Introduction
The world of the shoguns was the world of the warrior code known as "bushido," literally "the way of the warrior." In this activity students will learn about the central role of bushido in the lives of the samurai, the most powerful Japanese social class during the time of the Shoguns.

Lesson Description
Students will go to the Bushido: The Way of the Warrior Web site to read about the bushido tradition of the samurai. They will answer a series of questions and then design a recruitment pamphlet for samurai warriors.

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will be able to describe the bushido code of the samurai.
2. Students will be able to summarize and interpret the information they gathered on the Web site to write a recruitment pamphlet for samurai warriors.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. Zen was one of four schools of thought and religion out of which came the Japanese warrior code bushido. Zen contributed the idea of meditation as a way to reach absoluteness and to know one's self. The samurai used meditation to reduce fear and to avoid making mistakes.
2. "Bushi no ichi-gon" means "the word of a samurai." It was believed that samurai pacts were based on such a high level of trust that no written pledge was required; a written pact was considered undignified.
3. Shintoism contributed to bushido the concept of loyalty and patriotism.
4. The samurai rejected aspects of Confucianism that they viewed as overly intellectual.
5. Students' recruitment pamphlets will vary but should include the values discussed on the Web site.

Go To Student Web Activity