Litnet

Friedrich Nietzsche:  "The Christian resolve to find the world evil and ugly, has made the world evil and ugly".

Hierdie sitaat vind ’n uitstekende aanpassing by kontrasterende kulturele opvattings oor homoseksualiteit, in hierdie geval tussen die Westerse Christen Wêreld en Japan. In die tradisie van die Samurai was een van die  kardinale aspekte van die Samurai- lewe en kultuur die emosionele band tussen senior Samurai  en sy jonger aspirant, ’n band waarvoor daar baie woorde bestaan om hierdie unieke verhouding te beskryf, soos bv bi-do, "the beautiful way". Hierdie eeue-oue tradisie word deur Ijiri Chusuke ( 1482) as volg beskryf:

 "In our empire of Japan this way flourished from the time of the great master Kobo. In the abbeys of Kyoto and Kamakura, and in the world of the nobles and the warriors, lovers would swear perfect and eternal love relying on no more than their mutual good will. Whether their partners were noble or common, rich or poor, was absolutely of no importance ... In all these cases they were greatly moved by the spirit of this way. This way must be truly respected, and it must never be permitted to disappear." (1)

Known also as wakashudo, "the way of the youth", it was a practice engaged in by all members of the Samurai class, from the lowliest warrior to the highest lord. Indeed it has been said that it would never have been asked of a daimyo (lord) why he took boys as lovers, but why he didn´t.

The Japanese as well as the Greeks equated the love between a man and a beardless youth with all that was best in human nature ...

Toe Westerse indringers (ongenooid) in Japan aan wal stap teen die middel van van die 15de eeu, was hierdie Europeërs erg geskok oor die "los moraliteit" en die  "degenerasie" van die Japanese. The Portugese skrywer, Luis Frois, in sy "Historia do Japaõ", dokumenteer hierdie ontmoeting in 1550 tussen die Jesuit priester Francis Xavier en die daimyo (plaaslike leier) van Yamaguchi, Ouchi Yoshitaka:

"The lord (Yoshitaka) welcomed them warmly and said that he would like to hear the new doctrine of the kirishitan (Christians). Brother Juan Fernandez read in a loud voice from a notebook in which were translated into Japanese the account of the Creation and the Ten Commandments. Having touched on the sin of idolatry and on the other faults committed by the Japanese, he arrived at the sin of Sodom, which he described as "something so abominable that it is more unclean than the pig and more low than the dog and other animals without reason.

“Yoshitaka then seemed to be angered and made a sign for them to go out. But the king made not a word of reply, and Fernandez believed that he would order them to be killed."

"The Christian resolve to find the world evil and ugly, has made the world evil and ugly": Opvallend dat:  gesien deur die Joodse-Christen bril, ’n tradisie wat so hoog geskat word deur mense van ’n ander hoë kultuur, so besoedel kan word.

(1) Ijiri Chusuke ( 1482): "The Essence of Jakudo" in The Love of the Samurai.

Beste wense,

Pieter Redelinghuys