Bushido, The Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe

Description

Bushido: The Soul of Japan is a book by Inazō Nitobe, first published in 1899, offering a thoughtful exploration of the samurai code and Japanese ethical tradition. It sets out the virtues historically attributed to bushido — rectitude (justice), courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honour and loyalty — and discusses their roots in Confucianism, Buddhism, Shintoism, and the evolving culture of feudal Japan. Nitobe wrote it in English for a Western audience, aiming to explain how these warrior ideals shaped Japanese society and its sense of moral duty. The book has had considerable influence, helping Western readers better understand Japan during a crucial period of modernization and interaction with the West. It has been read by figures of politics, education, and culture, and helped popularise ideas of samurai ethics as more than martial values: as a framework of character and honour. At the same time, it has attracted critical discussion over how much of the idealised Bushido presented is historical vs. interpretive, especially as modern scholarship examines the variety and evolution of samurai codes.

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