What is the role of the samurai in a company like B16?

Has the role of the samurai been exhausted in the society to which they belonged or does it continue to influence us today?

For those who already know a bit about our agency, it’s no news that we find in samurai culture very important lessons and inspiration for our day-to-day work as a company and as creatives.

It’s no coincidence that we call ourselves B16 – The Creative Clan, in a clear and assumed allusion to the clans that composed the history of the samurai. However, in order to better explain this symbiosis with part of Japanese history, we need to better understand the social role of these unique characters: the samurai.

What legacy did the samurai leave behind?

The presence of the samurai in Japanese history has lasted several centuries, influencing society and the very culture of this country. Although they emerged as a class of warriors, they became much more than that.

The samurai also made a name for themselves as researchers, poets and artists. So, it’s not surprising that they also influenced Japanese culture in many ways.

But for us, as a “clan”, we are mainly interested in their strict code of honour, discipline and loyalty to their masters. To this day, their values are an example of righteousness, respect and integrity.

For this reason, we have adopted and even dedicated an article to the theme of Bushido, the samurai code of conduct, which is an example of honour and self-discipline and which in Japan continues to guide both personal and professional relationships.

It is very much because of these principles that Japan is a country that highly values teamwork and collaboration between peers. And it is also in this spirit that B16 – The Creative Clan was born and grows daily.

Parallelism: samurai hierarchy vs B16 – The Creative Clan

Another samurai legacy that we adopted at B16 – The Creative Clan, in addition to the previously mentioned Bushido, was the different positions that existed within the samurai clans. Thus, we tried to establish a parallel between the various roles of those figures and the roles that each one occupies within our agency.

Shogun

The Shogun was the leader of the Shogunate. As such, he was a respected figure on whom several responsibilities fell. As leader, it was up to him to guide the paths followed by the members of the Shogunate, although history shows us that this was not usually done in isolation, which means that the Shogun did not hold absolute power.

In terms of the internal organization of B16 – The Creative Clan, our Shogun should be understood as the one who guides the direction taken by the team, opening up paths/opportunities and defining the main business strategies.

Ronin

We also have a Ronin on our team. In feudal Japan, this was a samurai without a master.

At B16 – The Creative Clan, we understand this element as the responsible to bring new ideas and inputs, helping us to get out of our comfort zone and always see things from another perspective.

Black belt

Knowing that samurai culture has also influenced Japanese culture, for example in terms of martial arts, we have also included a black belt in our team. In this case, as a synonym for someone who is an expert in something.

Why are these age-old positions still relevant today?

The timeliness of samurai history is due to the fact that it is based on structuring principles for any human being and society. In addition to the values of Bushido, the samurai were figures who always lived with great discipline and an exceptional sense of perfection.

Until their death, they sought to grow, evolve and learn more and more in order to become noble, wise and capable. Another important idea, very present in martial arts influenced by this culture, is the control of one’s inner energy and the search for tranquillity.

We believe that, although the wars are different from those of feudal Japan in the time of the samurai, every day is, in its own way, a battle that we must face with the uprightness and ethics with which the samurai fought their battles.

We should see these daily battles not as a war with others, but as a clash with ourselves, always on the path to being more and better, not than others, but than ourselves. Always surpassing ourselves, more and more…

That’s why one of the samurai mottos is “Whatever you do, do it supremely”. This motto brings us to another relevant reference in Portuguese literature, with which we would like to end this reflection, as it also serves as an appeal to our total dedication to every cause we get involved with:

“To be great whole, exclude nothing

Exaggerate nothing that is you

Be whole in everything. Put all you are

Into the smallest thing you do.

The whole moon gleams in every pool

Because it rides so high.“

14 – 2 – 1933?

REIS, Ricardo, Poesia, edi??o Manuela Parreira da Silva. Lisboa: Assírio & Alvim, 2000, p. 130