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The Hagakure, a handbook of conduct from the twilight days of the Samurai caste, sometimes gets taken too seriously. My favorite passage is this account of a bloody brawl’s aftermath:

Gorobei’s wounds were numerous. Although he stopped the bleeding, he died on account of drinking some water. Dohaku’s wife suffered some severed fingers. Dohaku’s wound was a severed neck bone, and since only his throat remained intact, his head hung down in front. Now boosting his head up with his own hands, Dohaku went off to the surgeon ’s.

The surgeon’s treatment was like this: First he rubbed a mixture of pine resin and oil on Dohaku’s jaw and bound it in cloth. He then attached a rope to the top of his head and tied it to a beam, sewed the open wound shut, and buried his body in rice so that he would not be able to move.

Dohaku never lost consciousness nor did he change from his everyday attitude, nor did he even drink ginseng. It is said that only on the third day when there was a hemorrhage did he use a little medicinal stimulant. In the end the bones mended, and he recovered without incident.

Wow!! Next time I sprain a finger sparring, you won’t hear a peep out of me.

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