The Ideal Warrior: The Bushido Code

Imagine a samurai, walking down a street in full body armor. With a katana by his side the man is prepared for war. This warrior can seemingly slice through any opponent with one stroke of his blade. A samurai is not only known for his picture perfect technique, but for also the codes he lives by. The way of the samurai is governed by the Bushido, which literally means, “way of the warrior.” As described by PBS, the Bushido Code, “refers to a complex set of Japanese values stressing honor and loyalty to country and family above all else” (PBS). The Bushido code makes the samurai an ideal warrior, one who only knows honor, acts from a philosophically correct way of life, and upon dishonor or defeat, performs a ritual suicide.
Bushido is more
The Japanese traditions of loyalty, obedience, and respect for their masters are some of the more well-known traits. Harmony between master and servant are supposed to be maintained at all times. The master is held responsible for the servant. In this sense the master’s job is to show kindness and compassion for his subordinate, always treating them fairly while leading a respected way of life. The subordinate is expected to be loyal and obedient under all circumstances. The subordinate must be loyal to a fault or else they risk shame and possibly death. Following through with these teachings not only reinforces the Japanese culture, but also gives identities to those who chose to follow this lifestyle
To the samurai honor is everything. It is better to die in an honorable way, than to be disgraced with defeat or to be captured at the hands of the enemy. The act of taking one’s life is known as ‘Seppuku’ which in Japanese means, “self-disembowelment” (Seppuku). There are two forms of seppuku that may be performed. The first being voluntary, which is usually done to avoid capture, and the second which is obligatory. Obligatory Seppuku is generally used as a form of execution for capital punishment (Seppuku). Since this culture revolves so much around keeping one’s honor it seems only right that this second form of ritual suicide may also be performed to keep your own honor. In this practice the prisoner is seated in front of an executioner. The prisoner is given a short sword which may be used to kill oneself to “spare the disgrace of being beheaded by a common executioner” (Seppuku). This practice was widely used from the 15th century until 1873