Breaking down the 7 virtues of Bushido

Bushido is a moral code that was followed by Samurai in 12th century feudal Japan. Roughly speaking, the term Bushido translates to ‘Warrior way’ which is a guide for how the Samurai should act and behave. Basically, if a Samurai were to follow these virtues then they would be seen as upstanding citizens who lived a morally righteous life. The Bushido lifestyle was created by Minamoto Yoritomo and changed the way of the world forever.

Like many texts throughout history, people at the time took these virtues incredibly seriously. For instance, if a Samurai were to break one of these virtues then there was one way to earn back their respect within Samurai culture. This would be to perform Seppuku which was a sacrificial act. Here, the Samurai would bow down to their knees and stab themselves through the chest with their katana. Resulting in death, this shows just how seriously some people took the 7 virtues of Bushido.

Although Seppuku was last performed in the 20^th century, it is a reminder of an often forgotten part of Bushido culture. Interestingly though, the 7 virtues are still going strong today. They are often taught in business schools and are used in self help books. In fact, you could argue that they’re almost like a religious text in terms of offering steady life advice.

In this article we shall break down the 7 virtues of Bushido and how to implement them into your life. By looking at these virtues, you should understand the link between the spiritual and physical aspects of martial arts and how the two are heavily correlated.

The 7 Bushido virtues

Integrity (Gi)

Whatever you do in life, you should act with integrity. This means doing something to the best of your ability and being noble at all times. Put another way, if you’re going to be a Samurai then you shouldn’t do it with any doubts or a lack of effort.

Even if you’re not a Samurai, you should try to act with integrity in all walks of life. If you do this, you should ultimately be more successful with whatever path you choose to walk.

Respect (Rei)

It makes sense that the Bushido virtues include respect. It shouldn’t matter who you are or your status – you should always treat people with respect. Ideally, the reason for respect is that it creates a better society. In theory, if everyone is respectful to each other then there will be fewer conflicts and troubles. This may sound idealistic but it also makes sense.

Imagine a Samurai being disrespectful towards an older member of their village. Obviously, this would set a bad example and would start the decay of ethics within the village. This is because someone with high status would act rude to vulnerable people. With this in mind, it makes sense that Bushido values respect so highly.

Courage (Yu)

True courage isn’t doing something if you’re good at it. It actually takes a lot more courage to do something if you’re bad at it – or don’t want to do it. Yet, you still go through with it anyway. Obviously, Samurai warriors would have to do some pretty courageous acts at times including fighting to the death. It goes without saying that this virtue should not be taken lightly.

It’s not just on the battlefield where courage would be needed though. In other parts of daily life, courage is necessary to see out all kinds of jobs and help with building strong relationships. One of the reasons why the Samurai were so courageous was also due to Buddhism which allowed them to be more accepting of death.

Honor (Meiyo)

Even in modern-day Japan, honor is a huge part of society. As Samurai were well respected fighters, they would have to do everything with honor as they lived in the public eye. So, this means that above everything else, the Samurai would have to act knowing they’re doing something that is morally correct behavior.

This could mean going against the status quo or upholding justice against evil. As you may have figured by now, the Bushido code is very stoic. Despite it being from a completely different part of the world with a different philosophy, Bushido often promotes a stoic way of living. Interestingly, both societies and cultures are looked at positively by modern philosophers.

Compassion (Jin)

Remember, being a warrior doesn’t always involve being an emotionless soldier. It’s actually good to live with compassion and be aware of other people and what they’re going through. In other words, you have to remember that the Samurai were humans after all aren’t weren’t just soulless killing machines.

If you have compassion in life then this means you’ll have empathy with others. The more compassion you have, the more you should be able to understand the world in general and be able to see how things work. Remember, most Samurai were practicing Buddhists so the idea of constant improvement and enlightenment was a big part of their lifestyle.

Honesty (Makoto)

A big part of Bushido involves complete honesty. There is a saying ‘Do as I say, not as I act’ but this is redundant with Samurai. Instead, you’re meant to live out the example instead of just saying the example. In other words, be honest to yourself and don’t be hypocritical.

Arguably, many modern politicians do this by setting moral standards yet live very scandalous lives that show they are not true or honest with their words or intentions. The role of Bushido is to be truthful at all times, no matter if this has a painful cost.

Loyalty (Chu)

As a Samurai, it was a duty to be loyal to your family, friends, and seniors. This means no divorce, no gossiping, and no avoiding your parents as they get older. Some of this loyalty still remains true in modern Japan. For example, 1 in 3 Japanese marriages end in divorce compared to 1 in 2 in the USA.

Remember, a warrior isn’t just someone that can fight and kill. As well, it’s also important to care for others and respect them, especially the vulnerable in society. Loyalty breeds consistency and strong relationships.

Applying the Bushido virtues to modern society

If you’ve read through the 7 Bushido virtues then you’ll be aware that many of these tips set great examples of how to conduct yourself and behave properly. Arguably, if people stuck to these principles then society would be a lot more productive.

As the virtues are still relevant today, many businesses and entrepreneurs try to adopt their core values. For instance, if you can teach a team of employees to be respectful then it obviously makes sense. Similarly, if you can act with integrity as an individual then this is also a positive. Although this may sound pretty basic to some, writing things down and actively practicing them can make people more aware of what they’re learning.

Some argue that modern-day Japan still has a lot of Bushido values in tact. It’s no secret that the Japanese have a fairly stoic outlook and are big believers in hard work and principles. At least, you could argue that these traits are more common in Japan compared to the western world. This is possible evidence that Bushido lives on.

Bushido in martial arts

Whatever martial art you train, you can still apply Bushido to your training. For example, imagine you train Karate. When sparring, treat your opponent with respect and how you’d want to be treated. This means there will be no bad blood between each other and shows a basic sense of decency.

Secondly, be honest with yourself. It’s easy to avoid working on hard parts of training or have days off due to laziness. However, it’s harder and more rewarding to train through the difficult days when you’re struggling.

Internal honesty is very hard to accept at times but it pays off dividends in the long run. Whilst you don’t have to pretend you’re a literal Samurai, you can still look at aspects of their lifestyle and apply them to improve your own. This goes for training in the dojo as well as other areas of life such as business and relationships.

What’s the difference between Bushido and Bullshido?

So far, if you’ve been reading and paying attention to the article then you’ll be aware of what Bushido entails. Basically, it’s an ethical code for Samurai to live their life. Understandably, it also has links with wider life as well as martial arts.

Within the martial arts community, you may have heard of the term ‘Bullshido’. This is completely different and is a play on words, using the original source of Bushido as inspiration. Bullshido is commonly used to describe sketchy martial arts techniques that don’t work in reality. This combines the Bushido term with ‘BS’ which is where the name comes from.

For example, you could hear a martial artist saying “That instructor is teaching Bullshido” or “Aikido is Bullshido.” Because of this, it’s important to note the difference between the two and how it could be quite embarrassing if you confused the two.

Summary

Although shrouded in folklore and intrigue, when you read about the 7 Bushido virtues, you’ll realize that they’re basically common sense ways of how to behave. Sadly, since the days of Bushido, moral values have eroded since then. Still, if ever you needed a reminder of how things once were, then the virtues are worth reading.

In summary, the 7 Bushido values show how Samurai should act and behave. As mentioned earlier, these values aren’t just confined to the Samurai either and can be applied to regular people in modern society as well.

If you’d like to learn more about Bushido then this book is a great reference point.