What was the code of conduct for Samurai warriors called?

Bushido ("the way (or the moral) of the warrior") is a Japanese term for the samurai way of life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry in Europe.

The "way" itself originates from the samurai moral values, most commonly stressing some combination of frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honor until death. Born from Neo-Confucianism during times of peace in Tokugawa Japan and following Confucian texts, Bushido was also influenced by Shinto and Zen Buddhism, allowing the violent existence of the samurai to be tempered by wisdom and serenity. Bushido developed between the 16th and 20th centuries, debated by pundits who believed they were building on a legacy dating back to the 10th century, although some scholars have noted that the term bushido itself is "rarely attested in pre modern literature", but it was frequently alluded in Japanese culture and literature.

In May 2008, Thomas Cleary translated a collection of 22 writings on Bushido by warriors, scholars, political advisers, and educators, spanning 500 years from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Titled "Training the Samurai Mind: A Bushido Sourcebook", it gave an insider's view of the samurai world: "the moral and psychological development of the warrior, the ethical standards they were meant to uphold, their training in both martial arts and strategy, and the enormous role that the traditions of Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism had in influencing samurai ideals".