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1Bushido: The Soul of Japan

By Inazō Nitobe

Bushido: The Soul of Japan written by Inazo Nitobe was one of the first books on samurai ethics that was originally written in English for a Western audience, and has been subsequently translated into many other languages (also Japanese). Nitobe 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, and he uses his deep knowledge of Western culture to draw comparisons with Medieval Chivalry, Philosophy, and Christianity. (Summary by Availle)

Inazō Nitobé, plasmó el código de los samuráis, guerreros japoneses, para dar a conocer y difundir los valores y cultura de Japón, su país natal. Este conjunto de reglas no escritas y guías de acción, similar al código de caballería occidental, contribuyó a que Occidente comprendiese un poco mejor la manera de pensar y actuar de los japoneses que tanto sorprendían a los extranjeros que lo visitaban y que provocaban reacciones desde lo cómico hasta la incomprensión indignada. Fue tal el éxito que consiguió que, a pesar de ser escrito y publicado en inglés en 1908 fue traducido al japonés y a multitud de idiomas y desde entonces goza de gran difusión y es una obra de referencia incluso hoy día (Introducción por Epachuko)

3Bushido: The Soul of Japan (Version 2)

By Inazō Nitobe

Bushido: The Soul of Japan is a study of the way of the samurai. A best-seller in its day, it was read by many influential foreigners, among them US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, as well as Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts. The author found in Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, the sources of the seven virtues most admired by his people: rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, and loyalty. He also delved into the other indigenous traditions of Japan, such as Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism and the moral guidelines handed down over hundreds of years by Japan's samurai and sages. Nitobe sought similarities and contrasts by citing the shapers of European and American thought and civilization going back to the Romans, the Greek, and Biblical times. He found a close resemblance between the samurai ethos of what he called Bushido and the spirit of medieval chivalry and the ethos of ancient Greece, as observed in books such as the Iliad of Homer.