"Chivalry is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of Japan than cherry blossom" are the opening words to Inazo Nitobe's Bushido: The Soul of Japan. It was 1900 and Inazo, a Japanese academic living in the USA, had been prompted to write the book after an American professor had wondered how the Japanese imparted moral education on their children if schools didn't offer any religious instruction. The answer, Inazo realised, was through Bushido. Bushido is the chivalric code of moral principles that the Samurai followed: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honour and loyalty. Influenced by Confucianism, Shinto and Zen Buddhism, it tempers the violence of a warrior with wisdom and serenity. Alongside Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Machiavelli's The Prince, Inazo's book has become influential among military and corporate leaders looking for ways to manage their people and overcome their opponents. Beautifully produced in traditional Chinese binding and with a timeless design, Bushido Illustrated: The Soul of Japan includes the classic Inazo Nitobe text with a new introduction and colourful illustrations throughout. It will appeal to anyone interested in leadership, the code of the Samurai and Japanese culture.

This volume collects together essays and lectures given by the author from 1922-1927 to a variety of international audiences. Together they illuminate essential aspects of the Japanese mentality and way of life, particularly in social, religious and linguistic aspects.

Each a best-selling title in its own right, these three classic Far Eastern texts are about much more than war and being a warrior, including ideas of leadership, virtue and disciple which remain relevant to conduct in business and in life today, and giving them a much broader appeal.

This volume collects together essays and lectures given by the author from 1922-1927 to a variety of international audiences. Together they illuminate essential aspects of the Japanese mentality and way of life, particularly in social, religious and linguistic aspects.

'What Japan was she owed to the samurai. They were not only the flower of the nation, but its root as well.' Inazo Nitobe's book, the most influential ever written on Bushido, or the samurai Way of the Warrior, argues that the philosophy of Bushido is the true key to understanding 'the soul of Japan'. One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.

An Unabridged, Digitally Enlarged Printing To Include Modernized Typeface: Bushido As An Ethical System - Sources Of Bushido - Rectitude Or Justice - Courage, The Spirit Of Daring And Bearing - Benevolence, The Feeling Of Distress - Politeness - Veracity Or Truthfulness - Honor - The Duty Of Loyalty - Education And Training Of A Samurai - Self-Control - The Institutions Of Suicide And Redress - The Sword, The Soul Of The Samurai - The Training And Position Of Woman - The Influence Of Bushido - Is Bushido Still Alive? - The Future Of Bushido

A century ago, when Japan was transforming itself from an isolated feudal society into a modern nation, a Japanese educator queried about the ethos of his people composed this seminal work, which with his numerous other writings in English made him the best, known Japanese writer in the West during his lifetime.
He found in Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, the sources of the virtues most admired by his people: rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty and self-control. His approach to his task was eclectic and far-reaching. On the one hand, he delved into the indigenous traditions, into Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism and the moral guidelines handed down over hundreds of years by Japan's samurai and sages. On the other hand, he sought similarities and contrasts by citing not only Western philosophers and statesmen, but also the shapers of European and American thought and civilization going back to the Romans, the Greeks and Biblical times.
This book is a classic to which generations of scholars and laymen alike have long referred for insights into the character of the Japanese people. And all of its many readers in the past have been amply rewarded, as will be all those who turn to its pages in the next and future decades.

The first book of its kind, Bushido, The Soul of Japan, first published in 1905, brings the rich ethics and traditions of the samurai to a Western audience. Never before had anyone explained the life of the samurai in English, nor had anyone traced how this code has shaped the character of the Japanese people. Nitobe explains all aspects of samurai life, from sword training to cultural education. History buffs and anyone interested in this unique culture will enjoy this thorough and engaging account of a warrior's code from a time long past. Japanese politician and author INAZO NITOBE (1862-1933) attended Sapporo Agricultural College, where he converted to Christianity. In 1884, he came to the United States to study at Johns Hopkins University and became a Quaker. He was a prolific writer, most remembered for writing about his native Japan for a Western audience.