Quote

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

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
Ends
Etiquette
Tranquil
Quick
Basic
Beginning
Meaning
Middle
War

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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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A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.
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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.
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There is nothing we should be quite so grateful for as the last line of the poem that goes, 'When your own heart asks.
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Bushido is realised in the presence of death. In the case of having to choose between life and death you should choose death. There is no other reasoning.
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Singlemindedness is all-powerful.
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By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done
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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.
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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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Purity is something that cannot be attained except by piling effort upon effort.
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The way of the Samurai is found in death.
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Continue to spur a running horse.
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It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material posessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect.
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The Four Oaths: Never be late with respect to the way of the warrior be useful to the lord be respectful to your parents get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of man.
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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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The end is important in all things.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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Looking comparatively at the good things, you will see that they are not excluded from wisdom, humanity and bravery.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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If a warrior is not unattached to life and death, he will be of no use whatsoever. The saying that “All abilities come from one mind” sounds as though it has to do with sentient matters, but it is in fact a matter of being unattached to life and death. With such non-attachment one can accomplish any feat.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo