C O L L E C T I O N S
SHOGUN: TOTAL WAR Shogun: Total War



"This is my land. I was born here. When I was young I trained here, learning the Bushido - The Way of the Warrior. But that was long ago. Now we live in an age of war. My neighbours are now my enemies and my home is now my fortress. Here we stand and if we should fall, our honour is still great. The training has finished. Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humanity, courage and sterness. Draw them in, with prospect of gain. Take them by confusion. One who is good at martial arts overcomes enemies' forces without battle; conquers enemies' cities without siege; destroys enemies' nations without taking a long time. The rule for use of the military is that if you outnumber the opponent 10 to 1, then surround them; 5 to 1, attack; 2 to 1, divide. Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious. Those who discern when to use many or few troops are victorious. Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious. Those whose generals are able and are not constrained by their governments are victorious. These 5 are the ways to know who will win. Invincibility is a matter of defence; vulnerability is a matter of attack. In ancient times, skillful warriors first made themselves invincible and then watched for vulnerability in their opponents. This is our land and it shall be stained with blood. One day, it shall again be like it was when I was young. One day my country shall be reunited. The path to peace is a dangerous journey. But there shall be peace: peace under my flag; a peace carved by my sword! One day - but not today. Know your enemy, know yourself and your victory is never in danger."


"Good warriors make their stand on ground where they cannot lose and do not overlook anything that makes the enemy prone to defeat."

"Shoot a valuable pearl at a sparrow flying overhead and the world will laugh at you."

"Look upon your soldiers as beloved children and they willingly die with you, but do not be so kind that they become spoiled children."

"Cutting down the enemy is the Way of strategy, and there is no need for much clever refinement of it."

"After a great fight between two mighty tigers, even a common dog may defeat the survivor."

"Any military task involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective."

"Standing your ground to wait for enemies who are far away, waiting for the weary in comfort, waiting for the hungry with full stomachs, is mastering strength."

"A great man must be ambitious for success in everything and every place."

"A lord and his samurai are the same as a boat and water. The one is held up by the other."

"Flowing water does not go foul, and a moving arrow shaft does not get worm eaten."

"The meaning of life is to strive. Without pursuit of a goal, what can one achieve, no matter what one might seem to be doing?"

"A good bow is hard to use. A good horse is hard to ride. Good men are hard to command well."

"The Way means inducing the people to have the same aim as the leadership, so that they will share death and share life, without fear of danger."

"If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be imperilled by a hundred battles. If you do not know the enemy but know yourself, you will win one and lose one. If you do not know the enemy or yourself you will be in danger in every battle."

"Act after having made calculations. The one who first knows the measure of far and near wins - this is the rule of armed struggle."

"When a tree is felled, a carpenter uses all the wood according to its strength and virtue."

"When looking to bathe, you do not need the sea. When seeking a horse, you do not need a famous steed, just one that can run well."

"It is the unity of an army, not its numerical strength, that ensures victory over an enemy."

"Act in agreement with one's capacity for action and one will seldom make mistakes."

"The rule of war is not to count on opponents not coming, but to rely on having ways of dealing with them; not to count on opponents not attacking, but to rely on having what cannot be attacked."

"Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious."

"Nobody in the world is capable of everything. If we look for the man who can do everything, even the wisest of the wise is not qualified."

"A craftsman who wants to do good work must first sharpen his tools."

"Do not seek ignoble safety, nor to preserve life with disgrace."

"The important thing in war is victory, not persistence."

"Defence is for times of insufficiency. Attack is for times of surplus."

"Nothing is harder than armed struggle."

"Fight going down hill, not climbing up."

"Without medicine how can disease be cured? Without an army, how can enemies be crushed?"

"Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult."

"How can a sparrow know the will of a swan? Can a sparrow carry out the same wishes as a swan?"

"Until death, spare no effort in the performance of duty!"

"Until the end of its life, a silkworm keeps spinning silk. Until it burns out, the lamp gives us light."

"Nothing is impossible for those who have a strong will."

"To act in accordance with astrological portents is not as much use as deploying troops properly."

"To drive untrained people into a battle is to sacrifice them uselessly."

"Steady as a mountain, attack like fire, still as a wood, swift as the wind. In heaven and earth you alone are to be revered."

"While a great lord may have perpetual concerns, he should have no unexpected and sudden problems."

"Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men."

"He who is sensitive about protecting his good reputation may not be able to make necessary decisions that could bring criticism and victory."

"Honour can sometimes be a sharper weapon than a sword, and mightier than a thousand armies when dealing with men who have none themselves."

"Sincerity is the treasury of a land, and it is by sincerity that people find their shelter in times of hardship."

"He who rules with virtue is like the pole star, which remains in place while all the lesser stars do homage to it."

"He who correctly criticises me is my teacher. He who correctly praises me is my friend. He who flatters me is my enemy."

"In times long gone, men did not talk much for fear that their deeds could not match their words."

"A lord must not forget the favours others have done for him, but sometimes it is wise to forget the favours he has done for others."

"The one who fawns skilfully in your presence is also clever at slandering you at other times."

"With no rider, a horse will not move forwards; with no oars, a boat is still; without worthy leaders, what use is land and men to defend it?"

"The individual without a strategy who takes his enemies lightly will inevitably end up as a captive of another."

"The rumour that bandits are stalking the land is believed when repeated by three people. The rumour that a lord is unworthy hardly needs to be repeated that many times."

"To see further and know more, climb to another floor of the tower."

"Those who are praised are not necessarily worthy. Those who are criticised are not necessarily wicked. Better to ask: "who is paying the poet?"."

"Do not lose any chance to do a worthy act, nor avoid any chance to oppose evil."

"When on surrounded ground, plot. When on deadly ground, fight."

"The general changes his actions and revises his plans so that people will not recognise them. He changes his abode and goes by circuitous routes so that people cannot anticipate him."

"Stand up and be responsible for yourself. Even people who are prudent in everything will hide their secret faults when they are only concerned about public opinion and outward appearances."

"Climbing a mountain, one should not give up when difficulties accumulate. Accumulating merit, one should not complain about fate."

"Like the sun and moon the mistakes of a lord are clear to everyone. But when he corrects them, people will hold him in higher reverence."

"How intolerable are those who spend all day without speaking of righteous things, but are fond of spending their time in petty acts of cunning!"

"When you plant virtue, strive to make it sturdy; when you remove wickedness, kill its roots."

"Using order to deal with the disorderly and using calm to deal with the clamorous is mastering the heart."

"Only when a man invites insult will others insult him. Only when a family invites destruction will others destroy them. Only when a land invites invasion will others invade it."

"To be violent at first and wind up fearing one's own side is the epitome of ineptitude."

"Though it may hurt the ears, loyal criticism can have good effects. Though it is bitter to taste, medicine can heal."

"In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life, and to make your everyday stance your combat stance."

"The Way of the warrior is death. This means choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death. It means nothing more than this. It means to see things through, being resolved."

"The virtuous are unbeatable. In our current situation, wisdom points a way to greater strength."

"Honour is not like money. Once spent, it cannot be taxed from the peasants to renew its stock."

"A samurai may be distressed by his own lack of ability, but never by the failure of others to recognise his merits."

"Those who steal are called thieves. What shall we call those who claim the merits of Heaven?"

"A true samurai would rather die honourably than live shamefully."

"It is foolish to tie your laces in a rice field or adjust your hat under a plum tree, lest the owner suspect you of stealing his property."

"When you know sky and earth, victory is inexhaustible."

"Those generals who face unprepared enemy with their own preparations in place are victorious."

"Wealth that is not used benefits no one, except the man who builds strong boxes."

"Can a gold coin turn aside one sword? Only when it has paid for a sword maker's skills to make another."

"Once a lord speaks of a matter, he should take action."

"A weapon unused can rust. A skill unused can fade away. A samurai unused pines for lost honour."

"A great man knows righteousness when he sees it. A small man knows only profit when he sees it."

"The most binding treaty cannot be read through a gold coin."

"Gold is too soft to make a sword, but its weight alone can crush an enemy."

"To plan before taking action foretells success, but to act before planning tempts destruction."

"A good leader does not mobilise when there is no advantage, does not act when there is no gain and does not fight when there is no danger."

"A wise general strives to feed off the enemy's land. Each bushel of food taken from the enemy is equivalent to twenty carried from home."

"Money is the sinews of war."

"When its roots are left behind, any tree will grow again."

"To secure victory, a single strategy is not enough. There must be a series of strategies each entwined about the others. Weapons, money and honour are all strands in a strong rope of strategy."

"When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for too long it will dull your forces and blunt your edge. If you keep your armies out in the field for a long time, your supplies will be inadequate."

"I have heard of campaigns that were clumsy but swift, but I have never seen one that was skilful and lasted a long time. It is never good for military operations to continue for a long time."

"He who does not consider what is far off will soon find trouble close at hand."

"Because the sea does not reject any water flowing into it, it becomes great. Because a mountain does not reject any piece of earth or stone it becomes high."

"How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair? Perhaps paying a hunter is a good strategy."

"Those who use an army skilfully do not raise troops twice and do not provide food three times."

"If you fail to preserve your lands from calamity during your life, make your dying wish that you become a fierce ghost and can attack your foes even from the grave!"

"One cannot see the whole mountain when climbing it, but it is still possible to realise one is climbing a mountain!"

"An army perishes if it has no equipment, it perishes if it has no food and it perishes if it has no money."

"Even the strongest plant could hardly survive if it were exposed to sunshine one day but left in the cold for ten days afterwards."

"With a frog that never leaves a well, one cannot discuss the ocean. With a worm that doesn't survive summer, one cannot discuss the winter snows. With a poor man one cannot discuss much beyond the next meal."

"Anger can revert to joy, wrath become delight, but a land destroyed cannot be restored to existence and the dead cannot be restored to life."

"Bravery and skill are important, but without food to eat and a sword to carry, even the cleverest and bravest man is useless in battle."

"Perhaps it is better to learn a simple skill well than accumulate enormous wealth."

"Wanting a fish to eat when standing on a lakeshore is not as useful as leaving the lake to make a net."

from Shogun: Total War
© 2000 Electronic Arts.