Bushido The Ethos Of The Samurai

Abstract

From our seat in the theatre of time, it is easy to view the annals of history upon the screen and with our acquired knowledge readily discern the greatness of any people at any time. However, the prejudices of our western training often distort our objective view of the greatness of other civilizations. How well we know of the tales of the chivalrous English knight of old- King Arthur and his round table and the pseudo-historical tales of Prince Valiant. But what of the knights of Japan, the samurai, whose reign lasted far longer than that of his English counterpart? The history of the samurai spans some ten centuries and covers every geographical area of the "Island Empire". To cover every aspect of the samurai and his influence on Japanese society would fill volumes. Therefore, it is the purpose of this paper to concentrate on the ethos of the samurai's code of ethics, called bushido, and its implications for the samurai class and society in general, in Tokugawa Japan.