Library's review
The astounding transformation of tiny, resource-poor Japan into the world's second largest economy in the span of less than 30 years was due to the ongoing influence of an ancient samurai code of tehics-a code that once made the Japanese unbeatable warriors in hand-to-hand combat and which now
The most famous combat strategist in Japanese history was Musashi Miyamoto, a warrior who lived from 1584 to 1645. Musashi fought this first duel to the death when he was 13, killing a veteran warrior more than twice his age. By the time he was 29, he had killed over 60 other warriors in death duels, and was a legend in his own time.
Just berfore he died, Musashi recorded his philosophy, strategies and tactics in a short treatise entitled Go Rin Sho-'Book of Five Rings'. Author Boye Lafayette De Mente has extracted the fundamentals of Musashi's tactics from this esoteric little book and explains them here in the modern context of business, politics and war.
Musashi's strategies for winning are as valid today as they were in seventeeth century Japan, and provide valuable insights for anyone in any field of endeavor-from business, war and sports to the fields of art, love and politics.
Product Description
The most famous combat strategist in Japanese history was Musashi Miyamoto, a warrior who lived from 1584 to 1645. Miyamoto fought his first duel to the death when he was 13, killing a veteran warrior more than twice his age. By the time he was 29 he had killed more than 60 other warriors in duels and was a legend in his own time.
Shortly before his death, Musashi recorded his philosophy, strategies and tactics in a short treatise entitled Go Rin Sho—The Book of Five Rings. An esoteric read for anyone not versed in Japanese culture and language, Go Rin Sho has now been distilled to present the fundamentals of Miyamoto's tactics and explain them in the modern context of business, politics and war. Samurai Strategies is the result. Compiled by renowned Japanologist Boye Lafayette De Mente, it is more precise and practical as a handbook for winning than The Art of War by China's most famous military strategist, Sun Tzu.
This hardcover edition features a new introduction by the author and additional commentary in each chapter by well-known Japanese author and samurai expert Michihiro Matsumoto.
About the Author
Boye Lafayette De Mente worked for several years as an editor of newspapers and magazines in Tokyo and has written many books on Japan's language and culture, including The Japanese Samurai Code, Etiquette Guide to Japan, Survival Japanese and Instant Japanese.
I am very glad to have found this book.
My first encounter with the life story of Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's most renowned combat strategist, was in the early 80's when I started to work for a large heavy & construction equipment conglomerate, which dealt primaily with Japanese principals & their products. For the first time in my life, I was introduced to Japanese management culture, & the first 'Japanese' book I read was 'The Book of Five Rings', translated by a Victor Harris, a mechanical engineer like me.
Coming back to today: The author of this particular book is quite right. Miyamoto Musashi's original work was written for samurai warriors who are steeped into Buddhlist & Shinto precepts, in the code of the samurai, in the long traditions of the samurai, & in allusions that were part of the culture of the times. Like Japanese artists who leave it up to readers to complete their work, Miyamoto Musashi left it up to readers of his work to fill in the details of his allusions & advice from their own store of knowledge.
Henceforth, it wasn't easy for me to read 'The Book of Five Rings.' It took me quite a while to figure out the essence, digest the work & eventually managed to distill about ten strategies which I could understand & apply in my own sphere of work.
In this particular book, the author has attempted to identify & explain, in plain English, the philosophy, the strategy, & the ways of winning that Miyamoto Musashi sought to pass on to his disciples. The original work is about how to fight duels to the death & win! The author has made the fighting principles equally applicable to winning in business, & in virtually all other endeavours. In fact, he has elegantly distilled them all down to 42 strategies (compared to my original ten strategies)!!!
The author's writing is almost straight-talk, & in easy-to-understand language. I would even recommend all teens to read it in order to achieve a quick headstart in life, as the 42 strategies are also applicable in studies & in sports.
Interestingly, the Book of Five Rings is, in Miyamoto Musashi's own words, 'a guide for men who want to learn strategy.'
In life, eveything is possible. It is just a question of strategy.
On the whole, this is excellent work. It therefore deserves a rating of 5 from me. -Lee Say Keng
This book is definitely a must-read for everyone, martial artist or not. It reads fairly quickly, and is one you'll want to read again. Each of the '42...secrets' are life-lessons. They give you insight into the time when Samurai lived, and explains how the lesson applied then and how it applies now. We all have something to learn from their code of Honor, and this book can help everyone. -Teri Knapp
Contents
Preface: Musashi's Book of Five Rings
Introduction-The life and times of Japan's most famous samurai
Chapter 1 Set goals
Cahpter 2 Life-or-death discipline
Chapter 3 Train to win
Chapter 4 Be prepared
Chapter 5 The illusion of form
Chapter 6 Absolute integrity
Chapter 7 Train the mind
Chapter 8 Clear the mind
Chapter 9 The power of emptiness
Chapter 10 Learn from our opponents
Chapter 11 Pay attention to details
Chapter 12 The power of silence
Chapter 13 Change the rules of engagement
Chapter 14 The power of fear
Cahpter 15 Confuse your opponent
Chapter 16 The mind as a weapons
Chapter 17 See what cannot be seen
Chapter 18 Don't get stuck on one style
Chapter 19 The importance of flexibility
Chapter 20 Make sure you see the big picture
Chapter 21 Use time as a weapon
Cahpter 22 Never stop learning
Chapter 23 Hit first; hit hard!
Chapter 24 Use all of your weapons
Cahpter 25 The samurai and the carpenter
Chapter 26 Take the initiative
Chapter 27 Know your environment
Chapter 28 Watch for a collapse
Chapgter 29 Become your opponent
Chapter 30 Draw your opponent in
chapter 31 Never use the same tactic twice
Chapter 32 Make your opponent change his style of fighting
Chapter 33 Behave as if you were already dead
Chapter 34 Avoid stalemates
Cahpter 35 Never give your opponent a second chance
Cahpter 36 Pierce the bottom
chpater 37 The importance of art in life
Chapter 38 The sword of the spirit
Chpatper 39 Focus on winning
Chpater 40 The head of a rat, the neck of a bull
Chapter 41 Surpass today what you were yesterday
Chapter 42 Perseverance and diligence
Conclusion The renewal of the samurai spirit
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makes them formidable strategists in business and other fields.The most famous combat strategist in Japanese history was Musashi Miyamoto, a warrior who lived from 1584 to 1645. Musashi fought this first duel to the death when he was 13, killing a veteran warrior more than twice his age. By the time he was 29, he had killed over 60 other warriors in death duels, and was a legend in his own time.
Just berfore he died, Musashi recorded his philosophy, strategies and tactics in a short treatise entitled Go Rin Sho-'Book of Five Rings'. Author Boye Lafayette De Mente has extracted the fundamentals of Musashi's tactics from this esoteric little book and explains them here in the modern context of business, politics and war.
Musashi's strategies for winning are as valid today as they were in seventeeth century Japan, and provide valuable insights for anyone in any field of endeavor-from business, war and sports to the fields of art, love and politics.
Product Description
The most famous combat strategist in Japanese history was Musashi Miyamoto, a warrior who lived from 1584 to 1645. Miyamoto fought his first duel to the death when he was 13, killing a veteran warrior more than twice his age. By the time he was 29 he had killed more than 60 other warriors in duels and was a legend in his own time.
Shortly before his death, Musashi recorded his philosophy, strategies and tactics in a short treatise entitled Go Rin Sho—The Book of Five Rings. An esoteric read for anyone not versed in Japanese culture and language, Go Rin Sho has now been distilled to present the fundamentals of Miyamoto's tactics and explain them in the modern context of business, politics and war. Samurai Strategies is the result. Compiled by renowned Japanologist Boye Lafayette De Mente, it is more precise and practical as a handbook for winning than The Art of War by China's most famous military strategist, Sun Tzu.
This hardcover edition features a new introduction by the author and additional commentary in each chapter by well-known Japanese author and samurai expert Michihiro Matsumoto.
About the Author
Boye Lafayette De Mente worked for several years as an editor of newspapers and magazines in Tokyo and has written many books on Japan's language and culture, including The Japanese Samurai Code, Etiquette Guide to Japan, Survival Japanese and Instant Japanese.
I am very glad to have found this book.
My first encounter with the life story of Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's most renowned combat strategist, was in the early 80's when I started to work for a large heavy & construction equipment conglomerate, which dealt primaily with Japanese principals & their products. For the first time in my life, I was introduced to Japanese management culture, & the first 'Japanese' book I read was 'The Book of Five Rings', translated by a Victor Harris, a mechanical engineer like me.
Coming back to today: The author of this particular book is quite right. Miyamoto Musashi's original work was written for samurai warriors who are steeped into Buddhlist & Shinto precepts, in the code of the samurai, in the long traditions of the samurai, & in allusions that were part of the culture of the times. Like Japanese artists who leave it up to readers to complete their work, Miyamoto Musashi left it up to readers of his work to fill in the details of his allusions & advice from their own store of knowledge.
Henceforth, it wasn't easy for me to read 'The Book of Five Rings.' It took me quite a while to figure out the essence, digest the work & eventually managed to distill about ten strategies which I could understand & apply in my own sphere of work.
In this particular book, the author has attempted to identify & explain, in plain English, the philosophy, the strategy, & the ways of winning that Miyamoto Musashi sought to pass on to his disciples. The original work is about how to fight duels to the death & win! The author has made the fighting principles equally applicable to winning in business, & in virtually all other endeavours. In fact, he has elegantly distilled them all down to 42 strategies (compared to my original ten strategies)!!!
The author's writing is almost straight-talk, & in easy-to-understand language. I would even recommend all teens to read it in order to achieve a quick headstart in life, as the 42 strategies are also applicable in studies & in sports.
Interestingly, the Book of Five Rings is, in Miyamoto Musashi's own words, 'a guide for men who want to learn strategy.'
In life, eveything is possible. It is just a question of strategy.
On the whole, this is excellent work. It therefore deserves a rating of 5 from me. -Lee Say Keng
This book is definitely a must-read for everyone, martial artist or not. It reads fairly quickly, and is one you'll want to read again. Each of the '42...secrets' are life-lessons. They give you insight into the time when Samurai lived, and explains how the lesson applied then and how it applies now. We all have something to learn from their code of Honor, and this book can help everyone. -Teri Knapp
Contents
Preface: Musashi's Book of Five Rings
Introduction-The life and times of Japan's most famous samurai
Chapter 1 Set goals
Cahpter 2 Life-or-death discipline
Chapter 3 Train to win
Chapter 4 Be prepared
Chapter 5 The illusion of form
Chapter 6 Absolute integrity
Chapter 7 Train the mind
Chapter 8 Clear the mind
Chapter 9 The power of emptiness
Chapter 10 Learn from our opponents
Chapter 11 Pay attention to details
Chapter 12 The power of silence
Chapter 13 Change the rules of engagement
Chapter 14 The power of fear
Cahpter 15 Confuse your opponent
Chapter 16 The mind as a weapons
Chapter 17 See what cannot be seen
Chapter 18 Don't get stuck on one style
Chapter 19 The importance of flexibility
Chapter 20 Make sure you see the big picture
Chapter 21 Use time as a weapon
Cahpter 22 Never stop learning
Chapter 23 Hit first; hit hard!
Chapter 24 Use all of your weapons
Cahpter 25 The samurai and the carpenter
Chapter 26 Take the initiative
Chapter 27 Know your environment
Chapter 28 Watch for a collapse
Chapgter 29 Become your opponent
Chapter 30 Draw your opponent in
chapter 31 Never use the same tactic twice
Chapter 32 Make your opponent change his style of fighting
Chapter 33 Behave as if you were already dead
Chapter 34 Avoid stalemates
Cahpter 35 Never give your opponent a second chance
Cahpter 36 Pierce the bottom
chpater 37 The importance of art in life
Chapter 38 The sword of the spirit
Chpatper 39 Focus on winning
Chpater 40 The head of a rat, the neck of a bull
Chapter 41 Surpass today what you were yesterday
Chapter 42 Perseverance and diligence
Conclusion The renewal of the samurai spirit
Show Less
ISBN
804836833
Publication
Tuttle Publishing 364 Innovation Drive North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436