Bushido as a moral system is 'being loyal to one's lord, being dutiful to one's parents, controlling oneself strictly, being merciful to those of lower rank, having sympathy to the enemy, abstaining from selfish desire, respecting justice and respecting honor more than wealth.' Many of those who followed the Bushido code also possessed a Confucian attitude of 'continuance of family name,' which prospered during the Edo period and was formulated as Bushido.
道徳大系としての武士道とは「君に忠、親に孝、自らを節すること厳しく、下位の者に仁慈を以てし、敵には憐みをかけ、私欲を忌み、公正を尊び、富貴よりも名誉を以て貴しとなす」。　ひいては「家名の存続」という儒教的態度が底流に流れているものが多く、それは江戸期に思想的隆盛を迎え、武士道として体系付けられるに至る。