#bushido

Hiroyuki Sanada in The Twilight Samurai ( たそがれ清兵衛)

Young samurai

I visited Japan in October. This is an image created in Nikko at Toshogu shrine,
the burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
PS.Soon more pictures from Japan
Samurai spirit forever!

Samurai

Gunto sword art

13 assassins

A video of precision from our friend @tatsujinkan.
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Are you this skilled with a sword?
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“There is timing in everything. Timing in strategy cannot be mastered without a great deal of patience.
There is timing in the whole life of the warrior, in his thriving and declining, in his harmony and discord. All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this. In strategy there are various timing considerations. From the onset you must know the applicable and inapplicable timing, and from among the large and small things and fast and slow timings find the relevant timing, first seeing the distance timing and the background timing, otherwise your strategy will become uncertain.” ~#miyamotomusashi
#gorinnosho

The use of swords and spears in battle requires much movement, in both attacks and defense. Oftentimes you can take the enemy completly by surprise by charging full speed ahead from a great distance, therefore learn to be accurate from not just your ideal position, but from anywhere.
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#battojutsu
#kenjutsu
#iaijutsu
#swordfighting
#swordman
#swordcutting
#swordtechnique
#swordfight
#swordtraining
#kampsport
#personligtrener
#tatsujinkanbujutsu
#sverd
#bushido
#kobudo
#samuraisword
#japanesekatana
#japanesesword
#samuraijapan
#samuraikatana
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by @katana_sword_reviews (https://katanaswordreviews.com)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIX_-5kJjx5/?igshid=1udgktwiblodc

Which do you prefer?
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hamon (刃文) “blade pattern” is a visual effect created on the blade by the hardening process
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@japonalia
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#katana #kendo #kenjutsu #muramasa #masamune #japaneseart #japaneseculture #japanese #japan #japao #japon #bushido #musashi #ronin #bujinkan #koryu #kobudo #budo #japonalia #dojo
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by @katana_sword_reviews
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIS1HoOJ026/?igshid=jwqy02cvovzk

What do you think of these moves?
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@li_21_6 刀でくるくる⚔️
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#殺陣#侍#武士#刀#殺陣女子#和#袴#swordfight #samurai #samuraigirl #bushi #bushido #katana #sword #japan #tokyo #japaneseculture #performance #training #cooljapan #japanesegirl #love #happy #happiness #smile #mylife #movie #actress #followme
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by @katana_sword_reviews
https://www.instagram.com/p/CH1eXi8pOMf/?igshid=ygxv2bn7li1q

Stages of a katana sword being made
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@samurai_study
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#martialarts #katorishintoryu #lovetraining #iaido #kenjutsu #samuraisword #swordart #keikogi #katana #katorishintoryukenjutsu #samurai #martialartslifestyle #lifestyleofawarrior #martialarttraining #martialartist #livelifetothefullest #bushido #katorishrine #katorishintoryu #katori_shinto_ryu #bokken #thewayofthedojo #budo #martial_art_01 #urbansamurai #japan #art #nihon #history
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHiFcctJKYa/?igshid=1qgy852kgkly6

“1. Accept everything just the way it is.
2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
5. Be detached from desire your whole life long.
6. Do not regret what you have done.
7. Never be jealous.
8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.
10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
11. In all things have no preferences.
12. Be indifferent to where you live.
13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
15. Do not act following customary beliefs.
16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
17. Do not fear death.
18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
19. Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.
21. Never stray from the Way.”

― Miyamoto Musashi

Discerning the difference between obsequiousness and politeness can be difficult for casual visitors to Japan,  but for a true man,  courtesy is rooted in benevolence: Courtesy and good manners have been noticed by every foreign tourist as distinctive Japanese traits. But Politeness should be the expression of a benevolent regard for the feelings of others; “it’s a poor virtue if it’s motivated only by a fear of offending good taste. In its highest form Politeness approaches love.”

“By constant exercise in correct manners,  one brings all the parts and faculties of his body into perfect order and into such harmony with itself and its environment as to express the mastery of spirit over the flesh.”

Bushido refers not only to martial rectitude,  but to personal rectitude: Rectitude or Justice,  is the strongest virtue of Bushido. A well-known samurai defines it this way: ‘Rectitude is one’s power to decide upon a course of conduct in accordance with reason,  without wavering; to die when to die is right,  to strike when to strike is right.’

Another speaks of it in the following terms: ‘Rectitude is the bone that gives firmness and stature. Without bones the head cannot rest on top of the spine,  nor hands move nor feet stand. So without Rectitude neither talent nor learning can make the human frame into a samurai.’

Economic reality has dealt a blow to organizational loyalty around the world. Nonetheless,  true men remain loyal to those to whom they are indebted: “Loyalty to a superior was the most distinctive virtue of the feudal era. Personal fidelity exists among all sorts of men: a gang of pickpockets swears allegiance to its leader. But only in the code of chivalrous Honor does Loyalty assume paramount importance.”

There is hardly a more profound concept in Bushido than honor. The Samurai lived and died by their honor,  with haragiri (seppuku) being the final way of preserving lost honor.  Even today there is a great deal that can be learned from Samurai-esque honor.

He was born and bred to value the duties and privileges of his profession. Fear of disgrace hung like a sword over the head of every samurai. To take offense at slight provocation was ridiculed as ‘short-tempered.’ As the popular adage put it: “True patience means bearing the unbearable.”

As a principle,  the Samurai did not lie and there are many tales of those who did being put to death for it. The Samurai also didn’t see the need for written contracts as that would be doubting the truthfulness of their word.

“Bushi no ichi-gon, was a sufficient guarantee of the truthfulness of an assertion. His word carried such weight with it that promises were generally made and fulfilled without a written pledge,  which would have been deemed quite beneath his dignity.”

Bushido distinguishes between bravery and courage: Courage is worthy of being counted among virtues only if it’s exercised in the cause of Righteousness and Rectitude. In his Analects,  Confucius says: ‘Perceiving what is right and doing it not reveals a lack of Courage.’ In short,  ‘Courage is doing what is right.’

A man invested with the power to command and the power to kill was expected to demonstrate equally extraordinary powers of benevolence and mercy: Love,  magnanimity,  affection for others,  sympathy and pity,  are traits of Benevolence,  the highest attribute of the human soul. Both Confucius and Mencius often said the highest requirement of a ruler of men is Benevolence.