Untitled : * This is Inazo Nitobe's account of the Samurai code, Bushido. This was a far-reaching philosophy of life which governed every action of the warrior caste. An understanding of Bushido is crucial if you want to understand Japanese culture at a deep level. Title Page Dedication Contents Preface...
Chapter Vii. Veracity And Sincerity : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 61 CHAPTER VII VERACITY AND SINCERITY WITHOUT veracity and sincerity, politeness is a farce and a show. "Propriety carried beyond right bounds," says Masamun, "becomes a lie." An ancient poet has outdone Polonius in the advice he gives:...
Chapter Iii. Rectitude Or Justice : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 23 CHAPTER III RECTITUDE OR JUSTICE HERE we discern the most cogent precept in the code of the samurai. Nothing is more loathsome to him than underhand dealings and crooked undertakings. The conception of Rectitude may be erroneous--it...
Chapter X. The Education And Training Of A Samurai : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 94 CHAPTER X THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF A SAMURAI THE first point to observe in knightly pedagogics was to build up character, leaving in the shade the subtler faculties of prudence, intelligence and dialectics. We have seen...
Chapter Xii. The Institutions Of Suicide : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 111 CHAPTER XII THE INSTITUTIONS OF SUICIDE AND REDRESS OF these two institutions (the former known as "hara-kiri" and the latter as "kataki-uchi"), many foreign writers have treated more or less fully. To begin with suicide, let me state...
Chapter Xiv. The Training And Position Of Woman : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 138 CHAPTER XIV THE TRAINING AND POSITION OF WOMAN THE female half of our species has sometimes been called the paragon of paradoxes, because the intuitive working of its mind is beyond the comprehension of men's "arithemetical...
Chapter Iv. Courage, The Spirit Of Daring : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 29 CHAPTER IV COURAGE, THE SPIRIT OF DARING AND BEARING COURAGE was scarcely deemed worthy to be counted among virtues, unless it was exercised in the cause of Righteousness. In his "Analects" Confucius defines Courage by explaining...
Introduction : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. xv INTRODUCTION AT the request of his publishers, to whom Dr. Nitobe has left some freedom of action concerning prefatory matter, I am glad to offer a few sentences of introduction to this new edition of "Bushido", for readers of English...
Chapter Ii. Sources Of Bushido : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 11 CHAPTER II SOURCES OF BUSHIDO I MAY begin with Buddhism. It furnished a sense of calm trust in Fate, a quiet submission to the inevitable, that stoic composure in sight of danger or calamity, that disdain of life and friendliness with...
Chapter Xv. The Influence Of Bushido : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 158 CHAPTER XV THE INFLUENCE OF BUSHIDO THUS far we have brought into view only a few of the more prominent peaks which rise above the range of knightly virtues, in themselves so much more elevated then the general level of our national...
Chapter V. Benevolence, The Feeling Of Distress : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 36 CHAPTER V BENEVOLENCE, THE FEELING OF DISTRESS LOVE, magnanimity, affection for others, sympathy and pity, were ever recognised to be supreme virtues, the highest of all the attributes of the human soul. It was deemed a princely virtue...
Epigrams : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], "That way Over the mountain, which who stands upon Is apt to doubt if it be indeed a road; While if he views it from the waste itself, Up goes the line there, plain from base to brow, Not vague, mistakable! What's a break or two Seen...
Dedication : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], TO MY BELOVED UNCLE TOKITOSHI OTA WHO TAUGHT ME TO REVERE THE PAST AND TO ADMIRE THE DEEDS OF THE SAMURAI I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE BOOK
Chapter Vi. Politeness : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 50 CHAPTER VI POLITENESS COURTESY and urbanity of manners have been noticed by every foreign tourist as a marked Japanese trait. Politeness is a poor virtue, if it is actuated only by a fear of offending good taste, whereas it should be...
Chapter Ix. The Duty Of Loyalty : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 82 CHAPTER IX THE DUTY OF LOYALTY FEUDAL morality shares other virtues in common with other systems of ethics, with other classes of people, but this virtue--homage and fealty to a superior--is its distinctive feature. I am aware th...
Title Page : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], BUSHIDO The Soul Of Japan An Exposition Of Japanese Thought BY INAZO NITOBE, A.M., PH.D. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons [1905] Scanned, Proofed And Formatted , June 2003 By J. B. Hare. This Text Is In The Public Domain Because It W...
Chapter Xvi. Is Bushido Still Alive : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 168 CHAPTER XVI IS BUSHIDO STILL ALIVE? HAS Western civilisation, in its march through our land, already wiped out every trace of its ancient discipline? It were a sad thing if a nation's soul could die so fast. That were a poor soul th...
Chapter Xiii. The Sword, The Soul Of The Samurai : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 131 CHAPTER XIII THE SWORD, THE SOUL OF THE SAMURAI BUSHIDO made the sword its emblem of power and prowess. When Mahomet proclaimed that "the sword is the key of Heaven and of Hell," he only echoed a Japanese sentiment. Very early...
Chapter I. Bushido As An Ethical System : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 1 BUSHIDO CHAPTER I BUSHIDO AS AN ETHICAL SYSTEM CHIVALRY is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of Japan than its emblem, the cherry blossom; nor is it a dried-up specimen of an antique virtue preserved in the herbarium of our...
Chapter Xvii. The Future Of Bushido : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 182 CHAPTER XVII THE FUTURE OF BUSHIDO FEW historical comparisons can be more judiciously made than between the Chivalry of Europe and the Bushido of Japan, and, if history repeats itself, it certainly will do with the fate of the latter...
Chapter Xi. Self Control : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 103 CHAPTER XI SELF-CONTROL THE discipline of fortitude on the one hand, inculcating endurance without a groan, and the teaching of politeness on the other, requiring us not to mar the pleasure or serenity of another by expressions of our...
Chapter Viii. Honour : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. 72 CHAPTER VIII HONOUR THE sense of honour, implying a vivid consciousness of personal dignity and worth, could not fail to characterise the samurai, born and bred to value the duties and privileges of their profession. Though the word...
Preface To The First Edition : * "Bushido, the Soul of Japan", by Inazo Nitobe, [1905], p. xi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION ABOUT ten years ago, while spending a few days under the hospitable roof of the distinguished Belgian jurist, the lamented M. de Laveleye, our conversation turned during one of our rambles, to the subject...