I am writing an essay on the topic “the last samurai”.
I’m suppose to analyse the movie, and point at differences, misstakes and so on made by the filmmakers. It’s quite easy, since the movie is filled with lies and fantasy…
BUT In the movie katsumoto says that bushido means: to feel life in every breath…
I’ve been searching the net and some books to find out the correct meaning of this codex, but I cant find it. The name is: Fight, man, way…
It cant mean what katsumoto says…
Can someone please give me the correct content of this word and explain to me what it really means…
You can go here for technical errors in the movie, specifically “Factual Errors” in which there are several mistakes in the movie in accordance to Japanese/Samurai tradition, etc.
The thing about bushido is that it has been interpreted in different ways by different writers over the course of Japanese history. It’s not a uniform and inviolable codex or something in that regard.
I’d suggest reading “Heike Monogatari” for an older post-Heian perspective, and then “Hagakure” for a later perspective, as a starting point.
It’s actually Martial, Man, Way (martial being military). But as someone said, the literal translation means very little - it is just the way of the samurai. It involves a whoooole load of ancient, samurai, mystical spirtual stuff, and values, and whatnot. The “life in every breath” thing is just crap though.
