Om samuraikrigeren i både legende og historie

The Way of the Living Sword is the final installment in D.E. Tarver's popular Warrior Series. It stands beside The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi as one of the greatest writings of the warrior mind. In The Way of the Living Sword, Munenori gives an in-depth explanation of the connection between physical martial arts and the mental process of Zen. While Munenori and Musashi were both avid students of Zen, Munenori was more fascinated by the academic aspects of the philosophy. Munenori stretches the consciousness of even the most enlightened martial artist. Martial arts devotees will experience many flashes of revelation as Tarver explores the various aspects of Munenori's approach. Read and grow!

Discover a different side of Japanese swordsmanship through this fascinating treatise by a samurai doctor on how to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spiritual life Samurai are best known for taking life—but here is a samurai doctor’s prescription for how to preserve life, and to make yours a long and healthy one. Unlike other samurai of his time, the samurai Kaibara Ekiken (1630–1714) was concerned less with swordsmanship than with how to maintain and nurture the healthy mind and body upon which martial techniques and philosophy depended. While serving as the chief medical doctor and healer to the Kuroda clan, he came to a holistic view of how the physical, mental, and spiritual lives of his patients were connected. Drawing from his medical practice, the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, and his life experience, Ekiken created this text as a guide to sustaining health and stamina from youth to old age. Ekiken’s advice regarding moderation, food and drink, sleep, sexual activity, bathing, and therapeutic practices is still amazingly intuitive and appropriate nearly three hundred years after this book was written.

The samurai of Japan, who were the country’s military elite from medieval times to the end of the nineteenth century, were synonymous with valor, honor, and martial arts prowess. Their strict adherence to the code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"), chivalry, and honor in fighting to the death continues to capture the imagination of people today, inspiring authors, filmmakers, and artists. The Pocket Samurai contains the essential writings of the era by the most esteemed samurai and philosophers of the age, including the iconic Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings; Yamamoto Tsunetomo, author of Hagakure, the best-known explication of the samurai code; Takuan Soho, a Zen priest and adviser to samurai; Yamaoka Tesshu, a master swordsman whose colorful life was devoted to martial arts and Zen; along with many others.

In the spirit of The Art of War and The Book of Five Rings, this fascinating strategy guide is full of ancient Chinese wisdom that can be applied to all areas of modern life The 36 Strategies of the Martial Arts is a classical collection of Chinese maxims on understanding, engaging, and defeating your enemy. The origin of the collection is unknown; however, the text is a synthesis of various military maxims, political expressions, and even folk sayings—some of which are from sources that date back 1,500 years. Professor Hiroshi Moriya, a Tokyo-based authority on Chinese culture and philosophy, supplies clear and succinct explanations of each maxim and illustrates them with examples not only from Chinese literature and history but also from events in Europe and modern business affairs. This book will resonate with anyone interested in a classic approach to psyching out an opponent and emerging victorious—in martial arts, business, sports, or politics.

Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584-1645) is the most revered and celebrated swordsman in Japanese history; unfortunately, our modern portrait of this folk hero is derived mainly from popular books, comics, and film, with little heed paid to the early records by men who knew Musashi, practiced with Musashi, and went into battle with Musashi. Spanning a period of more than a decade, the author set out to translate all surviving records on Musashi. The result is a body of text comprising some 150,000 words, mostly written during Japan's feudal era. They range from original accounts of duels, battles, and sieges, local histories and topographies, down to personal correspondence, clan records, family lineages, and roll calls. The fruit of that labor of love, the groundbreaking three-part The Real Musashi: Origins of a Legend series makes available to the English reader virtually all of the extant early historical material relevant to the life of this enigmatic and solitary swordsman. All texts are accompanied by extensive notes that help to clarify and put them in perspective. Part III, A Miscellany, presents translations of nearly two dozen texts describing important events in Musashi's life, dating from the mid-seventeenth to the late-nineteenth century. They include the Tomari jinja munefuda, by Musashi's adopted son Iori; the Yoshioka-den, the clan records of the rivaling Yoshioka clan, the K k zatsuroku, describing Musashi's heroic role in the siege of Osaka castle; the Dobo goen, on his liaison with a Yoshiwara geisha; the S ky -sama o-degatari on his role in the Shimabara Rebellion; and the Numata kaki, written by the keeper of the castle where Musashi stayed at the time of his famous duel on Ganryu Island. "

The classic samurai-era text that fused Japanese swordsmanship with Zen philosophy—written by the incomparable Zen master Takuan Soho Written by the seventeenth-century Zen master Takuan Soho (1573–1645), The Unfettered Mind is a book of advice on swordsmanship and the cultivation of right mind and intention. It was written as a guide for the samurai Yagyu Munenori, who was a great swordsman and rival to the legendary Miyamoto Musashi. Takuan was a giant in the history of Zen; he was also a gardener, calligrapher, poet, author, adviser to samurai and shoguns, and a pivotal figure in Zen painting. He was known for his brilliance and acerbic wit. In these succinct and pointed essays, Takuan is concerned primarily with understanding and refining the mind—both generally and when faced with conflict. The Unfettered Mind was a major influence on the classic manifestos on swordsmanship that came after it, including Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings and Yagyu Munenori's Life-Giving Sword.