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Alexander Bennett
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Bushido: The Samurai Code of Japan: With an Extensive Introduction and Notes by Alexander Bennett Kindle Edition

by Inazo Nitobe (Author), Alexander Bennett (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 691 ratings
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**Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) Winner**

Bushido: The Samurai Code of Japan is the most influential book ever written on the Japanese "Way of the Warrior." A classic study of Japanese culture, the book outlines the moral code of the Samurai way of living and the virtues every Samurai warrior holds dear. It is widely read today in Japan and around the world.

There are seven core precepts of Bushido:
  • Rectitude: "The power of deciding upon a certain course of conduct in accordance with reason, without wavering."
  • Courage: "Doing what is right."
  • Benevolence: "Love, magnanimity, affection for others, sympathy and pity."
  • Civility: "Courtesy and urbanity of manners."
  • Sincerity: "The end and the beginning of all things."
  • Honor: "A vivid conscious of personal dignity and worth."
  • Loyalty: "Homage and fealty to a superior."
Together, these seven values create a system of beliefs unique to Japanese philosophy and culture that is widely followed today. Inazo Nitobe, one of Japan's foremost scholars, thoroughly explores each of these values and explains how they differ from their Western counterparts. Until you understand the philosophy behind the ethics, you will never fully grasp what it meant to be a Samurai--what it meant to have Bushido. In Bushido, Nitobe points out similarities between Western and Japanese history and culture. He argues that "no matter how different any two cultures may appear to be on the surface, they are still created by human beings, and as such have deep similarities." Nitobe believed that connecting Bushido with greater teachings could make an important contribution to all humanity--that the way of the Samurai is not something peculiarly Japanese, but of value to the entire human race.

With an extensive new introduction and notes by Alex Bennett, a respected scholar of Japanese history, culture and martial arts with a firsthand knowledge of the Japanese warrior code, Bushido: The Samurai Code of Japan is an essential guide to the essence of Japanese culture. Bennett's views on this subject are revolutionizing our understanding of Bushido, as expressed in his Japanese bestseller The Bushido the Japanese Don't Know About.
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  1. Part of series
    Bushido: The Samurai Code of Japan
  2. Print length
    196 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Tuttle Publishing
  5. Publication date
    March 26, 2019
  6. File size
    17785 KB
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
691 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book provides good context into the tradition and details of its ideals. They also say it's well-written by knowledgeable authors.

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ContextWriting quality
3 customers mention "Context"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides good context into the tradition and details of its ideals. They also say it's a good book with good information.

"A good book to get into the Bushido scene. Offers good context into the tradition of it as well as details of it's ideals." Read more

"Another fantastic book by Dr Bennett. His introduction provides both insight and context that is lacking in all other editions." Read more

"very good book and good information good service as well" Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book very good. They also say it's written by knowledgeable authors.

"...It seems very well written by very knowledgeable authors. I believe it would be a good addition to the library of anyone interested in such topics." Read more

"It’s really hard to put down . Beyond beautifully written" Read more

"Well written and excellent book on Bushido!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

James M Sanders
5.0 out of 5 stars good book
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2024
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Samurai Code!
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Missing product
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023
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Can’t wait to read
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AmateurRadioFan
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and interesting read.
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2021
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This is an interesting book that provides a fairly good view into the Samurai. It seems very well written by very knowledgeable authors. I believe it would be a good addition to the library of anyone interested in such topics.
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dejjen
4.0 out of 5 stars Paper cover came ripped, but book itself was good
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2022
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Kinda disappointing ordering this as a gift for it to arrive with the cover ripped. It was shipped in a box with no packing materials to keep it from moving around. It was a hard back though, so I removed the paper cover and gifted it that way. The book itself is very good.
2 people found this helpful
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steven
5.0 out of 5 stars Item arrived in excellent condition
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2023
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Product arrived in excellent condition ahead of schedule.
I am very pleased.
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ashley
5.0 out of 5 stars A nice read
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2022
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It’s really hard to put down . Beyond beautifully written
2 people found this helpful
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Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2023
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A good read with many parallels across different civilizations throughout history. If you're interested in the history of feudal Japan this a great book.
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Manticore
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Format
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2023
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A good book to get into the Bushido scene. Offers good context into the tradition of it as well as details of it's ideals.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Rodrigo de Campos Manoel
5.0 out of 5 stars Bushido
Reviewed in Brazil on October 15, 2023
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Leitura obrigatória para o perfeito entendimento do principio das artes marciais e, do aprendizado para a vida.
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Marcos Pacheco
5.0 out of 5 stars Buena encadernación
Reviewed in Mexico on August 20, 2020
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El libro se ve precioso, además de que es pasta dura y con sobrecubierta. Muy bueno
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Plotinus
5.0 out of 5 stars Reality is not always what you expect it to be!
Reviewed in Canada on March 20, 2020
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What made me laugh out loud (perhaps I may seem strange to some) is how different this book is from what I and presumably many today expect from a book on Bushido written by a samurai! Hagakure (the famous iconic book of Bushido) certainly fits the expectation perfectly - do your duty until death and be happy to die at any moment etc... This book however, while certainly encompassing these aspects of Bushido, does not stop at them but instead goes far beyond to encompass all of life and even the whole world as the book seeks to place Bushido within the scope of international mores and moral codes!

The most important quotation from the book to understand its message is this one from page 170, "Unformulated, Bushido was and still is the animating spirit, the motor force of our country." This quotation is the golden bough or key to understanding what this book is trying to tell you! First of all, in spite of what we might expect or want to find and in spite of what some samurai may have wanted to promote, Bushido was never formulated in a precise way. There was no reliable written code. This book tries to fill this void, and of course can only go so far in laying down as precepts what were in fact nebulous notions of general attitudes towards righteous conduct, manners and etiquette. But the second and more important point in this quotation is that Bushido is the spirit or guiding force of Japan, nearly a religion, and as such it is critical to understand it in order to understand Japan.

One other way I was gleefully surprised by the book was that the author, a samurai by birth and lineage and one of the great men of his day both nationally and internationally, sees faults in Bushido particularly regarding its inclination to pride, violence and over-sensitivity to perceived insult. He also can foresee a day when Bushido finally dies (and commits its own seppuku! Ironic!), its code of honour and bravery replaced with one of love for all mankind. He puts forth what appear to me very logical and sensible reasons for this such as the modern State's justice system taking away the need for revenge killing, and the abolition of class distinctions at once ennobling the commoners and reducing the noble classes down to a kind of level where Chivalry or Bushido does not play a role. However, he rightfully points out that in his day Bushido was still strong and was likely to remain so for a long time yet. At the same time, he wishes for modern peoples to see what is noble and valuable in Bushido, or at least what is passably respectable or tolerable. A rare Christian (and Quaker at that!) samurai, he does not think Christianity can make any real headway in Japan without building upon its native and ingrained Bushido rather than trying to supplant it. Interesting! It has been remarked that Christianity attained the status in Korea it has today in part due to its use of Buddhist, Confucian and native Shamanistic language and aspects.
This is a deep work of literature deeply felt by this samurai author, and is the product of a brilliant and eminently international diplomat and government official. Even if the exact topic of Bushido does not attract us, the workings of this brilliant man's mind have a lot of wisdom to offer us! This is the most accepted work on Bushido in modern Japan, and the author's image was on Japanese paper money from the 80s until the 2000s! His English style and erudition are wonderful and it is a worthy education in literary expression to read and reread this excellent literary work of his!

Along with martial arts like Kendo and Judo, this book Bushido (also a "do" form take note please!) was part of the Wako no Sai movement which tried to preserve Japanese spirit into the modern world dominated by the West by nationalizing and streamlining traditional Japanese practices to enable them to be preserved and more readily learnt by the new generations of Japanese, this time by all Japanese and not just the small class of nobles. Thus from myriad Jiu-jitsu schools came the nationalized Judo curriculum, and from a myriad of Kenjutsu schools came the nationalized and streamlined Kendo. This book Bushido comes across to me as being precisely in line with this national effort to preserve the past into the future.

Why did I read the book? I read it in order to better understand my relationship with Japanese martial arts, myself being a Westerner. While this book does not exactly answer this question for me as it was not written to do this, it has provided me with some ways to answer the question for myself in an informed way. For instance, some aspects of judo and kendo just do not seem to make sense to a Western mind. There are too many of these to write down here for you to read, but suffice it to say that this book has indeed solved many of them for me!

I highly recommend this particular edition of the book with the footnotes and preface by the renowned scholar of Japanese martial arts Dr. Alexander Bennett. Without his notes and introduction this work would not have made full sense. With his excellent additions this book makes perfect sense. Thank you Dr. Bennett!

What is something I can say I learned from this book? As a Western student of Japanese martial arts, I can say I learned that there are aspects of Bushido I can acquire from my training with a right mind that are beneficial to me and to others without there being any expectation placed on me to pretend to actually being a samurai not to becoming Japanese, as if this were possible or necessarily desirable in any case! Just as in the book it is described how Japan of her own accord looked outward and learned from the West, so I (and many others too!) as a Westerner have looked across the ocean to Japan and chose to learn from that fabled land. Through these kind of exchanges we promote international peace and love, which to Inazo Nitobe the author married to an American woman, as well as to me, are the most important values.
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Philip lam
5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2021
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Book is new and we’ll pack, well done
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Austzulu
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book.
Reviewed in Australia on May 18, 2023
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Great read for those interested in Japanese history or those who want to know more about the wonderful people post visit.
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