Bushido: The Way of the Samurai (Square One Classics)

The Hagakure was dictated by Yamamoto and later scribed verbatim by Tsuramoto Tashiro over a period of seven years (1710-1716) in which they lived together in a far off mountain retreat in Japan. Tashiro was sworn to secrecy over the texts contents because the author believed the teachings to be far too radical and too militaristic for the then peaceful times during the Shogunate Rule (1603-1867). During this time of unusual calmness, the teachings of Buddhism and the ethical codes of Confucius permeated Japan, enriching every aspect of her culture from arts to politics. But the old Samurai, Yamamoto, believed (though acknowledging the Buddha and the tenets of Confucius) that the Samurai, as a class, had become effeminate and weak. Yamamoto's basic premise was that the Samurai could not serve two masters (religion and the Clan) and by doing so had become less effective. The service of the lord and the clan should come first, and once this was done, one could then amuse oneself with the studies of the humanities. In writing the Hagakura, Yamamoto hoped that someday the Samurai would return to the purity of its strong and compassionate past. More than this, however, he wanted to create a class of super-men. As Tanaka explains in his historical overview: "In his (Yamamoto) talks, he wanted every Samurai to become a super-man. But he wanted super-men who were capable of gaining great power, not for their own self-interest, but for the interest of the clan. He wanted super-men who were capable of operating effectively for the solidarity of the clan." (xv) This is the key to the power and longevity of the way of the Samurai, and that is its notion of devout loyalty to the Lord of the Clan and the Clan itself. All other concerns in life are simply deemed irrelevant. Moreover, that other essential dictum, do your duty to your parents. And lastly, but most importantly, ensuring compassion for all sentient beings and the devout service of others. By devoting oneself to these vows of allegiance and practicing them, Yamamoto believed the Samurai would attain super-man status. This particular translation is divided into eleven books, covering personal, social and philosophical advice from How to Excel Above Others, How to Conduct Yourself, Spiritual Vigour and Conceal Your Wisdom. These titles really speak for themselves. This is an excellent text to prime oneself on the foundational tenets of the way of the Samurai and a good introduction to the history of Japanese culture and thought in terms of social discourse and philosophical perspective.

The book of Bushido is made up of a number of rules the samurai Tsunetomo Yamamoto taught his disciple, Tsuramoto Tashiro. Over the period of seven years In which Tashiro lived with Yamamoto in his mountain retreat, he recorded what the old samurai taught him. This record of Yamamoto's rules for samurai was published by Tashiro and became known as Bushido. While I strongly disagree with some of these rules or lessons, I found quite a few that a person might want to learn well and make part of their own code of behavior. I know I will. Furthermore, Bushido gives us a good view of the cultural makeup of the Japanese people of today, many of whom do their best to follow the way of Bushido. All-in-all, I found this translation of the way of Bushido easy to follow, easy to read through quickly and quite interesting. I would highly recommend this small book to anyone wishing to understand the Japanese psyche and for anyone seeking a bit of wisdom.

Maybe you've seen the movie 'The Last Samurai' starring Tom Cruise. I think this movie is a very good resemblance of samurai culture and beliefs, even though it's in a Hollywood production. So what can I do with sword-knowledge on my laptop? Wait, I'm not even going to try think this way. Being samurai is much more about living a certain way than it is about fighting. Even nowadays we cannot think the earth is without war but even a hundred years back it was part of live. When you had to choose in that age, I'd prefer taking up the sword instead of making money as well. Bushido's writings are fascinating to read. You have to do the translation of converting the knowledge to this age yourself, but if this is not the first book you read about Japanese culture it shouldn't be too hard. With only 96 pages of real text anyone can at least read it and form his own judgement. If you find it is not for you, then at least you didn't had to read long before you figured that out!

This book was recommended to me for the philosophical aspects. I was not disappointed. The translation of Yamamoto was good, and there is a word bank and glossary to look words and terms up. This was a great purchase. Definitely a keeper.

Ancient Samurai philosophy that can be applied to present day. Great read not just for Bushido, but for everyday living.

Purchased for my son. He really likes the book and recommends for purchase.

Whoops...I guess I should look closer next time before ordering. I meant to order Busihido: The Soul of Japan. This book is "based on the Hagakure". I've read a couple translations of Hagakure before and for the most part, it seems like about 85% the same material. Either way, I enjoy most of the old samurai writings and this is no different. This version is especially nice because the author has included titles for each of the sections.

If you want to learn all about Bushido, then this is the book for you! It has so much information, it's not even funny. If you want to learn about the Way of the Samurai, then pick this book up and get informed!

A great read for anyone studying Bushido.

VERY HAPPY

Die Erklärungen, die vor allem vor dem eigentlichen Buch, dem tatsächlichen Hagakure, niedergeschrieben wurden, haben enorm geholfen, die tatsächliche Aussage des Buches und vor allem des weltbekannten Zitates "Bushidō is about death", zu illustrieren. Auch wenn Yamamoto mit seiner Ansicht über den Charakter eines Samurai (wobei er Ruf & Ehre als höchste Werte setzt) ganz gewiß noch die alten, längst vergangenen Kriegerehren von der Kamakura- bis hin zur Sengoku-Periode, ehrt und versucht, sie als Stützpfeiler für die, seiner Meinung nach, verweichlichten und effimierten Samurai der friedlichen Edō-Periode, in welcher er ja selbst lebte, umzuschreiben, um so den Geist des Kriegers weiterhin, auch zur Friedenszeit, aufrechterhalten zu können. Das aber vor allem seine Ansicht über Ruf & Ehre in einer immermehr zivil werdenden Gesellschaft eigentlich unumsetzbar sind, hat dazu geführt, dass das Hagakure von der Mehrheit aller Menschen, auch von der kaiserlichen Armee später, bruchstückweise und kontextlos (Fehl-/Falsch-) Interpretiert wurde. Kurzum, es ist ein sehr eigenartiges, wenngleich auch tiefgreifendes Werk, dass viel mehr als die obengenannte Aussage zu bieten hat...und ganz gewiß kann manch' eine Lehre selbst heute noch Verwendung, selbst im nicht-japanischem Westen, finden. p.s. Das Englisch ist überraschend einfach gehalten (für die breite Masse, ganz im Gegenteil zu manch anderer Übersetzung)

Bushido is very honorable system.

The book is a must read, you gain a self realization that we can do more with our lives. Take the essence of Bushido and apply in a modern world.