Abstract

First published in 1900, Bushido is the work of a Japanese scholar and educator--and a Quaker--writing in English for a Western audience to explain the virtues most admired by the Japanese: rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control. The author's approach is twofold. First, he delves into Japan's ancient traditions of Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism, and the moral guidelines handed down over hundreds of years by Japan's samurai and sages. Then, he compares and contrasts Japanese tradition with Western thought and civilization going back to the Romans, the Greeks, and Biblical times