Shudō (衆道), the tradition of love bonds between a seasoned and a novice samurai was held to be "the flower of the samurai spirit" and formed the real basis of the samurai esthetic. It was analogous to the educational Greek pederasty and an honored and important practice in samurai society. It was one of the main ways in which the ethos and the skills of the samurai tradition were passed down from one generation to another.
Another name for the bonds was bidō (美道: the beautiful way). The devotion that two samurai would have for each other would be almost as great as that which they had for their daimyo. Indeed, according to contemporary accounts, the choice between his lover and his master could become a philosophical problem for samurai. Hagakure and other samurai manuals gave specific instructions in the way that this tradition was to be carried out and respected. After the Meiji Restoration and the introduction of a more westernised lifestyle, as bushidō died out the masculine esthetic was replaced by the European feminine one, bringing with it the end of shudo. (Watanabe and Iwata, 1989)
A Shudō-type relationship between a man and a male youth; Painted hand-scroll (kakemono-e); Miyagawa Isshō, ca. 1750; Private collection.
e bolke bolke....