Bushibo: The Soul of Japan is his most famous work. Published in 1900 this work was one of the first samurai ethics books.

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. (shrink)

At the turn of the 20th century, when Japan was evolving from an isolated feudal society into a modern nation, a Japanese educator wrote this book to introduce the rest of the world to his society's traditional values. Author Inazo Nitobe defines bushido, the way of the warrior, as the source of the virtues most admired by his people. In this eloquent work, he takes an eclectic and far-reaching approach, drawing examples from indigenous traditions--Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and the centuries-old philosophies (...) of samurai and sages--as well as from ancient and modern thinkers of the Western world. Generations of scholars and other readers with an interest in sociology have turned to this classic for an understanding of the soul of Japan. (shrink)

... and customs prevail in Japan. In my attempts to give satisfactory replies to M. de Laveleye and to my wife, I found that without understanding feudalism ...