Just before Musashi died, he wrote a set of precepts for his favourite student. In this book the precepts are discussed one by one by five martial artists from different backgrounds and careers.
A really good look at Musashi and his ideas with five different interpretations of both the man, the legend and his precepts.
A must read for those of us who are interested in Japanese culture, especially from the feudal era.
Bye for now.
Another book that’s sat on my Kindle for years unread, but having just finished David Kirk’s books it really felt like the right time to read this.
It’s hard to judge this book in any real contemporary terms because it simply has no place in the contemporary world. It’s an anachronism from a time and place that is no more and will never be again.
It is aimed solely at the samurai warrior, but maybe there are those who are ultra competitive who do contact sports, and also military personnel, that could still gain a lot from reading it: which doesn’t apply to me.
It is, however, an incredible view into the mind of one of the greatest strategists (swordsmen) from Japanese history, and it really gives you the genuine thoughts and attitude of a Samurai in regards to fighting and killing with swords. It’s probably the most amoral thing i’ve ever read, and in that aspect alone it’s quite wonderful because it is so genuine and fascinating.
I loved this book. Far better than Child of Vengeance.
Looking back over the 2 books, it felt to me like David gained in confidence writing tales about Musashi and also that, the more he wrote, the more he came to know him better: like he’s beginning to get inside his head more.
But then i suppose the first book was more about Musashi the youth, just beginning to find himself, and this book is more of Musashi as a young man puzzling over what he’s found and finding more, and this reflects well in the writing of both books.
Once again, David’s writing is superbly descriptive without overdoing it. Just like the first book, the story just keeps on moving and i just didn’t want to put it down: there are no pregnant pauses awaiting within, it’s just full gas all the way: find a comfy chair and buckle in.
I do hope book 3 in this series won’t be too long, i’m hooked!
But, in the meanwhile, i’ve found The Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy, written by the real Miyamoto Musashi, and i’ll be diving head first into that now.
David has taken the tales of Miyamoto Musashi and created his own story from these, so some of this is loosely based in what is told of the real man and some of this is based entirely from David’s imagination.
All told, it works really well, but there just seems a step too far here and there, which, for me at least, was distracting a little. While it has been compared to Shogun by some, for me, it just doesn’t have that same level of believability to it.
But then, if i want the real tales of Musashi then i could, of course, go and read them.
It certainly keeps you reading. It’s pretty much non stop without the annoying pregnant pauses of most stories, and David really does portray the period very well.
All in all, i got this book and the next in the series for 99p each on Kindle — which is an absolute bargain for this kind of story telling — and i’ll be diving back into Musashi’s world in the second book of this series, Sword of Honour, later today: i’m looking forward to it very much.
