thanks for your post chris. I am definitely going to read the books you mentioned.....I would rather dive in the pool rather than stay on the surface. so I have read and enjoyed hagakure and book of five rings. these book are mostly the culture and way of life stuff. do you attach an value to these books in terms of learning about samurai culture? many other martial arts people have said these are great books. thanks rocco.
Start with the Koryu Books titles. They'll give a basic overview of traditional Japanese arts (although, I will be blunt and point out that they won't really have much to do directly with what is taught in Ninjutsu schools, although they will get you into the context, and give you the beginning of a baseline of comparison), but really, the only way to truly get any kind of handle on these areas is to involve yourself in the arts themselves.
When it comes to Hagakure and the Gorin no Sho, they again really need to be taken in context, and are often quite badly interpreted. We'll start with Hagakure.
Hagakure (Hidden Amongst the Leaves) is an interesting tome. It is attributed to Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a bushi (samurai) in the employ of the Nabeshima clan, and is compiled as a series of stories and anecdotes that Yamamoto dictated to a younger samurai over the course of a number of years in his late life. As such, it is made up of the beliefs of Yamamoto about what a proper samurai is, how they conduct themselves, and what is important for them. It contains the often-repeated statement that "the way of the warrior is found in death", which has a number of different nuances and meanings/interpretations.
But here's the thing.
Yamamoto was never engaged in anything combative. His talk about how a samurai should approach combat, or death, or many other aspects were his idealized form, not necessarily based in any experience. His beliefs and interpretations of what a "proper samurai" was, or should be, would be considered very right-wing and, in many cases, extremist by today's terminology. He directly contradicts many established opinions (to the point where he states that the conventional wisdom is for "samurai from other domains".... in other words, it doesn't fit his ideal form of a samurai and their behaviour), and belittles famous examples of proper behaviour as being "not true samurai", such as the 47 Ronin (his argument was that they should have acted immediately, even if it meant being unsuccessful and being killed, rather than wait a year to ensure success, as he considered that to be borderline with cowardice). So, when reading Hagakure, it needs to be remembered that you're reading one (extremist) point of view, hardly an accurate overview of the beliefs and behaviours of all samurai.
When it comes to the Gorin no Sho (Book of Five Rings), it's not uncommon for it to be read by martial artists (in general) and non-martial artists in a range of different contexts.... but none of them can get any of the actual lessons (as intended by Musashi) unless they are training in, and part of, Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, Musashi's school. The reason is that the book was not written as a generalist tome, but as a specific one. It deals with the methods and strategies of Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu itself. And that comes down to why it was written in the first place.
Musashi had many students (some claim thousands), but out of all those, there were three that he felt excelled, and he wanted to leave the art to (by awarding Menkyo Kaiden, full mastery). One who was technically superior, but lacked in understanding of the deeper principles and strategies, one who excelled in his understanding, but lacked in technical ability, and one all-rounder. The all-rounder was fine as he was, and the solution for the practitioner who had understanding but lacked in technical ability is simple (train more!), but for the technical practitioner, granting greater understanding is more difficult. It was for him that the Gorin no Sho was written, as a way of explaining the "why" of the methods of the Ryu and Musashi's teachings. It was given to him with the arrangement that it was to be read, then destroyed.... but a second copy was made (for the lord of the local castle, Hosokawa). It is this Hosokawa copy that has survived.
The point is that the Gorin no Sho is designed, or intended, to be read by someone who is already well versed in the physical methods of the Ryu, and is only really supposed to make sense to someone with that background. Now, that's not to say that, without that background, you can't get anything out of it, but you can't get what is intended. So, yes, it's interesting, and I'd consider it a great book... but what can be gleaned from it is rather removed from what it actually says.
So, I'm not saying for you to not read them.... far from it... but bear in mind what you're reading when you do.
I just wanted to second the recommendation for anything written by Ellis Amdur. Dueling with O-Sensei does an excellent job deconstructing the myths that martial artists tell ourselves about our traditions.
From the latest update I got, Ellis has found a publisher, and is in the process of finalizing the second editions.
