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Title: Code of the Samurai: A Modern Translation of the Bushido Shoshinsu by Yuzan Daidoji, Oscar Ratti, Thomas Cleary ISBN: 0-8048-3190-4 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: September, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.58 (19 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A good book to read and reread
Comment: I bought this book out of interest in samurai philosophy and culture that originates in my study of jujutsu. Part of my own personal development that coincides with my physical training is that I read everything I can on the lives, deeds, and philosophy of the samurai. This is where the art I've chosen to study originates, and I want to try my best to understand those original intentions for the physical skills I'm learning.
This book does an admirable job of detailing the warrior's life and the expectations that are upon him. However, since I am not educated in the Japanese language, I can only read it in this English translation. I think the original intent is still there, but a lot of the translation sounds as if it was written with businessmen in mind, much like many translations of Musashi that are also translated with that audience in mind.
Since I would not buy a book after reading something like this in a review, let me say this: The translation, I feel, could be more true to the setting in which the book was written, but the lessons put forth are the same ones that the samurai were to learn and follow. That is the intent of the book, and that is what a close reading will reveal.
Rating: 5
Summary: great research material
Comment: I am somewhat at a loss as to why this book, Code of the Samurai, fascinates me. I liked it enough that I bought a copy for my husband and would consider giving it as a gift to several friends who have interests in "courtly behavior," "chivalry," and "medieval" Japanese history in general (all are members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, like I am).
I have never made it through an entire reading of The Art of War and quite frankly The Book of Five Rings was no better as a shortened form thereof. Code of the Samurai is really neither of these books and shares little more than a common Asian ancestry. Instead, it reads rather like one of the pre-1600s Western culture books of proper behavior (for members of recreation organizations, think books like The Babees Book and the Book of Courtesey). Instead of Western Europe, however, this one is set in Tokugawa-era Japan (if I am remembering my history correctly).
The book very clearly addresses the actual life of a samurai. Thankfully, the book does not heavily focus on the martial aspects of the samurai's life (though these are touched upon) nor the esoteric, philosophical ideals that might be expected of a book on "Bushido." Instead, the examples of this book simply show you the proper and improper behavior of samurai in a variety of situations as they were viewed in classical Japan.
Unfortunately, I cannot speak for the accuracy of the translation because this book includes only the modern English (and I don't read classical or modern Japanese). The text as a whole, despite the lack of original manuscript versions, is rendered in an easy-to-follow style that you can read straight through or only a chapter at a time, at your leisure.
Rating: 5
Summary: Still applicable today
Comment: At first glance, this is just a wonderful historical relic. It's stiff and formal, as you might expect of a guide to proper behavior. It was meant to guide young men of the warrior class in an era when war was a fading memory. Even in its day, somewhere around 1700AD, during the Tokugawa era, it was probably a bit old-fashioned.
For all that, Shigesuke's advice is remarkably applicable to modern society. Things like loyalty to an employer have almost gone out of style. Today's employers are different, but some employees need the reminder that a paycheck imposes obligations on the receiver. The advice about treating one's wife with courtesy is painfully up to date, as counter-examples in every day's news will show. The idea of maintaining professional skills, even when not immediately needed, is still quite current. So are the needs for basic skills in social setting and for basic education.
I am not a student of martial arts. I am a participant in today's business world. This slim volume still has something to say to me, in this different place and century.
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Title: Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, William Scott Wilson ISBN: 4770011067 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: March, 1992 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
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Title: Bushido: The Way of the Samurai (Square One Classics) by Tsunetomo Yamamoto, Justin F. Stone, Minoru Tanaka ISBN: 0757000266 Publisher: Square One Publishers Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master by Takuan Soho, William Scott Wilson, Takuan ISBN: 087011851X Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: March, 1988 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
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Title: Book of Five Rings : The Classic Guide to Strategy by MIYAMOTO MUSASHI ISBN: 0517415283 Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 28 May, 1988 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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Title: The Art of War by Sun Tzu ISBN: 0486425576 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 13 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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