The culmination of 25 years of research, Alex Bennett's groundbreaking
English translation of Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings
reveals the true meaning of the original work. Plus, definitive
translations of five more known works of Musashi!
This piece of writing by famed samurai Musashi (1584-1645) is the
single-most influential work on samurai swordsmanship, offering insights
into samurai history, the Zen Buddhist state of "no-mind" that enables
warriors to triumph and the philosophical meaning of Bushido--"the way
of the warrior."
Until now, English translations of The Book of Five Rings have been
based on inaccurate copies of Musashi's long-lost original manuscript.
Bennett's translation is the first to be based on a careful
reconstruction of the original text by Japan's foremost Musashi scholar.
By identifying discrepancies among the existing copies, adding missing
texts and correcting over 150 incorrect characters, this source is the
closest representation of Musashi's original work possible. Utilizing
this new source, Bennett captures the subtle nuance of the classic
Japanese text, resulting in the most accurate English translation of
The Book of Five Rings available
Enjoy complete, richly annotated translations of Musashi's most-known
works:
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The Book of Five Rings
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Mirror on the Way of Combat
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Notes on Combat Strategy
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Combat Strategy in 35 Articles
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The Five-Direction Sword Pathways
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The Path Walked Alone
The texts are richly annotated by Bennett, who includes an extensive
introduction on Musashi's life and legacy. This paperback edition also
includes a new introduction by Kendo Kyoshi 7th Dan Graham Sayer, who
talks about the influence Musashi's writings have had on him as a person
and martial artist.
The Complete Musashi: The Book of Five Rings and Other Works will be
widely read by those interested in Japanese culture, Samurai history and
martial arts--setting a new standard against which all other
translations will be measured.
