Previous
O-tōsan/Oji-san
Samurai were the warrior class of Japan. They played an important role in Japanese politics until the 1870s, at which point they were integrated into the country’s professional class. Samurai were governed by a strict code of honor, which at its most extreme could result in the suicidal act of seppuku. Though none of the characters in The Samurai’s Garden are actually samurai, this emphasis on honor above all haunts many of the story’s protagonists. Yet even as the samurai legacy of seppuku causes great pain in the narrative, the novel’s characters also use memories of the samurai to conjure strength and dignity, as when Stephen compliments Matsu by saying he looks “like a samurai.”
Samurai Quotes in The Samurai’s Garden
The The Samurai’s Garden quotes below are all either spoken by Samurai or refer to Samurai. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
31. Spring: April 15, 1938 Quotes
If I had been brave like some of the others, I would be in the other world now. I still remember the salty ocean water, stained red with blood that morning so many years ago. And I often recall my father’s voice telling me how the samurai maintain their honor by committing seppuku. […]
My father had hoped that by ending my life, he could retain the honor of our family. And in the end, I didn’t even allow him to have that. It would have simply been doing ko, submitting to his wishes. It was an obligation, the supreme duty of a child to adhere to one’s parents, but I failed my father. Only now, as I move toward the end of my life, can I begin to understand the enormous task that was asked of me, and to forgive myself for not completing it.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“How did you know I was here?”
“Tomoko,” he whispered.
“What about Tomoko?” I asked, swallowing the last of the bitter tea.
Matsu gathered up what little was left of the food and wrapped it back up in the furoshiki. “I followed you and the others down to the beach yesterday morning. I wondered if you might try to find your way to peace as she did.”
“I couldn’t,” I began to cry, turning away in shame. Then Matsu leaned over close to my ear. He smelled of sweat and the earth as he whispered, “It takes greater courage to live.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Samurai’s Garden LitChart as a printable PDF.
Samurai Term Timeline in The Samurai’s Garden
The timeline below shows where the term Samurai appears in The Samurai’s Garden. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
8. Autumn: October 21, 1937
...face besides his own. When Stephen compliments Matsu’s “strong” appearance, saying he looks “like a samurai,” Matsu shrugs it off, scoffing that he is a “monster.” Privately, Stephen wonders if Matsu...
(full context)
14. Autumn: November 30, 1937
...she is hard at work. While Matsu rebuilds the wooden bridge (said to symbolize “the samurai’s difficult path from this world to the next”), Sachi and Stephen grow closer. To distract...
(full context)
