Bushido by Inzano Nitobe

Dr. Inzano Nitobe authored the short book, Bushido in 1899 (our reading is the 12th
edition from 1907) in an effort to enhance the scholarly field of Japanese history and sufficiently
explain the concept of Bushido to the western world. In his conversations with contemporary
scholars, Dr. Nitobe realized that very little was known of Japanese morality and how 19th
century Japanese attained their moral values and principles. In Dr. Nitobes own words about his
notions of right and wrong he comments it was Bushido that breathed them into my nostrils.i
We begin with the origins of Bushido, with the author drawing the parallels between
Buddhist, Shinto, and Confuciuss teachings with the tenets of Bushido.

Preface v.