History Literature / TheHagakure

* ArmchairMilitary: The author himself was a member of the samurai class who was born during a centuries-long era of peace after sanctioned duels were banned, spent his life as a clerk (and later a monk), and had no known combat experience. This explains a lot about the book's mythologisation of warrior culture.

* DeathSeeker: The book famously portrays samurai as someone who should fully and totally embrace the notion of one's mortality and inevitable death and then ''pursuit it''.

** Still, he renounced the samurai life after Mitsushige's death and became a monk, so in a way commited a symbolic seppuku.

* TheStoic: One samurai comes back home to catch a strange man in bed with his wife. He promptly kills the man, then damages a wall in his house and so makes the incident pass as though he had killed a robber. After some time he divorces his wife.
* TakingYouWithMe: There is a lot of focus on fulfilling your mission, regardless of the costs. Which in many situations means sacrificing one's life - and cherrishing it - to kill the target.

** As noted below, Denko the buddhist monk gets his hands on a sword to [[BewareTheNiceOnes kill the man who murdered his mother, nephew and younger brother.]] Unfortunately, his order banishes him for breaking his oath and he's forced to forsake monkhood... but that doesn't stop his old parishioners from protecting him, travelling with him as he leaves town. They knew that killing two men who were the son of a ronin and had connections with local samurai might have triggered a violent retaliation, but they stuck by the monk regardless. Tsunetomo notes he lived the rest of his life peacefully, warmly received as a hero in every town he visited. The story had circulated everywhere.

%%* TheFettered: The ideal samurai.

* KarmicDeath: Goroemon and his brother are rightfully slain.

* NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe: The book is product of nostalgic stories told by an old samurai to younger one, with both of them longing for past that never really was there. The result is highly idealised vision of what a samurai was and what he should be. A few decades later, what was composed as personal notes and musings turned into a semi-official handbook on how to be a samurai, dialing up the NostalgiaFilter into absurdity.

* TruthInTelevision: The Hagakure is definitive proof that such a thing called "bushido" actually existed. Downplayed in that it's not really what it is represented as in media. Tsunetomo mentions that most clans have a code for their warriors to adhere to, and the actual intricacy, length and contents of these codes will vary. He gives the example of the "Four Vows of the Nabeshima samurai", the bushido code of the clan he belongs to. And of course, the actual adherence to these values by individual samurai will also vary.

* BornInTheWrongCentury: The most famous publication about [[FaceDeathWithDignity the fearless mindset]] of an ideal samurai? It came from a man who (while he was in fact a samurai) never saw combat due to living during a time of peace.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: In one anecdote a samurai offers advice on a go game, causing the losing player to slash him. He receives a mortal wound to his thigh but manages to make it seem as if he was uninjured, and furthermore says that the incident is no big deal. A bit later when the other samurai who had attacked him approaches him to offer sake, he is promptly beheaded. The injured samurai then reveals his wounds to the others present and tells them that he could save just enough energy to get his revenge, and dies.

* NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe: The book is product of nostalgic stories told by an old samurai to younger one, with both of them longing for past that never really was there. The result is highly idealised vision of what a samurai was and what he should be. Taken UpToEleven when few decades later what was composed as personal notes and musings turned to be a semi-official handbook on how to be a samurai, dialing up the NostalgiaFilter into absurdity.

* BloodKnight: Samurai is a warrior and his main job is to fight. This became problematic both in message[[note]]Tokugawa shogunate was predominately trying to pacify the bushi class and make it pursuit scholarly goals[[/note]] and context[[note]]The book was written in times of general peace, where short from local, small-scale revolts, nobody was fighting anymore[[/note]].

* HetIsEw: Men and women? Bah, they'll never have the same "true" love as men have together.
** Note however that Tsunetomo has very strict conditions and advice for people considering getting into gay relationships. He reminds the readers that being gay is not for everyone and might put a stain on one's entire life.

* BadassGrandpa: Nabeshima Naoshige, first daimyo of the clan. He actively fought and commanded men during the Sengoku era, and was part of Hideyoshi's Korean campaign as a commander. He later saved his clan from annihilation with some wise advice to his son whose decision to side against Tokugawa in the Battle of Sekigahara would bring the wrath of the victorious Tokugawa. It is claimed that his personal kill count is in the hundreds. On top of all this he lived for roughly 8 decades and his sayings had lasting effects on his son Lord Katsushige, grandson Lord Mitsushige and Tsunetomo himself, who immortalized many of Naoshige's maxims inside the Hagakure.

%%* BloodKnight

%%* CulturedBadass: See WarriorPoet
%%* DeathSeeker

%%* HairTriggerTemper: Suggested lifestyle for the samurai.

%%* {{Samurai}}

%%* TakingYouWithMe

* AFatherToHisMen: This attitude is encouraged. According to Tsunetomo, a leader should treat his men with respect and compassion, fostering morale and a powerful connection amongst all comrades.

* BloodKnight
* {{Bookworm}}: Tsunetomo is said to have been one in his childhood.

* CulturedBadass: See WarriorPoet
* DeathSeeker

* TheDragon: Loyal retainers will become this to their [[BigBad lords]].
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: All samurai want this end.

* TheFettered: The ideal samurai.

* HairTriggerTemper: Suggested lifestyle for the samurai.

* LastStand

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge

* {{Samurai}}

* TheSiege

* TakingYouWithMe

The ''Hagakure'' (meaning "Hidden by the Leaves"), or ''Hagakure Kikigaki'', is the Book of Bushido. It is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the samurai [[OldRetainer Yamamoto Tsunetomo,]] former retainer to [[FeudalOverlord Nabeshima Mitsushige]], the third ruler of what is now the Saga prefecture in Japan. The book was written over a period of seven years, after Tsunetomo retired as a samurai and lived in semi-seclusion as a converted buddhist. An old friend by the name of Tsuramato Tashiro, a younger samurai, would frequently visit. Over the course of seven years (1709-1716), he had dictated every personal thought, recollection, anecdote or philosophical musing Tsunetomo had. It would be published several years later, well after the older samurai was dead. Obscure at the time of publication, it has since become one of the most influential treatises on the {{samurai}} way of life, alongside other integral works as UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi's ''Book of Five Rings'' and ''Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War'' by Yagyu Munenori.

* NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe: The book is product of nostalgic stories told by an old samurai to younger one, with both of them longing for past that never really was there. The result is highly idealised vision of what a samurai was and what he should be. Taken UpToEleven which what was composed as personal notes and musings turned out to be a semi-official handbook of how to be a samurai few decades later, dialing up the NostalgiaFilter into absurdity.

** As noted below, Denko the buddhist monk gets his hands on a sword to [[BewareTheNiceOnes kill the man who murdered his mother, nephew and younger brother.]] Unfortunately, his order banishes him for breaking his oath and he's forced to forsake monkhood... [[CrowningMomentofHeartwarming but that doesn't stop his old parishioners from protecting him, travelling with him as he leaves town. They knew that killing two men who were the son of a ronin and had connections with local samurai might have triggered a violent retaliation, but they stuck by the monk regardless. Tsunetomo notes he lived the rest of his life peacefully, warmly received as a hero in every town he visited. The story had circulated everywhere.]]

->''The Way of the Samurai [[DeathSeeker is found in death.]]\\

The ''Hagakure'' was written a century after the start of the Tokugawa era. As a time of relative peace and stability, society was changing, and with a total lack of large scale wars [[EndOfAnAge the samurai were transforming from warriors to administrators of the land.]] The book outlines what the author felt should be the true role of the warrior in society. His work represents one approach to the problem of maintaining military preparedness and a proper military mindset in a time when neither has much practical application.

* AuthorTract: Tsunetomo clearly longs for the old days, before the Tokugawa period, and is quick to decry the "weakened" samurai of the next generation.

* TruthInTelevision: The Hagakure is definitive proof that such a thing called "bushido" actually existed. Sort of averted as it's not really what it is shown to be in media. Tsunetomo mentions that most clans have a code for their warriors to adhere to, and the actual intricacy, length and contents of these codes will vary. He gives the example of the "Four Vows of the Nabeshima samurai", the bushido code of the clan he belongs to. And of course, the actual adherence to these values by individual samurai will also vary.

* BestServedCold: Tsunetomo [[DefiedTrope strongly disagrees]] with the idea of biding your time for revenge, saying that if you don't take revenge immediately you're more likely to lose your nerve and never go through with it. He actually criticizes UsefulNotes/The47Ronin for taking so long to implement their plan, since it would have been all for nothing if Lord Kira had died of a cold. He goes so far as to say it's better to rush in like LeeroyJenkins even if you get cut down before you reach your target, since that is at least an honorable way to die.

** Note however that Tsunetomo has very strict conditions and advice for people considering getting into homosexual relationships. He reminds the readers that homosexuality is not for everyone and might put a stain on one's entire life.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Another attitude encouraged. It makes sense, given the author's take on homosexuality and male bonding.

** Not to mention the blatant adoration of homosexual love.

* BestServedCold: Tsunetomo [[DefiedTrope strongly disagrees]] with the idea of biding your time for revenge, saying that if you don't take revenge immediately you're more likely to lose your nerve or miss your chance. He actually criticizes UsefulNotes/The47Ronin for taking so long to implement their plan, since it would have been all for nothing if Lord Kira had died of a cold. He goes so far as to say it's better to rush in like LeeroyJenkins even if you get cut down before you reach your target, since that is at least an honorable way to die.

And he replied, "I can guarantee him by the fact that he is a man who has erred once. A man who has never once erred is dangerous." This said, the man was promoted.\\

* FaceDeathWithDignity

-> At the time when there was a council of a certain man, the council members were at the point of deciding that promotion was useless because of the fact that the man had previously been involved in a drunken brawl. But someone said, "If we were to cast aside every man who had made a mistake once, useful men could probably not be come by. A man who makes a mistake once will be considerably more prudent and useful because of his repentance. I feel that he should be promoted."
-> Someone else then asked, "Will you guarantee him?"
-> The man replied, "Of course I will."
-> The others asked, "By what will you guarantee him?"
-> And he replied, "I can guarantee him by the fact that he is a man who has erred once. A man who has never once erred is dangerous." This said, the man was promoted.