bushidō (Japanese). A term meaning ‘the Way of the Warrior-Gentleman’. More of a general outlook on life than a formal ethic, it was born in the opening years of the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868) (see Japan), when a prolonged peace made members of the samurai class nostalgic for former military campaigns and forced them to rethink their role in civil society. This outlook stressed frugality, honour, loyalty, mastery of martial arts, readiness for combat at a moment's notice, and, above all, a willingess to die at any time. Many samurai found that zen training helped to inculcate the austerity, detachment, and presence of mind needed both in combat situations and in daily life. See also martial arts.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)