Samurai's Eight Bushido Codes

In school, they learned of the Kendo, which is fencing with bamboo sticks, the moral code of the samurai, and their religion, Zen Buddhism. Their code of conduct, the Bushido, demanded that a samurai must hold his loyalty, courage, honesty, compassion, and honor. According to The Way of the Samurai by Yamaga Soko, “Within his [samurai] heart he keeps to the ways of peace, but without he keeps his weapons ready for use.” As stated before, samurais have a much lighter armor. This is mainly due to They have an opening on their right arm in order for them to draw their bows faster and

According to Yamaga Soko’s, The Way Of The Samurai, “...who transgresses [does wrong] against these moral principles, the samurai summarily punishes him.”(Document E) In addition, as stated in Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory “To dishonor knighthood was the greatest disgrace.”(Document E) As shown, both code stress the importance of honor and duty, and failing to stay loyal to the code was considered the worst possible crime for both warriors. Without the respect of the code, there is no order or control, making these similarities vital to both worlds. Both of them also swear loyalty and respect to their lord. These powerful comparisons between the codes of honor for the warriors make them very

The samurai had an unwritten code of honor called the bushido. Bushido means “way of the warrior” (History of the Samurai 3). This provided them with a code to help show them how to live and conduct themselves at home and in battle. One of the most important duties of the samurai was their loyalty to their lord. The samurai would defend their lord until the death. Revenge was also central in the samurai’s

The samurai warriors were great warriors that is why they were revered or were greatly respected. To become a samurai they had to go through rigorous training that began in their childhood. During samurai school they learned about many things like physical training, chinese studies, poetry, and spiritual discipline. Young warriors studied Kendo, moral code of samurais. The samurai also studied Zen Buddhism.

The samurai were a powerful warrior class in Japan, and were very skilled with a sword. Samurai used swords and were trained very well to do many things such as fire a bow while on horseback. The samurai practiced Buddhism, which is a religion that taught people to respect the world to reach enlightenment. When the samurai disobeyed The Bushido Code, they committed Seppuku, which is ritual suicide for the samurai. Japanese culture was influenced by the samurai warrior class.

The entire Japanese culture is based on honor. Honor extends to the nation, the family, and the individual. The samurai are no exception to a code of honor. The samurai follow the code of bushido. Bushido is closer to the western term of chivalry. Bushido places emphasis on courage, benevolence, justice, politeness, truthfulness, honor, loyalty, and most importantly is self-control. The samurai's primary religion is Zen. The samurai adapted Zen easily due to the philosophy that fits closely to Buddhism. Samurai may act in the extreme when it comes to honor. They will kill anyone who may dishonor them or their lord. Nothing is worse to a samurai than to have corrupt dealings. Some of the warriors believed, "Honor is the power of deciding upon certain course of conduct in accordance with reason, without wavering … to die when it is right to die, to strike when to strike is right." Other warriors believed that "Honor is the bone that gives firmness and stature. As without bones the head cannot rest on top of the spine, nor hands move, nor feet stand, so without honor neither talent nor learning can make of a human frame a

At various points throughout the novel, Mishima illustrated his view on the tradition of the Bushido code by using Shinji as an example. Shinji demonstrated the aspect of politeness through the multiple times he brought part of his catch of the day to the lighthouse keepers. Since Mishima is the one who created this character, Shinji, he showed his personal views through Shinji’s actions. Politeness was one of the several aspects that Mishima supported revolving around the Bushido code. Another example of the Bushido code that is shown by Shinji’s actions is courage. Shinji was courageous enough to swim out in the rough waves to tie a lifeline to the buoy. Once again, this portrays Mishima’s view on the Bushido code. Because Mishima wrote about courageous actions, this showed that courage is a major part for one to be considered Bushido. Overall, part of Mishima’s view on Japanese traditionalism revolved around the Bushido code.

In, document D - The Way of the Samurai, 1600’s: it talks about the code of Bushido and Chivalry. It says (paragraph 1) “ Outwardly he stands in physical readiness for any call to service in inwardly he strives to fulfill the Way….” this shows just how honorable a samurai could be. In Europe it was just the same (paragraph 2) it states “give mercy in those who ask for it” These similarities are significant because loyalty between the two, shows how much they trust each other. Without this trust and loyalty , these countries would be

Just as European knights had a code of chivalry, the samurai had the code of Bushido (Document E). The code of Bushido, like the code of chivalry in medieval Europe, governed a samurai’s life. It called on samurai to be honest, fair, and fearless in the face of death. Samurai were expected to value loyalty and personal honor even more than their lives.

In document C1 written by the PBS series states, “Samurai were expected to live according to Bushido, a strict ethical code influenced by Confucianism that stressed loyalty to one’s master, respect for one’s superior, ethical behaviors in all aspects of life and complete self-discipline”. This quote proves that samurais were far more loyal to there code of honor (Bushido) that the knights were. Another piece of evidence that supports the claim is in “Samurai Shodown” a documentary by Terry Schappert which states “the sword symbolized the loyalty and commitment to Bushido the code of the samurai”. This quote confirms that even the sword of the samurai had a meaning that symbolizes

The service to the lord was from father to son, so the relationship between samurai and his lord is passed down from many generation. That was sometime a voluntary choice, because there is not really a contract between the the samurai and his lord. The samurai’s life wasn’t his, but it belonged to his lord. The life of the samurai is not the only thing the lord owned, but the samurai’s wife and children as well. It was common to speak about the samurai’s loyalty of three life, the past, the present, the future [Document B].

The main idea of document 1 is to show what is expected from a samurai. Initially, the image shows the proper armour that the samurai should be wearing. The armour consists of a kimono, helmet, and many more. This picture proves that samurai should be wearing the proper armour. Also, samurais are expected to carry the right weapons. For example, a samurai must have bow and arrow, and two swords. The image demonstrates the weapons that samurai is expected to carry with him. Moreover, a samurai must follow Bushido. Samurais are expected to follow the unwritten code of conduct. The central idea of Document 1 is to describe what is expected from a

Bushido or in other words "way of the warrior" plays a huge role in how this film is displayed and shown. Now I understand that the word Bushido specifically applies to Samurai. But there are still some similarities to how Master IP did things compared to a Samurai, we will also look at how Bushido affected the Japanese in this film. Now Master IP demonstrates all of the "8 virtues of Bushido" ("The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai") throughout this film, but I have decided to focus on just 2. "Benevolence or Mercy" ("The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai") and "Character and Self-Control" ("The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai"). "The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai" define benevolence/mercy as "A man with the power to command and kill was expected to demonstrate equally extraordinary powers of benevolence," as well they define character/self-control as "What's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong… not

The samurai code has been developed for over several centuries. They always have a code and that code is to always be honest, fair, and fearless in the face of death. They also always had to be loyal to his lord and that he would gladly die for him. They are expected to guard their own personal honor. The littlest things that happened o]anywhere could lead to a duel between the two. If their lord ever died their samurais would revenge the lords death. Their lives were not even as important as their personal honor or value.

Bushido comes from medieval Japan, but until the 1600's it was something that had to be taught by a master. It was later written down for everyone to see and understand (Hurst 16). Bushido comes from all kinds of traits. It comes from Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shintoism. All these schools of thought and religion has formed the code of the warrior that the samurai follow in their everyday life (Clark 2). Buddhism teaches the samurai that you need to detach yourself from worldly feelings, wants, and needs. This was so that the samurai would not fear danger or death (Clark 3). Zen mediation teaches the samurai how to focus to rid themselves of unsteadiness and of all