Samurai Quotes

• Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.

  Sun Tzu

  Military, Warrior, Mma

  129 Copy quote

• Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world

  Miyamoto Musashi

  Thinking, Deep Thought, World

  242 Copy quote

• A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo

  Stay Strong, Warrior, Storm

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo, D. E. Tarver (2002). “The Hagakure: Yamamoto Tsunetomo”, p.21, iUniverse

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• Engage in combat fully determined to die and you will be alive; wish to survive in the battle and you will surely meet death.

  Uesugi Kenshin

  Death, Warrior, Japan

  "Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture". Book by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, p. 188, 1970.

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• See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body.

  Yagyu Munenori

  Determination, Eye, Warrior

  "Living the Martial Way : A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think". Book by Forrest E. Morgan, p. 88, 1992.

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• Honour may not win power, but it wins respect. And respect earns power.

  Ishida Mitsunari

  Wisdom, Respect, Winning

  "Fictional character: Mitsunari Ishida". Video Game "Samurai Warriors", 2004.

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• We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.

  Archilochus

  Wisdom, Fall, Warrior

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• Without Knowledge, Skill cannot be focused. Without Skill, Strength cannot be brought to bear and without Strength, Knowledge may not be applied.

  Alexander the Great

  Warrior, Skills, May

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• Civilize the mind but make savage the body.

  Mao Zedong

  Warrior, Mind, Body

  123 Copy quote

• I'm not a fighter, but in my mind I'm fighting every day. 'What's new? What am I doing?' I'm fighting myself. My soul is samurai. My roots aren't samurai, but my soul is.

  Masaharu Morimoto

  Fighting, Roots, Soul

  32 Copy quote

• The Samurai always has to rise and move on, because new challenges will come.

  Lyoto Machida

  Moving, Mma, Challenges

  34 Copy quote
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  It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

  Confucius

  Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

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• Master the divine techniques of the Art of Peace and no enemy will dare to challenge you.

  Morihei Ueshiba

  Art, Warrior, Challenges

  Morihei Ueshiba, John Stevens (2010). “The Art of Peace”, p.157, Shambhala Publications

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• The way of the Samurai is found in death.

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo

  Way, Found

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo (2015). “Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai”, p.4, Xist Publishing

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• Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

  Sun Tzu

  Business, War, Fighting

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• He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

  Sun Tzu

  Strength, Leadership, Art

  "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, translated by Chow-Hou Wee, (Chapter III), 2003.

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• As a samurai, I must strengthen my character; as a human being I must perfect my spirit

  Yamaoka Tesshu

  Character, Perfect, Spirit

  63 Copy quote

• If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.

  Sun Tzu

  War, Believe, Enemy

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• Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

  Sun Tzu

  Encouragement, War, Arrogance

  "The Art of War". Chapter I: Detail Assessment and Planning. Translated by Chow-Hou Wee, 2003.

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• There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo

  Life, Running, Wisdom

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo, William Scott Wilson (2002). “Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai”, p.38, Kodansha International

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• It is the very mind itself that leads the mind astray - of the mind, do not be mindless

  Takuan Soho

  Mind, Mindless, Way Of The Warrior

  Takuan Sōhō (1986). “The unfettered mind: writings of the Zen master to the sword master”, Kodansha Amer Inc

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• Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.

  Albert Einstein

  Love, Inspirational, Life

  Albert Einstein (2013). “Albert Einstein, The Human Side: Glimpses from His Archives”, p.78, Princeton University Press

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  Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

  Sun Tzu

  Strength, Peace, War

  Sun Tzu (2005). “The Art of War”, p.57, Shambhala Publications

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• Where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valor to dare to live.

  Thomas Browne

  Life, Death, Warrior

  Sir Thomas Browne (1831). “Miscellaneous Works of Sir Thomas Browne: With Some Account of the Author and His Writings”, p.82

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• A samurai must remain calm at all times even in the face of danger.

  Chris Bradford

  Faces, Calm, Danger

  14 Copy quote