Yamamoto Tsunetomo Tsunetom (Book order)

Yamamoto Tsunetomo Tsunetom Book order

Yamamoto Tsunetomo was a samurai who, after his lord's death, chose to renounce the world and become a monk. In his work Hagakure, he recorded his thoughts on the ways of the samurai and the importance of embracing death as the ultimate state of mind. He believed that the resolution to die allows one to attain a higher state of life, infused with beauty and grace. His ideas, which later became one of the most famous expressions of bushido, emphasize shedding the fear of death to achieve pure focus and clarity.

The Hagakure

130 pages
5 hours of reading

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Warrior ethics have been studied in famous books and popular movies such as Shogun and The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. The Hagakure was originally written in the early 1700s over a seven year period. Dictated by Yamamoto Tsunetomo to an assistant, the book was never meant to be published, but after Tsunetomo's death the assistant published it to honor his master. Inside this ancient text are all the deep and mysterious ways of the Samurai. Page after page of topics unfold, ranging from the best way to face death to not looking foolish in a rainstorm. The Hagakure is chock full of Zen-like wisdom and maxims, and presents a revealing look at history's greatest warrior society, Japan in the age of the Samurai. Many use The Hagakure today as a guidebook on ethics, while others are awestruck by this glimpse at the Samurai's way of thinking.