When the average American hears the term Bushido, visions of sword swinging samurai warriors often come to mind. Literary works, as well as the media has shown us many elements of the Bushido code such as honor, justice, loyalty, and bravery which have greatly impacted Japan. Bushido is the moral code that has provided Japan with a national identity and work ethic that has guided them through bloody civil wars, Mongol invasions, a world war, and nuclear devastation (Rockett, page 1).
In short, if a choice is given between life and death, the samurai must choose death (handout, page 17).
The code is very similar to the code of chivalry extolled during the middle ages, and has provided the Japanese people with a noble tradition of honor. Just as Europe had its knights and pladins, Japan had its samurai warriors to champion the Bushido Code.
The Japanese word bushi means warrior, and is the root word found in bushido. (Rockette, page 2).
Together, the complete term bushido means way of the warrior. (handout, page 17).
Samurai means those who serve. The bushi and samurai were very different. The bushi were simple warriors, the title of saurai implied that you were sworn to serve a powerful landowner, clan, or daimyo- a Japanese feudal Bushido a blend of two value systems. The first of these periods was the Kamakura period.
During the Kamarkura period from 1185 to 1333, clan warfare caused the samurai to develop a system of warfare that glorified courage in battle, honor, obedience, and loyalty to superior officers. (Encyclopedia Americana, page 43).
The Essay on Dress Codes
Wow, Mrs. Nettie thats a great dress youre wearing today, said Merilee as she walked through the cafeteria towards the rest room. Not ten minuets later Sarah walked past the office wearing a dress almost identical to Mrs. Netties, only to be stopped by the principal Mr. Meth. Sarah was forced to change, because her dress was not following the school dress policy, Mrs.Nettie did not have to change. ...
The rules of combat were clearly outlined and often became ritualistic in nature. Blood feuds, duels, and Hari-kiri were all trappings associated with this era. (Rockett, page The second of these two periods was the Tokugawa period from 1603 to 1868 (Rockette, page 1).
The Tokugawa period was a long period of domestic peace during which Chinese Neo-Confucianism received official acceptance (Encyclopedia Americana, page 43).
The samurai had been born and bred as warriors and had difficulty adapting to the civilian leadership positions popular among the Chinese.
Nevertheless, they adapted to the changing times and were often equated with the Confucian Bushido today has a great impact on the lives of all the Japanese people. Although it is often an unspoken influence in Japan, it is a very real force underlying all of their actions. Many of the characteristic that people see today in literature, as well as the media, show the code of
