Editing Bushido (section)

=== {{anchor|Muromachi-Azuchi (1336-1603)}}Muromachi-Azuchi (1336–1603) ===
During the [[Muromachi period]] (1336–1573) the way of the warrior began to ''refine'' by inserting in their daily activities, alongside martial training, [[Japanese Zen|Zen]] meditation, [[Japanese painting|painting]] (monochrome style), [[ikebana]], the [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony]], [[Japanese poetry|poetry]] such as the [[death poem]] (written by samurai before suicidal missions or battles)<ref>Mayumi Ito, ''Japanese Tokko Soldiers and Their Jisei''</ref> and [[Japanese literature|literature]].<ref name="EnciclopediaTreccani" />

[[Carl Steenstrup]] noted that 13th- and 14th-century writings (''[[gunki monogatari]]'') "portrayed the ''bushi'' in their natural element, war, eulogizing such virtues as reckless bravery, fierce family pride, and selfless, at times senseless devotion of master and man".<ref name="carl-biwahoshi"<ref/>

{{blockquote|Every farmer was basically also a warrior until [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi|Hideyoshi]] confiscated weapons through a nation-wide "sword-hunt" in 1588. Every [[ashigaru]] had his first lessons on the mentality of war from the [[biwa hōshi]]. On the other hand, the Heike recitations also propagated civic virtues: loyalty, steadfastness in adversity, and pride of family honor.|[[Carl Steenstrup]]<ref name="carl-biwahoshi"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Steenstrup |first1=Carl |title=Notes on the Gunki or Military Tales: Contributions to the Study of the Impact of War on Folk Literature in Premodern Japan |journal=Comparative Civilizations Review |date=1 April 1980 |volume=4 |issue=4 |id={{ProQuest|1311892267}} |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol4/iss4/2/ }}</ref>}} 
[[File:Katō_Kiyomasa.jpg|thumb|Daimyo [[Katō Kiyomasa]]]]
The sayings of [[Sengoku period|Sengoku-period]] retainers and warlords such as [[Katō Kiyomasa]] (1562–1611) and [[Nabeshima Naoshige]] were generally recorded or passed down to posterity around the turn of the 16th century when Japan had entered a period of relative peace. In a handbook addressed to "all ''samurai'', regardless of rank", Katō states:

{{blockquote|If a man does not investigate into the matter of ''bushidō'' daily, it will be difficult for him to die a brave and manly death. Thus, it is essential to engrave this business of the warrior into one's mind well.|Katō Kiyomasa"<ref name="Wilson"/>}}

Katō was a ferocious warrior who banned even recitation of poetry, stating:

{{blockquote|One should put forth great effort in matters of learning. One should read books concerning military matters, and direct his attention exclusively to the virtues of loyalty and filial piety....Having been born into the house of a warrior, one's intentions should be to grasp [[Daishō|the long and the short swords]] and to die."|Katō Kiyomasa<ref name="Wilson">William Scott Wilson, Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors ([[Kodansha]], 1982) {{ISBN|0-89750-081-4}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=does the word ''bushidō'' appear in the original Japanese text?|date=February 2018}}}}[[Nabeshima Naoshige]] (1538–1618) says similarly, that it is shameful for any man to die without having risked his life in battle, regardless of rank, and that "''bushidō'' is in being crazy to die. Fifty or more could not kill one such a man. However, Naoshige also suggests that "everyone should personally know exertion as it is known in the lower classes".<ref name="Wilson" />

By the mid-16th century, several of Japan's most powerful warlords began to vie for supremacy over territories amidst the Kyoto government's waning power. With Kyoto's capture by the warlord [[Oda Nobunaga]] in 1573, the [[Muromachi period]] concluded.<ref name="kawakami"/>

In 1551 CE, one of the [[List of Westerners who visited Japan before 1868|first western people to visit Japan]] was the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[missionary]] [[Francis Xavier]]. The description of Francis shows that [[honor]], [[weaponry]] and [[warfare]] were valued of utmost importance in Japanese culture.<ref name="xavier">{{cite journal | last =Pacheco  | first =Diego  | title =Xavier and Tanegashima  | journal = [[Monumenta Nipponica]] | volume =29  | date =Winter 1974  | issue =4  | pages =477–480  | jstor =  2383897| doi =10.2307/2383897 }}</ref> {{blockquote|The Japanese are very ambitious of honors and distinctions, and think themselves superior to all nations in military glory and valor. They prize and honor all that has to do with war, and all such things, and there is nothing of which they are so proud as of weapons adorned with gold and silver. They always wear swords and daggers both in and out of the house, and when they go to sleep they hang them at the bed's head. In short, they value arms more than any people I have ever seen. They are excellent archers, and usually fight on foot, though there is no lack of horses in the country. They are very polite to each other, but not to foreigners, whom they utterly despise. They spend their means on arms, bodily adornment, and on a number of attendants, and do not in the least care to save money. They are, in short, a very warlike people, and engaged in continual wars among themselves; the most powerful in arms bearing the most extensive sway. They have all one sovereign, although for one hundred and fifty years past the princes have ceased to obey him, and this is the cause of their perpetual feuds.<ref>{{cite letter | first = Francis  | last = Xavier | recipient = Society of Jesus at Goa | subject = Letter from Japan, to the Society of Jesus at Goa, 1552 | language = en | date = 1552 | type = letter | url = https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1552xavier4.asp | access-date = 17 June 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Coleridge |first= Henry James |year=1872 |orig-year= 1876|title= The life and letters of St. Francis Xavier |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gbJSAAAAcAAJ&q=bibliogroup:%22The+Life+and+Letters+of+St.+Francis+Xavier%22|volume=1 |edition=2nd|location= London|publisher= Burns and Oates |publication-date=1872 |pages= 331–350 |access-date= 17 June 2019}} [https://archive.org/details/lifelettersofstf01coleuoft Alt URL]</ref>}}

The practice of decapitating and collecting enemy heads is an example of honor in samurai culture.<ref name="Gaskin, Carol 2004"/><ref name="headhunters">{{cite web |website=YouTube |publisher=Smithsonian Channel |title=A Samurai's Collection of Human Heads |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfDOG2AJvTU |date=March 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118233925/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfDOG2AJvTU |archive-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> The severed heads were shown to a general as evidence that they killed wanted opponents and to collect rewards.<ref name="headhunters"/> More heads meant higher prestige, honor and rewards.<ref name="headhunters"/> A beautification ritual of the severed heads called ''[[Ohaguro]]'' was performed.<ref name="Turnbull, Stephen 2004. pg. 231">Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai The Story of Japan's Great Warriors. London. Prc Publishing Ltd, 2004. Print. pg. 231.</ref><ref name="Gaskin, Carol 2004"/> Prestigious heads were arranged on a table and presented in front of the warriors.<ref name="Gaskin, Carol 2004"/><ref name="headhunters"/> All heads were identified and marked to prevent mistakes.<ref name="headhunters"/> The guards were left and right of the general and cited spells to transfix demonic spirits of the enemy.<ref name="headhunters"/> Then a samurai said his own name, lifted a box to show and describe the severed head.<ref name="headhunters"/> The general inspected the trophy heads while holding a fan so that the dead could not recognize his face.<ref name="headhunters"/> If the claimed head was correct then the samurai received a payment otherwise he was dismissed.<ref name="headhunters"/><ref name="Gaskin, Carol 2004"/>

Despite the war-torn culmination of this era and the birth of the Edo period, Samurai codes of conduct continued to extend beyond the realms of warfare. Forms of bushido-related [[Zen Buddhism]] and [[Confucianism]] also emerged during this period.<ref name="Tasuke_78">Tasuke, p. 78</ref> A Samurai adhering to bushido-like codes was expected to live a just and ethical social life; honoring the practices of the gentry in the absence of military campaigns.<ref name="Tasuke_78" />