Bushido (Way of the Warrior)

The Regulations of Imagawa Ryoshun

"Without knowledge of Learning, one will ultimately have no military victories."
"Cormorant fishing and falconing are pleasures that uselessly destroy life. They are
forbidden."
"it is forbidden to pass the death sentence on a man who has committed a major crime
without full investigation"
"It is forbidden to use favoritism and excuse a man who has committed a major crime"
"It is forbidden to bring about one's own excessive prosperity by means of exploiting the
people and causing the destruction of shrines."
"It is forbidden to tear down one's ancestors' family temples and pagodas, thereby
embellishing one's own domicile"
"It is forbidden to forget the great debt of kindness one owes to his master and ancestors
and thereby make light of the virtues of loyalty and filial piety."
"It is forbidden that one should, acting disrespective of the Way of Heaven, attach little
importance to his duties to his master and be overly attentive to his own business"
"It is forbidden to be indiscriminate of one's retainers good or evil actions and to
distribute unjust rewards and punishments."
be mindful of the fact that, as you know the works of your own retainers, the master
knows yours in the same way.
"It is forbidden to disrupt the relationships of other people, and to make others anguish
your own pleasure."
"It is forbidden to put others profit at a loss and, recklessly embracing one's own

ambition, increase one's own power"

"It is forbidden to be disregardful of one's own financial status and to live too far above it
or below it"
"It is forbidden to have contempt for wise retainers and prefer flatterers, and to have
one's actions be influenced by those conditions"
"One should not be envious of someone who has prospered by unjust deeds. Nor should
he disdain someone who has fallen while adhering to the path of righteousness."
"It is forbidden to be given up to drinking and carousing and, in gambling and the like, to
forget one's family duties."
"It is forbidden to be prideful of one's own cleverness, and to ridicule others about
everything"
"When a person comes to one's home, it is forbidden to feign illness and thus avoid
meeting him."
"It is forbidden to enjoy one's own tranquility, and to retire a man without adding to him
some stipend."
"It is forbidden to be excessive in one's own clothing and armor, while his retainers go
about shabbily."
"One should be highly reverential of Buddhist priests and treat them with correct
manners."
"Regardless of a person's high or low position, it is forbidden to disregard the law of
karma, and to simply live in ease."
"It is forbidden to erect barriers in one's own domain and thus cause distress to travelers
both coming and going"
THE ABOVE ARTICLES SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND AT ALL TIMES
Postcript:
It is natural that training in the martial arts is the Way of the warrior, but it is important to
put them into actual practice. First, it is written in the Four Books and Five Classics as well
as in the military writings that in protecting the country, if one is ignorant in the study of
literature, he will be unable to govern.
From the time one is young, he should associate with companions who are upright and
not even temporarily be taken in by friends of low character. Just as water will conform to
the shape of the vessel that contains it, so will a man follow the good and evil of his
companions. This is so true. Therefore it is said that the master who governs his domain
well loves wise retainers, while the man who exploits the people loves flatterers. This
means that if one would know the heart of the master, he should look to the companions
who the master loves. One should truly take this to heart. To prefer friends who are
superior to him, and to avoid those who are his inferiors, is the wisdom of the good man.
However, considering this to be true, it will not do to be overly fastidious in one's choice
of people. This is simply saying that one should not love those who are evil. This is not
limited to the man who governs the country, for without the love and respect of the
masses, all matters are difficult to achieve.
First of all, a samurai who dislikes battle and has not put his heart in the right place even

though he has been born in the house of the warrior, should not be reckoned among
one's retainers. Many famous generals have made this admonition. Next, if one would
wonder about the good and evil of his own heart, he may think of himself as good if many
people of both high and low positions gather at his door. And, even if one invites many
people, and still they neglect him and he has no comrades, he should think of his own
conduct as being incorrect.
Yet, I suppose there are two ways of having the gate crowded with callers. There are also
occasions when the people are fearful of the masters' iniquity, are exploited by the high
handedness of his retainers and opposed by the plots of his companions, and will gather
at the gates of the authorities complaining of their afflictions with explanations of their
distress. One should be able to discern such situations well and to correct the
arbitrariness of his retainers. He should entrust himself to the wise sayings of the
ancients and follow the conditions of the law.
A man who is said to be a master should, in the same way the sun and the moon shine on
the grass and trees all over the land, ponder day and night with a heart of compassion
into matters of rewards and punishments, for his vassals both near and far, and even to
those officials separated from him by mountains and sea; and he should use those men
according to their talents. It is possible that there are many examples of men becoming
leaders of samurai, and yet being negligent and lacking wisdom and ability, and thus
incurring the criticism of men both high and low. Just as Buddha preached the various
laws in order to save all living beings, one must rack one's brains and never depart from
the Ways of both Warrior and Scholar.
In Governing the country, it is dangerous to lack even one of the virtues of humanity,
righteousness, etiquette and wisdom. In adhering to correct government, there will be no
rancor from the people when crimes are punished. But when the government makes its
stand in unrighteousness and the death penalty is passed, there will be deep lamenting.
and in such a case there will be no escaping the retribution of Karma.
There is a primary need to distinguish loyalty from disloyalty and to establish rewards and
punishments. It is meaningless to divide up the administration of the domain if one's
vassals commit useless acts in their own interests, have no ability in the martial arts, and
do not sustain their underlings. And though one can say that the treatment of his vassals
in the division of the fiefs has not differed since the time of his ancestors, differences in
conduct and authority are dependant of the same frame of mind of the present master.
Being born into a family that has from the beginning earnestly known the Way of Battle, it
is truly regrettable to wastefully tamper with the domain, support no soldiers, and receive
the scorn of all.
Thus the above is written
in the 19th year of Oei (1412 A.D.)
Imagawa Ryoshun