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Along with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Book of Five Rings has long been regarded as an invaluable treatise on the strategy of winning. Musashi's timeless advice on defeating an adversary, throwing an opponent off-guard, creating confusion, and other techniques for overpowering an assailant was addressed to the readers of earlier times on the battlefield, and now serves the modern reader in the battle of life.
In this new rendering by the translator of Hagakure and The Unfettered Mind, William Scott Wilson adheres rigorously to the seventeenth-century Japanese text and clarifies points of ambiguity in earlier translations. In addition, he offers an extensive introduction and a translation of Musashi's rarely published The Way of Walking Alone. This gift-book edition also features original art by Musashi himself as well as new calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura.
About the Author
Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was a renowned swordsman and painter. A masterless samurai, he developed the two-sword style of fighting and emerged victorious in more than 60 sword fights in his travels throughout Japan. The author of The Book of Five Rings, he is also the subject of the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.
William Scott Wilson, the translator, was born in 1944 in Nashville, Tennessee, and grew up in Florida. He received B.A. degrees from Dartmouth College and the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, and an M.A. in Japanese literary studies from the University of Washington. His long-selling translations of Hagakure, The Unfettered Mind, The Roots of Wisdom:
Saikontan, and Taiko have become standards. Hagakure was featured prominently in the film Ghost Dog.
Since the publication of its first English translation in 1974, The Book of Five Rings has become an underground classic in the American business community, where it is studied as a text on Japanese management techniques. Here are timeless principles of craft, skill, timing, and spirit from a great samurai warrior--plus background on Zen, Bushido, Heiho, and Musashi's life. Two color.
From
the Translator's Introduction
The
Book of Five Rings
and
The
Book of Family Traditions on the Art
of
War
are
two of the most important texts on conflict and strategy emerging from the
Japanese warrior culture. Originally written not only for men-at-arms, they are
explicitly intended to symbolize processes of struggle and mastery in all
concerns and walks of life.
The
Book of Five Rings
was
written in 1643 by Miyamoto Musashi, undefeated dueler, masterless samurai, and
independent teacher.
The
Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War
was
written in 1632 by Yagyu Munenori, victorious warrior, mentor of the Shogun,
and head of the Secret Service.
Both
authors were professional men-at-arms born into a long tradition of martial
culture that had ultimately come to dominate the entire body of Japanese polity
and society. Their writings are relevant not only to members of the ruling
military caste, but also to leaders in other professions, as well as people in
search of individual mastery in whatever their chosen path.
The
Book of Five Rings
and
The
Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War
are
both written in Japanese, rather than the literary Chinese customary in elite
bureaucratic, religious, and intellectual circles in Japan at that time. The
Japanese in which they are written, furthermore, is relatively uncomplicated
and quite free of the subtle complexities of classical high court Japanese.
Although the crudity of Musashi's syntax and morphology make for clumsy
reading, nevertheless the basic simplicity and deliberate clarity of both works
make them accessible to a wide and varied audience.
The
rise and empowerment of the samurai class in Japan may be seen in the two terms
used to refer to its members,
samurai
and
bushi.
The
word
samurai
comes
from the Japanese verb
saburau,
which
means "to serve as an attendant." The word
bushi
is
Sino-Japanese and means "armed gentry." The word
samurai
was
used by other social classes, while the warriors referred to themselves by the
more dignified term
bushi.
The
original samurai were attendants of nobles. In time their functions expanded to
the administration, policing, and defense of the vast estates of the nobles,
who were mostly absentee landlords. Eventually the samurai demanded and won a
greater share of the wealth and political power that the nobles had called
their own. Ultimately the military paragovernment of the Shoguns, known as the
Bakufu, or Tent Government, overshadowed the imperial organization and
dominated the whole country.
Musashi
and Yagyu lived in the founding era of the third Tent Government, which lasted
from the beginning of the seventeenth century through the middle of the
nineteenth century. While inheriting the martial traditions of its
predecessors, this third Tent Government differed notably in certain respects.
The
first Tent Government was established in eastern Japan near the end of the
twelfth century and lasted for nearly one hundred and fifty years. The warriors
of this time were descendants of noble houses, many of whom had honed their
martial skills for generations in warfare against the Ainu people in eastern
Japan. As the Tent Government was seated in Kamakura, a small town near modern
Tokyo, this period of Japanese history is commonly called the Kamakura era.
The
second Tent Government supplanted the First in 1338. The warrior class had
expanded and become more differentiated by this time, with lesser and thinner
genealogical ties to the ancient aristocracy. The Shoguns of this period
established their Tent Government in Kyoto, the old imperial capital, and tried
to establish high culture among the new samurai elite. This period of Japanese
history is commonly called the Ashikaga era, after the surname of the Shoguns,
or the Muromachi era, after the name of the outlying district of Kyoto in which
the Tent Government was located.
To
understand Japanese history and culture, it
is
essential to realize that no government ever united the whole country until the
Meiji Restoration of 1868. The imperial government had always ruled the whole
land in theory, but never in fact. The imperial house had never really been
more than a center of powerful factions, competing with other powerful
factions. Even when everyone recognized the ritual and political status of the
emperor in theory, direct imperial rule only reached a portion of the land.
As
this is true of the imperial house, so it is also true of the military
governments. The reign of the Shoguns was always complicated and mitigated by
the very nature of the overall Japanese power structure. The rule of the
Kamakura Tent Government was not absolute, that of the Muromachi Tent
Government even less. Separatism, rivalry, and civil warfare marked the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
By
this time, known as the era of the Warring States, the way of war was open to
anyone who could obtain arms by any means. Lower-class samurai rose up to
overthrow the upper-class samurai, and Japan was plunged into chaos. It was not
until the latter part of the sixteenth century that a series of hegemons
emerged with strategy and power sufficient to move dramatically toward
unification. The third Tent Government was built on the achievements of those
hegemons.
Within
the context of traditional Japanese society, the founder of the third Shogunate
was an upstart and a usurper. Aware of this, he set out to establish a most
elaborate system of checks and controls to ensure the impossibility of such an
event ever occurring again. Moving his capital again to eastern Japan, away
from the heartland of the ancient aristocracy and imperial regime, the new
Shogun disarmed the peasants and disenfranchised the samurai class, removing
all warriors from the land and settling them in castle towns. This period of
Japanese history is commonly known as the Tokugawa era, after the surname of
the Shoguns, or the Edo period, after the name of the new capital city, now
called Tokyo.
Tokugawa
Japan was divided into more than two hundred baronies, which were classified
according to their relationship to the Tokugawa clan. The barons were
controlled by a number of methods, including regulation of marriage and
successorship, movement of territories, and an elaborate hostage system. The
baronies were obliged to minimize their contingents of warriors, resulting in a
large number of unemployed samurai known as
ronin,
or
wanderers.
Many
of the disenfranchised samurai became schoolteachers, physicians, or priests.
Some continued to practice martial traditions, and to teach them to others.
Some became hooligans and criminals, eventually to constitute one of the most
serious social problems of the later Tokugawa period. Certain differences, both
technical and philosophical, between
The
Book of Five Rings
and
The
Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War
stem
from the fact that Miyamoto Musashi was a masterless samurai pursuing a career
as a dueler and an independent teacher of martial arts, while Yagyu Munenori
was a distinguished war veteran and a servant of the central military government.
The
Book of Five Rings
More
properly titled in English
The
Book of Five Spheres,
Miyamoto
Musashi's work is devoted to the art of war as a purely pragmatic enterprise.
Musashi decries empty showmanship and commercialization in martial arts,
focusing attention on the psychology and physics of lethal assault and decisive
victory as the essence of warfare. His scientifically aggressive, thoroughly
ruthless approach to military science, while not universal among Japanese
martialists, represents a highly concentrated characterization of one
particular type of samurai warrior.
Although
a vast body of legend grew up around his dramatic exploits, little is known for
certain about the life of Miyamoto Musashi. What he says of himself in
The
Book of Five Rings
is
the primary source of historical information. He killed a man for the first
time when he was thirteen years old, for the last time when he was twenty-nine.
At some point he apparently gave up using a real sword but continued to inflict
mortal wounds on his adversaries until the end of his fighting career.
The
last three decades of Musashi's life were spent refining and teaching his
military science. It is said that he never combed his hair, never took a bath,
never married, never made a home, and never fathered children. Although he also
took up cultural arts, as indeed he recommends to everyone, Musashi himself
basically pursued an ascetic warrior's path to the end.
Born
into strife, raised in mortal combat, ultimately witness to a transition to
peacetime polity on a scale unprecedented in the history of his nation,
Miyamoto Musashi abandoned an ordinary life to exemplify and hand on two
essential elements of ancient martial and strategic traditions.
The
first of these basic principles is keeping inwardly calm and clear even in the
midst of violent chaos; the second is not forgetting about the possibility of
disorder in times of order. As a warrior of two very different worlds, a world
of war and a world of peace, Musashi was obliged to practice both of these
fundamental aspects of the warrior's way in a most highly intensified manner,
lending to his work a keenness and a ferocity that can hardly be surpassed.
Anonymous
Posted Wed Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 2005
this is a great book-although i have only read 40 pages- its just great. i am now a green belt in the korean art of haidong gumdo, which means korean sword art of the eastern sea. i am 13 now and this book can be hard to understand at times, but if you just keep reading that line that you dont understand a few times, you should come to understand it. also, one thing that helps me is to grab a stick or a wooden sword or whatever you can find that somewhat resembles a sword and do what the book says. all in all i just think this book is great and fun to read!
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Ringo_Fan999
Posted Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 EDT 2009
I Also Recommend:
This book is intended to be read while practicing Martial Arts. In theory, one would read a chapter, wander off and practice it for a few years, return to the next chapter, and then repeat the process. Simply reading the book will not turn you into a Ninja or Zen guru. Practice is required. Re-reading it after physical practice can often be enlightening. Like many Samurai type books, the author focuses on the "Martial" part of Martial Arts. That is, the practice is intended to kill, not just disable, the opponent. Modern practice sees it differently.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Wed Sep 04 00:00:00 EDT 2002
Miyamoto Musashi is one of if not the most profound and prolific authors of his and our time. He writes from the perspective of a self experienced man. If you get past the surface of this manual of life you will see that the art that is being disected is for the development of a well rounded person. Only if you can get by the military surface you will see this. He (Mr. Musashi)challenges us to study what he has written and also to apply the principles so that we can see the spirit in which he writes. If you are interested in maintaining a demeanor that is unlike any other in your immediate circle of friends and constituents please purchase this book!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Thu Jan 13 00:00:00 EST 2005
This was a good book but it was some things I really did not understand, but as for planning and organization its great.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 2004
I read this because I am a big fan of 'Rurouni Kenshin' and due to a magazine I read 'Kenshin' was based off that Samurai so I said 'What the heck' and read it
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.gbrutt
Posted Mon Feb 27 00:00:00 EST 2012
No matter whether you practice martial arts or have no idea what a dojo is, The Book of Five Rings is a great read. Written by someone who fought and won over sixty contests, it gives wisdom and insight into combat that can be applied to any situation. The book does not detail technique or lay out forms but rather speaks about mastering The Way. I've read it several times and always come away with greater insight and have something to think about. Clear, concise and easy to read, any person can benefit from the concepts contained in this book.
"The way of the warrior is to master the virtue of his weapons."
Anonymous
Posted Fri Dec 09 00:00:00 EST 2011
This was a very strange book. It tended to ramble a bit and digress into sub topics. However, that being said, I did manage to gleen several good ideas and perspectives from the master.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings is a must read! Not only does this book, which is charming in its own right in that it is conveyed through a series of comics, talk about strategy as a superficial goal, but it also has underlying tones of how to balance yourself to get through daily battles and be happy in life. What a great book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Musashi was probably one of the most profound writers in Japanese history. This book is amazing, it applies to not only swordplay but to business and live in general. I'd recommend it to EVERYONE.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Lorg
Posted Wed Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Minamoto Musashi was a master swordsman of feudal Japan he was an undefeated dueler and a master fighter, although most famous for his two sword fighting style the book of five rings goes above and beyond swords. Musashi also covers over strategy and military strategy in this book and his logic is proved from experience. In the course of reading his five scrolls of wisdom you will discover much wisdom from this Samurai Legend.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Jan 13 00:00:00 EST 2011
I bought the book after watching a TV show about Musashi and becoming facinated by him. I chose this translation without knowing anything about Thomas Cleary, other than upon quick glance, his seemed the best version of the book that I could find in the store.
Eastern philosophy is new to me, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Although some of the passages required slow and careful consideration, it wasn't difficult to grasp the basic concepts as well as delve deeper into the teachings.
What I found surprising was that the second book included here, "The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War" by Yagyu Munenori was actually my favorite of the two. While both books opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at life and how I can best try to master my own, Muneori's book seemed more applicable to life outside of the martial arts.
This is a book that I will keep for life and reread every now and again to try to get a better understanding as I get older and hopefully wiser. And I now find myself looking at the bibliography in this book to find my next purchase...probably "Zen Essence."
I highly recommend this book whether or not you have had any martial arts training, as you can apply the teachings to many aspects of your life. If you have never read any books on Eastern philosophy, it will definately whet your appetite for more.
Great book of Musashi and his ideals. He explains the art of killing and fighting vividly, which might bother some, but it is a great read. After reading this, onemight want to read, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Bushido: the Warrior's Code by Nitobe.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is a philosophy that caters to a particular type of person. "See what can not be seen", sounds silly however it has its pure logic to the practitioner. Study and train. Defeat a man with a look. The books of Earth, Water, Wind, Fire and lastly and most difficult to understand... Void. These are not easy to understand. How to stand, flare your nose, belly out, bend your knees... Imagine your opponent defeated. One must study at length and beyond and still possibly not grasp what is being said. I cannot vouch for a particular translation. I have read two and thre is something to be learned from both. This is a very serious read. Not lengthy, just complicated. Written by Japan's most revered Samurai. This will help you grow as a practitioner and a person.
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Posted Wed Feb 17 00:00:00 EST 2010
I Also Recommend:
Must have for any person, thats a fan of asian style books.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Jun 18 00:00:00 EDT 2007
This book is only a translation of the original. You may not find the extensive commentary you seek. While written centuries ago, Miyamoto Musashi, in my judgment, didn't write a book just about how to fight. Reading this book with an open mind will surprise the reader. Deep thought and reflection will be needed. The areas to which the principles in this book may be applied (such as lessons in leadership and politics) and the success in said application are only limited to the amount of imagination and study put forth by the reader. It offers a great deal of knowledge for every day life, and even if you never pick up a sword, or raise your fists, you will find his philosophy extends well beyond the realm of martial arts and battle strategy. To some readers you will not be able to fully grasp all of the concepts and ideas presented after one reading. This book is invaluable and definitely invites repeated readings as new insight is to be found as your understanding deepens. I'm not sure if a single review could do this book justice because each time you re-read this book your thoughts are guaranteed to be provoked and you will definitely walk away each time with a new form of enlightenment and that is my reason for giving it Five stars *****.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2006
Pretty much this is a must read for anyone who wants to learn how to weild a sword, learn the simple but effective tactics of the genious Musashi, or to try and apply to daily life. The different scrolls help percieve the world as musashi knew it. Adding to the fact that this book also comes with the Family Traditions on the Art Of War, its a very good thing. The second book written by Yagyu Minonori, another genious in his own sense, can be compared to that of Musashi. He also describes simplistic, yet effective movements and principles on the art of war itself.
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Posted Thu Apr 27 00:00:00 EDT 2006
The Book of Five Rings is simply amazing. While younger, I played the Musashi video games and decided to look the character up. Instead, I found biographies of the amazing Samurai of Miyamoto Musashi and his accomplishments he achieved in his life. Musashi, although I am nowhere near his level, has a very similar way of thinking that I have been going through as I go into maturity. The text and things he says and describes are very clear if you keep a positive and open mind for anything. I now put his words into my everyday life, which makes me an overall better person, and my family can see that. I highly suggest that anyone reads The Five Rings, for you will see how much of a difference a simple book can make in your life as it did mine.
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Posted Fri Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 2006
I got this book from my father he said it was important for me to read it. once i started i coudn't stop. it got taken away from me several times in school and then someone stole it. i didn't even get to finish it. But, from what i did get to read it was great.
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Posted Tue May 17 00:00:00 EDT 2005
This book is a must have for all of you people out there that love books like The Art of War and The Prince but this one is on a level all by itself...you can really apply the things preached in this book to everyday life...be for warned though that these type of books are for intellectual readers and what is said must really be analyzed to get the full meaning...you cant just read a book like this you must study it. The summary of the book is really written up above so i will not bother with that...Highly reccomended and if you never saw the movie 'Fighter In the WInd' i suggest you try to get your hands on it because it is a great foreign movie that will be coming to America this fall and deals with probably the most respected martial artist of all time and how he learned from the Book of Five Rings.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 EST 2004
I have studied martial arts, jujitsu, specifically, and therefore had an interest in learning more about Musashi and his legend. Looking up this true warrior of feudal times, I decided to obtain a copy of his work and study it after a recommendation received by my sensei. Even though the original text is over 350 years old I feel that with deep examination and evaluation one could transfer these principal teachings of Musashi to the modern day world in whatever you do. I happen to compete in the musical arena so I will try to apply what I have learned from Musashi in the future. He teaches how to gain victory. As mentioned before, although Musashi spoke directly about swordsmanship, his way of saying what he says can be transferred to other arenas. Musashi's readings and teaching are short and concise. I read each section of the book at least twice while I was reading it. Once, to take in what was said, then I'd try to reflect how what was said applied to my life and I would read it again. I definitely have adopted a different attitude since reading Musashi and I hope to incorporate what I have learned and understood to other areas of my life where competition is evident. I recommend Musashi's teachings for anyone looking to get ahead. Like I mentioned before, I deeply analyzed what I read and looked for ways to apply these concepts to my life and what I do. If you have interest in Japanese methods, ideology, combat tactics, swordsmanship, the samurai Way, teachings with a philosophical premise, and something to make you think I recommend this book. The version I have by B&N also has a transcript of Yagyu Munenori's 'The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War' included in the version.
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Overview
Along with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Book of Five Rings has long been regarded as an invaluable treatise on the strategy of ...