The Virtues of the Samurai

kennen (kane-neen) spirit, fortitude, perseverance 根気 [valor, chivalry, heroism, fortitude, courage, bravery, valiancy, boldness, gallantry, intrepidity, daring]

shinnen (sheen-nane) conviction and faith 確信

shincho (sheen-choh) care, caution, discretion 心してやりなさい

seigi (say-ee-ghee) righteousness and justice 正義 [justice, righteousness, right, rightness, correct meaning]

sessei (say-ssay-ee) moderation and temperance 節制 [moderation, temperance, self-restraint]

jizen (jee-zane) benevolence and charity 仁義 [humanity and justice, duty, moral code]

kobo (kee-boah) hope 希望 [hope, wish, aspiration]

Interesting, when I go out to the "Internet" and search out these seven virtues I find disparity from this particular perception/perspective. One source on the wikipedia:

Seven virtues of Bushidō
    •    Rectitude (義 gi?): Morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness
    •    Courage (勇 yū?): the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.
    •    Benevolence (仁 jin?): an inclination to do kind or charitable acts.
    •    Respect (礼 rei?): A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
    •    Honesty (誠 makoto?): Free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere; Morally correct or virtuous; unpretentious, and unsophisticated.
    •    Honor (名誉 meiyo?): Adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct; High respect; esteem.
    •    Loyalty (忠義 chūgi?): quality of being loyal to someone or something; strong feeling of support or allegiance.

義, 勇, 仁, 礼, 誠, 名誉, and 忠義

When I seek out definitions to the characters presented in this particular source I find more disparity. The first character above is found to mean: google translate: definition, reed; Kanji Dictionary: justice, righteousness, morality, honor, sense, meaning, substitute. What I am saying here is that there are more than one single meaning for these virtues and which is the intent of the Samurai virtues or what some refer to as the Bushido Code.

As I scan the various uses of this character in conjunction with other characters the meaning is even more convoluted. It is best not to take a single character to find the more meaningful meaning. For instance, the first character above also means things like brother-in-law, communism, democracy, listen to lecture properly, duty and the principle of living to give but a few. Some apply for the intent as we understand it and some don't so characters and their associations matter.

Another disparity is the actual Japanese terms vs. those provided by Mr. DeMente's book of Samurai Strategies. For instance, rei is actually "bow," but in he wiki instance they indicate it means "respect." Yes, when one bows properly and in the right context they display respect in that form but is this what they mean as to samurai virtues?

A fictitious name, a dummy name is represented by 架空名義  which contains the first character above.  All of this causes me pause in that our understanding of the culture behind our practice of a martial art is not present so what is it are we actually doing? Tatsuo-san told first-gen Marines to lean about his culture and it is becoming clearer every day just how important that is so why do we resist?

Then the question arises, "do we have it right?" Are the virtues the same when we say "samurai vs. bushido?" Maybe the disparity is due to a difference there, I wonder.

In my final analysis, for this moment, I find Mr. DeMente's rendition to hold more sway since it all connects to his studies and findings of the Asian culture, customs and beliefs that drive it.