名誉 (meiyo) “reputation” – the sixth virtue of 武士道 (bushidō)

Recently I’ve been researching 武士道 (bushidō) – the ancient Japanese way of the warrior, mostly to try to figure out if it ever was actually a legit thing, or if it’s a modern invention.

Spoiler alert: it’s a bit of both. You can read my conclusions in my WordPress article here.

Bushidō comes with a handy list of 8 virtues that one can follow to lead one’s best and most noble life. You may not have been born a samurai, but you can still live like one by following this code.

This image was created using a calligraphy brush and metallic paint. It’s available as part of a series of 9-image packs of digital images depicting the 8 virtues of Bushido, formatted for use as backgrounds on phones, tablets and monitors.

They are available here on my Etsy site. WordPress users get 15% off with this code: WPCODE15 (just enter it when you checkout).

The sixth virtue is “Honour”, which I have translated as “reputation”.

In popular fiction, samurai value honour over life itself. If a samurai was captured in battle, the story goes, he was expected to kill himself rather than suffer the shame of defeat.

Even in modern Western societies, how we are viewed in the eyes of others is integral for successful friendships, business relationships, and other types of human connection.

I have “translated” this virtue as “reputation”, because this is more realistic and nuanced than dividing actions into either “honourable” or “shameful”.