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Title: Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, William Scott Wilson ISBN: 4-7700-1106-7 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: March, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.29 (28 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The lesser known 'Way of the Samurai'
Comment: "Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai" was written by a samurai who never once fought in a battle and, being denied the "honorable" samurai death (ritual suicide) when his lord died, became a Buddhist monk for the last 20 years of his life and faded into historical obscurity. And yet, the book which is his legacy, a transcript of conversations collected over 7 years, grasps the heart of the samurai spirit so prevalent one hundred years before his time.
Less abstract than Miyamoto Musashi's famous "Book of Five Rings" - a similiar work by a famous swordsman and samurai who came about his enlightenment after a lifetime of hacking, killing and dueling; and less concerned with military/political tactics than Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", "Hagakure" espouses a mixture of Confucianism, Zen and fanatical personal loyalty and devotion to samurai duty and responsibility and provides an often fascinating look into the ideals of the samurai warrior.
For example, there is the popular warrior class obsessive focus on death. According to Tsunetomo, one's death should be fixed in one's thoughts upon waking and kept throughout the day. This allows one to serve his lord admirably without cowardice, attachment or distraction creeping in.
There is a stong anti-materialistic bent ("Both riches and honour will blemish a retainer...") as well as plenty of Confucianistic thought on proper social graces - from it being bad taste to yawn or sneeze in front of others (including how to repress or hide it) to how to carry a letter properly. Some of it seems laughable in today's Western culture. Yet, without battles to focus on, its as if Tsunetomo, unable to turn his passionate warrior's focus outward, brought it inward, or at leat to the little things in life.
There is also a Zen-like self-help bent - a serious perfectionism, which I feel probably drove Tsunetomo in everything he did. "Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never ending."(pg. 27) He summarizes the synthesis of his self-discipline, his perfectionist drive, and the 3 schools of thought which influenced his life: warrior, Confucist and Buddhist:
"Never be oudone in the Way of the Samurai.
To be of good use to the master.
To be filial to my parents.
To manifest great compassion, and to act for the sake of Man."
Also check out "The Book of 5 Rings" by Musashi, the Samual B. Griffith translation of "The Art of War" and "Mastery" by George Leonard who uses Aikido as his metaphor for "the Way".
Rating: 4
Summary: An accessable understanding of the Bushido
Comment: The Hagakure explains the Japanese warrior code (Bushido) simply and elegantly, and in a much more accessable manner than "The Book of the 5 Rings," considered THE authority on the subject. The observations, thoughts and reflections of the author reflect the Zen aspect of the samurai code ("a samurai should reflect daily and in the most graphic manner his demise"), as well as the strong Confucian influence on Japanese culture (the tale of his Master, Nabeshima Mitsushige, covering his face with his sleeve in order not to see his men flustered when a wounded boar lunged at a hunting party) in addition to the crisis of peace the samurai faced under the Tokugawa Shogunate (providing advice on how to practice severing heads on the condemned.)
All in all it was fascinating, and a marvelous "picture in time." I recommend this before reading Sun Tsu ("The Art of War") or Mushashi ("A Book of Five Rings.")
Rating: 5
Summary: Mishima and Hagakure
Comment: The bulk of the reviews prior to my own do a great job of covering the books aspects. However, I wanted to make one point in regards to those who, after reading the book, were really impressed by it. If you enjoyed reading the book, also try and find a copy of "The Way of the Samurai Yukio Mishima on Hagakure in Modern Life" from a library or used book store. It is out of print for the time being, but if you can get ahold of a copy you will get even more out of Hagakure after reading this book. I was fortunate enough to obtain both books around the same time and this really fostered my interest in bushido and the samurai culture in a very profound way as well as lead me to discover Mishima's works and life in regards to the samurai ideals.
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Title: Rashomon and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Takashi Kojima, Howard Hibbett, M. Kuwata ISBN: 0871401738 Publisher: Liveright Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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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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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: Book of Five Rings : The Classic Guide to Strategy by MIYAMOTO MUSASHI ISBN: 0517415283 Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 28 May, 1988 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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