What is Hagakure?
Hagakure — 'Hidden by the Leaves' — is a treatise on the way of the samurai, left behind by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a samurai of Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture), in the mid-Edo period.
We felt that the spirit of Hagakure resonates deeply with the modern spirit of sport — the mindset of athletes who keep pushing against their limits — and adopted it as the name of this competition. Its teachings capture the mindset that every athlete, and everyone pursuing health, should carry.
FOUR PRINCIPLES OF HAGAKURE
The Way of the Warrior is found in death.
The Way of the Warrior is found in death — live each day fully committed, as if it could be your last. Awareness of death is what makes this very moment shine at its brightest.
When two paths lie before you, choose the harder one.
When faced with two paths, choose the harder one — when in doubt, take the more difficult, more honorable road.
Meet great hardship without surprise — resolve yourself, and press on with even greater courage.
Meet great hardship without surprise. Decide, and press forward with even more courage — true strength meets adversity with "bring it on," and charges ahead.
Benevolence is simply this: act so that others may be the better for it.
Compassion means simply acting so that others may be better off — true kindness isn't sacrifice or performance, just naturally acting for someone else's good.