Veracity or Sincerity The samurai notion of sincerity was influenced by Confucius, who wrote: “Sincerity is the end and the beginning of all things; without Sincerity there would be nothing.” The culture of veracity was so strong that a samurai’s word was considered the truth and written agreements were deemed unnecessary. This was reinforced in parenting, where children were raised on stories of being put to death for lying. Words were seen as sacred.
