Bushidō

Bushidō, the "Way of the Warrior", was the code by which nearly all samurai in Rokugan strived to live. Samurai were taught to reach the ideals of the samurai at the expense of one's own personal gain. It was given by the Kami Akodo to the Rokugani.

The Code of Bushidō

A compendium of seven tenets, samurai must embody righteousness and honor, loyalty and duty, and courtesy and compassion, as well as courage. Should they prove unable to live up to these expectations, only ritualized suicide could wash away the stain to their honor.

• Compassion (Jin) - Compassion represented the noblesse oblige of the buke and kuge toward the bonge. Most clans interpreted this to mean extending physical protection over peasants, but other clans go even further.

"Through intense training the Samurai becomes quick and strong. He is not as other men. He develops a power that must be used for the good of all. He has compassion. He helps his fellow men at every opportunity. If an opportunity does not arise, he goes out of his way to find one." -

• Courage (Yū) - A samurai must be prepared to give their lives for their lord, their clan, and the Empire at a moment's notice.

"Rise up above the masses of people who are afraid to act. A Samurai must have heroic courage. It is absolutely risky. It is dangerous. It is living life completely, fully, wonderfully. Heroic courage is not blind. It is intelligent and strong. Replace fear with respect and caution." -

• Courtesy (Rei) - A samurai is required to maintain appearances and withstand adversity, exhibiting courteousness even when faced with the most vile lack of it.

"Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A Samurai is courteous even to his enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more then animals. A Samurai is not only respected for his strength in battle, but also by his dealings with other men. The true inner strength of a Samurai becomes apparent during difficult times." -

• Duty and Loyalty (Chūgi) - Samurai were expected to do their duty to their lord and their subordinates without hesitation or reservation, no matter the cost to their own honor.

"For the Samurai, having done some 'thing' or said some 'thing', he knows he owns that 'thing'. He is responsible for it and all the consequences that follow. A Samurai is intensely loyal to those in his care. To those he is responsible for, he remains fiercely true." -

• Honor (Meiyo) - Samurai without honor could not truly follow the other virtues of Bushidō, for they acted as others expect and not as their own conscience dictateds. If their own honor was intact, however, they would follow the ways of Bushidō and pursued justice without flaw or failure, even when commanded otherwise by their lord.

"A true Samurai has only one judge of his honor, and that is himself. Decisions you make and how those decisions are carried out are a reflection of who you truly are. You cannot hide from yourself." -

• Righteousness (Gi) - There was only truth and falsehood, justice and injustice, and it was the samurai’s job to live in accordance with justice and ensure that justice was meted out.

"Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. To a true Samurai, there is no shades of gray in the question of honesty and justice. There is only right and wrong." -

• Sincerity (Makoto) - Samurai must align intent with their word and deed, acting with complete and total conviction, whether they served themselves or their lord. A convincing manner was more valued in Rokugan than the absolute truth, for the samurai who speaks with sincerity had committed the totality of their being to the sentiment.

"When a Samurai has said he will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will stop him from completing what he has said he will do. He does not have to 'give his word'. He does not have to 'promise'. The action of speaking alone has set the act of doing in motion. Speaking and doing are the same action." -

Bushidō and the Clans

Bushido meaned different for each Clan:

• Courage was the greatest virtue in Crab lands, as they safeguarded the most perilous border of the Emerald Empire, warding it against the terrible hordes of Fu Leng.
• Courtesy was of deep importance to the Crane, as their clan's political power rested upon propriety and the idea of others respecting their proper place, and their own.
• Sincerity, finding the truth of oneself, was the greatest virtue to the Dragon Clan. Lies obscured not just the world, but one's own path to greater understanding.
• Honor was at the center of the Lion Clan's view of Bushidō, especially in the context of martial virtue.
• Righteousness drove the samurai of the Phoenix Clan in their pursuits, and they were willing to sacrifice themselves to ensure the right thing was done.
• Duty and Loyalty was the most core tenet of the Scorpion Clan. They must be prepared to do, and sacrifice, anything and everything in the service of the Empire.
• Compassion was the most significant tenet of Bushidō to the Unicorn Clan, for mutual understanding and cooperation was the key to the clan's survival during its long journey across the wider world. On this journey, members of the Unicorn Clan met many people with a wide variety of beliefs, cultures, and values, and they became far more accustomed to coexistence with strange outsiders than were most Great Clan samurai.

References

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