Bushido
The book Bushido: The Way of the Samurai is a description of the Samurai’s code and way of life. It is compiled of 11 books that each lay out different rules for the Samurai to follow. It covers topics from alcohol consumption, to the use of makeup to improve your looks. The Bushido journey is different in many ways from the hero’s journey. These are two of the many differences.
One main difference between samurai and heroes is that samurai are followers, and heroes are leaders. In The Marrow of Service, Yamamoto writes about the samurai’s aims and what they need do to succeed. He writes, “You must offer your life to the service of your Lord” (Yamamoto 19). He is writing about how the Samurai devote their life to their leaders. Samurai under one daimyo are all going to be fighting for the same cause, which is the cause of the Daimyo. The Samurai work for their Daimyo and act almost as a warrior servant. They are followers. Other heroes are not followers, but leaders. They accept a task and end up leading the way to victory. One example of a leading hero is Martin Luther King, who guided the people. Aside from being different in the way they serve their master or a population of beings, they are heroes in different ways. The basic definition of a hero is someone who fights for a cause outside of himself, and puts himself in danger for the cause. Although each Samurai dedicates his life to serve a Lord, their ideas are still concentrated at pleasing their Daimyo, and not at pleasing the general people. For example, Frodo did not take the ring to satisfy Gandalf; he accepted the challenge to help humanity from the dark side. Luke Skywalker didn’t accept the task because he wanted to please Obi Wan Kenobi, he did because he wanted to save an entire race. Heroes, aside from Samurais, usually aim their life at helping everyone, where Samurais live their life for their leader.
There are many other differences between...
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