Recommended Reading: Hagakure: “The Book of the Samurai”

Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Featured prominently in Jim Jarmusch’s film Ghost Dog, Hagakure (“In the Shadow of Leaves”) is, at its simplest, a manual for the samurai classes in Bushido—the Way of the Warrior. And yet, three hundred years after its creation and far removed from today’s modern pragmatism and materialism, Hagakure still has insights to offer. Its appeal is intuitive rather than rational, and one of its central tenets is that a person can go anywhere he can imagine.

If for nothing else, read this to feel like a samurai. In the meantime, here are a couple of our favorite passages to tide you over.

“Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige’s wall there was this one: ‘Matters of great concern should be treated lightly.’ Master Ittei commented, ‘Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.’”

“Learning is a good thing, but more often it leads to mistakes. It is like the admonition of the priest Konan. It is worthwhile just looking at the deeds of accomplished persons for the purpose of knowing our own insufficiencies. But often this does not happen. For the most part, we admire our own opinions and become fond of arguing.”

“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. This understanding extends to everything.”

“Master Ittei said, ‘Confucius was a sage because he had the will to become a scholar when he was fifteen years old. He was not a sage because he studied later on.’ This is the same as the Buddhist maxim, ‘First intention, then enlightenment.”

“In assessing the enemy’s castle, there is a saying that goes, ‘Smoke and mist are like looking at a spring mountain. After the rain is like viewing a clear day.’ There is weakness in perfect clarity.”

Filed under: Books, Inspiration

March 29, 2011

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