Giri

The most important component of bushido is the concept of giri, which can be translated as 'honor,' but also 'duty,' 'obligation,' 'justice,' or 'social courtesy.' It sums up the whole complex of obligations which you are honor-bound to fulfill. It comes from the sense of moral path that you should follow in your relations with others. In its narrowest sense, giri refers to your loyalty o the lord, but the term has much broader meaning.

By accepting a stipend, you incur an obligation to lay down your life, if necessary, to serve your lord. Allied to this principle is your strict duty to undergo any hardship or sacrifice to honor a trust or repay a kindness. You are bound by honor once you accept a favor or pledge your word; you are required to fulfill the claims of friendship, to put yourself above financial and material reward, and to strive constantly to improve your skill in the martial arts and to cultivate a resolute and fearless spirit so that you could better serve your lord. Giri demands that you approach as close to moral and physical perfection as possible in order to serve as an ethical model for the rest of society.

You are further obliged to keep your reputation unsullied, and this requires you to avoid disgrace by observing the due proprieties and to clear your name of any real or imagined insults. In this sense giri also means pride and self-respect. Just as the great fulfillment of giri is the sacrifice of life itself in its name, so the greatest disgrace is to die badly. You must therefore be spiritually prepared to meet death bravely and fittingly at any time. If giri clashes with human feelings, you must not hesitate before duty, neither are you allowed the weakness of showing regret or sorrow.

Self-sacrifice in he service of one's lord is he supreme act of the samurai. You owe your very life to the lord in return for the stipend that supports you and you must therefore reciprocate with absolute loyalty and devotion. You must regard the lord-retainer bond as absolute.

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Last modified: February 28, 2010