather away naturally. No funeral service was necessary
since the wind blowing above his now silent<i> shakuhachi</i> would
play an ever-repeated funeral song.</div>
<div><x-tab> </x-tab>While
on his wanderings, the<i> komuso</i> pilgrim was expeceted to talk as
little as possible. Whether he sought lodging or was about depart was
shown by the way he carried his<i> shakuhachi</i> and wore his<i>
tengai.</i> If asked where he was going, the<i> komuso</i> was to
reply, 'There is no place wherein to dwell,' or 'Whatever direction or
quarter'. If he were asked who he was, he was to give only his
temple's name and his own religious name. If pressed further on this
point, he was to respond, 'What can you ask of one who consists of
voidness wrapped up in the form of a body, and who carries the<i>
shakuhachi</i> of infinite emptiness?' Then he was to back off a
little and wave his flute at the questioners.</div>
<div><x-tab> </x-tab>If a<i>
komuso</i> happened to meet one of his fellows along the highway, they
were to greet each other with prescribed high-pitched calls. When they
came to about two yards of each other, each man was to hold his<i>
shakuhachi</i> in front of himself, pointing it to the ground. Then he
momentarily lifted his<i> tengai</i> above eye level and quickly
dropped it back into place.</div>
<div><x-tab> </x-tab>This
knightly salute between comrades was matched by an equally specific
code of conduct to be followed when encountering enemies. In such a
situation, a<i> komuso</i> was not simply to rush forward and slay his
foe. Before any combat could take place, each man had to have seconds.
Only then could the<i> komuso</i> draw his 'short<i> shakuhachi</i>'
(actually a short sword), and even this was to be done with prescribed
ceremony. The bag in wich his sword was carried was tied up with a
cord that ended in two tassels, symbolizing<i> yin</i> and<i>
yang.</i> These had to be undone and the sword drawn out with
appropriate fluid motions. Finally , the battle proper could begin.
This codification of military etiquette need not be taken as an
indication that the<i> komuso</i> were involved in constant dueling
with old enemies, although their widespread reputation for arrogant
rowdiness continued to the end of the Tokugawa period in spite of the
efforts of the main temples to regulate the sect and curb its members.
Rather, such ritualization seems to have been part and parcel of
the<i> komuso</i> claim to samurai status and of the usually only
half-expressed claim that abused<i> ronin</i> had a quasi-legal right
to enter the<i> Fukeshu</i> while preparing a justified
vendetta."</div>
</body>
</html>
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