Tsunetomo Yamamoto (12 June 1659 - 1719) was a samurai of the Saga domain in Hizen Province under his lord Mitsushige Nabeshima. For thirty years Yamamoto devoted his life to the service of his lord and clan. When Nabeshima died in 1700, Yamamoto did not choose junshi because Mitsushige Nabeshima has expressed a dislike of the practice in his life, so Yamamoto considered it better to follow his lord's wishes after his death, and to refrain from junshi. After some disagreements with Nabeshima's successor, Yamamoto renounced the world and retired to a hermitage in the mountains. Late in life (between 1709 and 1716), he narrated many of his thoughts to a fellow samurai, Tsuramoto Tashiro. A lot of these aphorisms were about his lords father and grandfather Naoshige and about the failing ways of the Samurai caste. These commentaries were later turned into the Hagakure (Hidden behind the Leaves). June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... // Events May 25 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth. ... // Events January 23 - The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire April 25 - Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe June 10 - Battle of Glen Shiel Prussia conducts Europes first systematic census Miners in Falun, Sweden find an apparently petrified body of Fet-Mats Israelsson in an unused... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... A reconstruction of a Yayoi period building at the Yoshinogari site Saga Prefecture (佐賀県; Saga-ken) is located on Kyushu island, Japan. ... The article incorporates text from OpenHistory. ... Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ... Junshi refers to the medieval Japanese act of killing oneself by means of seppuku. ... Junshi refers to the medieval Japanese act of killing oneself by means of seppuku. ... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... // Events August 5 - In the Battle of Peterwardein 40. ... Hagakure (Kyūjitai: 葉隱; Shinjitai: ; meaning In the Shadow of Leaves), or Hagakure Kikigaki () is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to Nabeshima Mitsushige, the third ruler of what is now the Saga prefecture in Japan. ...

The Hagakure was not widely known during the years following Tsunetomo's death, but by the 1930s it had become one of the most famous representatives of bushido taught in Japan. The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Japanese samurai in armor, 1860s. ...

Tsunetomo believed that becoming one with death in one's thoughts, even in life, was the highest attainment of purity and focus. He felt that a resolution to die gives rise to a higher state of life, infused with beauty and grace beyond the reach of those concerned with self-preservation. He similarly believed in immediate action, and in the Hagakure criticized the carefully planned Ako vendetta (a major event in his lifetime) for its delayed response. Incense burns at the burial graves of the 47 Ronin at Sengakuji. ...

Yamamoto Tsunetomo is also known as Yamamoto Jōchō, the name he took after retiring and becoming a monk.

Some might say he was usually seen with a brown hakama over red hakama-shita and haori coat. He usually had a short katana sheathe at his side, upheld loosely by a white obi-sash. But this is only a rumor. Hakama worn by an aikidoka (left of the picture) An Edo-era kamishimo outfit, consisting of a kataginu (a sleeveless jacket with exaggerated shoulders) (left) and hakama (centre). ... Japanese woman in a kimono, ca. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Famous quotes

"I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death." -- used as a military slogan during the early 20th century to encourage soldiers to throw themselves into battle.

"There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue." -Hagakure

"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." -Hagakure

"I have found the essence of Bushido: to die!" -Hagakure

Tsunetomo's personal version of the Four Vows of a samurai, which he advocated reciting every morning:

As Shown In Hagakure

1. Never be outdone in the Way of the Samurai.
2. To be of good use to the master.
3. To be filial toward my parents.
4. To manifest great compassion, and to act for the sake of Man.

External references

• de Bary, et al, ed. Sources of Japanese Tradition, 2d Ed.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Yamamoto Tsunetomo

• Hagakure Kikigaki : Orated Aphorisms of Yamamoto Jocho
• Hagakure! (Selected topics from Hagakure)
• Hagakure : The Book of the Samurai
• Zen and the Art of Divebombing, or The Dark Side of the Tao by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D.