Yamamoto Tsunetomo War Quotations

The person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.

The end is important in all things.

It is better not to become acquainted with men about whom you have formerly had doubts. No matter what you do, they will be people by whom you will be tripped up or taken in.

When someone is giving you his opinion, you should receive it with deep gratitude even though it is worthless. If you don't, he will not tell you the things that he has seen and heard about you again.

A person who is discreet in speaking will be useful during the good times and will avoid punishment during the bad.

If one thinks only of winning, a sordid victory will be worse than a defeat. For the most part, it becomes a squalid defeat.

Be true to the thought of the moment and avoid distraction. Other than continuing to exert yourself, enter into nothing else, but go to the extent of living single thought by single thought.

As long as people overlook matters, then inferiors can, without any fear, lead an easy and peaceful life.

The Four Oaths: Never be late with respect to the way of the warrior; be useful to the lord; be respectful to your parents; get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of man.

Looking comparatively at the good things, you will see that they are not excluded from wisdom, humanity and bravery.

As everything in this world is but a sham. Death is the only sincerity.

It is better to have some unhappiness while one is still young, for if a person does not experience some bitterness, his disposition will not settle down.

Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they are not unrelated to these three things.

The saying 'the arts aid the body' is for samurai of other regions. For samurai of the Nabeshima clan the arts bring ruin to the body.

One should be wary of talking on end about such subjects as learning, morality or folklore in front of elders or people of rank. It is disagreeable to listen to.

There is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way and never thinks of himself as having finished.

You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate.

By inconsistency and frivolity we stray from the Way and show ourselves to be beginners. In this we do much harm.

Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty.

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.

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.

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.

A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger.

When delivering something like an important letter or other written materials, grasp it firmly in your hand as you go and do not release it once, but hand it over directly to the recipient.

One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.

Go ahead and gamble a lie. A person who will not tell you seven lies within a hundred yards is useless as a man.

It is said that one should not hesitate to correct himself when he has made a mistake. If he corrects himself without the least bit of delay, his mistakes will disappear.

In the eyes of mercy, no one should have hateful thoughts. Feel pity for the man who is even more at fault. The area and size of mercy is limitless.

By bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better man?

It is a principle of the art of war that one should simply lay down his life and strike. If one's opponent also does the same, it is a even match. Defeating one's opponent is then a matter of faith and destiny.

I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death.