Author: William Scott WilsonPublisher: Kodansha International
ISBN: 9784770029423
Category : Biography
Languages : en
Pages : 294
Book Description
Lone Samurai is a Kodansha International publication.
The Samurai
Author: Ben HubbardPublisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750957255
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
The true nature of the Japanese samurai warrior is an elusive and endlessly fascinating enigma for those in the West. From their inauspicious beginnings as barbarian-subduing soldiers, the samurai lived according to a code known as bushido - or 'way of the warrior'. Bushido- advocated loyalty, honour, pride and fearlessness in combat. Those who broke the code were expected to perform seppuku, or suicide through stomach-cutting. By its very design, seppuku aimed to restore honour to disgraced warriors by ensuring the most painful of deaths. However, the bushido- virtues of loyalty and honour fell into question as the samurai grew powerful enough to wrest control from the emperor himself. Accompanied by vivid colour illustrations, The Samurai offers a complete, concise account of samurai history and culture. It tells the story of the rise of the samurai as a martial elite, the warriors' centuries long struggle for power and their long slide into obsolescence.
Author: Stephen R. TurnbullMusashi (A Graphic Novel)
Author: Sean Michael WilsonPublisher: Shambhala
ISBN: 0834829991
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 180
Book Description
A stunning graphic novel biography of the famous samurai warrior who wrote the classic text on Japanese martial arts, The Book of Five Rings Miyamoto Musashi, the legendary samurai, is known throughout the world as a master swordsman, a spiritual seeker, and the author of the classic Book of Five Rings. This graphic novel treatment of his amazing life is both a vivid account of a fascinating period in feudal Japan and a portrait of courageous, iconoclastic samurai who wrestled with philosophical and spiritual ideas that are as relevant today as they were in his time. For Musashi, the way of the martial arts was about mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess. Over 350 years after his death, Musashi still intrigues us—and his Book of Five Rings is essential reading for students of all martial arts and those interested in cultivating strategic mind.
The Book of Bushido
Author: Antony CumminsPublisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 1786786192
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
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.
Cultivating Ch'i
Author: Kaibara EkikenPublisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 159030988X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 315
Book Description
Discover a different side of Japanese swordsmanship through this fascinating treatise by a samurai doctor on how to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spiritual life Samurai are best known for taking life—but here is a samurai doctor’s prescription for how to preserve life, and to make yours a long and healthy one. Unlike other samurai of his time, the samurai Kaibara Ekiken (1630–1714) was concerned less with swordsmanship than with how to maintain and nurture the healthy mind and body upon which martial techniques and philosophy depended. While serving as the chief medical doctor and healer to the Kuroda clan, he came to a holistic view of how the physical, mental, and spiritual lives of his patients were connected. Drawing from his medical practice, the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, and his life experience, Ekiken created this text as a guide to sustaining health and stamina from youth to old age. Ekiken’s advice regarding moderation, food and drink, sleep, sexual activity, bathing, and therapeutic practices is still amazingly intuitive and appropriate nearly three hundred years after this book was written.
Author: Eiji Yoshikawa
Author: Patrick GallowayThe Pocket Samurai
Author: Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834830493
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
The samurai of Japan, who were the country’s military elite from medieval times to the end of the nineteenth century, were synonymous with valor, honor, and martial arts prowess. Their strict adherence to the code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"), chivalry, and honor in fighting to the death continues to capture the imagination of people today, inspiring authors, filmmakers, and artists. The Pocket Samurai contains the essential writings of the era by the most esteemed samurai and philosophers of the age, including the iconic Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings; Yamamoto Tsunetomo, author of Hagakure, the best-known explication of the samurai code; Takuan Soho, a Zen priest and adviser to samurai; Yamaoka Tesshu, a master swordsman whose colorful life was devoted to martial arts and Zen; along with many others.
Musashi's Dokkodo (the Way of Walking Alone)
Author: Miyamoto MusashiPublisher:
ISBN: 9780692563496
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
"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.
