Bushido - Japanese warior philosophy

Bushido, meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a Japanese code of conduct and a way of life, loosely analogous to the European concept of chivalry.

It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery and honour unto death. Bushido developed between the 9th to 12th centuries as set forth by numerous translated documents dating from the 12th to 16th centuries (as mentioned below).

However, some dependable sources also state the document might have been formulated in the 17th century.

According to the Japanese dictionary Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten, "Bushido is defined as a unique philosophy (ronri) that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi (chusei) period." Nitobe Inazo, in his book Bushido: The Soul of Japan, described it in this way. "...Bushido, then, is the code of moral principles which the samurai were required or instructed to observe... More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten... It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career."

Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Bushido became formalized into Japanese Feudal Law. Honor codes are still used today.

[Read more in: Wikipedia: Bushido]

Photo author: jsim10 from flickr.com