grandeur: of chancels refulgent with gold and

silver; of vestments glowing with rich colours; of majestic buildings resonant with the music of chaunted litanies; of cedar avenues and pine forests over which floated the voices of sweet-toned bells; of idols inviting artistic admiration rather than inspiring worshipful awe; of restfulness in life and of a eulogistic title and a carefully-tended tomb after death. Buddhism helped to develop the soldier's creed, but never played as large a part as the latter in shaping the nation's moral history.

The earliest outlines of Bushi-dō are to be found in metrical behests conveyed to their families and descendants by captains of the Imperial guard in ancient times.