The Spirit of Japan (1916) is a speech by Rabindranath Tagore.
Published after he received the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, The
Spirit of Japan is a powerful lecture on Japanese culture in relation
to the modernizing forces of the West. Delivered at the Keio Gijuku
University in Tokyo, The Spirit of Japan is a testament to Tagore's
gifts as an artist and intellectual. "True modernism is freedom of mind,
not slavery of taste. It is independence of thought and action, not
tutelage under European schoolmasters. It is science, but not its wrong
application in life, --a mere imitation of our science teachers who
reduce it into a superstition absurdly invoking its aid for all
impossible purposes." Invigorated by a tour of Japan, Rabindranath
Tagore reflects on a culture which, to his mind, has "realized nature's
secrets, not by methods of analytical knowledge, but by sympathy."
Before he returns to his native country, he makes sure to warn the
gathering of Japanese students who have come to hear him speak of the
dangers of modernization and the encroachment of European values. With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this
edition of Rabindranath Tagore's The Spirit of Japan is a classic of
Indian literature reimagined for modern readers.