Inazo Nitobe

Bushido, the Soul of Japan Inazo Nitobe

Nitobe Inazo (1862 - 1933) was a Japanese author, agricultural economist, educator and diplomat during the Meiji period in Japan. Nitobe published many scholarly books, novels and articles for magazines. Bushibo: The Soul of Japan is his most famous work. Published in 1900 this work was one of the first samurai ethics books. Nitobe found in Buchibo the qualities he most admired in his country, those of rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty and self-control. The book also discusses the values brought down through the centuries by the samurai and sages of Japan. Nitobe used examples form several religions and historic periods to develop his theories. He compared the samurai philosophy with that of chivalry in Medieval England and the ancient Romans and Greeks.