The Code of the Warrior: Daidoji Yuzan

The Budo Sho Shinshu was originally written by Daidoji Yuzan as a text book on warrior ethics for young people born into the warrior cast. It teaches the general tenets of bushido without going too far into any one fief's history or traditions, which is one of the reasons it was so widely accepted. In many senses it makes a much better text book than The Hagakure which contains many obscure and seemingly pointless stories that leave it up to the reader to draw out a lesson. The Budo Sho Shinshu is clear and easy to understand.

Anyone who wants to understand the Japanese mindset today should start with this book. Although the cast system has long been abolished, the principles of bushido still influence every facet of the Japanese way of thinking.