Editing Bushido (section)

====Tenets====
''Bushidō'' expanded and formalized the earlier code of the ''samurai'', and stressed sincerity, frugality, loyalty, mastery of [[martial arts]], and [[honor|honour]] to the death. Under the ''bushidō'' ideal, if a ''samurai'' failed to uphold his honor he could only regain it by performing ''[[seppuku]]'' (ritual [[suicide]]).<ref name="britannica">{{Cite news |title=Bushido |language=en |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bushido |url-status=live |access-date=2017-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801172446/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bushido |archive-date=2017-08-01}}</ref> The core of bushido consists of a combination of teachings from Japan's three main philosophical traditions: 1. [[Buddhism in Japan|Buddhist]] precepts of serenity, stoicism, and non-attachment to life. 2. [[Shinto]] notions of fidelity and patriotism, and 3. [[Edo neo-Confucianism|Confucian]] morality.<ref name="samurai-spirit"/> People imbued with {{nihongo|bushi katagi|武士気質|extra=lit. "samurai spirit"}} can serenely carry out their work in the face of any adversity, and have the willpower to master themselves.<ref name="samurai-spirit"/> Taira Shigesuke, [[Daidōji Yūzan]] wrote ''Bushido Shoshinshu'' (武道初心集) (pre-1730) which provides practical and moral instructions for samurai to improve personal, social and professional standards.<ref name="shoshinshu">{{cite book |title=The Code of the Samurai: A Modern Translation of the Bushido Shoshinshu of Taira Shigesuke |author= Oscar Ratti, Thomas Cleary |date= 15 September 1999 |publisher= Tuttle |isbn=0804831904 }}</ref>

In an excerpt from his book ''Samurai: The World of the Warrior'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ospreysamurai.com/samurai_death02.htm|title=ospreysamurai.com|website=www.ospreysamurai.com|access-date=2006-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060315180151/http://www.ospreysamurai.com/samurai_death02.htm|archive-date=2006-03-15|url-status=usurped}}</ref> historian [[Stephen Turnbull (historian)|Stephen Turnbull]] describes the role of seppuku in feudal Japan:

<blockquote>In the world of the warrior, seppuku was a deed of bravery that was admirable in a samurai who knew he was defeated, disgraced, or mortally wounded. It meant that he could end his days with his transgressions wiped away and with his reputation not merely intact but actually enhanced. The cutting of the abdomen released the samurai's spirit in the most dramatic fashion, but it was an extremely painful and unpleasant way to die, and sometimes the samurai who was performing the act asked a loyal comrade to cut off his head at the moment of agony.</blockquote>

''Bushidō'' varied dramatically over time, and across the geographic and socio-economic backgrounds of the ''samurai'', who represented somewhere between 5% and 10% of the Japanese population.<ref name="cleary">Cleary, Thomas ''Training the Samurai Mind: A Bushido Sourcebook'' Shambhala (May 2008) {{ISBN|1-59030-572-8}}</ref> The first [[Meiji era|Meiji-era]] census at the end of the 19th century counted 1,282,000 members of the "high ''samurai''", allowed to ride a horse, and 492,000 members of the "low samurai", allowed to [[Daishō|wear two swords]] but not to ride a horse, in a country of about 25 million.<ref>Mikiso Hane ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey, Third Edition'' Westview Press (January 2001) {{ISBN|0-8133-3756-9}}</ref>

Some versions of ''bushidō'' include compassion for those of lower station, and for the preservation of one's name.<ref name="Wilson"/> Early ''bushidō'' literature further enforces the requirement to conduct oneself with calmness, fairness, justice, and propriety.<ref name="Wilson"/> The relationship between learning and the way of the warrior is clearly articulated, one being a natural partner to the other.<ref name="Wilson"/>

Other pundits pontificating on the warrior philosophy covered methods of raising children, appearance, and grooming, but all of this may be seen as part of one's constant preparation for death—to die a good death with one's honor intact, the ultimate aim in a life lived according to ''bushidō''. Indeed, a "good death" is its own reward, and by no means assurance of "future rewards" in the [[afterlife]]. Some ''samurai'', though certainly not all (e.g., [[Amakusa Shirō]]), have throughout history held such aims or beliefs in disdain, or expressed the awareness that their station—as it involves killing—precludes such reward, especially in [[Buddhism]]. Japanese beliefs surrounding the ''samurai'' and the afterlife are complex and often contradictory, while the soul of a noble warrior suffering in hell or as a lingering spirit occasionally appears in Japanese art and literature, so does the idea of a warrior being reborn upon a [[lotus throne]] in paradise<ref>Zeami Motokiyo "Atsumori"</ref>

The essence of bushido was defined by Saitō Chikamori as:<ref name="nippon-bushido"/><ref name="britannica"/>
*Sincerity – do not lie, do not be insincere, do not be superficial
*Responsibility – do not be obsequious
*Frugality – do not be greedy<ref name="nippon-bushido"/>
*Politeness – do not be rude, do not slander
*Modesty – do not be boastful, do not be arrogant
*Loyalty – do not be unfaithful
*Harmony – be on good terms with comrades
*Tranquility – do not be overly concerned with events
*Compassion – show concern for one another, be compassionate, with a strong sense of duty.