bushido

Chivalric code of honour of the Japanese military caste, the samurai. Bushido means ‘the way of the warrior’; the code stresses simple living, self-discipline, and bravery.

Bushido originated during the 12th-century wars leading up to the first shogunate, but until the Edo period it was an unwritten code of loyalty and restraint. The austerity and meditative awareness of Zen Buddhism played a large part in shaping this outlook. From the 17th century there are various writings, influenced by Confucianism, explaining Bushido. The martial-arts scholar Yamaga Sokō wrote several books, including Bukyō zensho/A Compendium of Military Teachings 1656. Hagakure 1717 is the collected teachings of Jōchō Yamamoto (1659–1719) on the manners and inner life of the ideal samurai. Both this and Budō shoshin-shu/First Steps in Bushido by Daidoji Yuzan, which dates from the early 18th century, emphasize a constant awareness of death.