Bushido was the warrior code associated with samurai conduct in Japan.
The Japanese word bushido means “the way of the warrior.” It is commonly linked with virtues such as loyalty, courage, honor, self-discipline, and readiness to face death. Samurai behavior was shaped by several traditions, including Zen Buddhism, Shinto, and Confucian ethics, rather than by one universally enforced medieval rulebook.
A common misconception is that bushido existed as a single, unchanged code throughout the entire samurai era. The term and its modern interpretation became especially influential during the Meiji period, when writers and officials presented samurai ideals as part of a national moral tradition. Inazo Nitobe’s 1900 book Bushido: The Soul of Japan helped popularize the concept internationally. Earlier warrior practices and household rules existed, but they varied by period, region, and lord.