The Book of Five Rings
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- Create Date：2021-12-08 09:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Miyamoto Musashi
- ISBN：1590309847
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Summary
When the undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave in 1643 and wrote The Book of Five Rings， a manifesto on swordsmanship， strategy， and winning for his students and generations of samurai to come， he created one of the most perceptive and incisive texts on strategic thinking ever to come from Asia。
Musashi gives timeless advice on defeating an adversary， throwing an opponent off-guard， creating confusion， and other techniques for overpowering an assailant that will resonate with both martial artists and everyone else interested in skillfully dealing with conflict。 For Musashi， the way of the martial arts was a mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess—and it is this path to mastery that is the core teaching in The Book of Five Rings。
William Scott Wilson’s translation is faithful to the original seventeenth-century Japanese text while being wonderfully clear and readable。 His scholarship and insight into the deep meaning of this classic are evident in his introduction and notes to the text。 This edition also includes a translation of one of Musashi’s earlier writings， “The Way of Walking Alone，” and calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura。
Musashi gives timeless advice on defeating an adversary， throwing an opponent off-guard， creating confusion， and other techniques for overpowering an assailant that will resonate with both martial artists and everyone else interested in skillfully dealing with conflict。 For Musashi， the way of the martial arts was a mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess—and it is this path to mastery that is the core teaching in The Book of Five Rings。
William Scott Wilson’s translation is faithful to the original seventeenth-century Japanese text while being wonderfully clear and readable。 His scholarship and insight into the deep meaning of this classic are evident in his introduction and notes to the text。 This edition also includes a translation of one of Musashi’s earlier writings， “The Way of Walking Alone，” and calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura。
Reviews
Ken Daniells
，
An ancient， foreign language book which is clearly full of great wisdom。 However， unless you’re talking about actual fighting， it is difficult to translate into useful insights and is more of an indicator of directions to contemplate or explore independently than a description of specific findings which can be applied。
Max Åkerström
，
katana go swish swosh
Rob
，
Some interesting principles which remain relevant in modern life。 The author clearly shows the limitation of learning solely by reading and reminds one to develop experience and intuition。 I can't help but feel that the book was meant to accompany instruction and development in martial arts over a long time。 This makes it a somewhat uncomfortable text in isolation。 Some interesting principles which remain relevant in modern life。 The author clearly shows the limitation of learning solely by reading and reminds one to develop experience and intuition。 I can't help but feel that the book was meant to accompany instruction and development in martial arts over a long time。 This makes it a somewhat uncomfortable text in isolation。 。。。more
Amaly
，
yaaasss murder
Miguel Ruiz
，
Samurai Champloo
Timo
，
Didn't get illuminated， but at least learnt a lot about swordfighting tactics。 Didn't get illuminated， but at least learnt a lot about swordfighting tactics。 。。。more
Wynne
，
I read this book about four times in a row over a month。 I've set a somewhat arbitrary date for this， based on a diary entry I wrote。 It sounds ridiculous， actually， because the book of five rings and Musashi himself have attained a status so legendary that it's almost cycled into being lame。 Does that make sense？ It feels like one of those things that have such a reputation for being deep that it can't possibly， actually， be deep。 AND YET。 I picked up the book because someone online suggested t I read this book about four times in a row over a month。 I've set a somewhat arbitrary date for this， based on a diary entry I wrote。 It sounds ridiculous， actually， because the book of five rings and Musashi himself have attained a status so legendary that it's almost cycled into being lame。 Does that make sense？ It feels like one of those things that have such a reputation for being deep that it can't possibly， actually， be deep。 AND YET。 I picked up the book because someone online suggested that it was a good read for martial artists， and I've been trying to take martial arts more seriously recently。 It's allegedly a swordfighting manual， but it hardly reads as one。 There's a bit of descriptive text on how to stand or hold your swords， but other than that it's largely philosophical。 Strangely enough I suppose I must have read it at the right time， because I can easily see how the book would have felt like nonsense to me just four or five years ago。 But at this time， it somehow resonated with me and my own budding philosophy of martial arts。 Give it a go if you train in anything semi-seriously， I think。 I read Wilson's translation， and I recommend it。 。。。more
Terry Kim
，
Short book on how to fight as a samurai。 It is pretty practical and interesting read。 Lot of it is just thinking outside the box， not being attached to one idea or weapon and being disciplined。 I think if you think deep on it you can apply these strategies to other aspects of life。
William
，
The only reason people praise this book is because they either want to appear to be well read and in the know or they lack the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion （or both）。 The only reason these principles are timeless is because they are so self evident that no rational human could disagree but that doesn’t make them useful。 Case in point， if I say， “when facing an enemy the objective should always be to defeat them，” even though it is true it shouldn’t be considered a timeless The only reason people praise this book is because they either want to appear to be well read and in the know or they lack the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion （or both）。 The only reason these principles are timeless is because they are so self evident that no rational human could disagree but that doesn’t make them useful。 Case in point， if I say， “when facing an enemy the objective should always be to defeat them，” even though it is true it shouldn’t be considered a timeless principle because who goes into a fight with the objective of losing？ Stupid book…don’t waste your time。 If you want a great book or books on strategy read either the 48 Laws of Power or the 33 Strategies of War both by Robert Greene。 。。。more
Q
，
Somewhat repetitive and of limited use outside of the original intended audience。 There are some underlying principles， such as the dedication to improvement and maintaining resolve through adversity， which are universal truths but I feel these have been better articulated in other books。 He is fond of bringing up a subject and then telling you to do your own research on the subject is too large to talk about further within the book。 One thing I hate is to read a book on a subject and then being Somewhat repetitive and of limited use outside of the original intended audience。 There are some underlying principles， such as the dedication to improvement and maintaining resolve through adversity， which are universal truths but I feel these have been better articulated in other books。 He is fond of bringing up a subject and then telling you to do your own research on the subject is too large to talk about further within the book。 One thing I hate is to read a book on a subject and then being told to read a different book on the subject。 There are long sections on specific sword handling techniques， which make sense as that was the intended audience when it was written， but as one who is not a professional sword fighter I don’t have much use for this。 。。。more
Çetin Gözen
，
"Bugün， dünkü benliğin üstüne zaferindir。" "Bugün， dünkü benliğin üstüne zaferindir。" 。。。more
Shane
，
A bit hard to work with， as it is hundreds KC years old， but with studying it can be a real perspective on how to manage your life and relationships with other people in various settings。
Filip
，
A Book of Five Rings is considered a classic of Eastern philosophy and many people compare it to Art of War。 First about the author Miyamoto Mushashi: so he was some dude who lived at the end of the famous civil war in feudal Japan and walked around fighting anybody who challenged him and he supposedly never lost a fight。 Apart from that he sometimes engaged in real war like against christian rebels at Shimabara （where he wasn't that special and some peasant throw a rock at him that knocked him A Book of Five Rings is considered a classic of Eastern philosophy and many people compare it to Art of War。 First about the author Miyamoto Mushashi: so he was some dude who lived at the end of the famous civil war in feudal Japan and walked around fighting anybody who challenged him and he supposedly never lost a fight。 Apart from that he sometimes engaged in real war like against christian rebels at Shimabara （where he wasn't that special and some peasant throw a rock at him that knocked him of the horse）。 At the end of his life he lived in a cave where he wrote two books。 Is it just me or this guy in nothing special。 He lived in relative peace and he was walking around asking for trouble and in the few battles he was in he didn't do nothing of big importance。 The book itself is very short and I read it in one evening。 Some compare it to Art of War but I don't。 Art of war is miles away from this little book。 It talks about art of sword fight and I couldn't think of more useless skill today than sword fight; Let's just say book didn't age well。 On the other hand there are people that see some big philosophy in this book， and again I must ask where is it？ All philospohical stuff is already said in much bether ways in other books and this feels like a ramblings of a hermit with no life。 Mushashi himself is honest enough when he writes something like "I cant describe it more than this" and similar。 I recommend this book to the fencing instructors to other there are much bether books on Eastern philosophy than this。 。。。more
Urim Shuku
，
THE GROUND BOOKChange your mind so your movements are hard to predict。Train day and night to make quick decisions。To know others is to know yourself。The Way of strategy is the way of nature。 When you appreciate the power of nature and know the rhythm of any situation， you will be able to hit the enemy naturally and strike naturally。！！-It may seem difficult at first， but everything js difficult at first。From one thing know ten thousand things。You should not copy others， but use weapons which you THE GROUND BOOKChange your mind so your movements are hard to predict。Train day and night to make quick decisions。To know others is to know yourself。The Way of strategy is the way of nature。 When you appreciate the power of nature and know the rhythm of any situation， you will be able to hit the enemy naturally and strike naturally。！！-It may seem difficult at first， but everything js difficult at first。From one thing know ten thousand things。You should not copy others， but use weapons which you can handle properly。There is timing in everything。1。 Do not think dishonestly2。 The Way is in training3。 Become acquainted with every art4。 Know the Way of all professions5。 Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters6。 Develop intuitive judgement and understaning for everything7。 Percieve those things that cannot be seen8。 Pay attention even to triffles9。 Do nothing which is of no use！！-If you do not look at things in large scale， it is difficult to master strategy。THE WATER BOOK！！-Both in fighting and in real life you shoukd be determined though calm。！！- When your body is relaxed， do not let your spirit slacken。 Do not let your body be influenced by your apirit or your spirit by your body。 An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak。 Do not let the enemy see your spirit。！-With a open spirit and unconstrained， look at things from a high point of view。 You must cultivate the spirit and wisdom。 When you cannot be deceived by men， you have learned the wisdom of strategy。！！-In strategy it is important to see distant things as close， and close things with a distant view。THE FIRE BOOK！！-Set sail even though your friends remain in harbour， knowing the route， knowing the soundness of the ship and the favour of the day。 If the wind changes in the middle， than row across， you know your ship and your route。Attack enemies weak points to get an advantegeous position。！！-Forestall the enemy， and attack when you have recognised his school of strategy， percieved his qualities， his weak and strong points and his intentions。 By doing this you will have plenty opportunities to win。Become the enemy （think of yourself in the enemy's position）。 He who is shut inside is a peasant， he who enters to arrest is a hawk。In a close situations， win with a technique that the enemy does not expect。 You should know how to judge this。You can infect the enemy with a bored， relaxed and weak spirit and attack with a Void spirit。It is difficult to move strong things by pushing directly， so you should injure the corners。Shout during the fight to get into the rhythm。！-There may be no help of doing something twice， but don't do it for the third time。！！-If the enemy thinks of the mountains， attack like the sea。 If the enemy thinks of the sea， attack like a mountain。Think of the enemy as your own troop。！！-Develop a true spirit。 The true Way is to become decandent and die out。THE WIND BOOKThe Way of strategy is straight and true。 You must chase your enemy around and make him obey your spirit。！-Attack the enemy when his spirit is warped， throw him into confusion， irritate and terrify him， take advantage of enemy's rhythm when he is unsettled and you will win。 The spirit must be that of holding down a pillow。！！-Whatever the Way， the master of strategy does not appear fast。Train diligently and keep your spirit true to realise the virtue of steategy。 THE BOOK OF VOIDBy knowing the things that exist， you can know that which does not exist。 That is the void。People think that what they do not understand is the void。 That is not the true void， that is bewilderment。！！-Master other Arts but do not deviate from the Way of warrior。 Polish the twofold spirit heart and mind and sharpen the twofold gaze perception （see the spirit） and sight。！！！-Think of things in wide sense， and taking the Void as the way， you will see the Way as void。 In the void is virtue and no evil。 Wisdom has existence， principle has existence， the Way has existence， the spirit is nothingness。 。。。more
Rashay Giezele
，
This book should be used as a curriculum on how to think objectively。
Amit
，
A good book on strategy but not as timeless as Art of War。
Đỗ Nhật
，
Một cuốn sách khá khó để đọc và tiếp thu được hết， thiết nghĩ sau này có nhiều kinh nghiệm và trải nghiệm cũng như nhiều kiến thức hơn sẽ đọc lại。
Chad
，
The copy of this book that I read was a translation by Thomas Cleary， in the Barnes & Noble edition。 I think this entry on Goodreads is a catch-all for many different translations of the Book of Five Rings， as of this writing。Thomas Cleary's translation of the Book of Five Rings was better than his translation of The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War。 I don't know if it's the translating job that is to blame or if the source material for the latter book was just not as good。 In any cas The copy of this book that I read was a translation by Thomas Cleary， in the Barnes & Noble edition。 I think this entry on Goodreads is a catch-all for many different translations of the Book of Five Rings， as of this writing。Thomas Cleary's translation of the Book of Five Rings was better than his translation of The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War。 I don't know if it's the translating job that is to blame or if the source material for the latter book was just not as good。 In any case， my experience with Thomas Cleary's translations in the past suggests a penchant for embedding biases and otherwise producing a less than stellar experience; a translation of the Tao Te Ching by him was especially excruciating。 I'm not familiar enough with the Book of Five Rings to judge his translation， though。It was quite an enjoyable read， with a lot of good insight that can be applied to many aspects of life。 Being a book that is， to some extent， about killing people means that one should be careful about choosing when to apply the lessons within to one's life， to avoid behaving like a sociopath。I hope to read another translation soon so I can update this review with more insight into the relationships between original works and translations。 。。。more
Faruk Erbil
，
Japonya’nın ulus olma mücadelesi devam ederken， temrini öğrenmek ve en iyisi olmak için yolan çıkan Musashi’nin yalnızca düellolarda rakibini nasıl yeneceğini değil olaylara bakışını， farklı disiplinlerle ilgilenmesini ve zihni zinde tutmak için yaptıklarını okuyorsunuz。 Hacmi oldukça az olan kitap bir çırpıda bitiyor。 Bir yerden sonra tekrara düşen ve derinlikli bilgi ve çıkarım yapamadığınız kitap， yine de okunmayı hakeden bir eser。
Michael Cibenko
，
Must read for the would-be warrior。
Wubbadubdub
，
tu madre
Roberto
，
La Via， quella onorevole e dell'armoniaMiyamoto Musashi visse nella prima metà del XVII secolo ed è stimato il più grande spadaccino nella storia del Giappone， un paese e un tempo in cui la spada， il duello， la via del samurai erano la più rilevante e onorevole delle attività。 E la propria Via è quella che Musashi ci ha voluto raccontare。Che non è composta da tecniche o da mezzi specifici。 Che è basata su pochi principi， sulla pratica， sulla determinazione。 E soprattutto priva di orpelli inutili La Via， quella onorevole e dell'armoniaMiyamoto Musashi visse nella prima metà del XVII secolo ed è stimato il più grande spadaccino nella storia del Giappone， un paese e un tempo in cui la spada， il duello， la via del samurai erano la più rilevante e onorevole delle attività。 E la propria Via è quella che Musashi ci ha voluto raccontare。Che non è composta da tecniche o da mezzi specifici。 Che è basata su pochi principi， sulla pratica， sulla determinazione。 E soprattutto priva di orpelli inutili e tattiche: la Via è la valutazione istintiva， la naturalezza che deriva dalla pratica infinita e la risolutezza nell'attacco。 La Via è vincere， sempre。Ed è solo l'istinto sviluppato con la pratica che lo permette。 Perché， come insegna lo Zen， raggiunto l'apice della tecnica si devono dimenticare le regole e agire con istintività。 È il vuoto， la mente vuota， l'assenza di intenzione apparente， la capacità di adattarsi， l'attacco senza indugi。 È l'armonia。Dal suo primo duello mortale a 13 anni ai 60 e forse più che lo seguirono imbattuto， dalla strage della sconfitta nella battaglia di Sekigahara al suo vagabondare come maestro Heiho， la Via di Musashi fu vita e morte， sì， ma anche arte come poesia e pittura。 E fu soprattutto sempre onorevole。"Nella mia scuola non esiste il concetto di tecniche essoteriche e esoteriche attinenti l'uso della spada; non c'è preoccupazione per la posizione di guardia， ma solo la ricerca sincera con tutto il proprio essere dei valori di Heiho。"， Shinmen Musashi 。。。more
Awais Hanif
，
I can understand why some people today enjoy this book taking some lessons out of Miyamoto Musashi's mindset。 However， much of what I read was about sword fighting and his opinion on stances， weapon types， etc。 Learning more about his fighting style and snippets about his life from the introduction written by William Scott Wilson was interesting for me。Overall: Short quick read， not much taken away。 I can understand why some people today enjoy this book taking some lessons out of Miyamoto Musashi's mindset。 However， much of what I read was about sword fighting and his opinion on stances， weapon types， etc。 Learning more about his fighting style and snippets about his life from the introduction written by William Scott Wilson was interesting for me。Overall: Short quick read， not much taken away。 。。。more
Vasco Mendes
，
Um bom livro para quem aprecia e valoriza as questões táticas e mentais num confronto seja numa perspetiva histórica， seja numa perspetiva de experiência pessoal。
Joseph Exley
，
Must readIt's a book about the way， one of a very few， where substance and intent and the heart is the focus。 Must readIt's a book about the way， one of a very few， where substance and intent and the heart is the focus。 。。。more
L S
，
It will be difficult at first but then everything is difficult at first👁
Herman Gigglethorpe
，
The Book of Five Rings is mostly about fighting with a katana and wakizashi rather than grand strategy， but it's likely Sun Tzu had some influence on Miyamoto Musashi and Yagyu Munenori。 Musashi was an undefeated duelist， so I'd likely take his advice over other 1640s sword masters！Musashi discourages fancy leaps and favoring particular weapons。 Instead， move as if you're walking and pay attention to what your opponent is doing at all times。 Proper posture is important， down to how to properly f The Book of Five Rings is mostly about fighting with a katana and wakizashi rather than grand strategy， but it's likely Sun Tzu had some influence on Miyamoto Musashi and Yagyu Munenori。 Musashi was an undefeated duelist， so I'd likely take his advice over other 1640s sword masters！Musashi discourages fancy leaps and favoring particular weapons。 Instead， move as if you're walking and pay attention to what your opponent is doing at all times。 Proper posture is important， down to how to properly furrow your forehead。 Don't swing your katana too fast， since this "short sword mincing" technique will fail you。Other martial arts schools are denounced in the Wind Scroll portion of the text but not named。 We know The Book of Five Rings today more than the flashier martial arts schools of the time， so Musashi's boasts were vindicated。 。。。more
Dan
，
A much improved version。 The translator is a martial artist in his own right and his insights as to what Musashi was saying add a lot to the understanding of how his ideas apply to combat and strategy。
Shabeeh Haider
，
I would have given this book 4 stars if I had any practical way of practising the techniques he wrote in this book。 Most of the techniques were related to swords and it is a fact that swords are no more in use today。 The reason of giving it 3 stars is that writer has concisely explained the different psychological state of mind of enemy and how it use it in our advantage。 He has highlighted some positions which would be beneficial in hand to hand combat。
Chris Burke
，
2021- Takeaway from months after reading: do not recklessly strike out。 Move with certainty and deadly conviction。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Book of Five Rings
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Book of Five Rings&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft