PDP 5 - "Hagakure"

Author Bio: Yamamoto Tsunetomo was a scribe to a samurai named Nabeshima Mitsushige. He looked up to a Zen Buddhist Monk and a Confucian scholar as a child. This caused him to fully understand the traditions of the cult of the samurai. When his master died, Yamamoto became a Buddhist priest and dictated the words to The Book of the Samurai to his scribe.

Date/Context: The Book of the Samurai was written in 1716, and therefore describes the changes of a samurai's environment during the end of Japan's Civil War. This gave the author insight into the changing life of the samurai warrior and his duties. The writing also describes the code, or set of rules, that a samurai warrior lived by during this time period.

Summary: The writing stresses the importance of the Way of the Samurai. According to the author, people are unaware of it's contents and importance in a samurai's lifestyle. According to the list of reasons and codes described by the author, a warrior must die when achieving his goal in life in order to die a just and dignified death, a retainer must put his master above everything, one must think selflessly when making a decision, one can only tell another about his faults discretely and after they become trusted acquaintances, sneezing and yawning are considered disrespectful, women should be loyal to their husbands like retainers are to their masters, and that a person gains respect through manners. According to the author, these rules were the standard expectations of people during the time period in which it was written.

Key Quotation: "Although it stands to reason that a Samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent."