The Way of the Samurai

Chivalry is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of Japan than its emblem, the cherry blossom; nor is it a dried-up specimen of an antique virtue preserved in the herbarium of our history. It is still a living object of power and beauty among us.

To many people, the word samurai conjures images of menacing masks, long blades and elaborate armour. However, this classic text by Inazo Nitobe reveals the greater depths to samurai culture - they were not simply warriors but an aristocratic class who practiced literary and military arts in equal measure.

Essential to this way of life was the samurai's moral code and the quality of bushido, roughly translated as chivalry. The Way of the Samurai provides an intriguing exploration of bushido and other valued qualities such as rectitude or justice, courage, politeness, veracity, honour, loyalty and self-control. It also explores the Samurai's more violent traditions, such as the chilling act of hara-kiri or self-immolation.

This mixture of chivalric principles with brutal warfare is fascinating. While many aspects of Samurai culture have disappeared, its principles still have resonance in modern Japanese society and around the globe.

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“I, and I alone, gave the order to fire on the foreigners at Kobe, and again as they tried to escape. For this crime I disembowel myself, and I beg you who are present to do me the honour of witnessing the act.”
– Taki Zenzaburo

Justice, courage, loyalty, self-control: the qualities essential to the Samurai warriors of Japan are those to which we all aspire. In this classic work, originally published as Bushido: The Soul of Japan, Inazo Nitobe explores the moral code of the Japanese warrior class, from the importance of politeness rituals to the ultimate chilling self-sacrifice: hara-kiri or suicide. Nitobe’s engaging text conjures up a world of chivalric principles and brutal warfare – a fading way of life, but one that has resonance in modern Japanese society and around the globe.

This beautifully illustrated edition contains an introduction by John Baldock, and exquisite images throughout.