Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit
▻https://www.tofugu.com/japan/bushido
While the truth may never be known or agreed upon, it’s important to question the events and the motivations behind our so-called histories. In Japan’s case, government manipulated histories, including a glorified samurai class and bushido code, became propaganda that helped inspire a fanatical war machine.
Society often looks for answers to our present problems in the past. Like the current Tea Party movement’s misinformed exploitation of America’s past, Nitobe’s bushido created a yearning for the unsubstantiated simplicity and purity of a bygone era.
As The Last Samurai proves, Nitobe’s legacy lives on. Accurate or not, his simplified idealization of bushido and the samurai still garners the world’s admiration. And as long as it does, popular culture will follow in the footsteps of both Inazo Nitobe and the Japanese government, exploiting their mythical image for its own motives – consumer’s hard earned cash.