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It is better not to become acquainted with men about whom you have formerly had doubts. No matter what you do, they will be people by whom you will be tripped up or taken in.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo

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Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Age: 60 †
Born: 1659
Born: June 11
Died: 1719
Died: November 30
Bushi
Philosopher
Writer
Hizen Domain
Matter
Formerly
Men
Acquainted
People
Doubts
Doubt
Taken
War
Become
Better
Tripped

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The end is important in all things.
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A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger.
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If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.
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It is a principle of the art of war that one should simply lay down his life and strike. If one's opponent also does the same, it is a even match. Defeating one's opponent is then a matter of faith and destiny.
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The basic meaning of etiquette is to be quick at both the beginning and end and tranquil in the middle.
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If one thinks only of winning, a sordid victory will be worse than a defeat. For the most part, it becomes a squalid defeat.
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The person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.
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Singlemindedness is all-powerful.
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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.
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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.
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A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death.
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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.
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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.
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Nothing is impossible in this world. Firm determination, it is said, can move heaven and earth. Things appear far beyond one's power, because one cannot set his heart on any arduous project due to want of strong will.
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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.
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Be true to the thought of the moment and avoid distraction. Other than continuing to exert yourself, enter into nothing else, but go to the extent of living single thought by single thought.
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Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. 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.
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When one is writing a letter, he should think that the recipient will make it into a hanging scroll.
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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.
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