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Bushido by Inazo Nitobe
Hagakure: Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
BUSHIDO: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
Bushido, "The way of the warrior," is a Japanese term for the samurai way of life. This way of life originates from the samurai moral values, with common themes being frugality, loyalty, mastery of the martial arts and honor until death. Under the bushido ideal, if a samurai failed to uphold his honor he could only regain it by performing seppuku (ritual suicide).
This warrior code was influenced by different Asian religious and philosophical beliefs including Confucianism, Shintoism and Zen Buddhism. And under the Tokugawa Shogunate, some aspects of warrior values were even formalized into Japanese feudal law.
The term "Bushido"came into common use in the West after Inazō Nitobe published his Bushido: The Soul of Japan in 1899.
Nitobe said the following about the warrior code:
Bushido, then, is the code of moral principles which the knights [samurai] were required or instructed to observe. It is not a written code; at best it consists of a few maxims handed down from mouth to mouth or coming from the pen of some well-known warrior or savant. More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten, possessing all the more the powerful sanction of veritable deed, and of a law written on the fleshly tablets of the heart. It was founded not on the creation of one brain, however able, or on the life of a single personage, however renowned. It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career.
To some in the West who can only see Buddhism as a peaceful religion, they would be surprised to see its warrior application in the code of Bushido. In Bushido (1899), Nitobe wrote: "SOURCES OF BUSHIDO, of which I may begin with Buddhism. It furnished a sense of calm trust in Fate, a quiet submission to the inevitable, that stoic composure in sight of danger or calamity, that disdain of life and friendliness with death. A foremost teacher of swordsmanship, when he saw his pupil master the utmost of his art, told him, 'Beyond this my instruction must give way to Zen teaching.'" (Gutenberg)
The sword, as a Buddhist symbol for cutting through delusion, became an object of veneration in Bushido. Of the sword, Nitobe wrote, "BUSHIDO made the sword its emblem of power and prowess. When Mahomet proclaimed that 'the sword is the key of Heaven and of Hell," he only echoed a Japanese sentiment.'" (Sacred-Texts)
While the Zen Buddhist part of the teaching focused on cultivating a stillness of mind in the chaos of battle, the Shinto part emphasized a loyalty to sovereignty and filial piety. "What Buddhism failed to give, Shintoism offered in abundance. Such loyalty to the sovereign, such reverence for ancestral memory, and such filial piety as are not taught by any other creed, were inculcated by the Shinto doctrines." (Gutenberg)
HAGAKURE
"Hagakure" means "Hidden by the leaves" or "Hidden leaves." It is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, from 1709-1716. However, it was not published until many years later.
Tsunetomo was a samurai in the early 1700's. After his master died, he was forbidden from committing the act of tsuifuku (suicide of a retainer after his master's death), so he retired to a monestary. Though he never fought in any battles himself (because he was living in a time of peace), he nonetheless felt that the samurai of his time had become soft. A younger samurai that visited Tsunetomo over the years wrote down his words in the Hagakure. It has been translated many times, including a translation by the famous Japanese author Mishima Yukio.
The Hagakure is also known as, "The Book of the Samurai." The book records Tsunetomo's view on Bushido, the warrior code of the samurai. Sometimes the Hagakure asserts that bushido is "The Way of Dying," or living as though one was already dead, and that a samurai must be ready and willing to die at any moment in order to be true to his lord. Specifically, he said, "The person without previous resolution to inevitable death makes certain that his death will be in bad form. But if one is resolved to death beforehand, in what way can he be despicable? One should be especially diligent in this concern."
THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS (mention that this was written during the Tokugawa Shogunate)
Around 1645, The Book of Five Rings was written by the swordsman, Miyamoto Mushashi. It is a book on principles in martial arts and fighting in general, but enjoys an audience broader than just that for the martial arts. Mushashi advocated for a "no nonsense approach" that avoided too many excessive technical flourishes. He also made the point that the book was useful for fighting on any scale, whether it be a duel, or a massive battle. And the techniques Mushashi wrote about were the ones that he taught in his own dojo.
The Book of Five Rings is composed of five different books. These books refer to the idea that there are different elements in battle, just as there are different physical elements in life, as described by Buddhism, Shintoism and other Eastern religions. The idea of the four or five elements is popularized today in the Western study of Eastern religions. Yet what many Westerners may not know is that the fifth element is "void." The book of void is probably the most Zen influenced of the books. There is an emphasis on how one's consciousness and mindset effect their skill in battle, and how clearing the mind — or making the mind empty — can help increase one's focus and clarity in the battle field. As Mushashi says in the Book of the Void, "In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom exists, principle exists, the way exists. Spirit is Void."
RELATED PAGES
Buddhism and War (World Future Fund)
Life, Death and Judgment (World Future Fund)