These Samurai quotes will inspire you. Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century to their abolition in 1876.
Below you will find a collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging Samurai quotes, Samurai sayings, and Samurai proverbs.
Best Samurai Quotes
- “Honour may not win power, but it wins respect. And respect earns power.” ~ Ishida Mitsunari
- “A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- “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
-
“Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.” ~ Sun Tzu
- “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world” ~ Miyamoto Musashi
- “See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body.” ~ Yagyu Munenori
- “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” ~ Archilochus
-
“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
- “The Samurai always has to rise and move on, because new challenges will come.” ~ Lyoto Machida
- “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
- “Civilize the mind but make savage the body.” ~ Mao Zedong
-
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~ Confucius
- “Master the divine techniques of the Art of Peace and no enemy will dare to challenge you.” ~ Morihei Ueshiba
- “The way of the Samurai is found in death.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
-
“Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of Man.” ~ Miyamoto Musashi
- “The uncomfort zone is very important for us… To feel uncomfortable is important to strengthen your spirit. Like the samurai says, if you feel comfortable you must search for the discomfort, don’t look only for the easy way.” ~ Lyoto Machida
- “As a samurai, I must strengthen my character; as a human being I must perfect my spirit” ~ Yamaoka Tesshu
- “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.” ~ Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi
-
“Some Warriors look fierce but are mild. Some seem timid but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage.” ~ Ming-Dao Deng
- “The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one and it would not be a wasted life.” ~ Ken Watanabe
- “Mental bearing (calmness), not skill, is the sign of a matured samurai. A Samurai, therefore, should neither be pompous nor arrogant.” ~ Tsukahara Bokuden
- “A samurai should always be prepared for death – whether his own or someone else’s.” ~ Stan Sakai
-
“If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.” ~ Sun Tzu
- “My mentality is like a samurai they used to train every day, work on their technique to make themselves better, almost perfect, perfection is impossible but every day you get closer and that’s what I want. Every day I want to get better than I was the day before. I want to use every second of my life, every time I have in my life to make me a better fighter. It’s more than a job it’s a way of living.” ~ Georges St-Pierre
- “The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm. What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still.” ~ Sun Tzu , Samurai quotes patience
- “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.” ~ Nabeshima Naoshige
-
“Where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valor to dare to live.” ~ Thomas Browne
- “Everyone feels fear. What a samurai or warrior is, is what you do when you feel fear.” ~ Enson Inoue , Samurai quotes on fear
- “The Samurai is the first to suffer anxiety for human society, and he is the last to seek personal pleasure.” ~ Morihei Ueshiba
- “Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really NO PATH.” ~ Morihei Ueshiba
-
“It’s actually the samurai spirit, which is ‘no fear and never give up.” ~ Enson Inoue
- “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
- “One finds life through conquering the fear of death within one’s mind. Empty the mind of all forms of attachment, make a go-for-broke charge and conquer the opponent with one decisive slash.” ~ Takenaka Shigekata
- “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” ~ Sun Tzu , Samurai quotes on war
-
“Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.” ~ Sun Tzu
- “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
- “The no-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things.” ~ Gautama Buddha
- “A samurai must remain calm at all times even in the face of danger.” ~ Chris Bradford
-
“I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger.” ~ Mencius
- “I have a high art, I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me.” ~ Archilochus
- “This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai: if by setting one’s heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. his whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- “It is the very mind itself that leads the mind astray – of the mind, do not be mindless” ~ Takuan Soho
-
“A hug from a samurai girl is warmer than a heap of blankets and more meaningful than a pile of words.” ~ Sandy Fussell
- “Never quit, you have to resist to the utmost. ‘Til you drop, like a Samurai” ~ Carlson Gracie
- “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 thouÂsand men.” ~ Yoshida Shoin
- “He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not will be victorious.” ~ Sun Tzu
-
“My mentality is that of a samurai. I would rather commit seppuku than fail.” ~ Elon Musk
- “It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material possessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” ~ Sun Tzu
- “SHOCHU RYOKU – Focus all your energy to one point.” ~ Gozo Shioda
-
“To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve – as if you might die in the next instant” ~ Taisen Deshimaru
- “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.” ~ Morihei Ueshiba , Samurai quotes about love
- “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” ~ George Washington
- “I am the scroll of the poet behind which samurai swords are being sharpened.” ~ Lester Cole
-
“What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.” ~ Sun Tzu
- “I look at the Samurai because they were the artists of their time. What I think struck me when I read Bushido is compassion. ‘If there’s no one there to help, go out and find someone to help.’ That hit me, because I try to lead my life like that.” ~ Tom Cruise
- “If you learn to lead your life strategically and strongly, you can overcome the opposition. But running away, you never overcome anything. The pathway to enlightenment is for the warrior, the samurai.” ~ Frederick Lenz
- “My mentality is like a Samurai: They used to everyday work on their technique to make themselves almost perfect. Because perfection is impossible, but every day, you get closer to perfection.” ~ Georges St-Pierre
-
“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” ~ Sun Tzu
- “When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about going at it in a long roundabout way. One’s heart may slacken, he may miss his chance, and by and large, there will be no success. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- “My philosophy is the same as a Samurai: To hit without getting hit.” ~ Lyoto Machida
- “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.” ~ Dustin Diamond , Samurai quotes about honor
- “The person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.” ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- “The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.” ~ Sun Tzu
