![]() ![]() He does not stray from the path of the samurai. Now if we look at either of these lists, we can see that Jin does not lack in honour. To everyone that they are responsible for, they remain fiercely true. They are immensely loyal to all of those in their care. Warriors are responsible for everything that they have done and everything that they have said and all of the consequences that follow. Decisions they make and how these decisions are carried out are a reflection of who they truly are. Warriors have only one judge of honor and character, and this is themselves. Nothing will stop them from completing what they say they will do. When warriors say that they will perform an action, it is as good as done. The true strength of a warrior becomes apparent during difficult times. Warriors are not only respected for their strength in battle, but also by their dealings with others. They do not need to prove their strength. True warriors have no reason to be cruel. If an opportunity does not arise, they go out of their way to find one. They help their fellow men at every opportunity. They develop a power that must be used for good. ![]() Through intense training and hard work the true warrior becomes quick and strong. It is living life completely, fully and wonderfully. ![]() Hiding like a turtle in a shell is not living at all. ![]() Warriors make a full commitment to their decisions. To the true warrior, all points of view are deeply considered regarding honesty, justice and integrity. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. These are the principles that were later further reimagined as the eight virtues of bushido by Nitobe Inazo in the 1800s and are what most people see in reference to bushido today:īe acutely honest throughout your dealings with all people. Perceive those things which cannot be seen. Develop an intuitive judgement and understanding for everything.ħ. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters.Ħ. Now, if we were to talk about the principles of bushido as they have been interpreted through Musashi, there are nine principles by which a samurai should live his life:ĥ. They just didn’t get their own hands dirty with it. So the criticism levied on Jin for his dishonourable behaviour is somewhat amusing because while samurai did have a general belief that assassination was dishonourable and that you should meet your foes on the field of battle face-to-face, they weren’t opposed to using non-conventional tactics to win battles. The shinobi as a class didn’t really come into being until the Sengoku era (around the late 1400s, early 1500s). Using poison, assassinating, attacking from behind etcetera. He earns their respect and loyalty in a way Shimura cannot because Shimura sees them only as subjects to rule over, not people to care about.įurther, in the game, Jin does some very “ninja” things. He is the people’s hero because he cares about them. Jin exemplifies the noble who understands that his role is to protect all of his people. And Shimura makes it clear that the will of the Shogun (yaaay politics) is more important than the lives of the people. Even the lives of his own soldiers are less important than their perceived “honour”. His personal honour (or perception of what honour is) is more important to him than the lives of the peasants. Now, I’m not saying that Shimura is abusing the peasants but it is made very clear that they are not his priority. There are the ruling class who believe that their job is to take care of the people and there are the selfish pricks who are rich and entitled and abuse their privilege. Now, as we all know, the role of nobility has historically been a very divided one. What was functionally the singular unifying factor was that the samurai were warriors and they were nobility. Which is not to say that the samurai didn’t follow a code of honour but that code could vary from clan to clan, region to region. Ghost of Tsushima takes place in the 1200s, well before Musashi’s writings. The principles of the samurai “code” - bushido - weren’t truly codified until Miyamoto Musashi wrote about the samurai class in his later years. Because without Jin’s willingness to adapt, Tsushima would have been lost, no question. I believe Jin is actually the one with more honour and that Shimura forsakes his own honour on the beach when he pursues a course of action that leaves Tsushima (and the mainland) open to invasion. There is no good ending for Jin, not because he doesn’t have honour, but because he defied the authority structure. Now that I’m done crying over a horse (I WILL NEVER BE OVER THIS), let’s talk about Shimura and Sakai and the definition of honour to a samurai.īecause the story tells us that Jin has no honour and is a bad samurai but that is from the perspective of Shimura and the samurai like him. ![]()
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