Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai

By Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Yamamoto Yosho, Yamamoto

Book Overview

A foremost scholar of samurai texts approaches this martial arts classic as a meditation on the Zen concept of "death of the ego"--offering a fresh translation unlike any other.

Discover what it takes to be a samurai with the 18th-century martial arts treatise that delves into minds of legendary Japanese warriors.

Living and dying with bravery and honor is at the heart of Hagakure, a series of texts written by an eighteenth-century samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo. It is a window into the samurai mind, illuminating the concept of bushido--the Way of the Warrior--which dictated how samurai were expected to behave, conduct themselves, live, and die. While Hagakure was for many years a secret text known only to the warrior vassals of the Nabeshima clan to which the author belonged, it later came to be recognized as a classic exposition of samurai thought.

The original Hagakure consists of over 1,300 short texts that Tsunetomo dictated to a younger samurai over a seven-year period. William Scott Wilson has selected and translated here three hundred of the most representative of those texts to create an accessible distillation of this guide for samurai. No other translator has so thoroughly and eruditely rendered this text into English.

For this edition, Wilson has added a new introduction that casts Hagakure in a different light than ever before. Tsunetomo refers to bushido as "the Way of death," a description that has held a morbid fascination for readers over the years. But in Tsunetomo's time, bushido was a nuanced concept that related heavily to the Zen concept of muga, the "death" of the ego. Wilson's revised introduction gives the historical and philosophical background for that more metaphorical reading of Hagakure, and through this lens, the classic takes on a fresh and nuanced appeal.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590309855
• ISBN13: 9781590309858
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Great for martial artists

I first want to mention that I have not read any other translations of this book, so I'm unable to compare it to others. However, it's a really good book for martial artists who want to learn more of the spiritual side of martial arts, like myself. The book is written in what I like to call little "tidbits," so you can read one part and meditate on it each day, or if you don't have much time to read, you would be able to read a tidbit at a time. It's also a great way to find more about the lives and the mindset of the samurai of the times. I would recommended this book to martial artists, zen artists, or those who have an interest in history.

Hagakure

I've read various versions of "Hagakure", and this one is my favorite. Very philosophical and inspirational, delves into the mindset of one whose only dedication is to serving one's master and way, in everyday life, and into one's chosen path, the battlefield.

Interesting

I bought this book after seeing the movie "Ghost Dog - Way of the Samurai". I didn't really know what to expect, but the book has some very interesting aspects on life and ways to live, that still work extremely well in todays society. I have at many times found myself in situations described in the book and even though some answers might be a bit hard to understand, the book has given me answers, or perhaps ways to answer/respond, in different situations. It's not really a book you read from cover to cover, but pick up and read a couple of "rules" every now and then, which after a while are in the back of your head, ready for use.I highly reccommend this book to pretty much every one.

Reveals the essence of Samurai thought.

HAGAKURE: The Book of the Samurai is a very interesting book which describes the everyday life and mindset of a samurai. For those that are not interested in the Samurai thought, this book may appear rather dry and in some instances, absurd. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The book is made up of short entries of various topics. Whether it's describing a wise samurai's actions, or cracking jokes at the noblemen around him, it is obvious that Yamamoto Tsunetomo was truly a samurai in every aspect of his life. During Yamamoto's time, the prestige of the samurai was declining, due to a long period of peace in Japan. The samurai lived to die for his lord in battle, but how can one remain a noble samurai during times of peace? Yamamoto answers this and many other questions in Hagakure. He also points out that when one is focused on dying, he will not be afraid in the presence of death. As Yamamoto liked to say, "The way of the Samurai is found in death."