Showing posts with label samurai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label samurai. Show all posts

Book of Five Rings Review

Book of Five Rings
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Book of Five Rings ReviewThe book written by the samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi circa 1645 is considered a classic treatise on military strategy, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than only that of martial artists: for instance, some business leaders find its discussion of conflict and taking the advantage to be relevant to their work.
The term "Ichi School", which is referred to in the book, Go Rin No Sho, when referring to such books, refers to "Niten No Ichi Ryu", or "Ni Ten Ichi Ryu", which literally translated, means "Two Swords, one heaven".
Throughout the book it is clear: what is primary for Musashi is The Goal, while the means of achieving the goal are secondary. He wrote "According to this Ichi school, you can win with a long weapon, and yet you can also win with a short weapon. In short, the Way of the Ichi school is the spirit of winning, whatever the weapon and whatever its size."
The same is in business: the leaders who are attracted by the goal rather than by embellishments are the true leaders. For example, the dot-com bubble of 2000 was caused by the managers who forgot about the primary goal of the business: net income. Those who were obsessed by their stock prices regarding of massive losses and the lack of revenue became bankrupt. They put attention to the fancy office buildings and furniture rather than to the assets that generate earning. Musashi wrote about it: "Just as a horse must have endurance and no defects, so it is with weapons. Horses should walk strongly, and swords and companion swords should cut strongly. Spears and halberds must stand up to heavy use: bows and guns must be sturdy. Weapons should be hardy rather than decorative".
Musashi also encourages to maintain a balance of your skills throughout your life. This balance could be thought of as Yin and Yang. The balance is to be neither over-familiar with something nor under-familiar. The over-familiarity or over-use of one weapon is not recommended by Musashi, as it would be seen to reveal your spirituality to your enemy, and thus your boisterousness, or over-calm. The over-familiarity makes you stick to a conviction. This is a very important for the business. Take, for example, mr. Warren Buffet. A quality standing out about Mr. Buffett is his ability to morph. If you read his materials from the 1960s, he said very different things than in the 1970s and early-1980s. Early on he was buying dirt-cheap stocks by simple statistical standards and typically smaller stocks (smallcap), later he bought "franchises", then he entered a period of buying great managements of big companies and being a long-term holder, then, amazingly, he was buying smaller things dirt cheap again just as value came back into play as the twenty-first century began. He tactically morphed steadily over the decades. Trying to freeze his tactics from any decade and replicate them in the next few would never have led you to his actual actions. Musashi wrote about that this way: "You should not have a favourite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well. You should not copy others, but use weapons which you can handle properly. It is bad for commanders and troops to have likes and dislikes."Book of Five Rings Overview

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Emerald Empire 4th Edition (Legend of the Five Rings) Review

Emerald Empire 4th Edition (Legend of the Five Rings)
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Emerald Empire 4th Edition (Legend of the Five Rings) ReviewEmerald Empire is a great addition to anyone playing/GMing a L5R game. It includes a lot of information players and GMs can use to play more "authentically". It includes a good number of character options for players. It's a bit expensive, but it's a great quality product with (as usual for 4ED) outstanding artwork.
I would also like to add that AEG customer support is very helpful. My copy had weak binding and was starting to come apart, so I emailed AEG and they sent me a new copy of the book for free. Super classy.Emerald Empire 4th Edition (Legend of the Five Rings) Overview

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The Great Clans - Legend of the Five Rings RPG 4th Edition Review

The Great Clans - Legend of the Five Rings RPG 4th Edition
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The Great Clans - Legend of the Five Rings RPG 4th Edition ReviewThis book fills in a ton of gaps in the history that I had questions on, and I would basically consider this book to be an extension of the core book. It is mainly background information and setting details, with some character options built in for each clan. Some die-hard old-school L5R players think that it's a little bit short, considering how thick the L5R background is, but as a relatively new player, this is a vast amount of information to fill a campaign with.
As I said, I would consider this an extension of the core boo, and completely essential.The Great Clans - Legend of the Five Rings RPG 4th Edition Overview

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Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG Review

Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG
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Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG ReviewBuyers who are familiar with the Revised 3rd Edition may be reluctant to buy the 4th Edition. That's understandable. I was wary myself, but I am grateful I took the plunge and purchased 4th Edition. This makes up for many of the mistakes of the past while forging a new future.
First, the book looks very nice. The artwork is exceptional, and the layout is professionally done. The type is on the small side, but the contrast is good. The fact that the type is so small in a book so large gives you an idea of just how full of information this book is. I'm not a fan of the section headings (Book of Water, et al.), but it's a stylistic decision that simply isn't my cup of tea. Others may disagree. Certainly, it's nothing I'd dock point off of. There have been a few typos, but they are mild; nothing like previous editions!
The book is very robust. The world of L5R has several years of stories crammed into it, and it's simply impossible to fit everything into one book. Still, this book has the most vital parts, while leaving some areas open for GM interpretation or sourcebooks. You have what you need to start a campaign, though the book intentionally makes some things vague so that it'll fit in almost any L5R campaign.
The rules are also well done. I understand this book has undergone some rigorous playtesting, and the hard work is apparent. A lot of the power differences between comparable Schools have been toned down so that while one school clearly has an advantage, it's usually not a runaway. The rules have been retooled so that success is based more on the dice than on what Advantages and Schools you have. Static bonuses are an endangered species; if a character receives a set numerical bonus or a "Raise," then it is indicative of how that character is supposed to be really good at what he does. L5R veterans may recall saying things like "7k3 +30." You're less likely to hear it in 4th Edition.
Veterans of L5R will also notice other changes, mostly for the better. The five stances make combat more dynamic and tactical--without resorting to battle mats with 5-foot squares. The Wounds distribution makes it likely that a character can withstand a solid hit and grit through the pain, rather than spiral down into ineffectiveness; I believe the idea I heard is that, "Combat should not be determined by who rolled the best initiative," and I think the book succeeds here. Also, the list of Advantages and Disadvantages has been expanded, including being blessed (or cursed) by a major Fortune, being positively or negatively influenced by one of the spirit realms, and even epitomizing or rejecting an aspect of bushido (or even its opposite, shourido).
There are still some things I do not like. While I praise the designers for balancing the rules, I am bemused by the Dragon tattoo, which seems to be considerably ahead in the power curve. I also did not like the maximum number of Raises being limited to your Void (I thought 3rd Edition was a step forward by eliminating that). These are very minor disagreements, which can be easily changed in a home game if you feel like it. They may make me roll my eyes, but I wouldn't reduce my score because of them.
Another down side is the price. Once you see and feel the book, you can see where the money has gone. This is obviously not a basement print job. Some may argue that no book should cost this much, but most RPG books nowadays are on the pricy side. At least you get excellent artwork, well-thought-out rules, and a fairly low typo-to-page-count ratio (page count is 400 FYI). Considering the hours of entertainment you can derive from this book, the price is actually rather reasonable.
Finally, this book has made me do something for the first time: Run my own L5R home game. That is high praise indeed if the shelves full of dusty game books are any indication. I've purchase and read many game books, but I never take the serious step in running a game based on them. L5R 4th Edition has gotten me excited enough to hunt down players and begin a new campaign.Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG Overview

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Spirit of the Samurai: Of Swords and Rings Review

Spirit of the Samurai: Of Swords and Rings
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Spirit of the Samurai: Of Swords and Rings ReviewIn the Seattle suburbs Grandfather raised his two grandchildren, fourteen years old David and thirteen years old Kat Anderson with four simple kind rules on treating and respecting others and one other, the adult mantra to obey him that that he expects both to follow. However, recently David has been constantly angry at his younger sister and has even instigated fights though her martial arts training usually overcomes his brute strength advantage. However this time he attacks her from behind and it takes Grandfather's intervention to stop him.
When David enters their Grandfather's dojo without permission, Kat follows. He shows her a book that provides the history of Japanese Samurai, especially about two rival clans, the Toho and the Black Rings, that fought one another. Grandfather arrives, but David insists on learning the truth as he says they are descendents of Toho and the kid wears three of the four Black Rings that he also found. Finally David touches the Swords of Toho and Hiro of the Black Rings. Whereas David becomes possessed with evil, his sister touches the Toho sword and becomes the last guardian battling against her sibling who wants her dead; on her side is Grandfather and Kyosha the Samurai who has just arrived claiming to be her Father.
Targeting elementary school children, this is an action-packed Samurai fantasy starring a young female teen whose opponent in a life and death struggle is her older brother. The story line is filled with action while illustrations enhance the first-rate plot. David's nastiness comes out before he is possessed so young readers will root for Kat to defeat him during their sibling battle.
Harriet KlausnerSpirit of the Samurai: Of Swords and Rings Overview

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Crab (Legend of the Five Rings 5) Review

Crab (Legend of the Five Rings 5)
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Crab (Legend of the Five Rings 5) ReviewHida Kisada is a man who has spent fifty years fighting evil. Not some distant, vague concept of evil, but the actual thing: undead, demons, goblins, and the like. Every day, for fifty years, he has fought them or planned to fight them.
So why is it that he hooks up with them so willingly?
Granted, the initial offer takes two years for Kisada to mull over, but after that, it's easy - he sacrifices his clan's purpose, his desire for peace, and his son's soul all in one day.
Let me say that again: he effectively sells out everything he believes in, in a single day.
To be certain, this book isn't absolutely terrible. It's just that, as written, Kisada's not half the man Bayushi Shoju was (see the first novel in this series, there to find a similar character in a similar, but better-written, situation).
Worse, Kisada's not a tragic hero - he's a blundering idiot. He makes the kind of flagrant mistakes that should get people questioning his sanity and competence.
Finally, stay far, far away from this novel if you don't like the word "ropy" being used more often than the word "the."
What makes this novel worse than the Unicorn novel is that the Unicorn author at least had the excuse that the Unicorn never did anything. The Crab were arguably the biggest players in the Clan War, but you couldn't tell that from this.Crab (Legend of the Five Rings 5) Overview

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The Book of Five Rings for Executives: Musashi's Classic Book of Competitive Tactics Review

The Book of Five Rings for Executives: Musashi's Classic Book of Competitive Tactics
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The Book of Five Rings for Executives: Musashi's Classic Book of Competitive Tactics ReviewThis book is a valuable development of the metaphor of a samurai swordfight for how to gain competitive tactical advantage in business. The author has taken Miyamoto Musashi's 1643 classic and put it into the context of business issues. The book contains Musashi's principles updated and customized for the current business world in seven principles, five aspects (or rings), examples from Japanese companies' use of these ideas, and cases (Starbucks, Robert E. Lee, Warren Buffett, George Washington crossing the Delaware, Andy Grove, Bill Gates, Lawrence of Arabia, and Donald Trump). As a result, the lessons are quite accessible and clear.
The seven principles are: Ordered Flexibility ("the nature of water"), Execution ("appropriate action at the right time"), Resources ("information is the fabric of tactics"), Environment ("approach derives from circumstances"), Attitude ("firm, yet flexible . . . centering on a determining reality"), Concentration ("concentrating strength against weakness or resources against opportunity"), and Timing ("when the scale is tipped in favor of the tactics you have chosen").
The Japanese business application of this approach is to: 1) copy technology and train people. (2) recombine elements and widen market acceptance. (3) increase quality/price ratio and dominate markets.
The five aspects are: (1) Foundation (2) Form (3) Fire (4) Fabric and (5) Focus.
Let me elaborate on the Foundation concept to give you a sense of what is in these sections. The rules of Foundation are: (1) Do what is right, what is correct. (2) Sense the rhythm and timing in everyday situations. (3) Broaden your knowledge of management. (4) Study other arts and professions. (5) Distinguish between profitable and unprofitable activities. (6) See reality under all circumstances. (7) Look for what is not obvious. (8) Concentrate on critical details. (9) Eliminate useless activity. (This last sound's like Peter Drucker's famous exhortation to "slough off yesterday.")
This book is the third volume in a series that Mr. Krause has created about how business people can compete more effectively that draw on classic books on this subject.
Musashi's work is much better known in Japan than in the United States. He was a legendary samurai swordsman who from ages 13 to 29 defeated 60 men in duels. Death or severe injury was always at risk. Then he retired to a cave and lived as a pauper writing about the lessons of his battles for the next 30 years. This book is based on those writings which were a five part letter to his followers and students. The essence of that advice is to "look beneath the surface" of the events around you to distill their meaning.
Those who wish to improve their sword fighting and dueling skills should read the original. Those who enjoy this book may wish to read the original as well. You will be rewarded by obtaining a deeper sense of the Zen philosophy behind these observations.
All business people will benefit from this book. Highly recommended!
Although this book focuses on tactics, you would do well to combine it with Sun Tzu's thinking about how to use strategy to create situations where no battle is needed. Then you need only practice your tactics to keep sharp, not to secure your advantage. For example, if your advantages in quality, effectiveness, honor, and prestige are so great that others know they cannot compete and would be harmed or simply waste time and effort by doing so, they will seek you out as a partner instead. Then, much more can be accomplished for all!
Be sharp!
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Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Secrets from Musashi's Book of Five Rings Review

Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Secrets from Musashi's Book of Five Rings
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Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Secrets from Musashi's Book of Five Rings ReviewThis little book is basically a summary of The Book of Five Rings, a book written the the Japanese sword master Musashi in 1645. This is a good, easy to read and easy to understand summary of Musashi's book for those who may have a hard time understanding the teachings from the actual writings of Musashi. The commentaries or summaries are anywhere from one to three pages long, so this is a quick and easy read. Although this is a quick read, it does contain some very useful information for the martial arts, as well as life in general.
Samurai Strategies is worth reading. I found it enjoyable and interesting even though I had previously read The Book of Five Rings several times before I actually ran across this book. I do recommend that the reader also read the Book of Five Rings and not just simply be satisfied with this summary of Musashi's writings. 4 Stars...I think that you will enjoy it.
Bohdi Sanders, author of Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern WarriorSamurai Strategies: 42 Martial Secrets from Musashi's Book of Five Rings Overview

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The Unicorn (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, Second Scroll) Review

The Unicorn (Legend of the Five Rings:  Clan War, Second Scroll)
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The Unicorn (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, Second Scroll) ReviewAlthough there aren't as many plot lines as in "The Scorpion", This book is just as good if not better. Better because the story doesn't have to deal with as many subjects and can spend more time developing fewer characters. "The Scorpion" had a lot to set up. "The Unicorn" is mostly about two characters, a Unicorn "Battle Maiden" and a Unicorn ambassador.
A lot of characters from the previous novel are here. Most are very much different from what they started out as in "The Scorpion".
After reading this one, I'm totally hooked on the series. I'm into the way the characters are changing and developing... specifically the hero from "Scorpion". It was also fun to watch the 'Battle Maiden' and her horse earn respect.
This series is a HUGE soap opera... with a lot of beheadings during battle. That seems to be a common way to die when there are swords about.
It resembles "Lord of the Rings" to the extent that there is a dark ominous bad guy whose power is growing (like Sauron). He uses goblins and ogres and other monsters as his minions (Like Sauron did). He has his own dark land (like Mordor). There are even Shadow Warriors that are basically clothing and armor draped over nothing more than shadows (like Ringwraiths). There is also a capitol city under siege (in "The Scorpions") that reminds me of Gondor. At least there aren't any Hobbits.
One interesting note so far is that these first two books don't really seem to have a bad guy. Everybody (even the Scorpion clan) are working for the better of Rokugan. The only real bad guys are the monsters and the dark bad guy called Lo Feng or something like that.
On to "Scroll 3"!!The Unicorn (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, Second Scroll) Overview

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The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, First Scroll) Review

The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings:  Clan War, First Scroll)
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The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, First Scroll) ReviewThis is definetely one of the best books I've read in a long time.The author did a great job with character developement and plot. Although I dont play the card game this book caught my interest a long time ago(when i saw the advirtisements for it in other books) and am glad to say it was worth the wait. The story is great and also the backround for it is also great because its different involoving eastern mythology instead of western mythology. Eastern mythology is interesting and this book had a lot of it. The book was also a great start off for what i hope will be a great series. I would highly recommend this book for anyone is into the fantasy genre. I hope the other books in the series will be as great at this one.The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, First Scroll) Overview

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The Samurai Series: The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure - The Way of the Samurai & Bushido - The Soul of Japan Review

The Samurai Series: The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure - The Way of the Samurai and Bushido - The Soul of Japan
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The Samurai Series: The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure - The Way of the Samurai & Bushido - The Soul of Japan ReviewI purchased this book last year for myself, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Earlier this year, I decided to pick up another copy for my brother, because Amazon was running a 30% discount. When I found the book description and reviews, I saw that some readers had been uncomfortable with the way these works had been presented. I hadn't really noticed a problem, but I could see how casual readers who are unfamiliar with historical texts might be confused.
So anyway, when my brother's gift arrived, I had a chance to thumb through his copy, and apparently there is a new second edition. The contents are basically the same, but this edition seems slightly more ornate. There were also a few illustrations which had not been in the first edition I had purchased for myself.
So I guess I should add that I am giving the first edition 3 1/2 stars, but I would give the new 2nd edition 4 1/2 stars. Cheers!The Samurai Series: The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure - The Way of the Samurai & Bushido - The Soul of Japan Overview

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The Book of Five Rings from SmarterComics Review

The Book of Five Rings from SmarterComics
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The Book of Five Rings from SmarterComics ReviewPictures say a thousand words. Here you have a dynamic way to learn strategy from one of the best martial artists in history. I love the concept. I love the way it's presented, in beautiful color. I love the bullet-points presented to the back-drop of what each speaks to. This is treasure just as art, but 100-fold for what it teaches. I highly recommend this to everybody. I'm a big fan.The Book of Five Rings from SmarterComics Overview

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The Book of Five Rings (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior) Review

The Book of Five Rings (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior)
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The Book of Five Rings (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior) ReviewI have studied this book for years, and have read five different translations. The William Scott Wilson translation is by far the best. I always get the feeling that other translators are putting too much of themselves or their ideas about what Musashi is saying into the translations. Wilson's translation is clear and concise and yet does not feel filtered.
Here is a passage from the Thomas Cleary translation "Upset happens in all sorts of things. One way it happens is through a feeling of being under acute pressure. Another is through a feeling of unreasonable strain. A third is through a feeling of surprise at the unexpected."
Here is the same passage translated by Wilson "There are many kinds of agitation. One is a feeling of danger, a second is a feeling that something is beyond your capability and a third is a feeling of the unexpected. This should be investigated thoroughly."
They say the same thing, but Wilson is clearer.
As for the book itself, it is a classic masterpiece that describes not only a style of swordsmanship, but a way of living.The Book of Five Rings (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior) Overview

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Musashi's Book of Five Rings: The Definitive Interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi's Classic Book of Strategy Review

Musashi's Book of Five Rings: The Definitive Interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi's Classic Book of Strategy
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Musashi's Book of Five Rings: The Definitive Interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi's Classic Book of Strategy ReviewI have no doubt about the author's sincerity in offering this personal interpretation of Musashi's original work, "Book of 5 Spheres" (or "The Book of 5 Rings"). The problem I have with what Stephen F. Kaufman has done to Musashi's book deals more with his implied suggestion that this edition is the result of an actual ~translation~ which he was responsible for (see pages xi-xii, "Translator's Note"). In fact, when asked Mr. Kaufman has admitted that this volume (and some others he has written) are not translations at all, but rather his own personal interpretations of English translations done by other authors--something he DOESN'T bother to communicate to his readers. The title of this volume, at odds with the "translator's note" on pgs xi -xii, is actually "...The Definitive _Interpretation_ of Miyamoto Musashi's Classic Book of Strategy". I fail to understand why Kaufman confuses his readers by mixing and matching interpretation with translation. It should be noted that Mr Kaufman himself does NOT speak or read Japanese, and in fact innocently named his own martial arts school "Dojo no Hebi" ("Place of Practice's Snake"), when he was trying for "Dojo of the Snake" (which in Japanese would have been "Hebi no Dojo", meaning "The Snake's Place of Practice"). Innocent mistakes yes, but one would expect a Black belt of the 10th Dan (degree grade) and a proclaimed "Hanshi" (master practitioner) to at least check his spelling with someone who _could_ speak the language he was borrowing.
Kaufman doesn't bother to provide a bibliography of which English translations he used, nor does he include notes explaining _how_ he drew his conclusions from the texts he studied. I am bothered by the fact that many of Musashi's original words have been heavily edited, re-arranged, or deleted altogether by this author until they have been removed entirely from their original context. In doing this, Mr. Kaufman has actually ALTERED the _meaning_ of Musashi's work! What remains appears to be little more than a new age self-help guide for modern martial artists which has retained a smidgeon of flavor from Musashi's original work.
A brief example illustrating Kaufman's tendancy to put his own words in Musashi's mouth is in the fourth paragraph on page 6 of Kaufman's book. Kaufman reworks Musashi's words regarding Merchants as a class to read, "Merchants are a ridiculed class because they produce nothing except profit from the work of others." Two other men who have actually translated Musashi's work from the original Japanese suggest nothing sinister in Musashi's original work concerning the merchant class.
Victor Harris in his translation of "A Book of Five Rings" offers: "The way of the merchant is always to live by taking profit" (page 41, 1974). Translator Thomas Cleary offers the same sentence as: "Whatever the business, merchants make a living from the profits they earn acording to their particular status" (page 7, 1993).
This is a minor demonstration of the differences between Kaufman's work and those offered by actual QUALIFIED translators--the translators make an effort to convey to the reader the actual meaning of Musashi's words in English, while Kaufman crafts a new meaning which never existed in Musashi's original work. Suffice to say, Kaufman's interpretation seems heavily influenced by his modern view of martial arts and his concept of what he feels samurai may have been like four centuries ago. It bears little resemblance to competent translations of Musashi's writings. Or perhaps it is Kaufman's guilt over his own attempt to exploit the expertise and writings of a respected master.
I recommend two excellent translations of Musashi's work which stay true to the original Japanese. The first is "A Book of Five Rings" translated by Victor Harris, a mechanical engineer and technical interpreter of Japanese language who not only practiced kendo (Japanese fencing), but studied this art in Japan for 3 years under Ito Kyoitsu at the Seijudo Dojo. A second recommendation is "The Book of Five Rings" by Thomas Cleary, another professional translator. Unlike Kaufman, I did not find translations by these men to be "intellectual exercises in translating Japanese to English" (pg xi). I found legitimate translations by competent translators who were clear and direct...I suspect most scholarly people, whether students of martial arts or not, will draw a similar conclusions upon comparing Kaufman's book to any actual translation.Musashi's Book of Five Rings: The Definitive Interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi's Classic Book of Strategy Overview

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The Complete Book of Five Rings Review

The Complete Book of Five Rings
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The Complete Book of Five Rings Review//The Book of Five Rings//, samurai Miyamoto Musashi's treatise never goes entirely out of fashion, each new edition meant for a different time or audience. Martial artist Kenji Tokitsu's new annotated translation appears geared particularly for other martial arts practitioners, with its careful attention to possible meanings of key technical terms and copious footnotes. In certain ways, this proves refreshing, since Tokitsu pares away much of the myth from about this text and returns its original purpose: success in combat.
Tokitsu's decision to include translations of previous works by Musashi proves particularly insightful. If this translation suffers any flaw, it is the editor's over focus on the author as warrior to the exclusion of the many others areas of expertise that encompassed samurai culture, failing to consider his success as a swordsmith (some fine examples of which survive to this day) or his poetry. Likewise, I found myself missing some of what is included in the more ethereal Victor Harris translation of this text, which recounts many of those likely apocryphal stories and paintings depicting Musashi through time.
Musashi's text stands on its own and Tokitsu's new translation offers it in an impressive form. Many martial artists will revel in this translation for years to come, attempting to absorb Musashi's deep and often elusive teachings. Some, however, will no doubt follow this up by wishing to familiarize themselves with who Musashi became in the Japanese consciousness.The Complete Book of Five Rings Overview

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Book of Five Rings Review

Book of Five Rings
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Book of Five Rings Review"th way of the sword", The entire book is riddled with spelling mistakes such as these.
A friend of mine lent me another version of this book a few months ago, I really enjoyed it. I decided to buy my own copy due to the excellent material presented within.
This copy however is overall poorly translated, and very badly written.
Many sentences make no grammatical sense, the translator chose a lot of English words that do not do justice to the piece, every page has at least one obvious spelling mistake.
Overall a very poor job from whomever was entrusted with making an English version of this book. Had I not already read a far superior version I would have been stuck trying to piece words together and figure out what the h**l is going on.Book of Five Rings Overview

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The Ring of Fire. Chris Bradford (Young Samurai) Review

The Ring of Fire. Chris Bradford (Young Samurai)
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The Ring of Fire. Chris Bradford (Young Samurai) ReviewThis book is most definately the best in the series. The suspense and action left me gagging for more. I didn't put the book down until i finished. I really can't wait for Book 7. I was so shocked then the old friends returned! It's a must read and i recommend it to anyone who loves action and thrills. From the first page i was stuck.The Ring of Fire. Chris Bradford (Young Samurai) Overview

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The Book of Five Rings (Shambhala Classics) Review

The Book of Five Rings (Shambhala Classics)
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The Book of Five Rings (Shambhala Classics) ReviewThe book appears at first to be written simply; it stated the obvious. Written at a time when perhaps things were simpler.
This is NOT a book to read in one sitting, though you easily could.
Read just a bit, then put it down and walk away. Allow what you have read to be mulled over in your mind.
The book is really complex. It contains secrets to living every day, for dealing with everyone you encounter no matter what their state of mind is. It contains secrets about how to do business.
The title is a translation. Like English, words can have multiple meanings. What is translated into the word "ring" can also be translated into "spheres" which I think is a more appropriate translation. The sphere is the most perfect thing in the universe. Beginning at a point and drawing the ring/sphere/circle you will get to a point where the line begins again upon itself. This is a key to understanding the book.
Cleverly written, it holds the knowledge to live at peace with the universe.
An excellent read and mental workout.The Book of Five Rings (Shambhala Classics) Overview

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