The Sword and the Mind [Paperback]

Yagyu Muenori (Author), Hiroaki Sato (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 1988

The Sword and the Mind is the merging of the ideas and experiences of Hidetsuna, Muneyoshi, and Munenori, three swordsmen in 16th- and 17th-century Japan. An exquisite guide to Japanese swordsmanship and strategy, this brand new translation offers martial artists and anyone looking to apply tactical wisdom to their lives an insightful look into the fundamentals of strategy. This translation from the ancient Japanese by William Ridgeway, a lifelong student of the way of the samurai, is a fresh and never-more-relevant addition to the library of every admirer of strategic philosophy.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Considered to be one of the top samurai of his time, Yagyu Munenori is one of the most celebrated Japanese warriors in history. At age 52, Munenori had achieved official sword master status under the reign of three different shoguns and became inspector general over all warlords and samurai warriors under the regimes command. William Ridgeway is an accomplished scholar of Asian studies and has translated numerous books, novellas, and scholarly articles, notably the work of Natsume Soseke. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP (June 6, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879512563
• ISBN-13: 978-0879512569
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Fencing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unless you came to this page by mistake, BUY THIS BOOK!, September 17, 2000

By 

LANCE R LINDLEY "hagakure" (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sword and the Mind (Paperback)

If you are interested in ancient samurai philosophy, you need to buy this book. I maintain a website on all things Japanese, and I received many inquiries about this book when it was out of print for so long. Now it has recently been re-released, I highly recommend you get a copy before it goes out of print again.

Yagyu Munenori was the "fencing" teacher to the Tokugawa shogunate in early 17th century Japan. Those "in the know" revere him as one of the wisest -- as well as most skilled -- swordsmen of his day. The Sword and the Mind could be considered a companion text to Takuan's The Unfettered Mind. It is dry in the way of Zen texts, so don't buy it looking for action. It is more the sort of text you meditate on -- figuratively or literally -- and hopefully come away with an expanded understanding of the samurai mentality of "a focused life, a willing death." If you're really into these sorts of things, you can even find ways to apply the philosophy to your own, modern life.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One philosophy, August 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sword and the Mind (Paperback)

To be exact, this book is a translation of Yagyu Munenori's treatise on swordsmanship. It talks a lot about spiritual and mental aspects of swordsmanship, particularly from a Zen standpoint. But it must be remembered that this only one philosophy on swordsmanship. The book contains the complete text, plus translated excerpts from Takuan's (a Zen master) letter to Munenori about Zen and swordsmanship and Takuan's letter to Ono Tadaaki (another master swordsman). Serious students of Japanese swordsmanship will know about this book already but it is a good read for those interested in Zen and its incorporation in martial arts.

50 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars In the valley of the blind..., December 30, 2003

By 

J. M. Dunn (Nagoya, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sword and the Mind (Paperback)

This is a very straight translation written by someone who does not know the subject well. His secondary sources, Imamura Yoshio and Watanabe Ichiro, were also known as academics who didn't concern themselves with how well their academic extrapolations matched up with the living tradition of their subject. In short, Mr. Sato has translated words here, but doesn't really know what the words mean.
Here is a concrete example of exactly why this is dangerous. Mr.Sato translates thus: "There may be a hundred combat postures, but there is only one purpose: to win. Ultimately, all this depends on 'shujishuriken'. You may teach or learn the use of the sword in a hundred ways, in a thousand ways, and you may be able to handle the whole array of combat postures and sword positions. But 'shujishuriken' is central"
He then passes on some archaic details (from academic sources) relating to "shujishuriken", even discussing - for Pete's sake - ninjas, but displays no understanding of the term himself.
Despite the fact that the text clearly states that the mastery of the myriad of forms is meaningless if you don't understand the essence of "shujishuriken", Mr.Sato doesn't seem to twig on idea that translating the words of a book without understanding "what it's really about" is an academic exercise of little importance.
Since clear explanations of much of the terminology ARE available, for instance in the book "Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Dogen" by the 21st headmaster of the school, Yagyu Nobuharu, I would not recommend Mr.Sato's work, as he seems comfortable with simply massaging the words.