Title: Bushido Illustrated
Series: Standalone
Author’s Name: Inazo Nitobe
Publisher: Amber Books
Genre: Japan History
Page Count: 160 Pages
ISBN:978-1838860899
Author or Book Website: N/A
Link to Amazon purchase page: Bushido Illustrated: The Soul of Japan (Chinese Bound Classics): Nitobe, Inazo: Amazon.com: Books
Link to Goodreads: N/A
Release Date: N/A
How I Got the Book: Review Copy
Summary of the Book:
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 colorful illustrations throughout.
“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 to their children if schools didn’t offer any religious instruction. The answer, Inazo realized, was through Bushido. Bushido is the chivalric code of moral principles that the Samurai followed: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, 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.
My Personal Review: I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. Japan has become one of the countries I love and this just called to me. The pictures that were throughout the book helped me along the journey of the samurai and the ethics that they stuck to. I enjoyed learning the history behind Bushido. One of the things I did not know is that there were roles that women played. There was so much to learn from this that I had not heard or read before. It gave me a better understanding of the lifestyle of the samurai. It gave me a better appreciation for their honor and their sacrifice for their beliefs. I had only known what I had seen on tv or in the movies. I knew there had to be more to the ways of Bushido then I knew and find this book filled in a lot of the gaps I of what I knew.
My Rating of the Book: 5 Stars
From the Book Reviewer's Desk 