There are 2 old sayings in Japan about a samurai and his hunger, like these.

1. You cannnot take part in a war, if hungry.

2. A samurai should pretend to have eaten enough, though not eaten anything.

1 is perhaps, the days of samurais before 1600 AD, and 2 is perhaps, the days after 1601 AD, which is Tokugawa-shogun Era, in which samurais did not have any big wars for more than 250 years. In such a peaceful days, Bushido, the way of living for a samurai, had no more strategical meanings, but was only a moral or ethics, which shows samurais in those days, how to behave as a respectful samurai. So, the important thing is how others, not only other samurais but also marchants, pheasents and the others, see the samurai and how they think about him. This is very very Japanese, I think.

Too sensitive about how others looks at "me". It is typical mentality of a general Japanese.

The most impotant thing is whether "I" am, really, hungry or not, for fighting.