Hagakure the Book of the Samurai

Hagakure the Book of the Samurai is a text written as a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior and based on a collection of notes by the samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo; the meaning of Hagakure is "hidden leaves or hidden in the leaves". The notes were written and compiled into a book by a young samurai named Tashiro Tsuramoto, who visited aging and alone Tsunetomo in 1710 and was so fascinated by his tales that kept coming to the old samurai for another six years to collect and record all his commentaries and reasoning towards the warrior code of the samurai class.

The book was completed in 1716, but the Hagakure the Book of the Samurai manuscript was concealed and kept privately by the Nabeshima clan, which was the clan that Tsunetomo was previously serving to until his master died. The book was kept in a secret for another two centuries and only in the Meiji period was made public, instantly becoming popular and by the 1930s, it became the most famous work on Bushido and the Samurai class.

The Hagakure the Book of the Samurai reveals views of Tsunetomo on Bushido, which is the warrior code that samurai had to follow very close to and which emphasized on such virtues as honour, loyalty, courage, respect, truth, righteousness, and benevolence. Tsunetomo in his views can be quite radical and referred to Bushido as to the "Way of Dying" or living as you're already dead, being ready and prepared to die for your master any time.

Bushido was formed around 9th to 12th century as a warrior code for Japanese samurai but as a code of Japanese chivalry as well. It was documented between 12th and 16th century and started its way to influence whole Japan.

Hagakure the Book of the Samurai is still a popular book among Japanese and non-Japanese readers interested in Japanese and Samurai culture. As one of the contemporary reference, it was used as a central theme in the movie "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai".

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