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Adil's Reviews > A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy
A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy
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I read a translation by Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Rosemary Brant. This book puzzled me in that at first glance I seem to have learned nothing else from it than how to hold a sword and attack and enemy, and obvious things like never let your enemy have a chance to recover. I'm definitely missing something, either due to the translation or my inability to read between the lines. I guess I'm supposed to reflect on it and come back to it until I "get it" if there's any wisdom in here. The book is full of lines such as "research this well," "study this thoroughly," "I cannot elaborate on this in writing" and I'm not sure how these are supposed to evoke any insight in me into anything. Furthermore, the topics are elaborated on very little in this book. I have a suspicion that all those people who rated this book highly have filled in the gap with their imagination. The edition I read presents the book as "the cornerstone of Japanese Culture" and I have absolutely no idea how this book played any significant role in Japanese culture; it baffles me. But I guess, as the book says, "these things are not explainable in detail." I can say one positive thing about my experience reading the book: It left me using sword battle as an analogy for human relations and that might be useful somehow.
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August 19, 2011
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August 19, 2011
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Jeff
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rated it 2 stars
Sep 06, 2016 07:01PM
My thoughts were similar. I guess I don't "get it" either.
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Jeff wrote: "My thoughts were similar. I guess I don't "get it" either." Cool, good to know I'm not the only one!
don't we all fill things with imagination
your takeaway at the bottom of your review: spot on. I feel you didnt miss anything.
I concur with your review!
In my personal opinion this book is more comprehensible by people who study the way of the sword. As a kendo practitioner my self I found this book interesting but I agree with your review. I dont think there many things "to get" if you are not a sword practinioner.I believe sun tzu's art of war is much more interesting and much more comprehensible and usefull.
Agreed. I honestly wondered if the value of the book outweighed my difficulty trying to apply it to my context. I eventually decided it was not.
you are certainly not the only one. I took was bewildered by how often the author simply went "you must research this thourally" and left it as if that explained it. I read this book to research it, i didnt need you to tell me that.
Musashi not only speaks of swordsmanship but also the meta game of any game. When you meet someone for the first time there is a certain attitude they carry with them. When you are in competition with someone there is system of winning they use. Thus for every mode of being there is a weakness and a counter operating force. It is just that you have to search low enough to find it.
Kendoka here. Still find the book pretty much useless. 😁
I have read several translations and adaptations of the “Book of Five Rings” and found nothing more than basic strategic incites in any of them. Thanks for the honest review.
I believe the book is more a tool to focus the reader's thoughts or studies. He gives a starting point and leaves the reader to ponder how this relates to them and their situation. If I remember correctly, Musashi was very unconventional and didn't hold traditional teaching in high regard, thus it could be construed that he didn't believe he could teach the reader how to do it step by step, as everyone learns in a personal manner and environments they exist in are different, so it is left to the reader to ponder from those starting points, how to best approach the teachings as they relate to their lives. At least, this is how I interpreted this book.
You're fine. Some people read it metaphorically, but he didn't mean to write a philosophy. These are just the ramblings of somebody who won every fight they were in.
Thanks for the authentic review. I’m half way through the book and I’m wondering if I really miss something here
I read this book and I totally agree with what you said. Even I had my doubts because I have already seen too many movies on martial arts that the wisdom this book provided seems to look obvious to me! I read this book because Phil Knight ( author of the book, Shoe dog ) mentioned this book, as the book that helped him survive!
It's more about the essence that specific techniques. I feel it helped me out as someone who practices martial arts. For example he talks about not limiting oneself to one specific style (he uses swords/knives/etc but can apply to boxing/wrestling/etc). To not be too rigid with ones plans because you must be able to adjust based on your opponents form and technique. He talks about the importance of training and dedication, and also covers things like being aware of the environment you are fighting in. A more example would be if you happened to get into a physical altercation on the subway, you wouldnt be able to move around as much so many boxing techniques would be less useful.I'd say if someone wants to learn specifically how to fight, it's not really a book well suited for that (despite having the sword techniques). Though if someone wants to learn important fundamentals of martial arts (without technique) it would be a good fit
This translation by Harris is far superior. You're actually giving a review of this book, based on your reading of another. This is not particularly helpful.
Phillip wrote: "This translation by Harris is far superior. You're actually giving a review of this book, based on your reading of another. This is not particularly helpful."Unfortunately the way this site works is that it prioritizes the popular edition in searches and usually show reviews for all editions under any of them.
You people are joking right?
I cannot pretend to know the author's intentions, but I'm pretty sure this book was NOT written for 21st century businessmen.
Not sure what you mean. I'm not a businessman. I happen to live in the 21st century, I can't do anythming about that but I also read Epictetus (50-135 AD) for instance and I don't have a problem with understanding anything he said and I wholeheartedly agree with most of it.
Well kind of true. However, the book cootains wisdom on the spiritual aspect of fighting and I totally agree that not much of it can be explained in words. Rather the book helps someone understand the strategy by practicing it and then starting to unerstand the words as you prctice.Sure, If you never have practiced any of this then you wont get any of it either.
If I read this book some years ago I would propably agree with you. But now I find it just a masterpiece.
Tuomas wrote: "Well kind of true. However, the book cootains wisdom on the spiritual aspect of fighting and I totally agree that not much of it can be explained in words. Rather the book helps someone understand ..."That's a good point. I totally get what you said. Some things require direct experience; often discussed as the difference between a map and the actual terrain. I lack that experience in the domain of fighting and thus, I may miss the point completely. This is possible of course. Thanks for pointing it out.
Reading ur review and them questions makes me scratch my head. Is that some joke? I found all answers in that book. I guess u need to read it again or maybe it's about ur basic understanding and the way u think what u need to train?
Good for you; maybe you can write a book about how you "found all answers in that book" and I'd be happy to learn your secret.
Adil wrote: "Tuomas wrote: "Well kind of true. However, the book cootains wisdom on the spiritual aspect of fighting and I totally agree that not much of it can be explained in words. Rather the book helps some..."I have to be honest here, I'm a bit confused as to why someone with little experience in fighting would read a book like this. Of course you're going to miss the point, if I read a book on the wisdom gained from carpentry I would surely miss the point too - because I am not a carpenter.
Some philosophies apply to all - others to a select few.
I don't remember why I chose to read this book. You could be right but I can't make a judgment anymore and it really doesn't matter. All I did was read a book and write a review and it's been 10 years.
oh boy, sword battles as analogy for human relations? the best sword is the one that's never used, dude
There is a legitimate argument that Five Rings was Musashi's attempt to get something down on paper that was profound and valuable in his own mindspace. However the results did not translate well, both to the written word and into other languages. I have heard from people who have read it in Japanese that it is far more coherent and logical in the original language. It appatently looses quite a bit in translation.
Thanks for the info. Wish I could read the original.
Todd wrote: "Nailed it.":-D Thanks!
Practice a martial art. Think strategically. Esperience the world and life a little bit. Then you will understand the high praise. This book isn't a contemporary self help book and Musashi has the contradiction of being a Samurai that practiced Zen Buddhism (as for all the Samurai). So, spoon-fed instructions aren't the way of Zen: you have to experience it. Also, as Musashi put it "There is more than one path to the top of the mountain". His path was HIS alone. Your path is YOURS alone. I applied so many principles from this book in my life in some of the most problematic situations that I can't even enumerate them all from the top of my head. If you actually read other books like "The Prince" or "The Art of War" it will be the same thing: until you have been into the situation and tried to solve it by yourself is when you will understand how to apply. Lastly, I also can argue that even the rules of chess (openings theory, finals theory) could be applied to everyday life, if you could transfer one knowledge to the other.
Precisely...could not have said it better...
I’m a life long practitioner of martial arts and the comments people make here at bullshit. I have a lot of experience in combat and I see the same problems you noted in this book. There is not much to learn from it. I just see it as a little piece of historical value on Japanese culture and a specific time in history (the “peaceful” era where the ronin became relevant since the military conflicts waned down). But not much else.
That's really interesting Juan, thanks for chiming in and I feel good about being verified. cheers!
You don't have to read it. You have to reflect on the words. It is not a book to provide you with a product; it is a book written in the 1600s where a legendary Japanese warrior wanted to encapsulate his school of thought into words. You can hear the sounds, but are you really listening? If you are listening, you don't go running, overwhelmed, trying to convince everybody about your reflections. Instead, you keep reflecting and with extreme awareness and care, digest your thoughts.Buddhism is known for teaching through deep questions. You have to embark on a long and patient journey into the deepest waters of your mind to truly understand the answer. Understanding isn't merely an answer; it's the process of traversing through the question.
Perhaps this perspective can help you see the intentions of this book from another angle. If not, that's okay.
I would write same review.
Bruno has the right of it. Even if you are just learning a martial art, this book is very insightful. Mind you, reading far into what is explained is a must and when he says” research this well” and such- you really do have to. This is not light reading. It is meant as a study.
I challenge everyone who gave this book a bad review to a duel to the death
