Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi (Japanese: 花は桜木人は武士, literally "the [best] blossom is the cherry blossom; the [best] man is the warrior") is a Japanese proverb that originated in the medieval period. It is also rendered as "among blossoms the cherry blossom, among men, the warrior" or likewise. The proverb means that as the cherry blossom (sakura) is considered foremost among flowers, so the warrior (samurai, usually referred to in Japanese as bushi) was foremost among men. The samurai was also likened to cherry blossom as his life, while glorious, was prone to a sudden end during military service, similar to petals shed by cherry blossoms or camellia.