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.