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    The Book of Five Rings
    The Book of Five Rings
    The Book of Five Rings
    Ebook62 pages1 hour

    The Book of Five Rings

    By Miyamoto Musashi

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    Skyros Publishing is dedicated to reproducing the finest books ever written and letting readers of all ages experience a classic for the first time or revisit a past favorite.


    The Book of Five Rings is a classic book on the martial arts and swordsmanship written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi in the 17th century.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCharles River Editors
    Release dateMar 22, 2018
    ISBN9781518306853
    Author

    Miyamoto Musashi

    Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was a renowned samurai warrior who, from age 13 to 30, fought and won over sixty duels. Between the ages of 30 and 50 he became known as a skilled craftsman and sculptor, as well as a calligrapher and a prolific painter. It was during this time that he formulated the ideas that later became A Book of Five Rings.

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      Book preview

      The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi

      THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS

      ..................

      Miyamoto Musashi

      SKYROS PUBLISHING

      Thank you for reading. In the event that you appreciate this book, please consider sharing the good word(s) by leaving a review, or connect with the author.

      This book is a work of nonfiction and is intended to be factually accurate.

      All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

      Copyright © 2015 by Miyamoto Musashi

      Interior design by Pronoun

      Distribution by Pronoun

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      The Book of Five Rings

      INTRODUCTION

      THE GROUND BOOK

      THE WATER BOOK

      THE FIRE BOOK

      BOOK THE WIND

      THE BOOK OF THE VOID

      THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS

      ..................

      INTRODUCTION

      ..................

      I HAVE BEEN MANY YEARS training in the Way of strategy, called Ni Ten Ichi Ryu, and now I think I will explain it in writing for the first time. It is now during the first ten days of the tenth month in the twentieth year of Kanei (1645). I have climbed mountain Iwato of Higo in Kyushu to pay homage to heaven, pray to Kwannon, [God(dess) of mercy in Buddhism. - Slaegr] and kneel before Buddha. I am a warrior of Harima province, Shinmen Musashi No Kami Fujiwara No Genshin, age sixty years.

      From youth my heart has been inclined toward the Way of strategy. My first duel was when I was thirteen, I struck down a strategist of the Shinto school, one Arima Kihei. When I was sixteen I struck down an able strategist Tadashima Akiyama. When I was twenty-one I went up to the capital and met all manner of strategists, never once failing to win in many contests.

      After that I went from province to province dueling with strategist of various schools, and not once failed to win even though I had as many as sixty encounters. This was between the ages of thirteen and twenty-eight or twenty-nine.

      When I reached thirty I looked back on my past. The previous victories were not due to my having mastered strategy. Perhaps it was natural ability, or the order of heaven, or that other schools’ strategy was inferior. After that I studied morning and evening searching for the principle, and came to realize the Way of strategy when I was fifty.

      Since then I have lived without following any particular Way. Thus with the virtue of strategy I practice many arts and abilities - all things with no teacher. To write this book I did not use the law of Buddha or the teachings of Confucius, neither old war chronicles nor books on martial tactics. I take up my brush to explain the true spirit of this Ichi school as it is mirrored in the Way of heaven and Kwannon. The time is the night of the tenth day of the tenth month, at the hour of the tiger

      THE GROUND BOOK

      ..................

      STRATEGY IS THE CRAFT OF the warrior. Commanders must enact the craft, and troopers should know this Way. There is no warrior in the world today who really understands the Way of strategy.

      There are various Ways. There is the Way of salvation by the law of Buddha, the Way of Confucius governing the Way of learning, the Way of healing as a doctor, as a poet teaching the Way of Waka, [a type of poem. - Slaegr] tea, archery, and many arts and skills. Each man practices as he feels inclined.

      It is said the warrior’s is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways. Even if a man has no natural ability he can be a warrior by sticking assiduously to both divisions of the Way. Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death. Although not only warriors but priests, women, peasants and lowlier folk have been known to die readily in the cause of duty or out of shame, this is a different thing. The warrior is different in that studying the Way of strategy is based on overcoming men. By victory gained in crossing swords with individuals, or enjoining battle with large numbers, we can attain power and fame for ourselves or our lord. This is the virtue of strategy.

      The Way of Strategy

      In China and Japan practitioners of the Way have been known as masters of strategy. Warriors must learn this Way.

      Recently there have been people getting on in the

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