Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai

Rating:
Summary: meant to be reflected on
Review: The hagakure is a short book, but that does not mean that it is a short read. On the contrary, this is longest short read you will ever encounter. This book is dense, it will take you many reads to undestand this book. I have lost count of the amount of times that I have read it.

Many deride this book as being written by an armchair samurai, noting the fact that yamamoto tsunetomo never actually fought in any battles. But this is the wrong way to look at the book. The Hagakure was written by a peace time samurai for peace time samurai, and is thus valuable for american practioners of the way. An invaluable book, recommended to all.

Rating:
Summary: The lesser known 'Way of the Samurai'
Review: "Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai" was written by a samurai who never once fought in a battle and, being denied the "honorable" samurai death (ritual suicide) when his lord died, became a Buddhist monk for the last 20 years of his life and faded into historical obscurity. And yet, the book which is his legacy, a transcript of conversations collected over 7 years, grasps the heart of the samurai spirit so prevalent one hundred years before his time.

Less abstract than Miyamoto Musashi's famous "Book of Five Rings" - a similiar work by a famous swordsman and samurai who came about his enlightenment after a lifetime of hacking, killing and dueling; and less concerned with military/political tactics than Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", "Hagakure" espouses a mixture of Confucianism, Zen and fanatical personal loyalty and devotion to samurai duty and responsibility and provides an often fascinating look into the ideals of the samurai warrior.

For example, there is the popular warrior class obsessive focus on death. According to Tsunetomo, one's death should be fixed in one's thoughts upon waking and kept throughout the day. This allows one to serve his lord admirably without cowardice, attachment or distraction creeping in.
There is a stong anti-materialistic bent ("Both riches and honour will blemish a retainer...") as well as plenty of Confucianistic thought on proper social graces - from it being bad taste to yawn or sneeze in front of others (including how to repress or hide it) to how to carry a letter properly. Some of it seems laughable in today's Western culture. Yet, without battles to focus on, its as if Tsunetomo, unable to turn his passionate warrior's focus outward, brought it inward, or at leat to the little things in life.
There is also a Zen-like self-help bent - a serious perfectionism, which I feel probably drove Tsunetomo in everything he did. "Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never ending."(pg. 27) He summarizes the synthesis of his self-discipline, his perfectionist drive, and the 3 schools of thought which influenced his life: warrior, Confucist and Buddhist:

"Never be oudone in the Way of the Samurai.

To be of good use to the master.

To be filial to my parents.

To manifest great compassion, and to act for the sake of Man."

Also check out "The Book of 5 Rings" by Musashi, the Samual B. Griffith translation of "The Art of War" and "Mastery" by George Leonard who uses Aikido as his metaphor for "the Way".

Rating:
Summary: The lesser known 'Way of the Samurai'
Review: "Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai" was written by a samurai who never once fought in a battle and, being denied the "honorable" samurai death (ritual suicide) when his lord died, became a Buddhist monk for the last 20 years of his life and faded into historical obscurity. And yet, the book which is his legacy, a transcript of conversations collected over 7 years, grasps the heart of the samurai spirit so prevalent one hundred years before his time.

Less abstract than Miyamoto Musashi's famous "Book of Five Rings" - a similiar work by a famous swordsman and samurai who came about his enlightenment after a lifetime of hacking, killing and dueling; and less concerned with military/political tactics than Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", "Hagakure" espouses a mixture of Confucianism, Zen and fanatical personal loyalty and devotion to samurai duty and responsibility and provides an often fascinating look into the ideals of the samurai warrior.

For example, there is the popular warrior class obsessive focus on death. According to Tsunetomo, one's death should be fixed in one's thoughts upon waking and kept throughout the day. This allows one to serve his lord admirably without cowardice, attachment or distraction creeping in.
There is a stong anti-materialistic bent ("Both riches and honour will blemish a retainer...") as well as plenty of Confucianistic thought on proper social graces - from it being bad taste to yawn or sneeze in front of others (including how to repress or hide it) to how to carry a letter properly. Some of it seems laughable in today's Western culture. Yet, without battles to focus on, its as if Tsunetomo, unable to turn his passionate warrior's focus outward, brought it inward, or at leat to the little things in life.
There is also a Zen-like self-help bent - a serious perfectionism, which I feel probably drove Tsunetomo in everything he did. "Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never ending."(pg. 27) He summarizes the synthesis of his self-discipline, his perfectionist drive, and the 3 schools of thought which influenced his life: warrior, Confucist and Buddhist:

"Never be oudone in the Way of the Samurai.

To be of good use to the master.

To be filial to my parents.

To manifest great compassion, and to act for the sake of Man."

Also check out "The Book of 5 Rings" by Musashi, the Samual B. Griffith translation of "The Art of War" and "Mastery" by George Leonard who uses Aikido as his metaphor for "the Way".

Rating:
Summary: The wisdom of the Samurai
Review: "No matter what it is, there is nothing that cannot be done. If one manifests the determination, he can move heaven and earth as he pleases. But because man is pluckless, he cannot set his mind to it. Moving heaven and earth without putting forth the effort is simply a matter of concentration."

That's just one of my favorite quotes from the book. There are a lot of similar reflections in the book that give the reader a feeling of the Samurai code. I've read a lot of books on Taoism and Zen, and I find the Hagakure a nice departure from the traditional eastern philosophy books. Whereas a lot of eastern philosophy seems to focus on how one lives the central point of the Hagakure appears to be how one dies. However, its not as morbid as you may think. The focus is on how one reacts, and escapes the pontifications found in most Zen texts. Its a simple read, and it gave me an illuminating insight into the Samurai lifestyle.

Rating:
Summary: Samurai philosophy from the profound to the absurd
Review:

"...if you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy."
Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Hagakure -- which can be translated as either "hidden leaves" or "hidden by leaves" -- was published on September 10, 1716. It is a compilation of the philosphies of Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a close retainer of Nabeshima Mitsushige, the third ruler of what is now Saga Prefecture.

The book can be very dry, especially if a person is not especially interested in Japanese history or Samurai thought. But if one does enjoy those subjects, Hagakure is interesting not so much for all of its philosophies, which run from the profound to the mundane to the absurd, but rather for the historical context in which it was written. By the time Mitsushige passed away in May 1700, Japan had been at peace for almost exactly 100 years. This left the samurai with the same problem facing our modern military: how do you remain a proud, disciplined warrior in times of extended peace?

Reading carefully for the feeling of the passages rather than just the facts, one gets a sense for how the fanatical, death-driven, honor-obsessed samurai of feudal Japan must have felt as they watched their profession stagnate. Tsunetomo himself was forbidden to commit junshi, a retainer's ritual suicide in order to follow his master into death, by the command of the Tokugawa Shogunate. No doubt, this added to his misery and frustration.

So, in a way, Hagakure is not just "The Book of the Samurai," but also a last bit of verbal bravado from a dying breed. It is particularly ironic if you read the version adapted by one of Japan's most celebrated authors, Mishima Yukio, who commited ritual suicide samurai-style (called hara-kiri or more often seppuku) in the office of Japan Self Defense Force General Mashita for numerous reasons including Mishima's obsession with "bushido," the way of the warrior, which is embodied within "Hagakure.".

The philosophy of Hagakure is typical of the unique blend of Zen and Confucianism that was prevalent during Edo Era (1600-1868) Japan. This particular social system was promulgated by the Tokugawa Shogunate because it added to the focus of Zen the Confucian emphasis on ancestor worship, which strengthened the status quo and the concept of feudal class systems.

Although Japan is becoming increasingly Westernized in recent times, the Tokugawa Shogunate's 268-year rule still has a strong subconscious impact on Japanese behaviour. So, to better understand the Japanese, it is useful to understand their socio-political history, though it is certainly true that most Japanese (esp. those under 30) have never heard of "Hagakure" or Yamamoto Tsunetomo.

In addition to the historical character sketch it paints of samurai during the Edo Era, there are some gems of Eastern philosophy to be mined from the book, including the idea that one must always focus on every moment of his life, so that he may not be found negligent. For as Yamamoto writes in Hagakure, "The end is important in all things." By this he means that if everything else goes well, the one bad thing that happens at the end of the day, so to speak, is what people will remember when they think about you.

For Yamamoto, however, "Hagakure" is the legacy he is remembered by.

Rating:
Summary: Samurai philosophy from the profound to the absurd
Review:

"...if you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy."
Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Hagakure -- which can be translated as either "hidden leaves" or "hidden by leaves" -- was published on September 10, 1716. It is a compilation of the philosphies of Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a close retainer of Nabeshima Mitsushige, the third ruler of what is now Saga Prefecture.

The book can be very dry, especially if a person is not especially interested in Japanese history or Samurai thought. But if one does enjoy those subjects, Hagakure is interesting not so much for all of its philosophies, which run from the profound to the mundane to the absurd, but rather for the historical context in which it was written. By the time Mitsushige passed away in May 1700, Japan had been at peace for almost exactly 100 years. This left the samurai with the same problem facing our modern military: how do you remain a proud, disciplined warrior in times of extended peace?

Reading carefully for the feeling of the passages rather than just the facts, one gets a sense for how the fanatical, death-driven, honor-obsessed samurai of feudal Japan must have felt as they watched their profession stagnate. Tsunetomo himself was forbidden to commit junshi, a retainer's ritual suicide in order to follow his master into death, by the command of the Tokugawa Shogunate. No doubt, this added to his misery and frustration.

So, in a way, Hagakure is not just "The Book of the Samurai," but also a last bit of verbal bravado from a dying breed. It is particularly ironic if you read the version adapted by one of Japan's most celebrated authors, Mishima Yukio, who commited ritual suicide samurai-style (called hara-kiri or more often seppuku) in the office of Japan Self Defense Force General Mashita for numerous reasons including Mishima's obsession with "bushido," the way of the warrior, which is embodied within "Hagakure.".

The philosophy of Hagakure is typical of the unique blend of Zen and Confucianism that was prevalent during Edo Era (1600-1868) Japan. This particular social system was promulgated by the Tokugawa Shogunate because it added to the focus of Zen the Confucian emphasis on ancestor worship, which strengthened the status quo and the concept of feudal class systems.

Although Japan is becoming increasingly Westernized in recent times, the Tokugawa Shogunate's 268-year rule still has a strong subconscious impact on Japanese behaviour. So, to better understand the Japanese, it is useful to understand their socio-political history, though it is certainly true that most Japanese (esp. those under 30) have never heard of "Hagakure" or Yamamoto Tsunetomo.

In addition to the historical character sketch it paints of samurai during the Edo Era, there are some gems of Eastern philosophy to be mined from the book, including the idea that one must always focus on every moment of his life, so that he may not be found negligent. For as Yamamoto writes in Hagakure, "The end is important in all things." By this he means that if everything else goes well, the one bad thing that happens at the end of the day, so to speak, is what people will remember when they think about you.

For Yamamoto, however, "Hagakure" is the legacy he is remembered by.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent almost poetic view of samurai thought.
Review: A previous review spoke of the passages in this book being a bit odd. I belive this book is a great way of begining shaping the mind to be open to the Way of the samurai. It is also interesting to note that although the author was never in any actual battles. The greatest sword ever made was never intended on being used.

Rating:
Summary: Hagakure
Review: An excellent foray into the mind of the Samurai. Details of the Samurai experience and the Samurai Code. Many hidden treasures in this book, you just have to look for them.

Rating:
Summary: Love it
Review: As my name says, I love Japan. This book is full of bits of knowledge from Yamamoto, which manifest itself to be principles of a good and obidient samurai. Though the book is full of these random quotes, I enjoy very few of them enough to quote them from the text. I haven't read the entire book yet, but I have given it 5 stars since it is an excellent way to learn about the samurai

Rating:
Summary: Only for Samurai fetishists and Occidental Japanophiles!
Review: Deliberate before purchasing this book unless you are a hardcore Japan fetishist. I know that most of the reviews here are glowing and I am nonplussed by this because, frankly, this book is definitely way too esoteric for most.
Hagakure is a compilation of the selected musings of a 'retired' Samurai as recorded by a disciple or admirer who visited him in his post-retirement gig as a Buddhist monk. These selections pertain to the day to day comportment of a 'good' Samurai, sweeping statements about how things work, and examples of good 'Way.' As this was dictated during the late 1600's, you can imagine how otherworldly much of this information is, and frankly this is the book's main attraction: The total alterity of a supposed way of life of a discrete segment of the population of historical Japan.
If one reads enough books about subjects Japanese, one is bound to run into excerpts of this book being quoted say, or displayed as chapter headings. This is because the book has some really excellent 'sound bites' that beg to be used as such. Sadly, this nugget-like structure makes a linear reading of the book a bit of a bore.
Also, if one reads the text closely (assuming that the translator has done a good job, and I am not sure that I would concede this point), one is forced to realize that either the narrator is not a particularly deep-thinker or that the scribe to whom he spoke did only a fair job of capturing the essence of the narrator's speech. One needs only to have read, from Japan, Sei Shonagon's brilliant 'Pillow Book' or 'The Story of a Rogue,' as I believe it is called, for the contrast between these truly perceptive and insightful efforts and those found here to cast this book in a very poor light. I highly recommend an excellent book by Hiroaki Sato titled "Legends of the Samurai" where, incidentally, I believe that Yamamoto is quoted, as an alternative to this as a means of getting the Samurai perspective.