Samurai Quotes

I like action films, not exclusively, but I like Samurai films. I like Westerns. Not so much war pictures, but a few. I like kinetic cinema. ~ Alexander Payne

I have the soul of a ninja, with the heart of a samurai. ~ Kenneth G. Ortiz

Before I go off and direct a movie, I always look at four films. They tend to be The Seven Samurai, Lawrence Of Arabia, It's A Wonderful Life and The Searchers. ~ Steven Spielberg

The Samurai lived by a code of honor, not unlike the code that you live by. It's called the Bushido. It was never written down; was always something the Samurai knew, and it was handed down from one warrior to another. One of the tenets of the code is about justice. Not the pounding of a gavel on the bench of some judge who's been appointed to pass judgment on people by some politician. No, malaka, this concept of justice is what you feel in your bones: to die when it is right and to strike when it is right. ~ Kenneth Eade

The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm. What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still. ~ Sun Tzu

I don't write 'romance' stories, but character love stories, like the short story fiction published at Romantic4Ever.com and at WeddingNight.com, with romance of the heart and of adventure, in its many, many human varieties, as seen through the eyes and hearts and bodies of realist characters; whether about military special forces regiments, mail order brides in the outback, class-crossed samurai lovers, wealthy Victorian 'minorities,' or luscious vampires of another color. ~ Neale Sourna

You see," he went on, "some people live all their lives without knowing which path is right. They're buffeted by this wind or that and never really know where they're going. That's largely the fate of the commoners - those who have no choice over their destiny. For those of us born as samurai, life is something else. We know the path of duty and we follow it without question. ~ John Allyn

Pandora had no idea how fortunate she was that he didn't insist on sending her out with a bodyguard of assorted marksmen, cavalry, Scottish archers, and a few Japanese samurai thrown in for hood measure. ~ Lisa Kleypas

It is difficult to associate these horrors with the proud civilizations that created them: Sparta, Rome, The Knights of Europe, the Samurai... They worshipped strength, because it is strength that makes all other values possible. Nothing survives without it. Who knows what delicate wonders have died out of the world, for want of the strength to survive. ~ Han From Enter The Dragon

Kim Stanley Robinson wields a pen like a samurai sword ~ Me

This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai: if by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way.
his whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

Becoming the opponent means you should put yourself in an opponent's place and think from the opponent's point of view. ~ Miyamoto Musashi

In the half-light through the drawn curtains she sits on her perch, relaxed, hooded, extraordinary. Formidable talons, wicked, curved black beak, sleek, cafe-au-lait front streaked thickly with cocoa-coloured teardrops, looking for all the world like some cappuccino samurai. ~ Helen Macdonald

A man who can't uphold his beliefs is pathetic dead or alive - Hajime Saito ~ Nobuhiro Watsuki

Life in Japan, nowadays, is nothing like a Kurosawa movie, and only the contemptible Weeaboo thinks that it is. In order to be a whole, well-rounded Otaku, you need to be up on Japanese popular culture, as much as you may be up on anime, samurai philosophy or the canon of Square Enix games. ~ Alexei Maxim Russell

Growing up as a kid, I wanted to be a ninja. In martial arts, even though I did Chinese kung fu, I always wanted to be this secret samurai or a ninja. There's something about ninjas that was very appealing to me as a kid. So of course, I was climbing a lot of trees and other things and getting up to mischief - good mischief. ~ Ray Park

A samurai never worries about losing his life. He worries about losing his honour. Being shamed is far worse than losing your life. A samurai is always ready to die - for his lord, for his honour. That's the samurai way ~ Lesley Downer

I do not like to be called a samurai, but I admit that I have an image of myself as a fighter. I would like to fight against all authorities and powers. ~ Nagisa Oshima

I look at the Samurai because they were the artists of their time. What I think struck me when I read Bushido is compassion. 'If there's no one there to help, go out and find someone to help.' That hit me, because I try to lead my life like that. ~ Tom Cruise

Commitment doesn't have conditions. A compassionate samurai follows through whether it feels good or not; average people do what they feel like doing. ~ Brian Klemmer

All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. ~ Sun Tzu

The world is dead, The Samurai, moving among the inert metal of pumps and lines and distillation columns, over the concrete apron in which the plants were constructed, over gravel brought from the Prospect quarries. it is a world of age-old stones - picking up a piece of gravel in which glinted minerals unknown to him - of basalt chiped from mountains long ago, lying around on roads, lying under hills waiting to be plundered. And laughing at humans. These dead rocks were all of them older than the human race which trod them. each fragment had an immortality. Humans rotted away into the soil in an instant of time.

What was the power he had that enabled him to lift this fragment of eternity in his hand and decide where to throw it? What had been breathed into his fragile dust that seemed for his instant of life to mock the inertia of the rock? Was his own existence supported by a paper warrant somewhere?

He drew back from following these thoughts. There was a power in him, or rather power came to him that made him stronger than he needed to be. A power that blew up certain feelings to an enormous size, a secret power. Was he so different from the men around him? What was the mission that he had been born to perform?
He deliberately relaxed. As he looked about him with a new mood the whole world filled with love. Even the dirt underfoot was sympathetic and grateful. he could love these random stones, these heaps of inert, formed metal so far now fro ~ David Ireland

Now, let's not be hasty,' said Mik 'What exactly is a samurai, really? Do you think that's something we should know before we wish it?'
'Good point. It might turn us both into Japenese men.' She squinted at him. 'Would you still love me if I were a Japenese man?'
'Of course ~ Laini Taylor

I don't get over the wonder of it, and 'The Last Samurai' was an extreme example of that. Every day when I went to the set, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. ~ Tony Goldwyn

THE ART OF PEACE does not rely on weapons or brute force to succeed; instead, we put ourselves in tune with the universe, maintain peace in our own realms, nurture life, and prevent death and destruction. The true meaning of the term samurai is one who serves and adheres to the power of love. ~ Morihei Ueshiba

William focused on her, opened his mouth, closed it. Seeing the weapon strapped to her back and peeking over her shoulder samurai-style, he frowned. "Nice sword," he said dryly.
"Thanks."
"It's one of my favorites."
"If you're nice, I'll give it back to you in a year or two."
"You're so good to me. ~ Gena Showalter

He was righteous. He had a sense of duty, of what was right and wrong in the world, and I don't mean that in some evangelical sense of the word. And I don't mean that his world was just black and white. He just had a code, you know? He used to talk about that, about how few people had CODES anymore. It was his thing. He was always reading books about the samurai, about Japanese culture. ~ Nickolas Butler

My last semester at Vassar, I'd taken to wearing nunchakus in a strap-on holster and carrying around a samurai sword - that should tell you all you need to know. ~ Anthony Bourdain

Leaning back, she studied me, knuckles brushing along my jaw. "You've turned into a man overnight, it seems. Just yesterday, this face was three years old with a samurai turtle Band-Aid on your cheek."
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mom. Way more awesome than samurais."
"You're right. Ninjas have masks and nut chucks."
Any other time I would have laughed. "Nunchakus."
"I know, but you definitely did some damage to your nuts that I think you should get checked out before you have children. I meant to tell you years ago. ~ Ashlan Thomas

The suspicious mind conjures its own demons. ~ Hanshiro Tsugomu

A samurai must remain calm at all times even in the face of danger. ~ Chris Bradford

Samurai culture did exist really, for hundreds of years and the notion of people trying to create some sort of a moral code, the idea that there existed certain behaviors that could be celebrated and that could be operative in a life. ~ Edward Zwick

Ghost Dog: In the words of the ancients, one should make his decision within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break through to the other side. ~ Jim Jarmusch

In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

My mentality is that of a samurai. I would rather commit seppuku than fail. ~ Elon Musk

Where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valor to dare to live. ~ Thomas Browne

How could he possibly bow deeply enough to honor a thousand-year-old samurai queen? ~ Nadia Scrieva

The essence of samurai is not just service, but loyalty to his master, to a cause greater than himself. ~ Barry Eisler

With regards to the way of death, if you are prepared to die at any time, you will be able to meet your release from life with equanimity. As calamities are usually not as bad as anticipated beforehand, it is foolhardy to feel anxiety about tribulations not yet endured. Just accept that the worst possible fate for a man in service is to become a rōnin, or death by seppuku. Then nothing will faze you. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

When i've done camera test, after we've shot and I've seen the monitor with the glasses (wearing a Kimono) and looking by myself in 3D. Oh my god. Especially for a Samurai film. I've never seen that. It's kind of a culture shock. ~ Hiroyuki Sanada

One of the amazing things about 'Seven Samurai' is that there are a lot of characters. And considering you have so many, and they all have shaved heads, and you've got good guys and bad guys and peasants, you get to understand a lot of them without too much being said. ~ George Lucas

Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of Man. ~ Miyamoto Musashi

Blackthorne, beside the gates, was still turmoiled by his boundless joy at her reprieve and he remembered how his own will had been stretched that night of his near-seppuku, when he had had to get up as a man and walk home as a man unsupported, and became samurai. And he watched her, despising the need for this courage, yet understanding it, even honoring it. ~ James Clavell

Men are bad cyclists, hunters of wild animals, kamikazes, samurai and Christian martyrs. ~ Christine Gran

I am the scroll of the poet behind which samurai swords are being sharpened. ~ Lester Cole

We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training. ~ Archilochos

I used to think that to become free you had to practice like a samurai warrior, but now I understand that you have to practice like a devoted mother of a newborn child. It takes the same energy but has a completely different quality. It's compassion and presence rather than having to defeat the enemy in battle. ~ Jack Kornfield

All these years! All this time with us
have you learned nothing?!
You only live by the grace of our clan's tenet of forgiveness!
Your judgement is shit!
Rectitude is the bone that gives firmness and stature. Without decency, neither talent nor learning can make the human frame into a samurai. ~ Rick Remender

The influence of 'Hidden Fortress' comes up a lot because it was printed in a book once. The truth is, the only thing I was inspired by was the fact that it's told from the point of view of two peasants, who get mixed up with a samurai and princess and a lot of very high-level people. ~ George Lucas

I am a genre lover - everything from spaghetti western to samurai movie. ~ Quentin Tarantino

I thought suddenly Look. If Kambei had stopped recruiting when the first samurai didn't work out a 205-minute masterpiece of modern cinema would have been over at minute 32. ~ Helen DeWitt

Anyway I think I met him in the Swai. I was a Geisha, he was a Samurai ~ Nicki Minaj

But Mariko knew it was time to do more. Time to be more.
She would not die a coward. Mariko was the daughter of
a samurai. The sister of the Dragon of Kai. But more than that, she still held power over her decisions. For at least this one last day. She would face her enemy. And die with honor. ~ Renee Ahdieh

A spiritual path for the modern samurai, but in the service of the heart, not the dictatorship of the ego. ~ Vincent Thibault

If someone comes to you with a gift, and you do not accept it, who does the gift belong to? - asked the Samurai. ~ Paulo Coelho

Naturally, the top does not automatically make us better. Like the samurai frequented ordinary cutthroat, so sometimes extreme mountaineer can be self-centered, mythomaniac or crook to each yourself and the environment. ~ Wojciech Kurtyka

SHUCHU RYOKU - Focus all your energy to one point. ~ Gozo Shioda

I'm a huge lover of 'Seven Samurai' and anything Kurosawa ever did. The comedic work out of Japan in terms of martial arts movies, some of them are hilarious. ~ Ann Nocenti

I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all Ways and be more and more in accord with his own. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Hacked to pieces by a band of hillbilly satanists" hadn't ever made my list of imagined ways of getting rubbed out - and as the Samurai warriors of yore meditated on a thousand demises, I too had imagined a whole lot of ways of kicking. Helios Augustus's candle flame flickered in the black opening. He ~ Laird Barron

You are not a samurai, Nate. You're a medically-savvy immortal with Star Wars bed sheets. ~ Chelsea Fine

Working on the Samurai sword is very different because your body position has to be very still. It's a much quieter was of fighting. ~ Lucy Liu

No matter how much you hate or how much you suffer, you can't bring the dead back to life ~ Nobuhiro Watsuki

One who was born in the house of a warrior, regardless of his rank or class, first acquaints himself with a man of military feats and achievements in loyalty ... Everyone knows that if a man doesn't hold filial piety toward his own parents he would also neglect his duties toward his lord. Such a neglect means a disloyalty toward humanity. Therefore such a man doesn't deserve to be called 'samurai'. ~ Takeda Shingen

We should think of a photographer as a Samurai who makes rituals, moves and gestures in order to develop his techniques and his instinct. ~ Alex Majoli

When I was young I used to practice a martial art that was a mixture of karate, kung fu, Jujitsu, Yawara Kubotan, Aikido, Okinawan kobudo, Newaza, etc.; now I am just a theoretical samurai or a bushido scholar if you prefer. ~ William C. Brown

No magnetic wombats, no flying hyenas, no catfish masquerading as samurai, and, MOST CERTAINLY, no Duku jam! ~ Gina Marinello-Sweeney

Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

Bushido is realized in the presence of death. This means choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death. There is no other reasoning. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near. ~ Sun Tzu

I HAD known him as a bulldozer, as a samurai, as an android programmed to kill, as Plastic Man and Titanium Man and Matter-Eater Lad, as a Buick Electra, as a Peterbilt truck, and even, for a week, as the Mackinac Bridge, but it was as a werewolf that Timothy Stokes finally went too far. ~ Michael Chabon

Throughout his career, Jobs liked to see himself as an enlightened rebel pitted against evil empires, a Jedi warrior or Buddhist samurai fighting the forces of darkness. IBM was his perfect foil. He cleverly cast the upcoming battle not as a mere business competition, ~ Walter Isaacson

The days became for Christina endless preparation. Ceaseless winds tore through her massing battle ranks, the grey cold sun above marking the timeless date. With skies of blue and cloud overhead, driving, uncompromising time stood still, lingering, as if giving Christina precious eons to perfect her shaving straight razor cuts of mind and sword. She worked alone now, forging the essence of herself in the policies and ways of hammer and anvil, pounding away with the classic, living Japanese blade. Her deft hands spun dervishly, wroughting out the iron of her will, fashioning a blade-mind remade unto her. --Brickley, The Lady and the Samurai ~ Douglas Laurent

Unless you do your best, the day will come when, tired and hungry, you will halt just short of the goal you were ordered to reach, and by halting you will make useless the efforts and deaths of thousands. ~ George S. Patton

A belligerent samurai, an old Japanese tale goes, once challenged a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell. The monk replied with scorn, "You're nothing but a lout - I can't waste my time with the likes of you!"
His very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and, pulling his sword from its scabbard, yelled "I could kill you for your impertinence."
"That," the monk calmly replied, "is hell."
Startled at seeing the truth in what the master pointed out about the fury that had him in its grip, the samurai calmed down, sheathed his sword, and bowed, thanking the monk for the insight.
"And that,"said the monk "is heaven."
The sudden awakening of the samurai to his own agitated state illustrates the crucial difference between being caught up in a feeling and becoming aware that you are being swept away by it. Socrates's injunction "Know thyself" speaks to the keystone of emotional intelligence: awareness of one's own feelings as they occur. ~ Daniel Goleman

As you get the rhythm you discern how to win. ~ Miyamoto Musashi

As for the decorum at the time of a campaign, one must be mindful that he is a samurai. A person who loves beautification where it is unnecessary is fit for punishment. ~ Kato Kiyomasa

Revenge requires taking oneself apart from the noise of men and of things, even from what resembles them; only the twisted soul remains. The consequences of my actions can not be remedied nor can they be wiped away. Eight deaths I must atone for in the afterlife. I'm cursed in both worlds. But one more job and my obligation ends. One more kill and I am free. – Akira Sato, Twisted Threads ~ Kaylin McFarren

It feels like guitarists are samurais. You know, I'm playing a guitar, instead of a katana! ~ Miyavi

Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

My philosophy is the same as a Samurai: To hit without getting hit. ~ Lyoto Machida

Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price. ~ Sun Tzu

I want to use every second of my life, every time that I have in my life, to make me a better fighter. That's why I'm a martial artist. For me, it's more than a job - it's a way of living ~ Georges St-Pierre

The Samurai is the first to suffer anxiety for human society, and he is the last to seek personal pleasure. ~ Morihei Ueshiba

Those wolves were crueler even than the Japanese devils. They knew that all they had to do was rip open the bellies and let the horses die under their own hooves. I've never seen anything more sinister, more savage in my life. Those wolves embody the spirit of the Japanese samurai. Suicidal attacks don't faze them, and that makes Mongol wolves more fearful than any others. I won't rest till I kill every last one of them! ~ Jiang Rong

Kill Bill is one of my favorite movies. It has this gritty feeling to it, and it's got a little bit of everything - a little bit of western, a little bit of samurai, and a lot of this very cinematic violence that I personally think is very entertaining. ~ Tove Styrke

The samurais lived with death constantly. They wore a short dagger to take their own life if need be. At any moment they might have to do that, it was a part of their code. ~ Frederick Lenz

In our modern world, we look unkindly on mistakes and imperfection. But this is far from the samurai ideal. Mistakes are part of the learning process and if you haven't made them then you are, indeed, dangerous because it means you have never learned anything. Mistakes, to a samurai, are the proof of your learning. ~ Alexei Maxim Russell

Remember！That's war！You're all in one boat！He who thinks only about himeself will destroy himeself, too！
Such selfishness will not be tolerated！"
「いいか！戦とはそういうものだ！人を守ってこそ自分も守れる！己のことばかり考えるやつは己をも滅ぼすやつだ！」 ~ Akira Kurosawa The Seven Samurai

See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body. ~ Yagyu Munenori

When I had no roof I made Audacity my roof. ROBERT PINSKY, "Samurai Song" Never never never give up. WINSTON CHURCHILL ~ Cheryl Strayed

You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair. ~ Taisen Deshimaru

I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger. ~ Mencius

In the world of old memories, there's no room for visitors ~ Nobuhiro Watsuki

Summer grasses,
All that remains
Of soldiers' dreams ~ Matsuo Basho

The reviews on it, and the new novel, Honky Tonk Samurai have been awesome, though I'm of the school if you believe the good ones you got to believe the bad ones, it's been mostly good ones. The previewers seem to be very happy and excited about it. I know I am. There are plans to continue if it does well. ~ Joe R. Lansdale

The sword has to be more than a simple weapon; it has to be an answer to life's questions. ~ Miyamoto Musashi

Ancient Japanese protocol stipulated that the Emperor be addressed with "fear and trembling". I've always loved the expression, which so perfectly describes the way actors in Samurai films speak to their leader, their voices tremulous with almost superhuman reverence.
So I put on the mask of terror and started to tremble. ~ Amelie Nothomb

The Way of the warrior (bushido) is to be found in dying. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo