The Art of the Samurai: Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure (The Art of Wisdom) [Hardcover]

Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Author), Barry D. Steben (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2008 | Series: The Art of Wisdom

300 years ago, the former samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote Hagakure, a masterpiece on the art and values of these much-revered Japanese fighters; ever since, warrior chiefs have preserved it as a moral and practical treatise for themselves and their samurai retainers. Once closely guarded and shown to just a chosen few, it is now available to us all in this visually breathtaking new version.
Whereas Machiavelli’s The Prince shows how to succeed amid treacherous political intrigues and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War reveals battle strategies for bloodless victory, Hagakure offers fascinating insight into Japanese “warrior-ness”—a mindset steeped in Zen-Confucian philosophy. Yamamoto Tsunetomo tells his readers how to foster courage, serve selflessly, become a skilled master of your own destiny, and infuse life in the here and now with beauty—while still acknowledging its transience. His timeless wisdom and profound aphorisms reflect important principles that still apply to life today.
This illustrated edition of the classic text is an essential and stunning addition to any home library.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Duncan Baird (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844837203
• ISBN-13: 978-1844837205
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars illustrated hagakure, March 23, 2009

By 

Mpez22 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of the Samurai: Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure (The Art of Wisdom) (Hardcover)

this is probably the finest english edition of the hagakure that i've ever seen. the full color illustrations are phenominal. this is one of my prized peices of my entire book collection. great for study, japanese literature collections, and would make a great gift to anyone interested in samarai code or japanese art.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, could be better..., May 7, 2009

By 

emc2isgod (california) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of the Samurai: Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure (The Art of Wisdom) (Hardcover)

I have read a previous version of this book but bought this version of the Hagakure because of the pictures it advertised. The Hagakure has always been a very special book to me, and I felt that this author really expanded on Yamamoto's proverbs of Samurai life. The author's translation might of expanded too much at times, because the previous version kept a raw sense in the translation from Japanese to english, while this version seems to always have been written in english and you couldn't tell it was translated. Because of this, I think it hurt in deciphering some of the proverbs which feed on that raw sense of wording in order to gain meaning from the proverbs. But besides this, its still a good read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best versions available, July 18, 2009

By 

David Gordon (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of the Samurai: Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure (The Art of Wisdom) (Hardcover)

After reading several versions of the Hagakure, I found this book to be the best version available today. The book itself is quite a high quality and the hardcover gold leafing is pleasing to look at.

The content has excellent references, both in the comparison of Musashi's life compared to Yamamoto Tsunetomo's life was well written and give the reader a reason for the different insights into the code of bushido. The pictures in the book are quite good and gives the person who has never read the Hagakure or seen too many Japanese history books a bit more of a culture view of the samurai. The conversion of the translation may leave some readers confused, but will ultimately give the reader "food for thought" and upon reading several more times will begin to make sense.

Would highly recommend this version of the Hagakure over any other version presently released and would make a good addition to anyone's library.