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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.547
EAN num: 9781590300404
ISBN number: 1590300408
Label: Shambhala
Manufacturer: Shambhala
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 224
Printing Date: June 24, 2003
Publishing house: Shambhala
Release Date: June 24, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 160153
Studio: Shambhala
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The Book of Five Rings is one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asian culture. Written not only for martial artists but for anyone who wants to apply the timeless principles of this text to their life, the book analyzes the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction. The Book of Five Rings was composed in 1643 by the famed duelist and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Thomas Cleary's translation is immediately accessible, with an introduction that presents the spiritual background of the warrior tradition. Along with Musashi's text, Cleary translates here another important Japanese classic on leadership and strategy, The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War by Yagyu Munenori, which highlights the ethical and spiritual insights of Taoism and Zen as they apply to the way of the warrior.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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This is not just for Japanese. This is not just for Martial Artists. However, you must have a patience, open mind, imagination, pure heart to be able to understand and apply it in your life. This is THE ULTIMATE code of Japanese warrior that are still being applied today's society in Japan, among business men, teachers, Merchants, Students, Martial Artists, or anyone who is looking to live their way at the most highest honor, pride, and success. Sugoi hon da yo~!!! Mina ganbare~!!! OSU!
Rated by buyers 
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I still have not finished the book. There are some deep meanings here but it also needs some thought to apply the principles to your life. I will have to finish it when I have some spare time.
Rated by buyers 
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bought this for a friend who loved it.
said it was quite deep but he found the answers he was looking for.
Rated by buyers -
The book written by the samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi circa 1645 is considered a classic treatise on military strategy, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than only that of martial artists: for instance, some business leaders find its discusion of conflict and taking the advantage to be relevant to their work.
The term "Ichi School", which is referred to in the book, Go Rin No Sho, when referring to such books, refers to "Niten No Ichi Ryu", or "Ni Ten Ichi Ryu", which literally translated, means "Two Swords, one heaven".
Throughout the book it is clear: what is primary for Musashi is The Goal, while the means of achieving the goal are secondary. He wrote "According to this Ichi school, you can win with a long weapon, and yet you can also win with a short weapon. In short, the Way of the Ichi school is the spirit of winning, whatever the weapon and whatever its size."
The same is in business: the leaders who are attracted by the goal rather than by embellishments are the true leaders. For example, the dot-com bubble of 2000 was caused by the managers who forgot about the primary goal of the business: net income. Those who were obsessed by their stock prices regarding of massive losses and the lack of revenue became bankrupt. They put attention to the fancy office buildings and furniture rather than to the assets that generate earning. Musashi wrote about it: "Just as a horse must have endurance and no defects, so it is with weapons. Horses should walk strongly, and swords and companion swords should cut strongly. Spears and halberds must stand up to heavy use: bows and guns must be sturdy. Weapons should be hardy rather than decorative".
Musashi also encourages to maintain a balance of your skills throughout your life. This balance could be thought of as Yin and Yang. The balance is to be neither over-familiar with something nor under-familiar. The over-familiarity or over-use of one weapon is not recommended by Musashi, as it would be seen to reveal your spirituality to your enemy, and thus your boisterousness, or over-calm. The over-familiarity makes you stick to a conviction. This is a very important for the business. Take, for example, mr. Warren Buffet. A quality standing out about Mr. Buffett is his ability to morph. If you read his materials from the 1960s, he said very different things than in the 1970s and early-1980s. Early on he was buying dirt-cheap stocks by simple statistical standards and typically smaller stocks (smallcap), later he bought "franchises", then he entered a period of buying great managements of big companies and being a long-term holder, then, amazingly, he was buying smaller things dirt cheap again just as value came back into play as the twenty-first century began. He tactically morphed steadily over the decades. Trying to freeze his tactics from any decade and replicate them in the subsequent few would never have led you to his actual actions. Musashi wrote about that this way: "You should not have a favourite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well. You should not copy others, but use weapons which you can handle properly. It is bad for commanders and troops to have likes and dislikes."
Rated by buyers -
This book is an abstraction of conflict. Its designed to be the manual for any Samurai wanting to learn Musashi's style of life. Since his life was filled with one on one conflicts, he's a natural person to explain how to confront another skilled opponent and win.
This book is often pushed as a business book in the United States and the entire meaning and motivation for that is lost on almost any business person who reads it. In Japan however, its the manual for business. Its a matter of understanding the underlying meaning instead of the surface. The surface is about hand to hand combat, but every single one of its descriptions can be abstracted into any type of conflict.
Overall, if you're looking for a book that has depth, then this is your book. It's in my list of books that deserve to be chewed and digested.
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