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The Hagakure, or Hagakure kikigaki (In the Shadow of Leaves) is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the former samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo, as told to his fellow samurai Tashiro Tsuramoto. It was dictated from 1709 to 1716, and published many years afterwards. The Hagakure is also known as the Analects of Nabeshima or the Hagakure Analects. The book is frequently referred to as "The Book of the Samurai" and was featured in the 1999 film Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai.
The book preaches Bushido, the warrior code of the samurai. Hagakure asserts that Bushido is really the Way of Dying, and that a samurai retainer must be willing to die at any moment in order to be true to his lord.
The Hagakure was not widely known during the decades following Tsunetomo's death. However, it received wider circulation at the start of the 20th century, and by the 1930s had become one of the most famous representatives of bushido thought in Japan.
Famous quotes
"I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death." -- used as a military slogan during the early 20th century to encourage soldiers to throw themselves into battle.
References
- "Hagakure, The book of the Samurai", Tamamoto Tsunetomo, Translated by William Scott Wilson, Kondansha International Ltd.,1979, ISBN 4-7700-1106-7 (Partial translation)
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