Title: A Cultural Examination of Bushido Values in Relation to Death
Abstract: Bushido was a conceptual pillar of the Japanese system of feudal rule, and enlightenment through death has always been regarded as representing Bushido values in relation to death. However, Japanese scholars from the Meiji era onward have not been able to agree on the issue. This is particularly true of the ideas supporting this value outlook, a subject on which there is no consensus among opposing views. If one looks at the question from the perspective of culture, tracing the expansion of the concentric circles represented by the samurai’s feudal service and grasping the centrality of the idea of enlightenment through death, this may help explain the way in which historical studies in postwar Japan consciously demarcate but unconsciously join up feudal Bushido and its later manifestations. This can in turn help us explore the intellectual logic of Japan’s disastrous wars in East Asia over the past century and more.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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