Cody Mosblech

Research Question: How did Zen Buddhism affect the Samurai bushido

Tentative Answer: Zen Buddhism affected the samurai bushido by emphasizing discipline and order, allowing for the strict structure present during the Tokugawa era.

The Best

Abe, Masao, and Steven Heine. Zen and Comparative Studies: Part Two of a Two-Volume Sequel to Zen and Western Thought. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997. Print.

This source's primary focus is Zen in Japan. Because it is so general, only a small portion of it is dedicated to Zen and the Samurai. An even smaller portion is related to it and the codes of the samurai. This source will be most useful in describing how Zen became part of Samurai culture in general, not in specifics of Zen and Bushido.

Leggett, Trevor. Zen and the Ways. London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1978. Print.

This book is all about Zen's influence on samurai code and lifestyle. It does not directly relate to my research question as it is about Zen's influence during the Kamakura period. However, this information is critical in understanding the origins of the samurai code that became written as Bushido, and Zen's influence on that, making this an important source.

Nitobe, Inazo. Bushido: The Soul of Japan. 10 ed. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1905. Print.

This source is all about Bushido. It includes extensive information on where the content and name come from, as well as the influences Japanese religion had on its formation including Zen Buddhism. This is my strongest source, because the ideas discussed in length answer my research question directly.

Nukariya, Kaiten. The Religion of the Samurai. London: Kegan Paul ;, 2004. Print.

This source discusses much about how Zen affected samurai lifestyle and the codes that became known as Bushido. It does not go into great detail on why and how Zen had that influence. This is a strong source that directly relates both parts of my research question.

Suzuki, D.T., and William Barrett. Zen Buddhism. Garden City, New York: Anchor Books, 1956. Print.

This book is one of my main sources. It is a collection of writings by Suzuki, who is famous for spreading zen to the west in the 20th century. It distinguishes Zen from the general ideas of buddhism, and discusses how Zen affected samurai culture. It does not directly discuss Zen's affect on bushido, but a comparative analysis of those ideas and the main ideas of bushido should be relatively easy to make.

The Rest

Ames, Roger T.. "Bushido: Mode or Ethic?." Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. .

This is an essay written by a professor at the University of Hawaii, and hosted on the California Polytechnic humanities department website. It discusses what bushido is, where it comes from, and briefly discusses the factors that influenced it as it developed, including zen buddhism. Probably not a main source for my paper, but the information is relevant and worth including.

Bodiford, William M., and Karl F. Friday. "Medieval Religion." Japan emerging: Premodern History to 1850. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2012. 224. Print.

This book is a collection of scholarly essays compiled and edited by Karl Friday. It covers a huge portion of Japanese history, and as such it only touches on the basics of Zen and the Samurai. This would be supplemental to my other materials about the history of Zen and the Shogunate, but not much use beyond that.

Ikegami, Eiko. The Taming of the samurai: honorific individualism and the making of modern Japan. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press, 1995. Print.

The Taming of the Samurai is all about Ikegami's view of the samurai and their honor. There are brief moments where she mentions buddhism and it's relation to the samurai honor, and by extension, their code. Not enough information about buddhism much less specifically Zen for me to consider this an important source.

Samurai and Bushido. 2013. The History Channel website. 30 Oct. 2013. http://www.history.com/topics/samurai-and-bushido.

This is an article on the history channel website, suggesting it is more credible than a lot of other information on the web, however the lack of author association is discouraging. That aside, this article discusses Zen buddhism and how it has affected samurai development throughout samurai history. This includes bushido in the Tokugawa era, which would be the most relevant information for this paper.