Bushido

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /buˈʃi.doʊ/

Definitions

1. A historic moral code originating in Japan that dictates the ideals of loyalty, honor, and courage essential for samurai conduct
2. An ancient ethical standard ingrained in Japanese culture, emphasizing virtues such as loyalty, bravery, and integrity among warriors
3. A traditional Japanese code of ethics that embodies principles of loyalty, honor, and valor, particularly influencing the samurai class

Etymology: Bushido combines two Japanese words, "bushi" (warrior) and "dō" (way, path), so its literal sense is roughly "the way of the warrior." The first element traces back through Chinese: "wushi" was a term for a military man, and Japanese took the compound and built on it, the same way many Japanese terms for learning and conduct were shaped by Chinese models. The second element, "dō," is the same character that appears in words like "judo" and "kendo," where it names a discipline pursued as a path toward self-improvement rather than a mere skill. The term itself is comparatively recent in its written form. Although the ideals it describes, loyalty to one's lord, personal courage, and a readiness to die honorably, grew up over the centuries of Japan's warrior class, the compound "bushidō" became a common name for them only in the early modern period. Its later fame owes much to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when writers and officials presented it as a unified moral code, a view many historians now regard as a simplification of a more varied tradition.