Way of the Samurai

GHOST DOG: WAY OF THE SAMURAI by Jim Jarmusch, starring Forest Whitaker in the title role. Throughout the film, and the soundtrack by the RZA, are quotes from the HAGAKURE read by Whitaker as Ghost Dog, a modern day hitman who lives his life by the ancient code of the samurai. These are quotes from the book that didn't make it into the film.

"A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger" (Yamamoto Jin'emon, Hagakure 32).

"You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate. Good and bad actions are Man's Way. Retribution of good and evil is taught simply as a moral lesson" (Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure 43).

"A person with a bit of wisdom is one who will criticize the times. This is the basis of disaster. A person who is discreet in speaking will be useful during the good times and will avoid punishment during the bad" (Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure 49).

"The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush about at things" (82).

"A person who does not want to be struck by the enemy's arrows will have no divine protection. For a man who does not wish to hit by the arrows of a common soldier, but rather by those of a warrior of fame, there will be the protection for which he asked" (154).

"It is a principle of the art of war that one should simply lay down his life and strike. If one's opponent also does the same, it is an even match. Defeatings one's opponent is then a matter of faith and destiny" (157).

"Learning such things as military tactics is useless. If one does not strike out by simply closing his eyes and rushing into the enemy, even if it is only one step, he will be of no use" (159).