Bushido Symbol - The Characters of Bushido

The bushido kanji are BU, martial, SHU meaning person, and DO that stands for the Way.

The three kanji bushido unmistakably represent the Way of the Warrior, the Way of the Samurai. If you have a close look at the bushido kanji you can see the following:

BU, martial

The kanji BU evokes a warrior with a long battle-axe moving forward

You can see two elements: the slanting stroke on the right represents a battle-axe and on the left side stands the image of a foot, which indicates movement.

SHI, person or Samurai

The original pictogram of SHI is probably the image of an old weapon or it could also represent a person who stands firmly on the ground with her/his feet spread apart.

DO, the Way

The kanji DO has two elements: on the right you see the image of a human head, an eye with hair, and on the left the image of a foot, which again stands for movement. So, Way is the image of people moving along.

BUSHIDO - The Way of the Warrior

“I have found the essence of Busiho: to die! In other words, when you have a choice between life and death, then always choose death: this is all that you must remember. It is neither troublesome nor difficult. You have only to go on with a clenched stomach. Any other ideas are unnecessary and futile.

“If you die before you hit your target, then it will be the death of a dog.” If you say this, then your attitude is the Kamigata of Bushido. It is a very vain and calculating attitude at its best.

“But if you are forced, then it is impossible for you to make the right choice between life and death. It goes without saying that every person would prefer to live rather than to die. Accordingly, people will try to rationalize for the choice of life. If you make the choice of life and not hit the target, you will be caled a coward! Before you make the choice, realize what a critical position you are in. On the other hand, if you but make the choice of death and fail to hit the target, your body will eventually die but no shame will come to you. No shame will come to you even though you will be regarded as crazy and as dying like a dog.

“This is the essence of Bushido. In order to master this essence, you must die anew, every morning and every night. If you continually preserve the state of death in everyday life, you will understand the essence of Bushido. Then you will gain freedom in Bushido. Then you will be able to fulfill your duty to the offices of the household of the Lord without a mistake and for the rest of you life.” --- Tsunetomo Yamamoto