Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Hagakure is the closest book there is to a manual on the warrior spirit of Bushido. Unlike Nitobe's Bushido, which was written for foreigners, Hagakure was written for the samurai themselves. The book is filled with short quotations and anecdotes, which, rather than explaining Bushido explicitly, give subtle inside as to what Yamamoto understands Bushido to be about. Yamamoto's main premise is that to live as a warrior is to live as though one were already dead.

This book appears to stay far truer to the Japanese ethics of Bushido than Nitobe's Bushido. However, it may not be nearly as easy for foreigners to understand. Many times, Yamamoto simply tells an anecdote without explaining its meaning, reasoning that his audience should understand how it connects to Bushido. Thus, a prior understanding of the Japanese culture to the extent of being intuitive is crucial to understanding Hagakure.

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The Japanese Today: Change and Continuity, by Edwin O. Reischauer

The Japanese Today was first written by the American ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer in 1977, and updated in 1988. Reischauer, who grew up in Japan himself and attended the American School in Japan, was considered one of the leading American experts on Japan. Reischauer wrote this book as an introduction to the history and geography of Japan, and in particular the society, politics, business, and international relations of postwar (modern) Japan.

This is an indispensable introduction of Japan to Westerners because of the breadth of information it covers, and is reinforced by Reischauer's intimate knowledge of the Japanese society. However, what it gains in its breadth it loses in depth, so other resources are necessary to delve deeper into specific subjects. Further, much of this book will be irrelevant to people learning about Japanese values and culture. The sections on government and business may be of interest to those learning about those specific topics, but for those interested in the culture and values, the sections on setting, historical background, and society, as well as the final two chapters titled "language" and "uniqueness and internationalism" contain most of the pertinent information. Finally, as opposed to books such as Shutting Out the Sun and In the Realm of a Dying Emperor, Reischauer makes very few value statements, instead choosing to give an objective report on Japan.

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In the Realm of a Dying Emperor: Japan at Century's End, by Norma Field

Norma Field's In the Realm of a Dying Emperor was written about the end of the 1980s in Japan, when Emperor Hirohito was dying. In a culture characterized by homogeneity (at least, assumed homogeneity) of culture, behavior, and values, some Japanese stood out by challenging these values. This book is about three of them; an Okinawan who, after years of being treated like second-class citizens, publicly burned the Japanese flag, a Christian woman who challenged the courts to keep them from venerating her husband in a Shinto shrine, and the mayor of Nagasaki who stated his belief that the dying Emperor Hirohito had responsibility for World War II.

Though this book is very pessimistic (and may take its pessimisms to extremes), it displays the values of Japanese people very clearly by showing what happens when they are violated. Some ideas that can be inferred from this book are explicitly defined in books such as Shutting Out the Sun. Since Field is a Japanese-American who reports not feeling at home in either Japanese or American culture, this book is far more honest and takes the culture at face-value far better than any full Japanese can, but with the intimate knowledge of the culture that an American does not have access to.

Discussion Questions:

• What does the public reaction to these three people the book focuses on show about Japanese values and assumptions?
• What does Field mean by "self-restraint?" How does it differ from the Western concept of self-restraint?
• This book was written before the collapse of the bubble economy, and much has changed in Japan since then. Read Shutting Out the Sun. How have Japanese values changed between the publishing of these two books?
• Think about your own culture's values and assumptions. How did you come to realize that you or others around you held them?

Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created its Own Lost Generation by Michael Zielenziger

Shutting Out the Sun was written by the American journalist Michael Zielenziger to examine several issues in modern Japan. Zielenziger examines the problem of hikikomori, a recent condition in which youth shut themselves in their rooms and avoid social interaction. He also investigates parasite singles, young women who refuse to move out of their parents' home and get married, and the Japanese obsession with brand names and labels.

This book is a very realistic book that takes modern Japanese society at face-value, unafraid to uncover potentially shameful aspects of the society. It is not an explicit treatise to Japanese values like Bushido is, but by examining Japanese society and the problems that exist within it, it is possible to understand the values that underlie the society that cause these problems.

Discussion Questions:

• In what ways do Japanese values differ from Canadian ones to result in these issues?

Bushido: The Soul of Japan, by Nitobe Inazo

Bushido is the first book about Japanese culture and values written by a Japanese specifically for Westerners. It was written in 1900 by the diplomat and educator Nitobe Inazo, who lived during the Meiji Period, a time of great social and political revolution, when Japan had emerged from isolation and was quickly modernizing and Westernizing. Nitobe wrote Bushido in English, so that people in the Western world could understand the values that his people traditionally held to, and that underlied their assumptions and actions. The core virtues that Nitobe wrote about are what is part of Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, and include rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control. Nitobe found parallels in these virtues to the Western concept of chivalry.

This book is an ideal place for Westerners to start an inquiry to Japanese values. It summarizes the core values traditionally held by the Japanese people, and the reasons for holding these values, in a way Westerners can easily understand. However, the book was written 110 years ago, and much has changed since then, so it should not be read as an authoritative source on modern Japanese values.

Discussion Questions:

• Why does Nitobe choose these particular values?
• What counterparts do these values have in Western culture? How are they similar? How are they different?
• Nitobe wrote this book 110 years ago. How have Japanese values changed since he wrote it? How have they stayed the same?