Living and dying with bravery and honor is at the heart of "Hagakure," a series of texts written by an eighteenth-century samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo. It is a window into the samurai mind, illuminating the concept of "bushido" (the Way of the Warrior), which dictated how samurai were expected to beh[...]

Unlike other samurai of his time, Kaibara Ekiken (1630-1714) was concerned less with swordsmanship than with how to maintain and nurture the healthy mind and body upon which martial techniques and philosophy depended. While serving as the chief medical doctor and healer to the Kuroda clan, he came t[...]

The seminal treatise on the code of the samurai--now available as a Shambhala Pocket Classic.
"Hagakure" is a treatise on the samurai code written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, an eighteenth-century samurai. It's a guide, organized as a loose collection of thoughts, on how samurai should conduct thems[...]