Bushido n. The unwritten code of moral principles regulating the actions of the Japanese knighthood, or Samurai; the chivalry of Japan. "Unformulated, Bushido was and still is the animating spirit, the motor force of our country."
... so-called honest poverty is a characteristic of both the Zen monk and the Samurai. To get rich by an ignoble means is against the rules of Japanese chivalry or Bushido. The Samurai would rather starve than to live by some expedient unworthy of his dignity. There are many instances, in the Japanese history, of Samurais who were really starved to death in spite of their having a hundred pieces of gold carefully preserved to meet the expenses at the ... — The Religion of the Samurai • Kaiten Nukariya
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