Kumazawa Banzan: The Samurai Ecologist
Book review of "Governing the Realm and Bringing Peace to All Below Heaven" and five things that modern day America can learn from it.
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With two recent critically-acclaimed TV series, Netflix’s ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ and FX/Hulu’s ‘Shogun,’ 17th-century Japan is having a bit of a cultural moment, and rightfully so, as it was a fascinating time.
In one of life’s odd coincidences, last summer, I came across WrathOfGnon’s newsletter, “How To Heal a Mountain: The Neo-Confucian Ecology of Kumazawa Banzan.” It was about the 17th-century samurai Kumazawa Banzan’s innovative re-forestation efforts in Okayama prefecture after a devastating typhoon and flooding in 1654. After reading, I immediately wanted to know more.
Fortunately, at the end of 2020, Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought published the first modern1 English translation of Banzan’s major work, “Governing the Realm and Bringing Peace to All Below Heaven.”
Now, it certainly says something about me that I so easily decided to read the philosophical treatise considered the first major writing on political economy in early modern Japanese history, especially one with such a grandiose title as, “Governing the Realm and Bringing Peace to All Below Heaven.” But it turned out to be a fascinating read.
Of course, some of the specifics were just that: specific. There are no samurai in the United States and rice is not our major commodity and food source. We have neither an emperor nor a shogun and we are not at risk of being invaded by steppe nomads.2 But if one is able to abstract away the details of 17 century Japan and focus on the philosophical core of Banzan’s thought, it is intriguing how relevant and applicable his work is to modern day America.
Brief Background and Historical Context for 17th-Century Japan
Kumazawa Banzan (1619-1691) was born into interesting times.
The Imperial House of Japan, or the House of Yamato, has ruled Japan since the 6th century AD. It is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world (continuing today with the current emperor, Naruhito). However, for much of Japanese history, the emperorship was ceremonial; true power lay with the Shogun, or the commander of the military.
The Shogun’s power came from the allegiance of the daimyos, or feudal lords, whose control of large landholdings allowed them to pay and maintain standing armies of samurai. If one or more daimyos were uncooperative, the Shogun could command his own samurai, plus the other daimyos and their samurai, against the ones that stepped out of line.
Like most military dictatorships, this was a stable system, until it wasn’t. For most of the 1500s, Japan experienced a long-running civil war known as the Sengoku period. It wasn’t until the Battle of Sekigahara in October 1600 that Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidated power and established the Tokugawa shogunate, which would last until 1868.
Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid economic growth and urbanization, producing much larger cities and the flourishing of the Ukiyo culture within them. This urbanization combined with the establishment of trade with the Portuguese after the latter’s discovery of Japan in the late 1500s, led to a rising and robust merchant class.
However, things weren’t all rosy. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of Sakoku. European contact meant Christian missionaries and a decrease of religious unity within Japan. Rapid urbanization meant shifting populations, a large consumption of natural resources, and a rapidly evolving culture.
It was this world of the early Tokugawa shogunate that Kumazawa Banzan was born into in 1619.
Banzan’s biography is detailed in the introduction book and in many ways, he had the stereotypical life as a samurai: training in the art of warfare followed by allegiance and service to various lords. However, he always displayed intellectual talents and after serving as a student to several teachers, started gather students of his own by publishing his own writing. This lead to a lifetime of “teaching, domain administration, and theorizing on matters related to politics, fiscal policy, civil engineering, disaster relief, religion, literature, ethics, history, education, and national defense.”3
This culminated in the publication of his magnum opus, the aforementioned “Governing the Realm and Bringing Peace to All Below Heaven.” This was because the work proposed “nothing less than a comprehensive, radical reorganization of the Tokugawa polity, one which, if implemented, would have effectively revolutionized the early-modern realm, transforming everything from the hinterlands to the shogun’s capital, the socio-economic hierarchy, the spiritual order, the ecological integrity of mountain and rivers, the structure of education, and even the theoretical foundations of political order.”4
Its publication enraged the Shogun and led to Banzan spending his final years exiled inside of Koga Castle.
Returning to the Old Farmer-Samurai Society
“If farmer and samurai are reunited, Japan's martial courage will become exceptionally strong, validating the country's reputation as the land of true warriors.” - Kumazawa Banzan, page 62
The rapid urbanization that occurred under the Tokugawa shogunate shifted a large portion of its population, culture, and wealth into major cities like Edo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagasaki. Banzan recognized that while cities aren’t necessarily bad, in order for a nation to truly thrive, all parts of the polity and all types of people needed to be successful.
In that vein, he proposed a series of reforms designed to help both rural farmers and increasingly-urban samurai, with the ultimate goal of samurai returning to the countryside and living and working alongside farmers and peasantry. Samurai returning to the countryside would spread education and wealth, while farmers would benefit from the additional labor force. They would mutually benefit but learning each others ways and strengthening social bonds. After several generations, they would fully merge as the a “farmer-samurai” people.
Moving to modern-day America, you’ve probably heard about the de-industrialization and de-population of rural America. The urbanization of America has been a long-term trend, with now over four-fifths of Americans living in urban areas. This culminated in rural America losing absolute population for the first time in the last census. And it’s not just people, the economy is increasingly concentrated in urban areas and states. The top 25 twenty five metro areas make up over half of American GDP.
To be clear, humanity has long concentrated in cities (think Ancient Rome, Victorian London, Tokugawa Edo, etc.) and cities are not necessarily bad. There is no realistic scenario where 90% of Americans returning to full-time farming is desirable. But there is increasing recognition that, just like Banzan recognized, that all parts of a nation must thrive in order for the whole to flourish. This over-concentration of urban areas is hurting America and is counter-productive, which the quintessential example being Amazon’s search for additional headquarters locations, receiving over 200 bids from various localities, but ultimately selecting New York City and Arlington, Virginia (read Washington DC).
Post-pandemic there have been some positive trends. For example, estimates have suggested a return to absolute growth in rural populations. Moreover, under President Biden, private companies have announced over $400 billion in manufacturing investments across the United States. Many are outside of the classic mega-regions of the Northeast Corridor, Texas Triangle, Coastal California, Chicago, and Florida.
There have even been more radical ideas such as breaking the DC-monopoly on government and spreading the departments of the federal government across the nation. With modern telecommunications and travel, there is no longer any logistical reasons to concentrate everything in Washington DC. This relocation would bring thousands of high-quality jobs and economic revitalization to distressed areas, and has received support from across the ideological range, from left-wing Vox, non-partisan Brookings, and to the specific proposal below from Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Banzan recognized that all parts of a nation must thrive in order for the entire whole to flourish. Modern America can learn from that recognition.
The Heaven-Decreed Duty of the People’s Ministers
“The heaven-decreed duty of a minister is to assist the ruler in implementing compassionate government... Ministers should not covet authority and power for themselves but instead recognize those as belonging to the ruler." - Kumazawa Banzan, page 8
The core of Banzan’s thought was building a “compassionate government,” one that was centered on the people and their welfare. This centering of the people as the foundation can even be seen in his phrasing of titles like “the people’s ruler” and “the people’s ministers.”5 This “compassionate government” is one that secures the well-being of the people and is only achieve through virtuous rule by both the leader and their ministers.
Examples of virtue include clear and direct lines of communications between the ruler, the ministers, and the people, a prioritization of real-world improvements over philosophical discussion or political maneuvering, and an equitable distribution of money and land around the realm. Leaders and ministers who focus only on their own wealth and power will lead the realm to ruin.
Unfortunately, modern-day America has seen a proliferation of leaders whose main desire is the accumulation of their own power and wealth. Below are some of the oldest members of Congress.
And to be very clear, the criticism is not directly their age, but their tenure. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been in Congress for over 49 years, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over 39 years, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) over 38 years, Dick Durbin (D-IL) over 41 years, and many other examples. Dianne Feinstein would rather be wheelchaired into the Senate than resign (she eventually did). Mitch McConnell would rather freeze up multiple times during public press conferences rather than resign. These are ‘representatives’ that have been wholly corrupted by the political machinery of DC and the polarization of their parties. They do not represent the people but themselves.
If “ministers should not covet authority and power for themselves,” then there are several common sense ways that America could curtail the current careerism, self-aggrandizement, constant fundraising, and rampant implicit corruption that surrounds our leaders. Some ideas include:
Ban stock trading by members of Congress and other officials
Overturn Citizens United and move toward publicly-funded elections
Increase the size of House of Representatives, or “Uncap the House”
Shorten the length of political campaigns
Term limits
Stronger laws against gifts for all public officials
The most radical idea of all, “Secret Government” (here is a great review of the book)
For Banzan, the primary goal of “compassionate government” was the well-being of the people, and that this was only achieved through virtuous rule by both the leader and their ministers. America should refocus itself on electing virtuous leaders and installing guardrails to prevent their wandering from the primary goal: the well-being of the people.
Making Mountains Luxuriant and Rivers Run Deep
“Compassionate government can restore mountains and rivers with a century… It would be impossible to calculate the amount of wealth and prosperity produced through this great achievement.” - Kumazawa Banzan, page 45-47
The rapid urbanization and economic growth of the Tokugawa shogunate caused a massive consumption of resource as cities expanded and goods were produced. Since wood was the primary building material, Japan’s mountains and hillsides were increasingly barren, leading to flooding, erosion, famine, and death.
In 1654, a typhoon brought severe flooding to Okayama prefecture. Kumazawa Banzan was placed in charge of situation, and after the immediate food shortages were alleviated, he instructed the villages to begin rebuilding, but this time with additional canals, dams, and waterworks to better resist future flooding events.
Importantly, he also turned his attention to the bare mountainsides. However, after years of erosion and no protection from the elements, the planting of seedlings did not work. The direct sunlight and wind was too harsh. What little soil was left had been stripped of its nutrients.
Banzan instructed the villagers to spread edible seeds all over the bare mountain ridges and cover it with a layer of cut grass. The edible seeds attached birds, whose droppings not only brought valuable nutrients, but also more seeds from other plants they had eaten. This combination of nutrients, diversity, and protective layer of dried grass greatly increased the germination of all the seeds, and the next season the previously bare mountain was covered in green.
Banzan recognized that protecting the natural systems of the Earth allowed all to flourish. Not only would mature trees prevent erosion and provide habitat for wild animals, but a thriving and properly managed forest would provide all the firewood and building materials for the villages. With less erosion, fertile farmland wouldn’t be washed away and rivers would run cleaner, removing silt and deepening the river bed, further helping to prevent flooding and protect the villages.
“If we simply focus on what benefits us now, we will be ignoring the harm that comes in later years.”6
Modern Americans so often see themselves as outside of or even masters of nature. We think we can control it and bend it to our will for our own personal gain. When previous generations discovered the American Midwest, they turned the richest soils in the world into the world’s leading breadbaskets. And no doubt, those soils have fed millions of families. But our domination of nature has also lead to destruction. The Midwestern United States has lost 57.6 billion tons of topsoil due to farming practices over the past 160 years. Iowa has some of the most populated water in the developed world. The annual dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico because of nutrient and chemical runoff and the ongoing depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer. We took the native prairies, an incredibly verdant and diverse ecosystem that built those fertile soils, and plowed it up in the name of agribusiness, meat packing conglomerates, and synthetic chemicals.
And we have options: regenerative agriculture, agroecology, silvopasture, natural farming. Regular readers will know that I own and operate a permaculture farm in my spare time. Agriculture and the rest of human society can work with nature.
Banzan understood that the maintentence of a healthy environment lead to a flourishing of general socio-economic welfare and benefitted everyone. We must mature into our responsibility as the keystone species, and care for and tend to all aspects of the natural systems that allow us to exist in the first place.
Helping Ronin, Vagrants, the Unemployed and the Impoverished
“Due to their considerable debts, people throughout the realm below heaven, high and low, are impoverished and distressed. If the authorities could eliminate debts and provide a debt-free future, nothing would bring greater joy and comfort to the various people of the realm.” - Kumazawa Banzan, page 44
If the primary goal of compassionate government is the well-being of the people, Kumazawa Banzan recognize that the state can and should help them.
There is an unfortunate stereotype that people’s misfortunes are their own doing, and no doubt, that is sometimes true. For example, there are absolutely people in poor financial situations because they mismanaged their finances and made bad decisions. But many people are in hard financial situations for a very simple reason: they don’t have money.
That might seem obvious or ridiculous, but it is an important point. Below is the rate of credit card delinquencies during the last two recessions, the Great Financial Crisis and the COVID pandemic. During the latter, when we spent direct monetary checks to everyone, credit card delinquencies went down. Many people made responsible choices once they had money.
Finances are obviously a complicated and multi-faceted topic that can’t be covered in a single section of a lone newsletter on 17th century Japan.
But perhaps we can recognize the wisdom in why so much of Banzan’s work is dedicated to direct monetary help for the people of Japan, of various different classes, from farmers to samurai, to ronin, vagrants, the unemployed.
Much of America’s modern safety net and assistance is shielded behind bureaucracy, red-tape, and means testing. We should recognize that our fellow Americans are mostly responsible and that the simpler, easier, and more cost-effective solution is to just give people money.
Worthy Rulers Reviving Japan
“Governing the realm and bringing peace to all below heaven involves finding the right people. Everyone knows this, but still it is difficult to put into practice.” - Kumazawa Banzan, page 82
Banzan warns against six weaknesses of mind that undermine a leader’s ability to govern the realm, ranging from the promotion of one’s own views without honestly considering those of others to obsession with material wants and goods. All six are associated with selfishness, greed, and the lack of intellectual honesty.
Unfortunately, given the state of modern America and our leaders, I don’t believe elaboration is necessary for this section.
What I will say is that America is is need of honest, hardworking, and talented leaders and that there are numerous organizations, such as Run For Something, that will help you launch and run a campaign for local, state, or national office.
In many ways, modern America is not Tokugawa Japan. But there is truth in the adage that “history doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes.” Yes, the world has changed greatly since Kumazawa Banzan’s life, but there is much that can be learned from the great samurai ecologist.
“Governing the Realm and Bringing Peace to All Below Heaven,” has my recommendation.
The previous one was over published over eighty years ago and is not readily available.
Or are we? (Source: Astral Codex Ten’s Every Bay Area House Party)
Introduction, page IX
Introduction, page IX
One can see how this work prodded the Shogun. This centering of the people and their welfare was an inversion. The Emperor granted the Shogun rule over Japan, i.e. from the Shogun’s perspective, his legitimacy had nothing to do with the people’s welfare.
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