Chugi or Fealty

"Chugi", which means "fealty to the lord", is one of the ethics of Confucianism. It was the most important thing for the samurai.

In Japanese feudalism the basic idea was that the lord and his vassals shared a common destiny. In this system, the hierarchical relation did not mean that the vassals would blindly follow the lord. Inazo wrote
in his book "Bushido", that "the vassal who, flattering the lord, blindly obeyed wrongful thinking or impulsive ideas, was thought to be ignoble.

He also wrote that "true chügi means that the vassal should correct the wrongful thinking, even with his life, when he observed it". On the other hand, the lord was required to be an excellent person who was worthy of being supported with the lives of the vassals. It was "gi" or "doing the right things without private gain" that was required by the lord. The Japanese feudalism was a pyramid system formed by the lord find his vassals, and with the families forming the base. The idea of "chugi" is still alive today in the form of the strong cooperative spirit of the modern Japanese which is based on this pyramid system.