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The Samurai Creed

I have no parents;

I make the heavens and the earth my parents,

I have no home;

I make 'saika tanden' (abdominal region) my home.

I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power.

I have no means;

I make docility my means. I have no magic power;

I make personality my magic power. I have neither life nor death; I make 'a um' (art of regulating one's breath) my life and death.

I have no body;

I make stoicism my body. I have no eyes; I make the flash of lightening my eyes. I have no ears;

I make sensibility my ears. I have no limbs; I make promtitude my limbs. I have no laws;

I make self - protection my laws. I have no strategy; I make 'sakkatsu jizai' (free to kill and free to restore life) my strategy. I have no designs;

I make 'kisan' (taking opportunity by the forelock ) my designs. I have no miracles;

I make righteous laws my miracles. I have no principles; I make 'rinkiohen' (adaptablility to all circumstances my principles. I have no tactic;

I make 'kyojitsu' (emptiness and fullness) my tactics. I have no talent;

I make 'toi skumyo' (ready wit) my talent. I have no friends; I make my mind my friend. I have no enemy;

I make incautiousness my enemy. I have no armor; I make 'jin-gi' (benevolence and righteousness) my armor. I have no castle; I make ' fudoshin' (immovable mind) my castle. I have no sword;

I make 'mushin' (absence of mind) my sword.

In Japan the warrior class was known as samurai, also called bushi (hence bushido). They formed a class in and of themselves during the 9th and 12th centuries. They emerged from the provinces of Japan to become the ruling class until their decline and later total abolition in 1876 during the Meiji Era.

The samurai were fighting men, skilled in the martial arts. Samurai had extensive skills in the use of the bow and arrow and the sword. They could just as likely have killed you with their bare hands. Samurai were also great horsemen.

These warriors were men who lived by Bushido; it was their way of life. The samurai's loyalty to the emperor and his overlord, or daimyo, was unsurpassed. They were trustworthy and honest. They lived frugal lives with no interest in riches and material things, but rather they were interested in honor and pride. They were men of true valor. Samurai had no fear of death. They would enter any battle no matter the odds. To die in battle would only bring honor to one's family.