Samurai Quotes

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

I’m kind of like a samurai. They say if you want to be a samurai, you can’t be afraid of dying, and as soon as you flinch, you get your head cut off. I’m not afraid of losing this business.

Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

Not to borrow the strength of another, nor to rely on one’s own strength; to cut off past and future thoughts, and not to live within the everyday mind… then the Great Way is right before your eyes.

The saying ‘the arts aid the body’ is for samurai of other regions. For samurai of the Nabeshima clan the arts bring ruin to the body.

Kill Bill is one of my favorite movies. It has this gritty feeling to it, and it’s got a little bit of everything – a little bit of western, a little bit of samurai, and a lot of this very cinematic violence that I personally think is very entertaining.

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.

The undisturbed mind is like the calm body water reflecting the brilliance of the moon. Empty the mind and you will realize the undisturbed mind.

Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world

I don’t believe a champion is the biggest, baddest, meanest dude in the world. I think the champion is like a warrior; it’s like the head knight or lead samurai: humble men of integrity, respect, and honor that treat people kindly.

I believe samurai in the Edo period and modern hip-hop artists have something in common. Rappers open the way to their future with one microphone; samurai decided their fate with one sword.

My mentality is like a Samurai: They used to every day work on their technique to make themselves almost perfect. Because perfection is impossible, but every day, you get closer to perfection.

One of the amazing things about ‘Seven Samurai’ is that there are a lot of characters. And considering you have so many, and they all have shaved heads, and you’ve got good guys and bad guys and peasants, you get to understand a lot of them without too much being said.

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

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

When i’ve done camera test, after we’ve shot and I’ve seen the monitor with the glasses (wearing a Kimono) and looking by myself in 3D. Oh my god. Especially for a Samurai film. I’ve never seen that. It’s kind of a culture shock.

Young artists wish for inspired moments. And you find them; you take them; eager artists are bandits. Theatrical moments arrive, and…you grab. Good! You know it will draw attention to you. But you aim to be more than bandits, no? So, okay…now be Samurai.

You re-watch ‘Napoleon Dynamite’, and there’s a lot of thrift shopping that goes on in that movie; there’s a lot of funny stuff. It’s definitely amusing, and paying 99 cents for a samurai sword is amazing.

The Way lies at hand yet it is sought afar off; the thing lies in the easy yet it is sought in the difficult.

Never quit, you have to resist to the utmost. ‘Til you drop, like a Samurai

I do not like to be called a samurai, but I admit that I have an image of myself as a fighter. I would like to fight against all authorities and powers.

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

My mentality is that of a samurai. I would rather commit seppuku than fail.

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

A hug from a samurai girl is warmer than a heap of blankets and more meaningful than a pile of words.

Some Warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage.

Mental bearing (calmness), not skill, is the sign of a matured samurai. A Samurai therefore should neither be pompous nor arrogant.

Akira Kurosawa, David Lean and Alfred Hitchcock were the main inspirations for ‘Samurai Jack,’ along with a lot of ’70s cinema.

Everyone feels fear. What a samurai or warrior is, is what you do when you feel fear.

We should think of a photographer as a Samurai who makes rituals, moves and gestures in order to develop his techniques and his instinct.

I’m a huge lover of ‘Seven Samurai’ and anything Kurosawa ever did. The comedic work out of Japan in terms of martial arts movies, some of them are hilarious.

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

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

I watched the ‘Seven Samurai’ a lot because I loved it growing up. I can’t describe to you how powerful that was. When you’re a kid, you can’t watch an almost-three-hour movie, but this was a war I just never saw before, with these samurai. I could relate to it, just being poor.

a samurai is a total human being, whereas a man who is completely absorbed in his technical skill has degenerated into a ‘function’, one cog in a machine.

In the words of the ancients, one should make his decision within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break through to the other side.

Quentin wanted to create this special world in which everybody walks around with a samurai sword, extras in the airport, a special little place in the airplane to stick your samurai sword.

I always had a sense that I would fall in love with Tokyo. In retrospect I guess it’s not that surprising. I was of the generation that had grown up in the ’80s when Japan was ascendant (born aloft by a bubble whose burst crippled its economy for decades), and I’d fed on a steady diet of anime and samurai films.

I was not grown up in the U.S., nor in Japan. In order to create a video game that people around the globe can enjoy and relate to, I can’t draw things deeply rooted in the local culture that I’m not familiar with. That’s why we are not doing games about football or samurai.

I love the way the long scenes feel – one of the characteristics of ’70s filmmaking is that you don’t cut around a lot; you let things play out. I did that on ‘Samurai Jack,’ and it carried over into ‘Clone Wars.’

The samurais were very interested in Zen because they admired the tremendous precision that the Zen Masters had, their lack of fear and pain and their absolute lack of fear of death.

Elves have this superhuman strength, yet they’re so graceful. Tolkien created them to be angelic spirits, but I also saw Legolas as something out of the Seven Samurai.

‘Samurai’ is not an animated show like you would normally watch on TV. We tell the stories from a different perspective – backward, very nonlinear. It treats it more seriously as an art form.

I remember my roommate was watching ‘Seven Samurai,’ and I just couldn’t fathom why anybody would watch it.

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

You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair.

Native Americans say, “It’s a good day to die,” and samurai live their life to die honorably, so that kind of energy creates a certain mindset of reactiveness with control to a point. And after that, it’s gone.

A samurai should always be prepared for death – whether his own or someone else’s.

The sword was a very elegant weapon in the days of the samurai. You had honor and chivalry much like the knights, and yet it was a gruesome and horrific weapon.

I’ve done Last Samurai in Japan, in LA, in New Zealand. Even in Japan it is very hard to shoot, because there’s been so many changes. Only around a temple can we shoot.

The no-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things.

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.

Samurai films, like westerns, need not be familiar genre stories. They can expand to contain stories of ethical challenges and human tragedy.

It feels like guitarists are samurais. You know, I’m playing a guitar, instead of a katana!

I have a high art, I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me.

As for the decorum at the time of a campaign, one must be mindful that he is a samurai. A person who loves beautification where it is unnecessary is fit for punishment.

I’ve only kept one award in my whole life, and it’s the coolest thing ever. Mizuno gave me a samurai sword for winning the Cy Young. It’s awesome.

I am actually a ‘Seven Samurai’ fan.

I am inspired by both Japanese Samurai films, in particular the films of Kurosawa, and how they share the spirit of American Westerns, with the influences running in both directions, and including the ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ and films of Sam Peckinpah.

Once the will is resolved, one’s spirit is strengthened. Even a peasant’s will is hard to deny, but a samurai of resolute will can sway ten thouВ­sand men.

THE ART OF PEACE does not rely on weapons or brute force to succeed; instead, we put ourselves in tune with the universe, maintain peace in our own realms, nurture life, and prevent death and destruction. The true meaning of the term samurai is one who serves and adheres to the power of love.

To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve – as if you might die in the next instant

I love tattoos. And mine symbolise who I really am. I have a Samurai on my left arm. At a subconscious level, I connect to this warrior and model myself on his discipline, skills and honour. There is also a tribal tattoo and a Chinese symbol of faith. I have seen a lot of people getting tattoos just because it’s a trend.

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

I wasn’t hip to ‘Samurai Jack’ until I saw it, but then I was all, ‘This show is awesome!’

My philosophy is the same as a Samurai: To hit without getting hit.

Kim: Hey… There’s a guy over there with a samurai sword. Scott: Really? Like a katana or a wakizashi or both?

The reviews on it, and the new novel, Honky Tonk Samurai have been awesome, though I’m of the school if you believe the good ones you got to believe the bad ones, it’s been mostly good ones. The previewers seem to be very happy and excited about it. I know I am. There are plans to continue if it does well.

A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.

I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death.

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

In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things.

Samurai culture did exist really, for hundreds of years and the notion of people trying to create some sort of a moral code, the idea that there existed certain behaviors that could be celebrated and that could be operative in a life.

I got into incense the first time I visited Japan with Simple Minds in the 80s, now I stock up every time I go back. There’s an otherworldliness about these little cedar wood sticks – which Samurai warriors used to cleanse the spirit – that just helps you ‘escape.’

Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really NO PATH.

Silly Caucasian girl likes to play with Samurai swords.

The influence of ‘Hidden Fortress’ comes up a lot because it was printed in a book once. The truth is, the only thing I was inspired by was the fact that it’s told from the point of view of two peasants, who get mixed up with a samurai and princess and a lot of very high-level people.

When I was young I used to practice a martial art that was a mixture of karate, kung fu, Jujitsu, Yawara Kubotan, Aikido, Okinawan kobudo, Newaza, etc.; now I am just a theoretical samurai or a bushido scholar if you prefer.

I watch mostly every martial arts movie… I really like movies that aren’t just martial arts. I like movies that have spiritual meaning behind them, like samurai movies, or movies that have meditation.