Top Story: 15. August
Bushido - Still prevailing in Japanese minds?
Most of us have heard the Japanese word bushido 武士道, the way of the warrior. The word got into foreign attention first in 1905 when writer called Inazo Nitobe wrote book Bushido: The Soul of Japan.
Bushido is a lifecode for samurai, a Japanese warrior class which became distinct during meiji restoration in end if 1800. This lifecode is strongly influenced by Zen and
Confucianism.
For us foreigners, it seems sometimes that bushido require inhuman things from it's followers. Bushido requires fore and 
foremost acceptance of all things in life, including death, without complaint. The famous samurai group Shinsengumi had specially strict code, one couldn't even borrow money from another.
If found breaking the code, samurai had to commit seppuku, a ritual suicide. In worst cases, samurai wasn't even allowed for seppuku - but was simply beheaded.
We should however remember that in golden years of samurais, only about 7% of the Japanese belonged to samurai class. All Japanese were not samurais and all Japanese didn't follow bushido.
Sometimes an interesting question is heard by foreigners in Japan - are there still remains of bushido -thinking in Japanese people?
Life in Japan has been always extremely hard. Throughout the time there have been wars, typhoons, earthquakes, floods, snow, volcanic eruptions, famine. Most of the area is mountaineous, a difficult for farming. Main form of Japanese agriculture has been fishing. The seas around Japan are sometimes dangerous and has took lives of many fishermen. Sometimes it simply was a bad season, not much fish, and famine came. Bushido's essence lies in this ultimate form of perseverance. Just keeping going.
Some say that Bushido's true nature comes out when one accepts defeat or ultimate hardship.
Even if had to quietly accept defeat of World War II and suffer the time under American occupation. In famous Japanese animation movie Hotaru no Haka, a neighbor says to another after firebombing by Americans, "its' good my house burned too, now we are equal".
Keeping cool and restraining inner emotions separate from outer world was one of the most important parts of bushido. Utter concentration - no matter what person does. And still japanese have seen to do like that. "One must remain mentally calm no matter what happens", says bushido.
Bushido can be therefore seen as a form of self discipline and inner harmony. Japanese have always had exceptional
skill forming harmonious relationship with their surrounding conditions. Even if it requires sacrifice of individual's opinions or life. Kobe earthquake 1995 took over 5000 lives. Still Japanese didn't sit tight and wait gods to help them- they simply lived through it. For us foreigners it seemd a miracle how soon the area was fully operational again. But those perished in the earthquake will never be back. Our hearts need time to heal.
Yes, all of this have its dark side too. In Japan happen many suicides of students who fail in university entrance exams. They feel they have lost their face, and give up their lives as last resort. Bushido also clearly states how separate sexes should behave -Japanese men have been expected to fulfill the image of a warrior through years. Bring income to the family, do your homework, get best degrees, don't complain - act like a man. Men don't cry, has been said throughout the times. In Kafka on the Shore, Murakami describes warriors in a song with following words:
"Outside the window there are soldiers
Steeling themselves to die"
Perhaps now it's good time to start revise of this code - keeping only the best part.
