johnaltieri 's List: Wandering

There is something to be said for the argument that one role of wandering should be to introduce us to that which we don't already know. Luckily, following the symbols still lets us do so. It wouldn't be wandering if we only went to and from the destination; the wandering itself is the act of exploration. The patterns are intended only to serve as clues as to how to best find what you will enjoy while you wander. But clues are just that -- merely clues and guideposts as we follow the unknown.

A samurai with no attachment to a clan or daimyo (大名) was called a ronin (浪人). In Japanese, the word ronin means "wave man", a person destined to wander aimlessly forever, like the waves in the sea. The word came to mean a samurai who was no longer in the service of a lord because his lord had died, because the samurai had been banished or simply because the samurai chose to become a ronin.