Marek Sfugier

This article is an attempt to analyze the controversial film Only God forgives in terms of its creative inspirations associated with the Far Eastern spirituality. The works of Nicolas Winding Refn were chosen as a basis for those reflections. They include eight movies and constantly appearing themes: existentialism, the duality of the human soul, the eternal struggle between good and evil, and violence as a form of art expression. The later part of this article focuses on the syncretic meanings of those themes for the major philosophical ideas and historical motifs found in Thailand. These include: the duality of the human soul combined with the dual nature of the way of the warrior and  Buddhist elements which are complementing it. The perception of an martial arts master as an artist, and the role of spiritualised violence in his artistic expression. The main motive of a mother and son relationship as an attempt at  dialogue with certain issues of Confucianism. And Taoist opposing forces – yin and yang, as a resemblance of the struggle of Thai people to preserve their independence against Western colonizers. The author hopes that this  modest contribution to the debate on the art works of Nicolas Winding Refn will be a subject for further studies.

This article was based on the Author’s thesis in the field of Human Resources Management defended in 2011 at Kozminski University (in association with the Gdansk Foundation for Management Development). The text was divided into four main chapters. The first one presents a brief history of the Japanese chivalry ethos – the way of the warrior, the evolution of its components and the importance of the idea of bushidō in Japan’s feudal society, which over time has taken the form of seven values depicted in details in Inazō Nitobe’s (1862–1933) book Bushido: The Soul of Japan, first published in 1900. The second section of the article describes the concept of servant leadership in management, introduced into professional literature by Robert K. Greenleaf (1904–1990) and discusses ten attributes of a servant leader. The third chapter is an attempt to inscribe the values of bushidō into servant leadership, and to find the connecting elements of both concepts. The fourth section is based on the international survey made in February 2011 among the leaders of Jeppesen (A Boeing Company) and the analysis of its results. All four parts combine Author’s both practical and theoretical experience as a manager and at the same time are an attempt to answer the following questions: How is it possible that in the Land of the Rising Sun, where for a Westerner most things seem to work the other way around, there are values quite understandable and close to him? What makes that both ideas of leadership and the perception on the role of a leader in two different societies have so much in common, despite the barriers of time and distance? How do the values of bushidō fit into the model of servant leadership? And in particular: Can today’s leaders recognize some elements of this idea as useful in their daily work?

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) is undoubtedly the most famous Japanese swordsmen known outside of the Land of the rising Sun. Despite this, his life remains largely a mystery, and is known today mainly through the historical novel written by Eiji Yoshikawa (1892–1962), its many film adaptations and also his treaty called Gorin-no sho (The Book of Five Rings, 1645). This article however focuses exclusively on Musashi’s last written testimony – The Dokkōdō (The Way of Walking Alone, 1645). The author is trying to explain the circumstances of its creation and the essence of its meaning. It is also an attempt of interpretation and – above all, a look at Musashi through the prism  of the rules contained in The Dokkōdō. For the purpose of this analysis, three separate translations of Musashi’s Dokkōdō had been made into Polish. The author hopes that this modest contribution to the debate on Miyamoto Musashi will be a subject to further discussion.