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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
People
Doubts
Doubt
Taken
War
Become
Better
Tripped
Matter
Formerly
Men
Acquainted
More quotes by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
The way of the Samurai is found in death.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.
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
Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty.
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
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
There is nothing we should be quite so grateful for as the last line of the poem that goes, 'When your own heart asks.
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
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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
All of man’s work is a bloody business. That fact, today, is considered foolish, affairs are finished cleverly with words alone, and jobs that require effort are avoided. I would like young men to have some understanding of this.
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
To desire with one’s very soul every second of every day to accomplish one’s aim.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
When one is writing a letter, he should think that the recipient will make it into a hanging scroll.
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
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
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
When confronted with two alternatives, life and death, one is to choose death without hesitation.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
By bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better man?
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
