Yamamoto Tsunetomo Quotes

“Death seems to be a long way off. Is this not shallow thinking? It is worthless and is only a joke within a dream. It will not do to think in such a way and be negligent. Insofar as death is always at one's door, one should make sufficient effort and act quickly.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“When meeting difficult situations, one should dash forward bravely and with joy.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“One must know the so-called 'lesson of a downpour.' A man, caught in a sudden rain en route, dashes along the road not to get wet or drenched. Once one takes it for granted that in rain he naturally gets wet, he can be in a tranquil frame of mind even when soaked to the skin. This lesson applies to everything.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Human life is truly a short affair. It is better to live doing the things that you like.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“All of us want to live, and that is absolutely natural. However, we should learn from childhood on to choose our best way to die. If we don't do that, we end up spending our days like a dog, only in search of harbour, food and expressing a blind loyalty to his owner in return. That isn't enough to make our lives have a meaning.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day one should meditate on being carried away by surging waves, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Calculating people are contemptable. The reason for this is that calculation deals with loss and gain, and the loss and gain mind never stops. Death is considered loss and life is considered gain. Thus, death is something that such a person does not care for, and he is contemptable. Furthermore, scholars and their like are men who with wit and speech hide their own true cowardice and greed. People often misjudge this.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about going at it in a long roundabout way. One's heart may slacken, he may miss his chance, and by and large there will be no success. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it was somewhere else. No one seems to have noticed this fact. But grasping this firmly, one must pile experience upon experience. And once one has come to this understanding he will be a different person from that point on, though he may not always bare it in mind. When one understands this settling into single-mindedness well, his affairs will thin out.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“It is said that one should not hesitate to correct himself when he has made a mistake. If he corrects himself without the least bit of delay, his mistakes will disappear.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Light matters should be dealt with seriously. Serious matters should be dealt with lightly.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Go ahead and gamble a lie. A person who will not tell you seven lies within a hundred yards is useless as a man.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“In the eyes of mercy, no one should have hateful thoughts. Feel pity for the man who is even more at fault. The area and size of mercy is limitless.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“To desire with one's very soul every second of every day to accomplish one's aim.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Having only wisdom and talent is the lowest tier of usefulness.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“A warrior should not say something fainthearted, even casually. He should set his mind to this beforehand. Even in trifling matters the depths of one's heart can be seen.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“If a retainer will just think about what he is to do for the day at hand, he will be able to do anything. If it is a single day's work, one should be able to put up with it. Tomorrow, too is but a single day.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

It is better to have some unhappiness while one is still young, for if a person does not experience some bitterness, his disposition will not settle down.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they are not unrelated to these three things.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“One should be wary of talking on end about such subjects as learning, morality or folklore in front of elders or people of rank. It is disagreeable to listen to.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

There is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way and never thinks of himself as having finished.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“By inconsistency and frivolity we stray from the Way and show ourselves to be beginners. In this we do much harm.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“The saying 'the arts aid the body' is for samurai of other regions. For samurai of the Nabeshima clan the arts bring ruin to the body.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“The basic meaning of etiquette is to be quick at both the beginning and end and tranquil in the middle.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

When delivering something like an important letter or other written materials, grasp it firmly in your hand as you go and do not release it once, but hand it over directly to the recipient.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

An affected laugh shows lack of self-respect in a man and lewdness in a woman. It is carelessness to go about with one's hands inside the slits in the sides of his hakama.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“As everything in this world is but a sham. Death is the only sincerity.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

When something out of the ordinary happens, it is ridiculous to say that it is a mystery or a portent of something to come ... the mystery is created in (their) minds, and by waiting for disaster, it is from their very minds that it occurs.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“When someone is giving you his opinion, you should receive it with deep gratitude even though it is worthless. If you don't, he will not tell you the things that he has seen and heard about you again.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“A person who is discreet in speaking will be useful during the good times and will avoid punishment during the bad.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Not to borrow the strength of another, nor to rely on one's own strength; to cut off past and future thoughts, and not to live within the everyday mind ... then the Great Way is right before your eyes.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“There is not a man who does not get senile by the time he reaches sixty. And when one thinks that he will not be senile, he is already so.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“Our bodies are given life from the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, "Form is emptiness." That all things are provided for by nothingness is the meaning of the phrase, "Emptiness is form." One should not think that these are two seperate things.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“The deepest love is often hidden.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“What is called generosity is really compassion. In the Shin'ei it is written "Seen from the eye of compassion, there is noone to be disliked. One who has sinned is to be pitied all the more." There is no limit to the breadth and depth of ones heart. There is room enough for all. That we still worship the sages of the three ancient kingdoms is because their compassion reaches us yet today.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“In China there was once a man who liked pictures of dragons, and his clothing and furnishings were all designed accordingly. His deep affection for dragons was brought to the attention of the dragon god, and onde day a real dragon appeared before his window. It is said that he died of fright. He was probably a man who always spoke big words but acted differently when facing the real thing.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush about at things. A person of little merit is not at peace but walks about making trouble and is in conflict with all.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“As long as people overlook matters, then inferiors can, without any fear, lead an easy and peaceful life.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“The person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“The end is important in all things.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo

There are few people who will make mistakes with fire after having once been burned.

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo