Bushido: The Soul of Japan (Timeless Classic Books) - Softcover

Nitobe, Inazo; Books, Timeless Classic

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9781453893388: Bushido: The Soul of Japan (Timeless Classic Books)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1453893385 ISBN 13: 9781453893388

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010

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Bushido, meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a name in common usage since the late 19th century which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct adhered to by samurai since time immemorial, and loosely analogous to Western concepts of chivalry. This code is said to have emphasized virtues such as loyalty, honor, obedience, duty, filial piety, and self-sacrifice. Although Chinese-derived Confucian concepts such as loyalty and filial piety were certainly extolled in Japanese texts from the medieval period, the actual term "bushido" is extremely rare in ancient texts, and does not even appear in famous texts supposedly describing this code, such as the Hagakure of Yamamoto Tsunetomo. At various points in Japanese history certain feudal lords promulgated prescriptive "House Codes" to guide the actions of their retainers. However, there never existed a single, unified "samurai code" which all Japanese warriors adhered to or were even aware of. The first person to popularize the term "bushido" was Japanese author Inazo Nitobe, a converted Quaker living in Philadelphia and married to an American wife, in his 1899 book Bushido: The Soul of Japan, which was originally written and published in English and only later translated into Japanese. In this work, Inazo scoured Japanese tradition in an effort to recover an indigenous code of behavior analogous to the Western ideal of chivalry, which he then embedded with his own Christian ideology. Upon publication Nitobe's work was a massive success, and has returned to Japanese best-seller lists on numerous occasions.

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About the Author

Educator, cultural interpreter, and civil servant, Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933) was one of the earliest and most famous of the Japanese Quakers. Hoping to serve as a "bridge" between Japan and the West, he studied in the US and in Germany. Nitobe's numerous writings in English made him the best known Japanese writer in the West during his lifetime.

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