Hagakure

Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by YamamotoTsunetomo? [ISBN 4770026129 (amazon.com, search)]

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Aphorisms and anecdotes about the lives of Samurai warriors, written by a Samurai who lived after the Japanese civil wars and therefore did not actually get to live by the code he espouses in this book. To be accurate, he did not get to die by the code he espouses: Yamamoto was forbidden from committing ritual suicide when his lord died and instead retired to a monestary. He wrote this book towards the end of his life.

The message of the book is that to be a Samurai is to already be dead. His life therefore has no value except the use to which it can be put in the service of your lord.

Some quotes from the book will illustrate how it spans produndity and triviality:

• There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking.
• It is good to carry some powdered rouge in one's sleeve. It may happen that when one is sobering up or waking from sleep, his complexion may be poor. At such a time it is good to take out and apply some powdered rouge.
• Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.
• It is bad taste to yawn in front of people. When one unexpectedly has to yawn, if he rubs his forehead in an upward direction , the sensation will stop . If that does not work, he can lick his lips while keeping his mouth closed, or simply hide it with his hand or his sleeve in such a way that no one will know what he is doing. It is the same with sneezing. One will appear foolish. There are other things besides these about which a person should use care and training.

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A BookOnTheBookshelf