Properly titled as Hagakure kikigaki " Notes of What Was Heard in the Shadow of Leaves" ( 1716):
This book was translated into English the title "The Book of the Samurai" in 1979. The books consists of some 1300 short anecdotes and reflections of Yamamoto Tsunetomo( 1659-1719) as a manual for samurai. This book is believed to have been dictated by samurai of Hizen Province ( now Saga-ken) in Japan. The first line begins with " Bushido is a way of dying."

Yukio Mishima quotes some paragraphs of Hagakure and explains that the spirit of its chief value is a must today in his elaborated book " Introduction to Hagakure". We can see paragraph 181 as a true love of male homosexuality in older days in Japan. You can`t imagine that you are involved with only one steady throughout his whole life in the theme of homosexuality of Hagakure. William Shakespeare says " To be or not to be that is the question!" Surprisingly, Hagakure expresses that rather than questions about his life, he should die. I can say we correlate Mishima`s suicide with Hagakure once served as a handbook for young warrior vassals of The Hizen domain.
Also, you can see Yukio Mishima

webpages:
Hagakure Lukijalle: Hagakure on vuosisatoja vanha kirjoitus meille vieraasta kulttuurista. Tekstiss”¦yhdistellčęn taktiikan ja moraalikoodin elementtej”¦tavalla joka oli olennaista vanhalle samuraikulttuurille. Lukija joka etsii vain yksinkertaista "tee nēŹn" ohjeistoa harjoitteluunsa ja elēĪčęns”¦saattaa turhautua tēĪēĻ tekstin tekstin parissa perinpohjaisesti. Toivottavasti tēĪ”¦historiallinen teos avaa nēĢ”¦ulmia vanhoihin ajatusmaailmoihin ja innostaa lukijaa tutkimaan japanilaista kulttuuria syvemminkin.
HAGAKURE The Book of the Samurai"...if you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy." Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Some quotes from the Hagakure:
Hagakure 1 The Nabeshima Castle Ruins YAMAMOTO TSUNETOMO This man was born on June 12th 1659 in Katatae, an area of the Nabeshima fief. Nowadays both Katatae and Nabeshima are part of 104 year old Saga City
Yamato Damashii : "The Spirit of Japan" Yamato Damashii- 1.) As compared to the knowledge of scientific and militaristic matters, the knowledge required in everyday life. 2.) The true spirit of Japan and it's people.
Hagakure as Zen-Buddhist philosophy/ in Russian Transfer/translation is made on the basis of the idea about the fact that hagakure is not only a manual for the samurai as the vassals of its masters.
Japanese Kamikaze & Hagakure Kamikaze samurai and Hagakure - The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship...