According to Nitobe Inazō, at the centre of Politeness, one of the Eight Virtues of Bushidō, the Samurai code of ethics, is modesty, compliance and respect for others' feelings. It imparts grace onto manners and acts as an elegant expression of sympathy. That is, Politeness requires one to “weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice” It is after this virtue that Damien Hirst named his fourth work from his ‘The Virtues’ (H9, 2021) series.