Om samuraikrigeren i både legende og historie

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.

The first popular survey of Japan's samurai film genre and its heroes.

The definitive translation of the seminal treatise on the code of the samurai. Living and dying with bravery and honor is at the heart of Hagakure, a series of over 1,300 short texts written by eighteenth-century samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo. These texts illuminate the classic Japanese concept of bushido (the Way of the Warrior), which dictated how samurai were expected to behave, conduct themselves, live, and die. Acclaimed translator William Scott Wilson has selected and translated here three hundred of those texts to create an accessible distillation of this guide, making it one of the most thorough and astonishing windows into the captivating world of the samurai available. This edition includes an introduction that delves into the Zen concept of muga, or “death” of the ego, giving an in-depth historical and philosophical background for the more metaphorical reading of Hagakure that is based on Tsunetomo’s reference to bushido as “the Way of death.” Through this lens, which has held a morbid fascination for readers through the years, the classic takes on a fresh and nuanced appeal. This book was previously published under the title Hagakure. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.

After the massacre of his family by the traitor Ashikaga Takauji, Tokiyuki flees with the help of a handful of loyal retainers who have also survived the purge. One of them is Suwa Yorishige, an ally of the Hojo clan and lord of Suwa Province. The slightly odd Yorishige also claims to be clairvoyant and foretells that Tokiyuki will one day become the ruler of Japan. But for the moment, escaping from enemy territory is the priority! -- VIZ Media

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. "