Which one is correct for being used in the bushido code as _makoto_ , 誠 or 真?
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kanji terminology literature
Which is correct for the bushido code, 誠 or 真?
It is unclear what you're asking. Neither of those kanji are used to spell
_bushidō_ ; both are used to spell _makoto_ , in addition to (less commonly)
the kanji 実. In names, _Makoto_ may also be spelled with single kanji as 允, 信,
and 慎.
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You may or may not know that the so-called "Bushido code" was popularized (and
somewhat canonized) by Inazo Nitobé [sic] in _Bushido: The Soul of Japan_
(1900) and **first published in English**. One could say that the canon word
for "veracity" in the sense of the "Bushido code" is the English word
"veracity".

Only some years later, after being popular overseas, was the book translated
into Japanese. This early translation (from 1908 by 桜井欧村) is [available at the
国立国会図書館 ( _National Diet Library_
)](http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/758905/1). The translation uses the
_kanji_ **誠 _makoto_** for "veracity", which would also be the standard way of
writing it now. Just be aware that "correct for the bushido code" is maybe not
as clear as it would be if there were a canonical reference in Japanese.

Here is the relevant page from the Japanese translation of _Bushido: The Soul
of Japan_.

[![武士道
](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UqHP2.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UqHP2.jpg)

P.S. Note that there is some overlap with the Five Constants (五常) of Confucian
ethics (仁 benevolence, 義・义 righteousness or justice, 禮・礼 proper rite, 智
knowledge, 信 integrity), where "veracity" or 誠 _makoto_ may be matched to
"integrity", written 信 which may also be read _makoto_.
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