The Sword and the Mind

Rating:
Summary: In the valley of the blind...
Review: Boy... some folks get really excited about this huh?
This is a very straight translation written by someone who does not know the subject well (nor did his secondary sources, Imamura Yoshio and Watanabe Ichiro, have more than a scholastic knowledge of Shinkage Ryu)...

The translation is mediocre... and for that reason to be avoided... for the following reason: a BAD translation is easily recognized as bad and disregarded... a good translation may not be appreciated, but can be truly meaningful to someone if it is... a mediocre translation, however, may be taken as correct or authoritative by readers who do not have the experience or background to put it in proper perspective, and can therefore be seriously misleading...
This is such a text...
Allow me to give an example. Mr.Sato translates thus: "There may be a hundred combat postures, but there is only one purpose: to win. Ultimately, all this depends on 'shujishuriken'. You may teach or learn the use of the sword in a hundred ways, in a thousand ways, and you may be able to handle the whole array of combat postures and sword positions. But 'shujishuriken' is central"
He then passes on some bits and pieces relating to "shujishuriken", but displays no understanding of the term himself. While this is not suprising, since the term refers to an understanding that is only obtainable through practice and training, Mr.Sato doesn't seem to twig on this... He goes on about Ninjas (!) for a bit in a footnote... then moves on...
Setting aside the fact that he could have at least gotten a provisional explanation of the meaning of the term from a modern practitioner of the Ryu... What is distressing is that Mr.Sato doesn't seem bothered by not knowing what he is talking about.
Simply because he has managed a translation from Japanese and has a lot of footnotes, many people may take this as authoritative. However, it is (in my opinion) not... and therefore, misleading...

Rating:
Summary: In the valley of the blind...
Review: Boy... some folks get really excited about this huh?
This is a very straight translation written by someone who does not know the subject well (nor did his secondary sources, Imamura Yoshio and Watanabe Ichiro, have more than a scholastic knowledge of Shinkage Ryu)...

The translation is mediocre... and for that reason to be avoided... for the following reason: a BAD translation is easily recognized as bad and disregarded... a good translation may not be appreciated, but can be truly meaningful to someone if it is... a mediocre translation, however, may be taken as correct or authoritative by readers who do not have the experience or background to put it in proper perspective, and can therefore be seriously misleading...
This is such a text...
Allow me to give an example. Mr.Sato translates thus: "There may be a hundred combat postures, but there is only one purpose: to win. Ultimately, all this depends on 'shujishuriken'. You may teach or learn the use of the sword in a hundred ways, in a thousand ways, and you may be able to handle the whole array of combat postures and sword positions. But 'shujishuriken' is central"
He then passes on some bits and pieces relating to "shujishuriken", but displays no understanding of the term himself. While this is not suprising, since the term refers to an understanding that is only obtainable through practice and training, Mr.Sato doesn't seem to twig on this... He goes on about Ninjas (!) for a bit in a footnote... then moves on...
Setting aside the fact that he could have at least gotten a provisional explanation of the meaning of the term from a modern practitioner of the Ryu... What is distressing is that Mr.Sato doesn't seem bothered by not knowing what he is talking about.
Simply because he has managed a translation from Japanese and has a lot of footnotes, many people may take this as authoritative. However, it is (in my opinion) not... and therefore, misleading...

Rating:
Summary: The Fighting Manual the Samurai Really Followed!
Review: Everyone oohs and ahs over Musashi's book these days. The funny thing is that in Musashi's own time, and later in the Edo period, the book that was considered to be the best was "The Sword and the Mind", not "The Book of Five Rings". In Fact, the fighting style of "The Sword and the Mind" became and remained the official style of the Shogunate! Why there is so little interest in this most important of Japanese combat books I cannot understand. In fact, this book even has woodcut pictures demonstrating the techniques! If you want proof as to the skill of the authors, let it be known that one of them had the habit of defeating swordsmen using only his bare hands! Another one of the authors fought seven men at once and beat them all; Musashi only fought individual one-on-one duels. The guys who wrote this book had a system which worked, and which they could teach to others. Victory is achieved through science. One especially nice thing about this book is that you can, based on the pictures, immediately practice the techniques, even if you will do so rather informally. Another great thing is that it is written in a very polished style typical of the ruling class, and it gives the reader a window into the lives and thoughts of upper-ranking samurai. The book was written over time by the three successive masters of the school. This book and no other is the definitive combat manual of the samurai: this is the one you have to read if you are interested in Japanese Martial Arts and the Samurai.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book! A must have for the seasoned practicioner
Review: I have been practicing Yagyu Shinkage ryu in Japan for the last 5 years. In fact, I just finished a 3 day intensive practice in the village of Yagyu near Nara in Japan. We visited the graves of the Yagyu family and stayed in the dojo where they practiced and taught. My dojo is in direct lineage to the founders of this ryu. Finding old scrolls translated so well into English is extremely difficult. This book is absolutely incredible! I have searched years for this. (Translating it myself would have taken much longer!)

I would recommend this book to anyone with a good amount of experience in Japanese sword fighting techiques, but even so, without the verbal lessons that have been handed down to accompany the text, and without seeing it in action, you would find this book too difficult to understand.

Beginners would find the discriptions of the kata hard to follow, but would be able to get the essence of the spirit or the mindset of the practicioner. There is also the history of the ryu and it's lineage that is very informative.

Well written and translated by someone with an understanding of the subject, historically accurate, this book is tops!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book! A must have for the seasoned practicioner
Review: I have been practicing Yagyu Shinkage ryu in Japan for the last 5 years. In fact, I just finished a 3 day intensive practice in the village of Yagyu near Nara in Japan. We visited the graves of the Yagyu family and stayed in the dojo where they practiced and taught. My dojo is in direct lineage to the founders of this ryu. Finding old scrolls translated so well into English is extremely difficult. This book is absolutely incredible! I have searched years for this. (Translating it myself would have taken much longer!)

I would recommend this book to anyone with a good amount of experience in Japanese sword fighting techiques, but even so, without the verbal lessons that have been handed down to accompany the text, and without seeing it in action, you would find this book too difficult to understand.

Beginners would find the discriptions of the kata hard to follow, but would be able to get the essence of the spirit or the mindset of the practicioner. There is also the history of the ryu and it's lineage that is very informative.

Well written and translated by someone with an understanding of the subject, historically accurate, this book is tops!

Rating:
Summary: Unless you came to this page by mistake, BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: If you are interested in ancient samurai philosophy, you need to buy this book. I maintain a website on all things Japanese, and I received many inquiries about this book when it was out of print for so long. Now it has recently been re-released, I highly recommend you get a copy before it goes out of print again.

Yagyu Munenori was the "fencing" teacher to the Tokugawa shogunate in early 17th century Japan. Those "in the know" revere him as one of the wisest -- as well as most skilled -- swordsmen of his day. The Sword and the Mind could be considered a companion text to Takuan's The Unfettered Mind. It is dry in the way of Zen texts, so don't buy it looking for action. It is more the sort of text you meditate on -- figuratively or literally -- and hopefully come away with an expanded understanding of the samurai mentality of "a focused life, a willing death." If you're really into these sorts of things, you can even find ways to apply the philosophy to your own, modern life.

Rating:
Summary: Unless you came to this page by mistake, BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: If you are interested in ancient samurai philosophy, you need to buy this book. I maintain a website on all things Japanese, and I received many inquiries about this book when it was out of print for so long. Now it has recently been re-released, I highly recommend you get a copy before it goes out of print again.

Yagyu Munenori was the "fencing" teacher to the Tokugawa shogunate in early 17th century Japan. Those "in the know" revere him as one of the wisest -- as well as most skilled -- swordsmen of his day. The Sword and the Mind could be considered a companion text to Takuan's The Unfettered Mind. It is dry in the way of Zen texts, so don't buy it looking for action. It is more the sort of text you meditate on -- figuratively or literally -- and hopefully come away with an expanded understanding of the samurai mentality of "a focused life, a willing death." If you're really into these sorts of things, you can even find ways to apply the philosophy to your own, modern life.

Rating:
Summary: A must for any true martial artist!
Review: This book is so good that I had my last copy stolen! For those of you who know what I am talking about when I describe the only proper mindset of a martial artist when confronted is to think only of one thing...to cut, then you will know that you need this book. This book is for martial artists only.This, and another book regarding Bushido, Hagakure, are an indespensible pair in a Martial Artist's study.

Rating:
Summary: One philosophy
Review: To be exact, this book is a translation of Yagyu Munenori's treatise on swordsmanship. It talks a lot about spiritual and mental aspects of swordsmanship, particularly from a Zen standpoint. But it must be remembered that this only one philosophy on swordsmanship. The book contains the complete text, plus translated excerpts from Takuan's (a Zen master) letter to Munenori about Zen and swordsmanship and Takuan's letter to Ono Tadaaki (another master swordsman). Serious students of Japanese swordsmanship will know about this book already but it is a good read for those interested in Zen and its incorporation in martial arts.