Bushido: the soul of Japan
Subtitle: an exposition of Japanese thought.
By: With an introd. by William Elliot Griffis.
Edition: Rev. and enl. ed.
Publisher: C. E. Tuttle Co.
Published: 1969
Place of publication: Rutland, Vt
Language: eng
Number of pages: 203
Subjects: Bushido.
Description: This classic book is both an important historical document and a guide to everyday practice. Bushido, the way of the warrior, was the samurai code of honour that flourished in feudal Japan. During the modernising Meiji era, Bushido was reinvented and became an important cultural force in the rise of Japanese nationalism and the creation of modern Japan. Initially, the new Bushido had no written text that could help in making it understood to foreigners, and it was to meet this need that Inazo Nitobe, (1862-1933), Japanese diplomat, educator and Quaker, wrote this book which remains the best introduction to the study of Bushido and Japanese thought generally. One of the first Japanese to study in the United States, Nitobe devoted his life to promoting understanding between Japan and the West, in which this volume was invaluable. Nitobe presents Bushido not just as a martial discipline, but as a pervasive system of ethics and morals and a living school of thought, life and ideals that can draw strength from the past to advance the present and future. Bushido has no set dogma, but consists of qualities and practices such as courage, benevolence, politeness, veracity, sincerity, honour, loyalty and self-control, all of which he examines.
Notes: Bibliographical footnotes.
Reprint of the 1905 ed.