The Way of the Living Sword

Author: Yagyu Munenori
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595279988
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 66

Book Description
The Way of the Living Sword is the final installment in D.E. Tarver's popular Warrior Series. It stands beside The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi as one of the greatest writings of the warrior mind. In The Way of the Living Sword, Munenori gives an in-depth explanation of the connection between physical martial arts and the mental process of Zen. While Munenori and Musashi were both avid students of Zen, Munenori was more fascinated by the academic aspects of the philosophy. Munenori stretches the consciousness of even the most enlightened martial artist. Martial arts devotees will experience many flashes of revelation as Tarver explores the various aspects of Munenori's approach. Read and grow!

The Life-Giving Sword

Author: Yagyu Munenori
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1590309901
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
A real-life samurai’s Zen teachings on sword training as a spiritually transformative practice—essential reading for aspiring martial artists and strategic thinkers alike The legendary seventeenth-century swordsman Yagyu Munenori was the sword instructor and military and political adviser to two shoguns—and a great rival to Miyamoto Musashi. Despite his martial ability and his political power, Munenori’s life was spent immersed in Zen teachings. These teachings formed the framework for his deeply spiritual approach to sword fighting. Munenori saw in the practice of the sword a way to transform the student into a total human being. The Life-Giving Sword is Munenori’s manifesto on his approach. His central themes are the “life-giving sword”—the idea of controlling one’s opponent by spiritual readiness to fight rather than by actual fighting—and “No Sword,” which is the idea that the mind must be free of everything, even the sword itself, in order to get to the place of complete mastery. Munenori’s ideas are applicable not only to martial arts but to business and human relations as well.

兵法家伝書

Author: 柳生宗矩
Publisher: Kodansha International
ISBN: 9784770029553
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
This is a translation of an important classic on Zen swordfighting. Yagyu's Buddhist spirituality is reflected in his central idea of the life-giving sword' - the notion of controlling an opponent by the spiritual readiness to fight, rather than during the fight. This is a translation of an important classic on Zen swordfighting. Yagyu Munenori was so widely renowned that he was appointed official sword instructor to two Tokugawa shoguns. (The position was always coveted by Miyamoto Musashi, but he never succeeded in gaining the post). Yagyu's'

The Life-Giving Sword

Author: Liese Klein
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781696063432
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 540

Book Description
The Life-Giving Sword: Kazuo Chiba's Life in Aikido spans modern Japanese history and ranges across the world to tell the story of a man with a mission - to understand and transmit the modern martial art of Aikido. It's a story full of struggle and heartbreak that will leave the reader with a new appreciation of an immigrant's achievements and the transformative power of a unique physical and spiritual practice.

The Sword and the Mind

Author: Yagyu Muenori
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
ISBN: 9780879512569
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Three Japanese swordsmen recorded their philosophy, experiences and ideas during their lifetime in the 16th and 17th centuries. Hiroaki Sato's translation of their work is an illuminating and revealing book on the basic elements of strategy.

The Unfettered Mind

Author: Takuan Soho
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834827891
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 131

Book Description
The classic samurai-era text that fused Japanese swordsmanship with Zen philosophy—written by the incomparable Zen master Takuan Soho Written by the seventeenth-century Zen master Takuan Soho (1573–1645), The Unfettered Mind is a book of advice on swordsmanship and the cultivation of right mind and intention. It was written as a guide for the samurai Yagyu Munenori, who was a great swordsman and rival to the legendary Miyamoto Musashi. Takuan was a giant in the history of Zen; he was also a gardener, calligrapher, poet, author, adviser to samurai and shoguns, and a pivotal figure in Zen painting. He was known for his brilliance and acerbic wit. In these succinct and pointed essays, Takuan is concerned primarily with understanding and refining the mind—both generally and when faced with conflict. The Unfettered Mind was a major influence on the classic manifestos on swordsmanship that came after it, including Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings and Yagyu Munenori's Life-Giving Sword.

Giving Up the Gun

Author: Noel Perrin
Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
ISBN: 9780879237738
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Book Description
Lord Hideyoshi, the regent of Japan at the time, took the first step toward the control of firearms. It was a very small step, and it was not taken simply to protect feudal lords from being shot at by peasants but to get all weapons out of the hands of civilians. He said nothing about arms control. Instead, he announced that he was going to build a statue of Buddha that would make all existing statues look like midgets. It would be so enormous (the figure was about twice the scale of the Statue of Liberty), that many tons of iron would be needed just for the braces and bolts. Still more was required to erect the accompanying temple, which was to cover a piece of ground something over an eighth of a mile square. All farmers, ji-samurai, and monks were invited to contribute their swords and guns to the cause. They were, in fact, required to. -- from publisher description.

The Sword of No-Sword

Author: John Stevens
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834828294
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Book Description
The insightful martial arts biography of Yamoaka Tesshu, the larger-than-life samurai who founded his own school of swordsmanship and helped restore practical imperial rule to Japan Master swordsman, calligrapher, and Zen practitioner, Yamoaka Tesshu is a seminal figure in martial arts history. John Stevens’s biography is a fascinating, detailed account of Tesshu’s remarkable life. From Tesshu’s superhuman feats of endurance and keen perception in life-threatening situations, to his skillful handling of military affairs during the politically volatile era of early nineteenth-century Japan, Stevens recounts the stories that have made Tesshu a legend. This is the book all martial artists must own.

The Life-Giving Sword

Author: Yagyu Munenori
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 083482812X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Legacies of the Sword

Author: Karl F. Friday
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824863321
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
Western scholars and educators are generally far less familiar with the samurai in his original-and, ostensibly, primary-role as warrior and masters of arms than in his other functions as landowner, feudal lord, literature, or philosopher. Yet, any attempt to comprehend fully the samurai without considering his military abilities and training (bugei) is futile. With verve and wit, Karl Friday combines the results of nearly two decades of fieldwork and archival research to examine samurai martial culture from a broad perspective: as a historical phenomenon, as a worldview, and as a system of physical, spiritual, and moral education.