The Bushido Website was designed as an educational and cultural platform that introduces global audiences to the philosophy of Bushido—the traditional code of honour practised by samurai in Japan. Commissioned by the Bushido Association, the project aimed to highlight the seven core virtues of Bushido while addressing the growing concern that Japanese martial arts are increasingly viewed as competitive sports, detached from their philosophical roots. By blending historical depth, interactive storytelling, and modern web design trends, the website sought to both preserve cultural heritage and inspire martial artists, learners, and enthusiasts worldwide to integrate Bushido principles into their practice and daily lives.
Year
2024
Role
Secondary UX Research, UX/UI design, Front-End Development
Timeline
7 Weeks
Tools
Figma, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, GSAP, Fullpage.js, Shoelace
As Japanese martial arts gain worldwide popularity, their ethical and spiritual foundation is often overshadowed by a “win-at-all-costs” mentality. Many practitioners and athletes outside Japan focus primarily on competition, neglecting the deeper values of loyalty, courage, respect, and discipline that underpin martial arts. Existing online resources tend to present Bushido either superficially or in a text-heavy manner that fails to engage modern users. For international learners and enthusiasts, especially those unfamiliar with Japanese culture, there is a lack of accessible, engaging, and well-designed educational content that communicates the meaning and relevance of Bushido in both martial practice and contemporary life.
The solution was to create a visually engaging, interactive website that makes learning about Bushido both educational and enjoyable. The site combines minimalist Japanese aesthetics with modern interaction design, incorporating features such as animated elements, scrolling effects, and immersive visuals to present Bushido’s history and seven virtues. To keep users engaged, each virtue is paired with animations, and interactive pop-up dialogs that replace static text with dynamic storytelling. Seasonal visual elements like falling cherry blossoms and autumn foliage further enhance cultural immersion. Designed in English for global accessibility, the website balances traditional authenticity with modern usability, ensuring that users can both understand and connect with Bushido in a way that feels relevant today.
Introduction:
Bushido, meaning "the way of the warrior," is a code of honour that governs the attitudes, behaviours, and lifestyles of samurai in Japan. The concept of bushido emphasises virtues like loyalty, courage, honour, martial arts mastery, self-discipline and respect for life. Bushido is deeply related to the modern Japanese martial arts like kendo, karate, judo, aikido, and kyudo as well, shaping both the philosophical and practical approaches of practitioners. Even though the samurai are no longer exists in Japan, the values of Bushido have been adapted and integrated into contemporary Japanese martial arts.
Subject Matter:
Japanese martial arts like kendo, karate, judo, aikido, and kyudo are now recognised by martial artists around the world and have become world-famous sports. However, the client, the Bushido Association from Japan, is concerned that as Japanese martial arts become more widely known and spread around the world, they are being perceived as sports where you fight to win, and the code of honour that Japanese martial arts should originally follow before being a warrior, resulting in athletes that not following the code of honour and only focusing in competing in matches with no respect but only wanting to win. The Bushido Association from Japan believes that people around the world should deeply study the code of honour of Bushido before they begin learning Japanese martial arts, and is looking for ways to educate people outside of Japan who are interested in Japanese martial arts.
Client Information:
Bushido Association from Japan, a nonprofit organisation, aims to revive Bushido, the ethical and moral values that have been nurtured by Japan's unique culture and traditions, and its spiritual foundation, in a way that is relevant to the hearts of modern people, and to build a society that we can be truly proud of in the world by cultivating people with noble aspirations.
Solution:
As a solution, I propose a website that educates people about the importance of Bushido to those who are practicing Japanese martial arts, those who are planning to learn Japanese martial arts, and those who are interested in Japanese martial arts. This solution provides inspiration for their Japanese martial arts learning journey as well as their lives. This website will be created in English, the most widely used language in the world, so that people around the world can understand the concept of Bushido. In addition, the website will have some animations and other visually appealing contents, so website viewers can learn about the Bushido while having fun.
Interaction Points and Features: