The SAMURAI WAY: Bushido: The Soul of Japan, The Book of Five Rings

by Inazō Nitobe, Miyamoto Musashi (Contributor)

Collected here in one edition are two of the most important books on the Samurai Way, Bushido: The Soul of Japan and The Book of Five Rings. Bushido: Chivalry is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of Japan than its emblem, the cherry blossom; nor is it a dried-up specimen of an antique virtue preserved in the herbarium of our history. It is still a living object of power and beauty among us. The Book of Five Rings: There are various Ways. There is the Way of salvation by the law of Buddha, the Way of Confucius governing the Way of learning, the Way of healing as a doctor, as a poet teaching the Way of Waka, tea, archery, and many arts and skills. Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death.

140 pages, Paperback

Published December 18, 2008

About the author

Nitobe Inazō (新渡戸 稲造; 1862 – 1933) was a Japanese agronomist, diplomat, political scientist, politician, and writer. His father Nitobe Jūjirō was a samurai and retainer to the local daimyō of the Nanbu clan. His grandfather was Nitobe Tsutō and his great-grandfather was Nitobe Denzō (Koretami). He was converted to Christianity under the strong legacy left by William S. Clark, the first Vice-Principal of the College, who had taught in Sapporo for eight months before Nitobe's class arrived in the second year after the opening ofthe college and so they never personally crossed paths. When the League of Nations was established in 1920, Nitobe became one of the Under-Secretaries General of the League, and moved to Geneva, Switzerland. Nitobe, however, is perhaps most famous in the west for his work Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1900), which was one of the first major works on samurai ethics and Japanese culture written originally in English for Western readers (The book was subsequently translated into Japanese and many other languages).

Reviews

[William Bahr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic?

So what are the five rings? The book never says. But certainly not the traditional (from 1912) five Olympic rings said to signify the five continents at the time: Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), and the Americas. Most probably the rings signify five scrolls (viewed as chapters or sections): 1. Earth (intro with housebuilding metaphor of martial arts, leadership, and training); 2. Water (basic techniques and fundamental principles); 3. Fire (heat of battle and timing); 4. Wind (style), and 5. Void (mindlessness; muscle memory?).

To expand on “ring” 1, Earth, here is some general advice in the way of principles from the author:
1. "Do not think dishonestly."
2. "The Way is in training."
3. "Become acquainted with every art."
4. "Know the Ways of all professions."
5. "Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters."
6. "Develop an intuitive judgment and understanding for everything."
7. "Perceive those things which cannot be seen."
8. "Pay attention even to trifles."
9. "Do nothing which is of no use."

Yes, the book does deal with swordsmanship instruction and mentions the author’s success with a combination of a long and short sword, but recommends only practicing with the long sword and then with just one hand. Unfortunately, no illustrations are available, and the reader is probably left clueless as to what is advised for the best Samurai sword-fighting technique ever, carrying the author to winning sixty-one duels and writing his book around age sixty-one, dying shortly thereafter in 1645 AD.

Here is some advice throughout the rest of the book: Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death. Think broadly (in high-level concepts). Think calmly. Disrupt your opponent’s plans and techniques. Strike when he is undecided. Divide and conquer. Put your opponent into inconvenient positions. Discover your opponent’s weaknesses and attack weak points. View the situation from your opponent’s perspective. Surprise your opponent. Emotions can be catching: throw physicalities and emotions such as yawning, sleepiness, and calmness onto your opponent; then strike. It is often easier to not attack directly; go indirectly…for the “corners.” Shouting can cause confusion in your enemy. Maintain the initiative; don’t let your enemy recover from a strike. Don’t become preoccupied with small, irrelevant details; move to a higher perspective. Confuse, irritate, and terrify your enemy. Become familiar with all aspects of your opponent; don’t focus on any one particular thing, but the whole person and situation. Seize upon your enemy’s disorder and derangement, and so destroy his hope of recovery. Practice; learn, think. Do not be influenced by your opponent. Train diligently to attain this spirit. Know as much as you can about relevant things.

IMHO, beyond these widely known strategic concepts, the author does not go into much useful detail. He makes no apology for this, often leaving you with just a comment equivalent to “Go think about this for a while.” OTOH, if you’re not familiar with the above concepts, perhaps buying the Kindle version of the book for ninety-nine cents might be a worthwhile investment.

Of possible interest, here’s another book, one that does give specific examples of strategy, tactics, philosophy, and even swordsmanship, and derives universal, memorable lessons therefrom: Strategic Advantage: How to Win in War, Business, and Life