Bushido: The Soul of Japan
by Inazo Nitobé
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Book Summary Information
Author: Inazo NitobéEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-12-18
ISBN: 1604593652
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Wilder Publications
Book Reviews of Bushido: The Soul of Japan
Book Review: "Is Lofty Spiritual Attainment Possible Through Etiquette? Why Not? -All Roads Lead to Rome"
Summary: 2 Stars
What??? (review title quoted from p55)
After reading all the poor quality reviews praising this book, do not assume it is even remotely on par with any of the great treaties on Bushido. If you Search Inside and look at the Table of Contents, most of the Bushido tenants are related with archaic western analogies, and it is really a giant stretch to argue that this book is great in any way. It is easily the worst and dullest warrior philosophy book I have ever read, and it is a slow and painful slog to the finish. For modern students of martial arts this book is worthless, and you will do a lot better with any of the recommendations I list at the bottom.
On every other page bushido is polluted by the author's western religious views, as he tries to convey a very difficult concept (Bushido) to an ignorant 19th century western audience. I was looking for bushido, not religion; its unbearable. The Search Inside feature will demonstrate exactly what I am referring to. Is nothing sacred in this world? Here's the last paragraph of the intro:
"Even in Japan, Christianity, unwrapped from its foreign mould and matting, will cease being an exotic and strike its roots deep in the soil on which Bushido has grown. Stripped alike of its swaddling bands and its foreign regimentals, the church of the founder will be as native as the air."
So in a book who's title suggests a tribute to bushido, the author is rejoicing in the arrival of western religion that will destroy it? This book kills me. I give it 2-stars simply because there is an occasional expression of Japanese thought or a small but very rare historical anecdote. Whether I liked it or not, the book has earned a place as a piece of history, but only because no one in the 19th century produced anything better that was widely distributed in the west. Mencius and Confucious are frequently quoted, but again, if that was what I was looking for I already have the primary sources. Here are the only 2 quality quotations that appears in the book:
(p119) "I, and I alone, unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the foreigners at Kobe, and again as they tried to escape. For this crime I disembowel myself, and I beg you who are present to do me the honor of witnessing the act."
(p35)"Kenshin, who fought for 14-years with Shingen, when he heard of the latter's death, wept aloud at the loss of "the best of enemies." He then recounts the "Salt" story which is told much more accurately in other sources.
Also, for the record, the above quoted sentence was preceded by a tangential discourse relating the "sorrow" of Antony & Octavius on the news of the death of Brutus. How can the author relate the two? Antony and Octavius were determined to see Brutus dead. Shingen held kenshin in the highest esteem, and would gladly have welcomed defeating him on the battlefield, but he hardly could have felt good hearing of the mans passing. This is a terrible comparison. After the Salt story he then returns to Romans and ends in a Nietzsche.
Other than the very short paragraph on Kenshin & Shingen, the only thing I found of value was a good description of the Seppuku ritual. Better bushido books include Hagakure, Ideals of the Samurai, Budoshoshinsu, Training the Samurai Mind, and Code of the Samurai. Great books that deal with Zen & the martial arts include The Life Giving Sword, The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts, and The Unfettered Mind.
Spare yourself, and don't believe the hype.
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