If you haven’t seen the movie “The Last Samurai”, it’s worth watching for some of the underlying themes and cinematography alone. In this scene, actor Ken Watanabe does a great job relating the death of cherry blossoms with the symbolism of Bushido (The Way of the Warrior).

Ok, hang in there all of you Bushido critics…

I am well aware of the controversial aspects of the term Bushido. I know that it is really a modern term and actually postdates the samurai period in Japan. And yes, more than likely the term, along with exploitation of the concepts, were devised as a propaganda tool to inspire young Japanese soldiers to fight to the death in World War II. Back in my younger days as a martial artist my friends and I used to poke fun and call it “Bull-shido”!
All that said, the tenets of Bushido should not be overlooked. The samurai did follow a code of conduct even if they didn’t specifically call it Bushido. For example, there is clear evidence of the code in the translated writings of Thomas Cleary that date back to 1349 in his book Training the Samurai Mind, a Bushido Sourcebook. These were writings of real people throughout the samurai era that clearly prove that the tenets of Bushido existed. Sure, there were certainly hypocrites and corrupt samurai that didn’t follow the code. But is that any different than our military and law enforcement agents today who all take an oath before serving? It would be unfair to allow a few bad apples to ruin the honorable service of so many. I think that same can comment applies to the samurai.

The concept of “Life in every breath…every cup of tea…” has real meaning, perhaps slightly different for all of us. For me, and especially as I get older, Bushido means that I should live a lifestyle with strong core values and intent in everything I do. After all, I don’t know when I might be taking my last breath.

Check out the online resource for applying the martial arts mindset and lifestyle to build your legacy at: https://www.martialwaytosuccess.com