The Book of Five Rings (Miyamoto Musashi)

Undoubtedly, one of the coolest Samurai of all time is the dual-blade wielding Shinmen Musashi, who went undefeated in over 60 duels and survived 6 wars. At age sixty, having ascended Mount Iwato, he faced the Buddha and decided to write a book on the art he had created in his Individual School of Two Swords.

Go Rin No Sho, as it was originally named, is divided into five scrolls reflecting five elements of combat. The Earth scroll discusses martial arts as a concept and strategy. Musashi expands on why he finds the katana to be an ideal weapon and that the core principle in battle is correct timing. In the Water scroll, correct spiritual alignment, physical bearing, and a unique style of sword fighting are explained in detail. Apparently, correctly gazing at an enemy and executing a flawless crimson leaves strike requires tremendous amounts of practice. As a complement, the Fire scroll discusses how to assess a situation in order to make the best use of one's tools. Things like shouting before attacking, standing with the sun behind you, and knocking an opponent into obstacles are appropriate tactics for gaining an advantage. The Wind scroll is concerned with finding wrongs, not only in alternative styles but more importantly, within yourself. Lastly, the scroll of the Void describes Musashi’s Zen-influenced thoughts on the warrior mindset.

The Book of Five Rings was quite fun to read because I found myself constantly conjuring up intense and picturesque Samurai battles in my mind, wondering how they might have played out in reality four-hundred years ago in feudal Japan. The way in which the seemingly unbeatable Musashi describes sword based combat to the death is fodder for the imagination!

“In single combat, if the enemy is less skillful than ourselves, if his rhythm is disorganized, or if he has fallen into evasive or retreating attitudes, we must crush him straight-away, with no concern for his presence and without allowing him space for breath.”

~ Shinmen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Genshin (1578 - 1645)
   新免武蔵守藤原玄信