Bushido ?

[Draksen]

I have read a lot of posts about
the "bushido"...
I know that it was the old samurais code of honor, but...
is it a text, a book ?
Can I found it on the internet ?

doomo arigatoo gozaimasu.

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[theforce]

Code or a rule doesn't have to be written in a book or on a piece of paper. It's a code that must be written in Samurai's hearts... only to think and act from it on the heat on battle.


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Don't use only honour, use theforce, too.
http://www.darksideshogunclan.cjb.net
Enter the Darkside...

[Draksen]

So, it's just a code of honnor without
written rules ?

Has the bushido something in common with
the "zen" religion/philosophy ?

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[theforce]

maybe

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Don't use only honour, use theforce, too.
http://www.darksideshogunclan.cjb.net
Enter the Darkside...

[Anssi Hakkinen]

Bushidô was initially more of an attitude than a code. During the Edo period, when the bigger wars were over and done with, it became necessary to define the samurai ethic in written form so it wouldn't be forgotten. Many books were written on the subject, but undoubtedly the most famous of them is Hagakure (Hidden by the Leaves / Lehvien Kätkemä) written by Tsunetomo Yamamoto.

Read it here: The Hagakure (http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/hagindex.html). AFAIK it's legal to put the Hagakure up on the Internet, and the Kyuba no Michi (http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/main.html) is a good site otherwise. It has Miyamoto Musashi's Book of the Five Rings as well.

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"Crystal clear, / Sharp and bright, / The sacred sword / Allows no opening / For evil to roost."
- Ueshiba Morihei O-Sensei

[This message has been edited by Anssi Hakkinen (edited 01-05-2001).]

[Draksen]

Kiitos linkeistä Anssi !

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[Minagawa Daimon]

It simply is the way...try reading books like "Chushingura" also known as the play about the "47 ronin" one of the best examples of bushido in "peacetime" tokugawa japan...Appare chushin!

[Vile]

Another Finn revealed :)

Zen in fact is a relatively new phenomenon in the bushi philosophy as is the word bushido if I've understood correctly. I've even heard some claims that bushido has actually been used first time after the Meiji restoration or late Tokugawa era.
I think that the values of the bushi class come more from the Confucian (is that how you call and spell it :) values and philosophies.
It is true that zen has affected quite a few modern martial arts (gendai budo or shisei budo) and some of the classical arts during the Tokugawa era, but most koryu martial arts (old bu-jutsu schools) are not that influenced by it.
I think in the end we have to remember what the bushi were: professional soldiers. There's always been a lot of high ideals connected with war and warriors, but when it comes right down to it, war is not very pretty or something to look up to.

All the same I find the history very interesting and think that we still have lot to learn about it and about the bushi class and their ideals, but still I think we always have to put these things into a perspective and not be blinded too much about the image in our mind about a samurai sitting in a lotus stance and whispering the words of wisdom :)

BTW there is one interesting book is Inazo Nitobe's Bushido: The Way of the Warrior (which propably made the word bushido famous in the west). Not too many koryu practioners think that Nitobe is an authority on the subject of bushido. He was born late Tokugawa era and propaply never trained any martial art or really grew up as a bushi so his writings should be taken with a grain of salt. His book is also ment for the western people to get an insight of the Japanese culture and frame of mind and in that perspective I really suggest the book.

[Vile]

Ahh.. I forgot to mention one book:
Bushido Shoshinshu by Taira Shigesuke. An old book about the samurai ideals. There's two english translations of it; more recent by Thomas Cleary and older translation by A.L. Sadler (which is supposed to be a better translation).
Hagakure was already mentioned and I've also heard that book called Tengu Geijutsuron, but I have no idea if that's been translated or what it is actually like..

[Draksen]

Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu, Vile-san
(paljon kiitoksia)


(Note
Jyväskylä : nice town, but I prefer
Hämeenlinna, sorry...
HoooooPeeeeeeeKooooo lol )


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