"Bushidō, meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a Japanese code of conduct and a way of life, loosely analogous to the European concept of chivalry and the Iranian concept of jawanmardi, among others. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery and honour unto death. Bushidō developed between the 9th to 12th centuries."
excerpt from Wikipedia

"Bushido is the code of moral principles which the samurai were required or instructed to observe. It is not a written code; at best it consists of a few maxims handed down from mouth to mouth or coming from the pen of some well-known warrior or sage. More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten, possessing all the more powerful sanction of veritable deed, and of a law written on the fleshy tablets of the heart. It was founded not on the creation of one brain, however able, or on the life of a single peronage, however renowned. It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career."
excerpt from Bushido The soul of Japan - by Inazo Nitobe Published 1900