Samurai DBQ

The samurai warriors became a prominent part of Japanese culture beginning in the early tenth century. The fundamental values of the samurai warriors depended heavily on their attitude of life and death in addition to having good character. With both of these aspects being tied to the legitimacy of one’s honor, samurai warriors focused on holding themselves to high standards on and off the battlefield, …….
Samurai warriors believed in dying honorably. If one was putting a full effort in towards what he was trying to achieve, there was no shame in failing if the effort resulted in his death.
However, if the goal was not achieved and the warrior survived, he was perceived to have not tried hard enough for his aim (document 4). Because of the extreme measures the warriors were expected to take, it can be assumed that death was not a concern for them. In fact, it was better to fail trying than to survive and not succeed. In addition to having it be shameful to survive and fail, it was also shameful to die trying if there was a woman next to the warrior
(document 5). This displays how even in the samurai way of life, the Asian subordination of women continued. In order for a man to die honorably, it was important that he was not reckless in his actions. The Japanese warriors believed in a high level of thinking and because of this, it was important that they strategize their actions. “a real man ‘is cautious in the face of difficulties, and deliberates before acting”. Real man= honor,