Life, as we all know, is a fight. It’s not going to be easy. To withstand it all, you’ll require warrior-like physical and mental toughness. These Samurai Quotes will help you to motivate yourself to fight positively.
Remember these Samurai quotes when you feel your ability to deal with life is waning. Samurai, or bushi as they were known in pre-modern Japan, were warriors who lived hundreds of years ago. Whether you’re waging a physical or mental battle, the Samurai Quotes below will undoubtedly inspire you to be a true warrior.
Table of Contents
Japanese Samurai Quotes
- “It is easy to kill someone with a slash of a sword. It is hard to be impossible for others to cut down” – Yagyu Munenori
2. “I dreamt of worldly success once.” – Miyamoto Musashi
3. “From a mere peasant, Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose to one of the three key men in restoring peace and unity in the country. Though was born out of the noble families of the traditional Samurai bloodline, his tactics and skills on and off the battlefield made him the ruler of major part of Japan.” -Sreechinth C.
4. “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
5. “The samurai code of honor affected every part of their lives.” -Jim Ollhoff
6.
“When the World is at Peace, a gentleman keeps his Sword by his side.” – Wu Tsu
7. “There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle… Perhaps…” – Jean-Pierre Melville
8. “I look at the Samurai because they were the artists of their time. What i think struck me When I read Bushido is compassion. ‘If there’s no one there to help, go out and find someone to help.’ That hit me, because I try to lead my life like that.” -Tom Cruise
9. “Bushidō is about experiencing life in every breath. Seeing life in the simplest of things. There is beauty and honor in that.” -Renée Ahdieh
10“Rehearse your death every morning and night. Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life.” – Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
11. “Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of Man.” – Miyamoto Musashi
12. “To a great extent, the story of a samurai has been the story of Japan during most of the past millennium, and it is surely premature to relegate the samurai tradition entirely to the past.” -Stephen Turnbull
13. “Self-respect is the fruit of discipline.” – Abraham J. Heschel
14. “I have a high art, I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me.” – Archilochus
15. “Within a decade, the new samurai rulers had set Japan firmly on the course of modernization, and though they were obliged in the process to dissolve the feudal privileges of their own class, former samurai in fact became leaders in all areas of modern Japanese society.” -Stephen Turnbull
Samurai Philosophy Quotes
16.
“Although the samurai are well-known for their use of the sword, they began as skilled mountain archers, and used a variety of weapons, including longbows, spears, and firearms.” ― Tommy Ito
17. “The story of the samurai warriors charts the rise and fall of the most skilled and courageous group of elite combatants the world has ever seen.” -Tommy Ito
18. “Bushido refers not only to martial rectitude but personal rectitude. We understand that in serving each other we serve our own interests. In serving our world, our world serves us. Allowing us to live in harmony with it.” ― Rick Remender
19. “I worshipped dead men for their strength, forgetting I was strong.” – Vita Sackville-West
20. “Honour may not win power, but it wins respect. And respect earns power.” -Ishida Mitsunari
21. “Mental bearing (calmness), not skill, is the sign of a matured samurai. A Samurai therefore should neither be pompous nor arrogant.” – Tsukahara Bokuden
22. “One finds life through conquering the fear of death within one’s mind. Empty the mind of all forms of attachment, make a go-for-broke charge and conquer the opponent with one decisive slash.” – Togo Shigekata.
23. “Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength.” – Frances de Sales
24. “Engage in combat fully determined to die and you will be alive; wish to survive in the battle and you will surely meet death. “– Uesugi Kenshin
25. “One mind, any weapon.” – Hunter B. Armstrong
26.“Where do you begin? Perfect is a good place to start. We must always focus on improving things that are already perfect.” – J. Viol
27. “If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.” – Sun Tzu
28. “We make war that we may live in peace.” – Aristotle
29. “To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” – General George Washington
30. “You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair.” – Taisen Deshimaru
Samurai Quotes about Death
31. “It is a brave act of valor to condemn death, but where life is more terrible than death it is then the truest valor to dare to live.” – Sir Thomas Brown
32.“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
33.
“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.” – Buddha .
Last Samurai Quotes
34. “A samurai is a total human being, whereas a man who is completely absorbed in his technical skill has degenerated into a ‘function’, one cog in a machine.” – Yukio Mishima
35. “A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.” – Yamamoto Tsunetomo
36. “It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all Ways and be more and more in accord with his own.” ― Yamamoto Tsunetomo
37. “He Who Knows Others Is Wise. He Who Knows Himself Is Enlightened.” – Tao Te Ching
38. “Where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valor to dare to live.” – Thomas Browne
39. “As the samurai’s influence grew, so did their status in Japanese society. They went from being professional soldiers to land-owning nobles. The most powerful of these lords were called daimyos.” ― Blake Hoena
40. “Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” – Sun Tzu
41. “The samurai no longer exist. But even today, they capture our imagination with their skill, their loyalty, and their fearlessness.” ― Jim Ollhoff
42. “Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.” – Sun Tzu
43. “He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious.” – Sun Tzu
44.
“It’s actually the samurai spirit, which is ‘no fear and never give up.” – Enson Inoue
45. “In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things.” – Yamamoto Tsunetomo
46. “The word Samurai itself is a synonym as they are the great ferocious aristocratic warriors in the history of the country.” ― Sreechinth C.
47. “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” – Sun Tzu
48. “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.” – Miyamoto Musashi
49. “A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.” – Nabeshima Naoshige
50. “See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body.” – Yagyu Munenori
Samurai Warrior Quotes
51. “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” – Sun Tzu
52.
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” – Archilochus
53. “Victory goes to the one who has no thought of himself.”- Shinkage School of Swordsmanship
54. “The no-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things.” – Gautama Buddha
55. “Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself” – Chinese Proverb
56. “Without Knowledge, Skill cannot be focused. Without Skill, Strength cannot be brought to bear and without Strength, Knowledge may not be applied.” – Alexander the Great
57. “Be master OF mind rather than mastered BY mind” – Zen Saying
58. “The Samurai always has to rise and move on, because new challenges will come.” – Lyoto Machida
59. “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” – Sun Tzu
60. “A samurai must remain calm at all times even in the face of danger.” – Chris Bradford
61. “All warfare is based on deception.” – Sun Tzu
62. “Civilise the mind but make savage the body.” – Mao Zedong
63. “For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” – Sun Tzu
64. “Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.” – Sun Tzu
65. “He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.” – Sun Tzu
66. “I’m not a fighter, but in my mind, I’m fighting every day. ‘What’s new? What am I doing?’ I’m fighting myself. My soul is samurai. My roots aren’t samurai, but my soul is.” – Masaharu Morimoto
67. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
68. “There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.” – Yamamoto Tsunetomo
69. “A samurai should always be prepared for death – whether his own or someone else’s.” – Stan Sakai
70. “In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few” – Suzuki
71. “Master the divine techniques of the Art of Peace and no enemy will dare to challenge you.” – Morihei Ueshiba
Samurai Quotes on Honor
72. “Blackthorne, beside the gates, was still turmoiled by his boundless joy at her reprieve and he remembered how his own will had been stretched that night of his near-seppuku, when he had had to get up as a man and walk home as a man unsupported, and became samurai. And he watched her, despising the need for this courage, yet understanding it, even honoring it.”
― James Clavell, Shōgun
73.
“Act like a man of thought – Think like a man of action.” – Thomas Mann
74. “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu
75. “To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve – as if you might die in the next instant” – Taisen Deshimaru
76. “The Ultimate Warrior leaves no openings – Except in his mind.” – Seishinkan ITP
77. “The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm. What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still.” – Sun Tzu
78. “When the Way comes to an end, then change – having changed, you pass through.” – I Ching
79. “The more you sweat in training, the less you will bleed in battle.” – Motto of Navy Seals
80. “I had a rather unfortunate tendency to tell the truth in a country where no one ever says what they mean. So now, I very accurately translate other people’s lies.”
― Edward Zwick
81. “The uncomfort zone is very important for us… To feel uncomfortable is important to strengthen your spirit. Like the samurai says, if you feel comfortable you must search for the discomfort, don’t look only for the easy way.” – Lyoto Machida
82. “The Way lies at hand yet it is sought afar off; the thing lies in the easy yet it is sought in the difficult.” – Mencius
83. “Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really NO PATH.” – Morihei Ueshiba
84. “To think, “I will not think” – This, too, is something in one’s thoughts. Simply do not think about not thinking at all.” – Takuan
85. “Two of the most remarkable aspects of samurai culture are bushido, a strict philosophy which places absolute loyalty to the master above all else, and seppuku— ritual suicide, performed in preference to dishonor.” -Tommy Ito
86. “The way of the samurai is found in death. When it comes to either or, there is only the quick choice of death. It is not particularly difficult. Be determined and advance.” -Nabeshima Naoshige
87.“My mentality is that of a samurai. I would rather commit seppuku than fail.” ― Elon Musk
88. “Some Warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage.” – Ming-Dao Deng
89. “Working on the samurai sword is very different because your body position has to be very still. It’s a much quieter way of fighting.” -Lucy Liu
90. “The undisturbed mind is like the calm body water reflecting the brilliance of the moon. Empty the mind and you will realize the undisturbed mind.” – Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi
91. “The samurai who failed his lord suffered a dishonor worse than death. There was only one way to erase the disgrace. The samurai must commit seppuku, sometimes called hara-kiri, or belly-slitting. In this horribly painful suicide, the dishonored samurai used a short sword to cut open his belly and release his spirit.” ― Virginia Schomp
92. “You might as well stand and fight because if you run, you will only die tired” – Vern Jocque – Sei Shin Kan.
93. “Samurai are born to die. Death is not a curse to be avoided — but the natural end of all life. Death is not eternal…dishonor is.” ― Rick Remender
94. “The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one and it would not be a wasted life.” – Ken Watanabe
95.
“The true meaning of the samurai is one who serves and adheres to the power of love.” -Morihei Ueshiba
96. “The Samurai is the first to suffer anxiety for human society, and he is the last to seek personal pleasure.” – Morihei Ueshiba
97. “A samurai chooses to serve a master and does it out of respect and love, not because they are forced. Service to them is not demeaning; service is an expression of their prowess and their pride; they serve because only they are strong enough to serve with such flawless perfection and such consummate ability. It is a source of pride to them.” -Alexei Maxim Russell
98. “The sword has to be more than a simple weapon; it has to be an answer to life’s questions.” -Miyamoto Musashi
99. “As a samurai, I must strengthen my character; as a human being I must perfect my spirit.” – Yamaoka Tesshu
100. “Being a samurai is all about selfless service and if the lord abuses the servant, it is no longer a situation of service; it becomes the situation of a victim. It is never acceptable for a samurai to be a victim. It is never acceptable to allow a lord to abuse you or rob you of your dignity. In such a situation, it is acceptable to walk away.” -Alexei Maxim Russell
Samurai Champloo Quotes
101.“I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger.” – Mencius
102. “The sword was a very elegant weapon in the days of the samurai. You had honor and chivalry much like the knights, and yet it was a gruesome and horrific weapon.” -Dustin Diamond
103. “Everyone feels fear. What a samurai or warrior is, is what you do when you feel fear.” – Enson Inoue
104. “A samurai was essentially a man of action.” -Inazo Nitobe
105. “Unless you do your best, the day will come when, tired and hungry, you will halt just short of the goal you were ordered to reach, and by halting you will make useless the efforts and deaths of thousands.” – Gen. George S. Patton
106. “Samurai culture did exist really, for hundreds of years and the notion of people trying to create some sort of a moral code, the idea that there existed certain behaviors that could be celebrated and that could be operative in a life.” -Edward Zwick
107. “Once the will is resolved, one’s spirit is strengthened. Even a peasant’s will is hard to deny, but a samurai of resolute will can sway ten thousand men.” -Yoshida Shoin
108. “It is the very mind itself that leads the mind astray – of the mind, do not be mindless.” – Takuan Soho
109. “Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both….and surpass the result.” – Tien T’ai
110. “Generally speaking, the way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death.” ― Miyamoto Musashi
111. “The increased influence of Zen Buddhism on the Samurai culture had a great hand in flourishing art forms. As the country has splintered into many inter-conflicting states, the demand of the warriors raised so was that of the Ninja warriors who were experts in unconventional warfare.” -Sreechinth C.
112. “The samurai swore an oath of loyalty to their leader and would fight to the death to protect him or her. This oath made the samurai even more fearsome on the battlefield because the samurai were not afraid of death.” ― Jim Ollhoff
113. “The samurais were very interested in Zen because they admired the tremendous precision that the Zen Masters had, their lack of fear and pain and their absolute lack of fear of death.” ― Frederick Lenz
114. “Every country in the world loved the folklore of the West–the music, the dress, the excitement, everything that was associated with the opening of a new territory. It took everybody out of their own little world. The cowboy lasted a hundred years, created more songs and prose, and poetry than any other folk figure. The closest thing was the Japanese samurai. Now, I wonder who’ll continue it.” – John Wayne
115. “Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.” –
Miyamoto Musashi
116. “What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.” – Sun Tzu
117. “My mentality is like a Samurai: They used to everyday work on their technique to make themselves almost perfect. Because perfection is impossible, but every day, you get closer to perfection.” – Georges St-Pierre
118. “My philosophy is the same as a Samurai: To hit without getting hit.” – Lyoto Machida
119. “I don’t believe a champion is the biggest, baddest, meanest dude in the world. I think the champion is like a warrior; it’s like the head knight or lead samurai: humble men of integrity, respect, and honor that treat people kindly.” -Jon Jones
120. “I used to think that to become free you had to practice like a samurai warrior, but now I understand that you have to practice like a devoted mother of a newborn child. It takes the same energy but has a completely different quality. It’s compassion and presence rather than having to defeat the enemy in battle.” – Jack Kornfield
Which of those Samurai quotes is famous?
“It is easy to kill someone with a slash of a sword. It is hard to be impossible for others to cut down” – Yagyu Munenori
“Samurai culture did exist really, for hundreds of years and the notion of people trying to create some sort of a moral code, the idea that there existed certain behaviors that could be celebrated and that could be operative in a life.” -Edward Zwick
“A samurai must remain calm at all times even in the face of danger.” – Chris Bradford
What is the samurai's motto?
The fact that life is finite. The samurai’s famous philosophy was that life is short, but honor and fame can last a lifetime. As a result, these soldiers valued their forefathers’ honor, public image, and name above all else, even their own life.
What were the samurai's beliefs and values?
The Samurai were required to uphold seven basic virtues: justice, courage, compassion, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty. In Japanese culture, morality is defined in two ways.
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In this blog, some related post as follows:
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External Reference
Motivational Quotes in Turkish, French, and Spanish