The fundamental philosophy of the samurai is that of detachment from oneself. At the opening of Hagakure, Tsunetomo states that “the Way of the Samurai is found in death.” Death is not to be feared by the Samurai, it is to be embraced. The relationship between the samurai and his master is of the utmost importance and only through detachment can the samurai fully and adequately serve his master. These are two fundamental and fundamental philosophies of bushido and are heavily influenced by two other important schools of thought of the time, Zen Buddhism and Confucianism. In Hagakure, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the samurai ideology surrounding death. The samurai should live his life as if his body were already dead, and through this he “achieves freedom in the Way. His whole life will be blameless and he will succeed in his vocation." This detachment is of fundamental importance for the samurai, and this relationship with death is strongly influenced by Buddhism. Zen Buddhism influenced the samurai by giving him his unique respect for life and death. A samurai knows that dying is just another part of life and worrying about it is useless. This lack of fear is innate in samurai from birth and remains with them throughout their lives. Whatever the daimyo tells a samurai to do, he will do regardless of personal risk. By detaching himself from the thought of risk, danger or death, and from the concern for morality, the samurai manages to remain more faithful to the daimyo. Complete loyalty is only possible through detachment from personal risk, morality and thinking. Zen Buddhism teaches a concept called wu-nien, or “no-thought.” This is obviously not a literal absence of thought, but rather a detachment from the tu...... middle of paper ......tome promotes throughout Hagakure are moral in nature, such as being brave, loyal, and honorable. During the relatively peaceful Tokugawa period, samurai were no longer as busy with warfare as they had been in the past, and as such had begun to devote their time to other things. The samurai devoted more time to intellectual and artistic pursuits, and, thanks in part to Tsunetomo himself, the culture of Bushido flourished. Bushido became a formal ideology and was put together by the samurai of the time (including Tsunetomo) similar to how chivalry had been formalized in Europe. Ironically, Tsunetomo had done exactly what he had warned. As he despaired over the fate of the samurai, becoming increasingly involved in academic and artistic pursuits, he himself spent his time philosophizing on the Way of the Samurai.Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure,1906