This 365-year-old book has been a part of my life since my Dad was reading it to me when I was a small boy. I read through it a couple of times on my own as a young teenager, but it had been about ten years since then when a few weeks ago I decided it was time to revisit Miyamoto Musashi. I know that most people are familiar with Musashi and his book (I understand it’s used as a text book for many business people), but I figured I’d offer a brief rundown.
Musashi wrote this book circa 1645, and his reason for doing it was to explain the philosophy he lived out that allowed him to become the greatest swordsman in Japan. He divides the content into five books: earth, water, fire, wind and emptiness ( “void” in other translations). Each book deals with a subject that Musashi feels is critical to success. What’s so interesting about this book is Musashi’s advice to “learn 10,000 things from one”. So, it turns out that you’re not just reading a book about samurai life only, you’re actually reading a book that is applicable to any endeavor in life. It’s about the backbreaking work it takes to achieve greatness, remain undefeated, and to face battles as if you are already dead. If someone walks away from this book unchallenged or feeling as if they’ve already “arrived” then they didn’t read it. The Book of Five Rings offers a wonderful and disciplined perspective for anyone who takes the time to not only read it but to start living it. I would recommend it especially to artists who feel that they are “stuck”; it’ll definitely get you unstuck.
I wanted to blog about this book not only because of its personal interest to me, but also because the copy that I got from Lemuria was a translation of it that I had never read before. This translation varies from my previous experiences with The Book of Five Rings in that includes an excellent introduction to Zen, Bushido and Heiho as well as a commentary before each book that gives historical context and defines unfamiliar terms. The translation work was done by Nihon Services Corporation; I had a better sense of understanding the context with this version.
-Hunter
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