2.1.2.1 Bushido
Bushido was a way of life of the samurai warrior which had to be obeyed. Moreover, there was a hard consequence for those had broken it. In other words, this consequence
can be called as hara-kiri or seppuku. “Bushido” word came from the words bu military, shi man, and do a way. Therefore, the meaning of bushido is the way of
warrior. Farah and Karls 1999: 364 explained that the samurai followed a strict code of honour called bushido, meaning the way of the warrior. Musashi 1984: 44-45
interpreted bushido as a philosophy for samurai which taught patience and calmess which were needed by a samurai while he was dueling against another or took part in a
battle. Hane 1992: 29 said that:
Bushido, is strictly adhered to, was a stringently demanding code of life. It required the samurai to fulfil his responsibilities and obligations scrupulously. If
he failed to do so, or if he disgraced himself in any manner whatever, he was expected to assume full responsibility and take his own life by means of a highly
ritualised mode of disembowelment with a sword hara-kiri or seppuku.
In line with that, http:www.artelino.comarticlessamurai.asp explained that the samurai warriors had an ethic code of behaviour called bushido, meaning ‘way of the
warrior’. The central point of the bushido was complete loyalty towards the lord, the daimyo. The last, Lu 1997: 27 explained that:
The way of the warrior bushido is to find a way to die. If a choice is given between life and death, the samurai must choose death. There is no more
meaning beyond this. Make up your mind and follow the predetermined course. Some one may say, “You die in vain, if you do not accomplish what you set out
to do.” That represents an insincere approach of Kyoto people the bushido. When you are forced to choose between life and death, no one know what the out come
will be. Man always desires life and rationalizes his choice for life. At that very moment, if he misses his objectives to life, as a samurai he must be regarded as a
coward. It is difficult to draw an exact line. If he misses his objectives and chooses death, some may say he dies in vain and he is crazy to do so out this
must not be regarded as a shameful act…Day and night, if you make a conscious effort to think of death and resolve pursue it, and if you are ready to discard life
at a moment’s notice, you and bushido will become one in this way throughout your life, you can perform your duties for your master without fail.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that bushido cannot be separated from samurai’s life. Bushido was the way for warriors or samurais. Every samurai must obey
the bushido virtues, and one of them was loyalty. Loyalty was the first thing for a samurai which must be glorified. It included loyalty to the emperor, shogun, and
daimyo. Besides loyalty, honour was also one of the most important prinsiples for
samurai as the content in the bushido tenets which stressed honour. In the samurai world, it was better to die rather than to loose an honour because death was just a way to
regain honour or avoid being disgraceful.
2.1.2.2 Bushido tenets
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