He lives by taking the teachings of his predecessors as his model.
His way of life became a model for many people.
この作品は日本文学の鑑と言える。
This work can be called a paragon of Japanese literature.
彼女は看護師の鑑となる存在だ。
She is a shining example for nurses to model themselves on.
手本 is a concrete, practical example to copy, such as a handwriting sample, whereas 鑑 is an abstract, lofty ideal figure to look up to.
鏡 (mirror) and 鑑 (model, paragon) share the identical reading かがみ but have completely unrelated meanings, so context alone tells them apart.
collection of old handwriting samples · model; example; pattern
paragon of knighthood; model samurai
Standard kanji for 'model' or 'exemplar'.
Rarely used traditional form.
Originally meaning 'mirror' (as in 鏡), the character 鑑 extended to mean 'something that reflects the truth' and thus 'model' or 'example'. The spelling 鑑 is now standard for this sense.