Musashis Dokkodo

"The authors have made classic samurai wisdom accessible to the modern martial artist like never before." - Goran Powell, award winning author of Chojun and A Sudden Dawn "It's fascinating stuff!" - Steve Perry, New York Times bestselling author "The precepts offer priceless advice to anyone." - Kate Vitasek, University of Tennessee "The five point perspective inspired deep introspection. I have been elevated to higher and deeper levels of personal and professional growth by reading this book." - Laela Erickson, Senior Business Development Executive Miyamoto Musashi (1584 - 1645) was arguably the greatest swordsman who ever lived, a legendary figure whose methods of thought and strategy have been studied and adopted across a wide spectrum of society, from martial artists to military leaders to captains of industry. The iconic sword saint of Japan was clearly a genius, yet he was also a functional psychopath-ruthless, fearless, hyper-focused, and utterly without conscience. Shortly before he died, Musashi wrote down his final thoughts about life for his favorite student Terao Magonojo to whom Go Rin No Sho, his famous Book of Five Rings, had also been dedicated. He called this treatise Dokkodo, which translates as "The Way of Walking Alone." The book you hold in your hands is the definitive interpretation of Musashi's final work. Readers are oftentimes subject to a single perspective about what some famous author from the past had to say, yet we are more holistic here. This treatise contains Musashi's original 21 precepts of the Dokkodo along with five different interpretations of each passage written from the viewpoints of a monk, a warrior, a teacher, an insurance executive, and a businessman. Each contributor has taken a divergent path from the others, yet shares the commonality of being a lifelong martial practitioner and published author. In this fashion you are not just reading a simple translation of Musashi's writing, you are scrutinizing his final words for deeper meaning. In them are enduring lessons for how to lead a successful and meaningful life.

"The authors have made classic samurai wisdom accessible to the modern martial artist like never before." - Goran Powell, award winning author of Chojun and A Sudden Dawn"It's fascinating stuff!" - Steve Perry, New York Times bestselling author"The precepts offer priceless advice to anyone." - Kate Vitasek, University of Tennessee"The five point perspective inspired deep introspection. I have been elevated to higher and deeper levels of personal and professional growth by reading this book." - Laela Erickson, Senior Business Development ExecutiveMiyamoto Musashi (1584 - 1645) was arguably the greatest swordsman who ever lived, a legendary figure whose methods of thought and strategy have been studied and adopted across a wide spectrum of society, from martial artists to military leaders to captains of industry. The iconic sword saint of Japan was clearly a genius, yet he was also a functional psychopath-ruthless, fearless, hyper-focused, and utterly without conscience. Shortly before he died, Musashi wrote down his final thoughts about life for his favorite student Terao Magonojo to whom Go Rin No Sho, his famous Book of Five Rings, had also been dedicated. He called this treatise Dokkodo, which translates as "The Way of Walking Alone."The book you hold in your hands is the definitive interpretation of Musashi's final work. Readers are oftentimes subject to a single perspective about what some famous author from the past had to say, yet we are more holistic here. This treatise contains Musashi's original 21 precepts of the Dokkodo along with five different interpretations of each passage written from the viewpoints of a monk, a warrior, a teacher, an insurance executive, and a businessman. Each contributor has taken a divergent path from the others, yet shares the commonality of being a lifelong martial practitioner and published author. In this fashion you are not just reading a simple translation of Musashi's writing, you are scrutinizing his final words for deeper meaning. In them are enduring lessons for how to lead a successful and meaningful life.

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) is the most famous Samurai who ever lived. His magnum opus, the Go-Rin-Sho or Book of Five Rings is a classic that is still read by tens of thousands of people each year--Japanese and foreigners alike. Alex Bennett's groundbreaking new translation of The Book of Five Rings reveals the true meaning of this text for the first time. Like Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Musashi's book offers unique insights, not just for warriors, but for anyone wanting to apply the Zen Buddhist principle of awareness to achieve success in their endeavors. This book sheds new light on Japanese history and on the philosophical meaning of Bushido--the ancient "code of the Japanese warrior." Unlike other translations that are based on incomplete and inaccurate versions of Musashi's work, Bennett's is the first to be based on a careful reconstruction of the long-lost original manuscript. Capturing the subtle nuances of the original Japanese classic, the result is a far more accurate and meaningful English version of The Book of Five Rings text. Richly annotated and with an extensive introduction to Musashi's life, this version includes a collection of his other writings--translated into English for the first time. A respected scholar, as well as a skilled martial artist, Bennett's understanding of Musashi's life and work is unparalleled. This book will be widely read by students of Japanese culture, history, military strategy, and martial arts. It sets a new standard against which all other translations will be measured.

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Undefeated swordsman, master of battlefield strategy, martial arts icon--Miyamoto Musashi, who lived in Japan in the 1600s, is the most famous samurai of all time. His masterwork, the Book of Five Rings (Gorin no sho) , is one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asian culture. Over the centuries, Musashi's reputation has grown to mythic proportions, but, in fact, much about Musashi and his life remains a mystery. Here, Kenji Tokitsu, a modern martial arts master and scholar, turns a critical eye on Musashi's life and writings, separating fact from fiction, and providing a view of the man and his ideas that is accessible and relevant to today's readers and martial arts students. Tokitsu provides a vivid and meticulously researched biography and a fresh translation of the Book of Five Rings , along with four other texts on strategy, all with extensive commentary. He is a thoughtful and informed guide, putting the historical and philosophical aspects of the text into context. He also covers: * The main periods in the history of Japanese swordsmanship * Musahi's childhood and his first duel * The founding of Musashi's School of Two Swords * Musashi's influence on contemporary practice * The evolution of budo, or martial arts practice for self-cultivation Musashi was also a respected artist, and this book contains color reproductions of his own calligraphies and paintings, with commentary by the well-known art historian Stephen Addiss.

This detailed exploration of medieval Japan and the samurai is a must-have for anyone with a love of martial arts or Japanese history This is the go-to volume on bushido ("the way of the warrior"), drawing on a wide range of historical sources to paint a vivid picture of the samurai in action and separating the truth from the myth of samurai chivalry. It offers a long-overdue update to the attractive but inaccurate portrait of the samurai painted in Bushido: The Soul of Japan, which has been a bestseller ever since its publication in 1905, and the equally idealistic Hagakure (c.1716). In The Book of Bushido, Antony explores the reality of warrior behavior versus the idealistic depiction created for an Edwardian audience by the author of Bushido: The Soul of Japan. He reveals the truth of how the samurai really behaved and of what they considered to be a warrior ethos. He replaces the image of the perfect eastern warrior with the much more interesting reality of hardened, bloodstained military leaders with human failings and a complex set of ideas about the world, who engage in ritual, magic and ceremony, who lead their followers in war and peace and who, above all, are fighting a battle between addiction to power and morality. This is the story of bushido – the way of the samurai.

This classic interpertation of Miyamoto Musashi's famous Book of Five Rings is intended specifically for the martial artist—as Miyamoto Musashi originally intended. It explains the underlying truths necessary for a full understanding of Musashi's message for warriors. The result is an enthralling book on martial strategy that combines the instincts of the warrior with the philosophies of Zen Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism and Taoism. It is a crucial book for every martial artist to read and understand. Like the original, this classic book of strategy is divided into five sections. The Book of Earth lays the groundwork for anyone wishing to understand Musashi's teachings; the Book of Water explains the warrior's approach to strategy; the Book of Fire teaches fundamental fighting techniques based on the Earth and Water principles; the Book of Wind describes differences between Musashi's own martial style and the styles of other fighting schools; while the Book of No-thing describes the "way of nature" as understood through an "unthinking" existing preconception. Famed martial artist and bestselling author Stephen Kaufman has translated this classic without the usual academic or commercial bias, driving straight into the heart of Musashi's martial teachings and interpreting them for his fellow martial artists. The result is an enthralling combination of warrior wisdom and philosophical truths that Musashi offered to other warriors who wished to master the martial way of bushido.