This piece of writing by famed samurai Musashi (1584-1645) is the single-most influential work on samurai swordsmanship, offering insights into samurai history, the Zen Buddhist state of "no-mind" that enables warriors to triumph and the philosophical meaning of Bushido—"the way of the warrior."
Until now, English translations of The Book of Five Rings have been based on inaccurate copies of Musashi's long-lost original manuscript. Bennett's translation is the first to be based on a careful reconstruction of the original text by Japan's foremost Musashi scholar. By identifying discrepancies among the existing copies, adding missing texts and correcting over 150 incorrect characters, this source is the closest representation of Musashi's original work possible. Utilizing this new source, Bennett captures the subtle nuance of the classic Japanese text, resulting in the most accurate English translation of The Book of Five Rings available
Enjoy complete, richly annotated translations of Musashi's most-known works:
- The Book of Five Rings
- Mirror on the Way of Combat
- Notes on Combat Strategy
- Combat Strategy in 35 Articles
- The Five-Direction Sword Pathways
- The Path Walked Alone
The texts are richly annotated by Bennett, who includes an extensive introduction on Musashi's life and legacy. This paperback edition also includes a new introduction by Kendo Kyoshi 7th Dan Graham Sayer, who talks about the influence Musashi's writings have had on him as a person and martial artist.
The Complete Musashi: The Book of Five Rings and Other Works will be widely read by those interested in Japanese culture, Samurai history and martial arts—setting a new standard against which all other translations will be measured.
