Books & Magazines >> Ancient Philosophy

Author: Musashi Miyamoto, Translated by Victor Harris - 96 pages - softcover

Few works of literature speak almost equally to the businessman, the philosopher, and the martial artist. Musashi's great classic A book of Five Rings is likely to be the most perceptive guide to strategy ever written.

Author: Musashi Miyamoto, Translated by William Scott Wilson - Calligraphy by Shiro Tsujimura - 160 pages - Hardcover

In this new rendering by the translator of Hagakure and The Unfettered Mind, William Scott Wilson adheres rigorously to the seventeenth-century Japanese text and clarifies points of ambiguity in earlier translations. In addition, he offers an extensive introduction and a translation of Musashi's rarely published The Way of Walking Alone.

Author: Inazo Nitobi - 203 Pages - Softcover

Literally translated as “military knight’s ways” or “precepts of knighthood,” Bushido embodies the maxims of educational training governing the samurai, or warrior class, of Japan. In Bushido, Nitobe, a Japanese philosopher, explains the origin and sources of bushido, exploring how bushido permeates both ancient and modern Japanese culture as the basis of the morals, ethics, and etiquette of Japan.
This classic book is essential to an understanding of the soul of Japan.

Author: Inazo Nitobi - 154 Pages - Hardcover

Literally translated as “military knight’s ways” or “precepts of knighthood,” Bushido embodies the maxims of educational training governing the samurai, or warrior class, of Japan. In Bushido, Nitobe, a Japanese philosopher, explains the origin and sources of bushido, exploring how bushido permeates both ancient and modern Japanese culture as the basis of the morals, ethics, and etiquette of Japan.
This classic book is essential to an understanding of the soul of Japan.

Writings froma Zen Master to a Master Swordsman

Author: Takuan Soho, Translated by William Scott Wilson - 144 pages - Softcover

The philosophy and competitive strategy presented by the spiritual mentor to Musashi is as useful to today's warriors as it was to 17th-century samurai.

Writings froma Zen Master to a Master Swordsman

Author: Takuan Soho, Translated by William Scott Wilson - 144 pages - Hardcover

The philosophy and competitive strategy presented by the spiritual mentor to Musashi is as useful to today's warriors as it was to 17th-century samurai.

Writings of Japanese Warriors

Translated by: William Scott Wilson - 144 pages - Softcover

Author: Yagyu Munenori, Translated by William Scott Wilson- 191 pages - Hardcover

This is a translation of an important classic on Zen swordfighting. Yagyu Munenori was so widely renowned that he was appointed official sword instructor to two Tokugawa shoguns. Yagyu's style is known as the Shinkage-ryu style, for centuries the official style of the Tokugawa dynasty. His spiritual mentor was Zen priest Takuan. Here, Yagyu's Buddhist spirituality is clearly reflected in his central idea of the "life-giving sword" - the notion of controlling an opponent by the spiritual readiness to fight, rather than during the fight. His mastery of restraint and diplomacy made him a trusted political and military advisor to the shoguns. This book is a look into a master swordsman's thoughts on nonattachment and even non-violence.

Author: Sun Tzu, Translated by Thomas Cleary - 457 pages - Paperback

The book of the Samurai

Author: Yamamoto Tsunetomo - Translated by: William Scott Wilson - 180 pages - Softcover

Lessons from the Great Masters of Martial Arts

Author: Kazumi Tabata - 146 pages - Hardcover

In the tradition of The Martial Artist’s Book of Five Rings, one of America’s most experienced teachers of karate offers new interpretations of fundamental martial arts texts. The book includes new translations of essays on leadership, correct behavior, character, and values. “Hereditary Manual of Fighting Techniques” by Yagyu Tajimanokami Munenori explores the relationship between Zen philosophy and warfare and the mental preparation for successful fighting. In “The Ultimate Sword,” Takuan Soho describes the unremitting effort that must be undertaken to become a true master of strategy. He uses key aspects of sword-fighting strategy to shed light on the path to self-realization in “The Miracle of Immovable Wisdom.” Kotoda Yahei Toshisada emphasizes the importance of training and learning techniques over theory in “Technical Study of Kenpo.” In “The School of Two Heavens,” Musashi Miyamoto applies the principles of sword fighting to military arts and politics. Mastuura Saizan focuses on strengthening the weak points of the human mind, and exploiting the natural movements of the human body, in “Jyoseihi Kendan.” And “Tengu’s Dialogue on the Martial Arts” by Issai Chosanshi is a manual for students of the martial arts, presented in the form of a dialogue with a master.

Lessons in the Spiritual Life of the Warrior/Martial Artist

Author: Kensho Furuya - 223 pages - Softcover

A modern translation of the Bushido Shoshinshu

Author: Taira Shigesuke - Translated by: Thomas Cleary - Illustrated by: Oscar Ratti - 100 pages - Hardcover

The Code of the Samurai is a four-hundred-year-old explication of the rules and expectations embodied in Bushido, the Japanese way of the warrior. Bushido has played a major role in shaping the behavior of modern Japanese government, corporations, society, and individuals, as well as in shaping the modern martial arts within Japan and internationally. The Japanese original of this book has been one of the primary sources on the tenets of Bushido, a way of thought that remains fascinating to the modern world, East and West.

Author: John Stevens - 115 pages - Paperback
In budo, martial arts and spirituality merge at the highest level of skill. Budo Secrets contains the essential teachings of budo's greatest masters of Kendo, Karate, Judo, Aikido, and other disciplines. Timely and instructive, these writings are not just for martial artists—they're for anyone who wants to live life more courageously, with a greater sense of personal confidence and self-control, and with a deeper understanding of others.
John Stevens has gathered an eclectic and historically rich collection of teachings that include principles and practice guidelines from training manuals and transmission scrolls, excerpts of texts on budo philosophy, and instructional tales gathered from a number of sources. Since many of the martial arts masters were also fine painters and calligraphers and used brush and ink as a teaching medium, Stevens has included their artwork throughout with explanation and commentary.

Author: Torei Enjii - 560 pages - Paperback