The Complete Book of Five Rings: Amazon.ca: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu: Books

Product Description

The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi’s classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi. These include “The Mirror of the Way of Strategy,” which Musashi wrote when he was in his twenties; “Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy,” and “Forty-two Instructions on Strategy,” which were precursors to The Book of Five Rings; and “The Way to Be Followed Alone,” which Musashi wrote just days before his death. Read together, these five texts give readers an unusually detailed, nuanced view of Musashi’s ideas on swordsmanship, strategy, and self-cultivation.

Tokitsu puts all these writings into historical and philosophical context and makes them accessible and relevant to today’s readers and martial arts students. Tokitsu understands Musashi’s writings—and Musashi as a martial artist—unusually well and is able to provide a rare insight into the man and his historical contribution.

About the Author

Miyamoto Musashi, who lived in Japan in the 1600s, was an undefeated dueler, a masterless samurai, and an independent teacher. He spent the last decades of his life refining and teaching his military science.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for the martial artist, Aug 15 2010

By J. A Magill - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: The Complete Book of Five Rings (Paperback)

//The Book of Five Rings//, samurai Miyamoto Musashi's treatise never goes entirely out of fashion, each new edition meant for a different time or audience. Martial artist Kenji Tokitsu's new annotated translation appears geared particularly for other martial arts practitioners, with its careful attention to possible meanings of key technical terms and copious footnotes. In certain ways, this proves refreshing, since Tokitsu pares away much of the myth from about this text and returns its original purpose: success in combat.

Tokitsu's decision to include translations of previous works by Musashi proves particularly insightful. If this translation suffers any flaw, it is the editor's over focus on the author as warrior to the exclusion of the many others areas of expertise that encompassed samurai culture, failing to consider his success as a swordsmith (some fine examples of which survive to this day) or his poetry. Likewise, I found myself missing some of what is included in the more ethereal Victor Harris translation of this text, which recounts many of those likely apocryphal stories and paintings depicting Musashi through time.

Musashi's text stands on its own and Tokitsu's new translation offers it in an impressive form. Many martial artists will revel in this translation for years to come, attempting to absorb Musashi's deep and often elusive teachings. Some, however, will no doubt follow this up by wishing to familiarize themselves with who Musashi became in the Japanese consciousness.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Top shelf version of one of my favorite books, Nov 27 2011

By Dan Bergevin - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: The Complete Book of Five Rings (Paperback)

I love this book - I read everything in it, including the introduction, notes, and bibliography. I found every sentence on every page to be both interesting and profoundly insightful. Anyone looking for a book on Miyamoto Musashi, a great translation of Gorin no sho, or a endlessly useful guide on martial arts strategies and mindsets should buy this immediately and plan to spend a lot of time with it. It will pay for itself, plus create profit in ways you cannot presently imagine.

My only gripe? It should be hardcover.

I also recommend Thomas Cleary's version because it includes writings from Yagyu Munenori, which are just as interesting and profoundly useful. Although I like Tokitsu's version of Gorin no sho better than Cleary's, it is for this reason that I give both versions my highest possible recommendation.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must not only for martial arts, perhaps a manual for life, Mar 21 2012

By Joanna Daneman - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: The Complete Book of Five Rings (Paperback)

The Book of Five Rings is a major classic and though it ought to be read by anyone interested in martial arts, Japan, warfare or oriental philosophy, it is NOT an easy book for learning strategy. The wisdom of the warrior-saint of Japan, a real person who has taken on the mantle of a myth or a demi-god is real, and it is writing of the highest order. But it is not easy to understand.

Mushashi Miyamoto, the sword-saint of Japan, was so advanced in his development as a warrior-philosopher that he had stopped fighting with anything but wooden swords and finally retreated to a mountain cave to record his deepest thoughts about life.

Unless you yourself have followed a life devoted to the principles of Bushido and its discipline, Musashi's writing is interesting but can you achieve a level of comprehension if you have not yourself studied martial arts?

Even if you can't get deep into the psyche of Japanese bushido philosopy and Mushashi's own wisdom, there is much to glean. For example, the chapter "The Void" is worth reading and reading again. Buddhism has some bearing on Musashi's writing since he was educated by his uncle Tatsumi in this religion and philosophy. One important tenet is that all desire leads to unhappiness, and the "void" is the place where you know nothing, that is, you place none of your own coloring on your interpretation of that which exists, and the Void thus contains only that which truly exists; you add "nothing" to it, thus you are in a place of nothingness (not that nothing exists, but you add nothing to that which exists--it is in its essential state.) To become truly enlightened, then one must be seeing things as they are and not as we desire. And so, as a warrior, when fighting a battle, you do not allow your wishes, hopes, dreams, fears, or pre-conceived notions to color what IS and what you must battle with. How many battles have been lost because the leaders do not wish to know the TRUTH of the situation? This is truly wisdom, yet hard to achieve, as we filter everything through our prejudices.

In any case, this book is timeless and deserves to be read and read again and again.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 6 reviews 4.8 out of 5 stars