As a political theorist, Hayashi lived to witness his philosophical and pragmatic reasoning become a foundation for the dominant ideology of the "bakufu". The political dominance of Hayashi's ideas lasted until the end of the 18th century. This evolution developed in part from Razan's equating samurai with the cultured governing class. Razan helped to legitimize the role of the militaristic "bakufu" at the beginning of its existence. His philosophy moreover encouraged the samurai class to cultivate themselves, a trend which became increasingly widespread over the course of his lifetime and after his death. Razan's aphorism encapsulates this view: