Training the Samurai Mind: A Bushido Sourcebook

Cleary pieces together and translates the principal sources of the Bushido tradition This is a good reminder to, for a lack of better words, grow a pair Warriors who fight like they know they will die are able to face thousands of enemies Warriors who fear for their lives generally die on the battlefield Although the source of my courage is time spent on the streets of Queens, and not from studying the Samurai ethic, this book nonetheless reinforces.Training the Samurai Mind contains passages wr [...]

This book contains excerpts of the writings of twenty two samurai from the fourteenth century through the mid nineteenth century While it does contain some of the well known names such as Kaibara Ekken and Yamamoto Tsunetomo, the bulk of the text focuses on lesser known samurai The writings focus on both the political and technical aspects of war and approach the subject from multiple viewpoints, which are sometimes contradictory The text assumes at least a basic understanding of Buddhism, Confu [...]

It s boring Very boring I don t think I can blame the author because he is merely translating primary source material from original samurai masters and teachers, but it dry nonetheless.I was hoping to find some nuts and bolts descriptions of how one trained his body and mind to become a warrior of such renown that we still make movies about his lifestyle two hundred years later and half a world away Instead, there was a bunch of pious, redundant pontificating Real gems like battle at night is th [...]

This book is a number of short theses from a group of historical Japanese thinkers It is certainly something not for everyone and certainly not something for someone looking for a single encompassing text.Thoughts from a number of people has its advantages and disadvantages Firstly, it does provide a broader perspective and yet also conveys many of the ideologies of the time It demonstrates that Japan was certainly a civilized and structured society yet it was extremely wary of the influence of [...]

Interessante raccolta delle concezioni di diversi esponenti della cultura orientale tra il 1400 ed il 1800 Seppur differenti nelle loro visioni, e critici o legati talvolta entrambe le cose ai vari movimenti che hanno investito la realt orientale, tra cui taoismo e buddismo, i vari autori esprimono profonda conoscenza dei settori di loro competenza Si spazia dall ambito bellico a quello spirituale fino all applicazione dei principi del bushido alla vita di tutti i giorni Il linguaggio come sempr [...]

Just OK Much heavily focused on Japanese historical armies than I would have thought, with a sub title like a Bushido sourcebook There was relatively little on the individual level, and the material that was there was often repeated among the 22 authors.This would be of tangential interest to those interested in Japanese military history prior to the Meiji period Those looking for insight on how to live in the modern era should probably look elsewhere.I found the excerpt from Dave Lowry s The E [...]

Lots of elements making up the mentality, strategy, training, and history of Japanese warriors from the 15th century to the 19th There are Confucianist, Buddhist, and Shinto writers, as well as historians, military strategists, and academics I was most interested in leadership techniques and societal analyses discussed, as well as discussions of the Way Understandings of Western Christianity and Russian threats in later writings were particularly fascinating to me, but some of the descriptions o [...]

As much as I was looking forward to this book it ended up being a disappointment, not because it was bad or written poorly It simply didn t meet my expectations, I was looking for a book on the individual, the process of cultivating and understanding the Warriors way What I got was a series of translated essays talking about the role of the samurai on a much broader stroke, their place in government and various approaches to life Although, fascinating the musings and writings of scholars from th [...]

This one wasn t quite what I was expecting There was a great deal of interesting Taoist and Confucian philosophy, and bits of history seen from the perspective of previous centuries, but there is almost nothing here on what the title suggests.One thing that would have been helpful is some grounding in the original languages, a few kanji that might help illuminate the esoteric discussions Straight translation on such concepts as these can be a dodgy, inaccurate business, no matter how painstakin [...]

The title of this book is very misleading It is not strictly speaking a book about Bushido It is primarily a book about Japanese military tactics and history It does discuss Bushido at Points, but it is not an in depth discussion of the principles of Bushido by any stretch of the imagination It also does not discuss samurai training methods in any meaningful way If you re interested in Japanese history or military tactics, you may find this useful, but if you re looking for a book about the prin [...]

Traduzione molto, molto sciatta, in cui pesa la non adeguata conoscenza da parte del traduttore della materia che costituisce lo sfondo di questa che gi solo una mera raccolta di scritti di autori giapponesi, tradotti prima dal Giapponese all Inglese, e da questa lingua all Italiano.Insomma, c era davvero poco altro da fare che tradurre bene, e con cognizione di causa.Peccato.

An excellent collection of classical treatises and essays on Japanese warrior and political culture Beware of heavy reading Although I read in audio form, I d recommend a hard copy to be marked, annotated, and referred to in the future An abundance of good pragmatism is to be found intermingled with humanism and less frequently than I imagined mysticism.

This book collects writings by several Japanese scholars and warriors, and is a fascinating and surprisingly relevant insight into their philosophy towards justice, loyalty, honour and warfare.

Pretty awesome, a lot of warfare mixed in with a little philosophy I was interested in the philosophy when I started this book, but the battles detailed definitely have merit.

Great read for anyone interested in Bushido and feudal Japanese culture This book translates and presents the ideas of samurai icons.

Tends to repeat the same points Doesn t give much context into why these scholars thought the way they did Most of the men whose works are cited were not warriors or samurai.