Bushido. The Way of the Warrior presents a remarkably faithful mirror of many of the characteristics and habits of modern Japanese civilization, as it represents a tradition that enjoyed great power and prestige for centuries. This work was written to provide practical and moral instruction for warriors, and to outline the parameters of personal, social, and professional conduct characteristic of Bushido, or Way of the Warrior, the Japanese chivalric tradition. Personal responsibilities, family relationships, public duties, education, finances and ethics are treated in this text from the perspective of the spirit of Japanese gentlemen. Even the forms of political incompetence and corruption that Japan currently struggles with are accurately described in this more than 400-year-old book; So deep did the feudal and military modes of government that generated them take their roots in Japanese society. This manual is therefore an essential resource for anyone who wishes to understand Japan and the Japanese people in a realistic way.
Author
Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933): agriculturalist, scholar, Quaker, philosopher, statesman, educator. Inazo Nitobe was educated at Sapporo Agricultural College, University of Tokyo, Johns Hopkins, and University of Halle (Germany). Early in his life he expressed the desire to be a “bridge over the Pacific” and he devoted much of his life to promoting trust and understanding between the United States and Japan.
- - Main works in English of Inazo Nitobe held in the UBC Library Bushido: the soul of Japan; an exposition of Japanese thought. With an introduction by William Elliot Griffis. Rutland, Vt.: C. E. Tuttle Co., [reprint 1969] E-version of Bushido from Project Gutenberg. Reminiscences of childhood in the early days of modern Japan by Inazo Nitobe; with introduction and comments by Mary Patterson Elkinton Nitobé. Tokyo, Mazuren company, Ltd. 1934. The Japanese nation, its land, its people, and its life, with special consideration to its relations with the United States. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources [reprint 1973] Western influences in modern Japan; a series of papers on cultural relations, by Inazo Nitobe and others. Chicago, Ill., The University of Chicago press [c1931] The works of Inazo Nitobe. [Tokyo] University of Tokyo Press [1972] Japan, some phases of her problems and development. New York, Scribner, 1931 [London Ernest Benn limited 1931]. Use and study of foreign languages in Japan. Geneva League of Nations. Undated. Lectures on Japan; an outline of the development of the Japanese people and their culture, by Inazo Nitobé. [Tokyo, Kenkyusha, 1936] Chicago, Ill.: The University of Chicago Press, 1938.
