Hagakure

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The Hagakure translated as In the Shadow of Leaves, is code of ethics of the Samurai, developed between 1710 and 1716 in Japan during the Edo period. It was drawn from a collection of commentaries and teachings of Tsunemoto Yamamoto, a Zen monk. The Hagakure covers eleven volumes that comprises of 1,300 short lessons, episodes and recordings of Tsunemoto while observing the changing social environment during his time. The writings was primarily concerned about te daily life of the samurai and the relationship of the emperor to the common people. The original manuscript is still missing, however, first hand copied texts was circulated by a young samurai of the Nabeshima clan was the basis or its existence today. So far, less than three dozen of copies which is nearly three hundred years is still kept today. Each copy differs in from each other by omissions, additions and wrongly copied words. However, the "Yamamoto copy" is considered the most reliable, and is still kept in the prefecture library in Saga.

Yamamoto Tsunemoto did not want to publish the Hagakure, but different hand copies that circulated spread fast, since the message of the Hagakure was faced with great interest. In the time in which the Samurai was often only found in the aristocracy, Yamamoto Tsunemoto's writing pushed the spirit of bushido (warriors way), which saw itself threatened by decadence. Over the centuries the Hagakure was loved, condemned and forbidden as a "feudalistic propaganda".