Zen and the Samurai: Rethinking Ties Between Zen and the Warrior

Author

James Earl Hataway Jr., University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Date of Award

5-2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Philosophy

Major Professor

Miriam Levering

Committee Members

Rachelle Scott, Johanna Stiebert

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the supposed ties between the samurai warrior of Japan and the Zen school of Buddhism. It has been suggested by numerous authors that Zen served as the foundation of warrior training methods and ethical codes. This study suggests that the relationship between warrior and Zen has been overstated, and the image of the Zen warrior was largely a product of intense nationalism that dominated Japanese political and religious institutions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Recommended Citation

Hataway, James Earl Jr., "Zen and the Samurai: Rethinking Ties Between Zen and the Warrior. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2006.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4486