Asakura Clan House Code - Law #1 | Part 1 of 17 Article Series

ORIGINAL TEXT:

The Asakura Family must not appoint anyone to the rank of Elder (a senior official). But instead, utilize the services of men of ability and loyalty without regard to the positions they hold.

MODERN INTERPRETATION:

Understand your place in the social network. Don’t invite unnecessary trouble by openly attacking a sleeping dragon.  Instead, build strength quietly in the background by bringing together people of ability and strong moral values who believe in your cause and are committed to working for the common benefit.

Historical Context of the Asakura House Code

In the time (1480AD) the Asakura House Code was developed, there was a system of government and control throughout Japan which was beginning to crumble.

The Shogunate, the military rulers of Japan, determined which clan would rule over a certain domain, and would extend governmental powers to certain persons in those clans.

The Shiba Clan was originally declared the “Shugo” or military rulers of Echizen province, however, the Shiba clan rebelled against the Shogun.  

The Leader of the Clan: Asakura Toshikage

The leader of the Asakura Clan at the time, Asakura Toshikage, saw and seized an opportunity.  He sided with the Shogun, and overthrew the Shiba clan, gaining new military power and support from the Shogunate.  The Asakura Family was then appointed as “Shugo” or military governor of their domain, Echizen Province.  

The Shogunate set out limitations on appointing others into certain high ranking positions. Therefore, Asakura Toshikage decided to leave well enough alone and not rock the boat by making any political power moves against the Shogun.  

He opted instead for a more practical, and more humble approach - simply to make the best use they could of men with great ability and loyalty to the Asakura family.

Maximize Individual Contribution based on Abilities

From a modern business, organizational, cultural, or leadership context: the idea here is to observe the skills and qualities of each person in your organization, and focus on building a meritocracy (where the best ideas, skills, and abilities win) instead of on a status based organization (where the highest ranking people make decisions and everyone else follows).  In a meritocracy, the leader’s challenge is to ensure that each person is placed in an area where they can have an excellent impact, and to mitigate the effects of jealousy, greed, and ego. 

Always be Connected with your Team

Strong leaders are in touch with their teams.  True leaders are able to recognize the most valuable qualities of each team member.  A leader ensures each person is in the right position to make the most valuable contribution possible, and reshuffles people accordingly to match the needs of the larger organization as a whole.  

What about the problem of EGO?

This would have been hard on some Samurai’s egos!  People in important positions/roles often want to have important sounding titles!  Especially today with all the funny business titles that go around!  People want to feel special and step over each other to have “Director” or “Manager” in their work title.  Everyone and their mother is listed as “CEO” these days on social media…

Create Organizational Culture of Pragmatism, Humility, and Loyalty

By choosing as the very first law in their House Code that function and service are to be more important than title, Asakura Toshikage likely aimed to create a culture of pragmatism, humility, and service for the right reasons - to sincerely help the Asakura Clan!  This first code sets the stage for a culture and understanding of a functional meritocracy - where the best ideas and abilities win out over status and title. People interested only in the status a “senior official” title would bring would NOT be attracted to serve the Asakura Clan - and GOOD!  The clan would be better off without them!

NEXT LAW IN THE SERIES : A PREVIEW

The next article, Law #2, is regarding not giving a leadership position to someone who might be loyal, but lacks ability.  Leaders must actually be able to LEAD.