※※※ Criticism of Inazo Mineichiro's "Bushido" (1899)
> 《Google SI Overview》 >The main criticisms directed at Inazo Nitobe's book Bushido (1899) are: (1) that it is "a fiction far removed from historical reality (an idealized concept)," and (2) that "it possesses aspects that make it easily exploitable for nationalism and militarism."
> Key Points of Criticism
> * Divergence from Reality (The Fiction Theory): Pointed out that in actual history, what samurai in most eras emphasized was "surviving actual combat," and that the sophisticated, noble spiritual and cultural aspects depicted by Nitobe only became widespread from the Edo period onward, and even then, only among a limited stratum and period.
> * Ex-post-facto Idealistic Reconstruction: It was reinterpreted and constructed by Nitobe in an ex-post-facto and idealistic manner to counter and rival Western Christian morals and chivalry, leading to criticisms since its publication that it "over-romanticized reality."
> * Objections to Root Interpretations: While Nitobe traced the roots of Bushido to Buddhism, Shinto, and Confucianism, experts have also presented detailed verifications and objections regarding the historical and ideological interpretations of the relationships and degrees of influence among these.
> * Tie-in to Nationalism and Ideology: Partly because the book was received amid the heightened nationalist and ultranationalist zeitgeist following the First Sino-Japanese War, critical views argue that such an emphasis on spiritualism and morality linked up with later militarism and the state ideology of "self-sacrifice for the state," or laid the groundwork for it.
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※※※ Criticism of Inazo Mineichiro's "Bushido" (1899)
> 《Google SI Overview》
>The main criticisms directed at Inazo Nitobe's book Bushido (1899) are: (1) that it is "a fiction far removed from historical reality (an idealized concept)," and (2) that "it possesses aspects that make it easily exploitable for nationalism and militarism."
> Key Points of Criticism
> * Divergence from Reality (The Fiction Theory): Pointed out that in actual history, what samurai in most eras emphasized was "surviving actual combat," and that the sophisticated, noble spiritual and cultural aspects depicted by Nitobe only became widespread from the Edo period onward, and even then, only among a limited stratum and period.
> * Ex-post-facto Idealistic Reconstruction: It was reinterpreted and constructed by Nitobe in an ex-post-facto and idealistic manner to counter and rival Western Christian morals and chivalry, leading to criticisms since its publication that it "over-romanticized reality."
> * Objections to Root Interpretations: While Nitobe traced the roots of Bushido to Buddhism, Shinto, and Confucianism, experts have also presented detailed verifications and objections regarding the historical and ideological interpretations of the relationships and degrees of influence among these.
> * Tie-in to Nationalism and Ideology: Partly because the book was received amid the heightened nationalist and ultranationalist zeitgeist following the First Sino-Japanese War, critical views argue that such an emphasis on spiritualism and morality linked up with later militarism and the state ideology of "self-sacrifice for the state," or laid the groundwork for it.