Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, also read Yamamoto Jōchōwas a samurai of the Saga Domain in Hizen Province under his lord Nabeshima Mitsushige. For thirty years Yamamoto devoted his life to the service of his lord and clan. When Nabeshima died in 1700, Yamamoto did not choose to follow his master in death in junshi because the master had expressed a dislike of the practice in his life. Instead, Yamamoto followed his lord's wishes and refrained from junshi. After some disagreements with Nabeshima's...
NationalityJapanese
ProfessionSoldier
Date of Birth11 June 1659
CountryJapan
The basic meaning of etiquette is to be quick at both the beginning and end and tranquil in the middle.
There is not a man who does not get senile by the time he reaches sixty. And when one thinks that he will not be senile, he is already so.
If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.
When something out of the ordinary happens, it is ridiculous to say that it is a mystery or a portent of something to come... the mystery is created in (their) minds, and by waiting for disaster, it is from their very minds that it occurs.
Not to borrow the strength of another, nor to rely on one's own strength; to cut off past and future thoughts, and not to live within the everyday mind... then the Great Way is right before your eyes.
An affected laugh shows lack of self-respect in a man and lewdness in a woman. It is carelessness to go about with one's hands inside the slits in the sides of his hakama.
All abilities come from one mind
All of man’s work is a bloody business. That fact, today, is considered foolish, affairs are finished cleverly with words alone, and jobs that require effort are avoided. I would like young men to have some understanding of this.
It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this.
If a retainer will just think about what he is to do for the day at hand, he will be able to do anything. If it is a single day's work, one should be able to put up with it. Tomorrow, too is but a single day.
A warrior should not say something fainthearted, even casually. He should set his mind to this beforehand. Even in trifling matters the depths of one's heart can be seen.
Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.
There is nothing we should be quite so grateful for as the last line of the poem that goes, 'When your own heart asks.
A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger.