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Title: The Sword and the Mind by Yagyu Munenori, Munenori Yagyu, Hiroaki Sato ISBN: 0-87951-256-3 Publisher: Overlook Press Pub. Date: June, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: In the valley of the blind...
Comment: Boy... some folks get really excited about this huh?
This is a very straight translation written by someone who does not know the subject well (nor did his secondary sources, Imamura Yoshio and Watanabe Ichiro, have more than a scholastic knowledge of Shinkage Ryu)...
The translation is mediocre... and for that reason to be avoided... for the following reason: a BAD translation is easily recognized as bad and disregarded... a good translation may not be appreciated, but can be truly meaningful to someone if it is... a mediocre translation, however, may be taken as correct or authoritative by readers who do not have the experience or background to put it in proper perspective, and can therefore be seriously misleading...
This is such a text...
Allow me to give an example. Mr.Sato translates thus: "There may be a hundred combat postures, but there is only one purpose: to win. Ultimately, all this depends on 'shujishuriken'. You may teach or learn the use of the sword in a hundred ways, in a thousand ways, and you may be able to handle the whole array of combat postures and sword positions. But 'shujishuriken' is central"
He then passes on some bits and pieces relating to "shujishuriken", but displays no understanding of the term himself. While this is not suprising, since the term refers to an understanding that is only obtainable through practice and training, Mr.Sato doesn't seem to twig on this... He goes on about Ninjas (!) for a bit in a footnote... then moves on...
Setting aside the fact that he could have at least gotten a provisional explanation of the meaning of the term from a modern practitioner of the Ryu... What is distressing is that Mr.Sato doesn't seem bothered by not knowing what he is talking about.
Simply because he has managed a translation from Japanese and has a lot of footnotes, many people may take this as authoritative. However, it is (in my opinion) not... and therefore, misleading...
Rating: 5
Summary: Outstanding book! A must have for the seasoned practicioner
Comment: I have been practicing Yagyu Shinkage ryu in Japan for the last 5 years. In fact, I just finished a 3 day intensive practice in the village of Yagyu near Nara in Japan. We visited the graves of the Yagyu family and stayed in the dojo where they practiced and taught. My dojo is in direct lineage to the founders of this ryu. Finding old scrolls translated so well into English is extremely difficult. This book is absolutely incredible! I have searched years for this. (Translating it myself would have taken much longer!)
I would recommend this book to anyone with a good amount of experience in Japanese sword fighting techiques, but even so, without the verbal lessons that have been handed down to accompany the text, and without seeing it in action, you would find this book too difficult to understand.
Beginners would find the discriptions of the kata hard to follow, but would be able to get the essence of the spirit or the mindset of the practicioner. There is also the history of the ryu and it's lineage that is very informative.
Well written and translated by someone with an understanding of the subject, historically accurate, this book is tops!
Rating: 5
Summary: Unless you came to this page by mistake, BUY THIS BOOK!
Comment: If you are interested in ancient samurai philosophy, you need to buy this book. I maintain a website on all things Japanese, and I received many inquiries about this book when it was out of print for so long. Now it has recently been re-released, I highly recommend you get a copy before it goes out of print again.
Yagyu Munenori was the "fencing" teacher to the Tokugawa shogunate in early 17th century Japan. Those "in the know" revere him as one of the wisest -- as well as most skilled -- swordsmen of his day. The Sword and the Mind could be considered a companion text to Takuan's The Unfettered Mind. It is dry in the way of Zen texts, so don't buy it looking for action. It is more the sort of text you meditate on -- figuratively or literally -- and hopefully come away with an expanded understanding of the samurai mentality of "a focused life, a willing death." If you're really into these sorts of things, you can even find ways to apply the philosophy to your own, modern life.
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Title: The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master by Takuan Soho, William Scott Wilson, Takuan ISBN: 087011851X Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: March, 1988 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
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Title: Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, William Scott Wilson ISBN: 4770011067 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: March, 1992 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
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Title: The Way of the Living Sword : The Secret Teachings of Yagyu Munenori by Yagyu Munenori, D. E. Tarver ISBN: 0595279988 Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. Pub. Date: 04 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Bushido: The Way of the Samurai (Square One Classics) by Tsunetomo Yamamoto, Justin F. Stone, Minoru Tanaka ISBN: 0757000266 Publisher: Square One Publishers Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Code of the Samurai: A Modern Translation of the Bushido Shoshinsu by Yuzan Daidoji, Oscar Ratti, Thomas Cleary ISBN: 0804831904 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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