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The Lone Samurai is a landmark biography of Miyamoto Musashi, the legendary Japanese figure known throughout the world as a master swordsman, spiritual seeker, and author of The Book of Five Rings. With a compassionate yet critical eye, William Scott Wilson delves into the workings of Musashi's mind as the iconoclastic samurai wrestled with philosophical and spiritual ideas that are as relevant today as they were in his times. Musashi found peace and spiritual reward in seeking to perfect his chosen Way, and came to realize that perfecting a single Way, no matter the path, could lead to fulfillment. The Lone Samurai is far more than a vivid account of a fascinating slice of feudal Japan. It is the story of one man's quest for answers, perfection, and access to the Way.
By age thirteen, Miyamoto Musashi had killed his opponent in what would become the first of many celebrated swordfights. By thirty, he had fought more than sixty matches, losing none. He would live another thirty years but kill no one else. He continued to engage in swordfights but now began to show his skill simply by thwarting his opponents' every attack until they acknowledged Musashi's all-encompassing ability. At the same time, the master swordsman began to expand his horizons, exploring Zen Buddhism and its related arts, particularly ink painting, in a search for a truer Way.
Musashi was a legend in his own time. As a swordsman, he preferred the wooden sword and in later years almost never fought with a real weapon. He outfoxed his opponents or turned their own strength against them. At the height of his powers, he began to evolve artistically and spiritually, becoming one of the country's most highly regarded ink painters and calligraphers, while deepening his practice of Zen Buddhism. He funneled his hard-earned insights about the warrior arts into his spiritual goals. Ever the solitary wanderer, Musashi shunned power, riches, and the comforts of a home or fixed position with a feudal lord in favor of a constant search for truth, perfection, and a better Way. Eventually, he came to the realization that perfection in one art, whether peaceful or robust, could offer entry to a deeper, spiritual understanding. His philosophy, along with his warrior strategies, is distilled in his renowned work, The Book of Five Rings, written near the end of his life.
Musashi remains a source of fascination for the Japanese, as well as for those of us in the West who have more recently discovered the ideals of the samurai and Zen Buddhism. The Lone Samurai is the first biography ever to appear in English of this richly layered, complex seventeenth-century swordsman and seeker, whose legacy has lived far beyond his own time and place.
---------------------------------------------------------------- INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM SCOTT WILSON ABOUT BUSHIDO
Q.: What is Bushido?
A.: Bushido might be explained in part by the etymology of the Chinese characters used for the word. Bu comes from two radicals meanings "stop" and "spear." So even though the word now means "martial" or "military affair," it has the sense of stopping aggression. Shi can mean "samurai," but also means "gentleman" or "scholar." Looking at the character, you can see a man with broad shoulders but with his feet squarely on the ground. Do, with the radicals of head and motion, originally depicted a thoughtful way of action. It now means a path, street or way. With this in mind, we can understand Bushido as a Way of life, both ethical and martial, with self-discipline as a fundamental tenet. Self-discipline requires the warrior at once to consider his place in society and the ethics involved, and to forge himself in the martial arts. Both should eventually lead him to understand that his fundamental opponents are his own ignorance and passions.
Q.: How did the code develop and how did it influence Japanese society?
A.: The warrior class began to develop as a recognizable entity around the 11th and 12th centuries. The leaders of this class were often descended from the nobility, and so were men of education and breeding. I would say that the code developed when the leaders of the warrior class began to reflect on their position in society and what it meant to be a warrior. They first began to write these thoughts down as yuigon, last words to their descendents, or as kabegaki, literally "wall writings," maxims posted to all their samurai. Samurai itself is an interesting word, coming from the classical saburau, "to serve." So when we understand that a samurai is "one who serves," we see that the implications go much farther than simply being a soldier or fighter.
Also, it is important to understand that Confucian scholars had always reflected on what it meant to be true gentleman, and they concluded that such a man would be capable of both the martial and literary. The Japanese inherited this system of thought early on, so certain ideals were already implicitly accepted.
The warrior class ruled the country for about 650 years, and their influence-political, philosophical and even artistic-had a long time to percolate throughout Japanese society.
Q.: The Samurai were very much renaissance men - they were interested in the arts, tea ceremony, religion, as well as the martial arts. What role did these interests play in the development of Bushido? How did the martial arts fit in?
A.: This question goes back to the Confucian ideal of balance that Japanese inherited, probably from the 7th century or so. The word used by both to express this concept, for the "gentleman" by the Chinese and the warrior by Japanese, is (hin), pronounced uruwashii in Japanese, meaning both "balanced" and "beautiful." The character itself is a combination of "literature" (bun) and "martial" (bu). The study of arts like Tea ceremony, calligraphy, the study of poetry or literature, and of course the martial arts of swordsmanship or archery, broadened a man's perspective and understanding of the world and, as mentioned above, provided him with a vehicle for self-discipline. The martial arts naturally were included in the duties of a samurai, but this did not make them any less instructive in becoming a full human being.
Q.: What was sword fighting like? Was the swordplay different for different samurai?
A.: There were literally hundreds of schools of samurai swordsmanship by the 1800's and, as previously mentioned, each school emphasized differing styles and approaches. Some would have the student to jump and leap, others to keep his feel solidly on the ground; some would emphasize different ways of holding the sword, others one method only. One school stated that technical swordsmanship took second place to sitting meditation. Historically speaking, there were periods when much of the swordfighting was done on horseback, and others when it was done mostly on foot. Also, as the shape and length of the sword varied through different epochs, so did styles of fighting. Then I suppose that a fight between men who were resolved to die would be quite different from a fight between men who were not interested in getting hurt.
Q.: How is the code reflected in Japanese society today?
A.: When I first came to live in Japan in the 60's, I was impressed how totally dedicated and loyal people were to the companies where they were employed. When I eventually understood the words samurai and saburau, it started to make sense. While these men (women would usually not stay long with a company, giving up work for marriage) did not carry swords of course, they seemed to embody that old samurai sense of service, duty, loyalty and even pride. This may sound strange in our own "me first" culture, but it impressed me that the company had sort of taken the place of a feudal lord, and that the stipend of the samurai had become the salary of the white-collar worker.M
That is on the societal level. On an individual level, I have often felt that Japanese have a strong resolution, perhaps from this cultural background of Bushido, to go through problems rather than around them. Persistence and patience developed from self-discipline?
By age thirteen, Miyamoto Musashi had killed his opponent in what would become the first of many celebrated swordfights. By thirty, he had fought more than sixty matches, losing none. He would live another thirty years but kill no one else. He continued to engage in swordfights but now began to show his skill simply by thwarting his opponents' every attack until they acknowledged Musashi's all-encompassing ability. At the same time, the master swordsman began to expand his horizons, exploring Zen Buddhism and its related arts, particularly ink painting, in a search for a truer Way.
Musashi was a legend in his own time. As a swordsman, he preferred the wooden sword and in later years almost never fought with a real weapon. He outfoxed his opponents or turned their own strength against them. At the height of his powers, he began to evolve artistically and spiritually, becoming one of the country's most highly regarded ink painters and calligraphers, while deepening his practice of Zen Buddhism. He funneled his hard-earned insights about the warrior arts into his spiritual goals. Ever the solitary wanderer, Musashi shunned power, riches, and the comforts of a home or fixed position with a feudal lord in favor of a constant search for truth, perfection, and a better Way. Eventually, he came to the realization that perfection in one art, whether peaceful or robust, could offer entry to a deeper, spiritual understanding. His philosophy, along with his warrior strategies, is distilled in his renowned work, The Book of Five Rings, written near the end of his life.
Musashi remains a source of fascination for the Japanese, as well as for those of us in the West who have more recently discovered the ideals of the samurai and Zen Buddhism. The Lone Samurai is the first biography ever to appear in English of this richly layered, complex seventeenth-century swordsman and seeker, whose legacy has lived far beyond his own time and place.
---------------------------------------------------------------- INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM SCOTT WILSON ABOUT BUSHIDO
Q.: What is Bushido?
A.: Bushido might be explained in part by the etymology of the Chinese characters used for the word. Bu comes from two radicals meanings "stop" and "spear." So even though the word now means "martial" or "military affair," it has the sense of stopping aggression. Shi can mean "samurai," but also means "gentleman" or "scholar." Looking at the character, you can see a man with broad shoulders but with his feet squarely on the ground. Do, with the radicals of head and motion, originally depicted a thoughtful way of action. It now means a path, street or way. With this in mind, we can understand Bushido as a Way of life, both ethical and martial, with self-discipline as a fundamental tenet. Self-discipline requires the warrior at once to consider his place in society and the ethics involved, and to forge himself in the martial arts. Both should eventually lead him to understand that his fundamental opponents are his own ignorance and passions.
Q.: How did the code develop and how did it influence Japanese society?
A.: The warrior class began to develop as a recognizable entity around the 11th and 12th centuries. The leaders of this class were often descended from the nobility, and so were men of education and breeding. I would say that the code developed when the leaders of the warrior class began to reflect on their position in society and what it meant to be a warrior. They first began to write these thoughts down as yuigon, last words to their descendents, or as kabegaki, literally "wall writings," maxims posted to all their samurai. Samurai itself is an interesting word, coming from the classical saburau, "to serve." So when we understand that a samurai is "one who serves," we see that the implications go much farther than simply being a soldier or fighter.
Also, it is important to understand that Confucian scholars had always reflected on what it meant to be true gentleman, and they concluded that such a man would be capable of both the martial and literary. The Japanese inherited this system of thought early on, so certain ideals were already implicitly accepted.
The warrior class ruled the country for about 650 years, and their influence-political, philosophical and even artistic-had a long time to percolate throughout Japanese society.
Q.: The Samurai were very much renaissance men - they were interested in the arts, tea ceremony, religion, as well as the martial arts. What role did these interests play in the development of Bushido? How did the martial arts fit in?
A.: This question goes back to the Confucian ideal of balance that Japanese inherited, probably from the 7th century or so. The word used by both to express this concept, for the "gentleman" by the Chinese and the warrior by Japanese, is (hin), pronounced uruwashii in Japanese, meaning both "balanced" and "beautiful." The character itself is a combination of "literature" (bun) and "martial" (bu). The study of arts like Tea ceremony, calligraphy, the study of poetry or literature, and of course the martial arts of swordsmanship or archery, broadened a man's perspective and understanding of the world and, as mentioned above, provided him with a vehicle for self-discipline. The martial arts naturally were included in the duties of a samurai, but this did not make them any less instructive in becoming a full human being.
Q.: What was sword fighting like? Was the swordplay different for different samurai?
A.: There were literally hundreds of schools of samurai swordsmanship by the 1800's and, as previously mentioned, each school emphasized differing styles and approaches. Some would have the student to jump and leap, others to keep his feel solidly on the ground; some would emphasize different ways of holding the sword, others one method only. One school stated that technical swordsmanship took second place to sitting meditation. Historically speaking, there were periods when much of the swordfighting was done on horseback, and others when it was done mostly on foot. Also, as the shape and length of the sword varied through different epochs, so did styles of fighting. Then I suppose that a fight between men who were resolved to die would be quite different from a fight between men who were not interested in getting hurt.
Q.: How is the code reflected in Japanese society today?
A.: When I first came to live in Japan in the 60's, I was impressed how totally dedicated and loyal people were to the companies where they were employed. When I eventually understood the words samurai and saburau, it started to make sense. While these men (women would usually not stay long with a company, giving up work for marriage) did not carry swords of course, they seemed to embody that old samurai sense of service, duty, loyalty and even pride. This may sound strange in our own "me first" culture, but it impressed me that the company had sort of taken the place of a feudal lord, and that the stipend of the samurai had become the salary of the white-collar worker.M
That is on the societal level. On an individual level, I have often felt that Japanese have a strong resolution, perhaps from this cultural background of Bushido, to go through problems rather than around them. Persistence and patience developed from self-discipline?
内容（「MARC」データベースより）
海外で最も有名な日本人の一人、宮本武蔵。武蔵を長年研究してきた著者が、謎に包まれたその生涯をたどり、書や絵、彫刻などを紹介。また、小説や映画、芝居等に表現される武蔵像を解説しながら、その思想を探る。本文は英語。
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66 人中、65人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
The historical Musashi
2004/9/13
形式:ハードカバー
Miyamoto Musashi, like Billy the Kid, Rob Roy MacGregor and Robin Hood, is a historical figure who has become so obscured by fictionalized accounts and romantic dramas that it is difficult to separate fact from fancy. In "The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi," William Scott Wilson has stripped the legends away and presents a true historical account of the wandering swordsman, artist and philosopher. In this instance, the history is no less interesting than the fantasy.
Wilson, who has an impressive resume when dealing with Musashi and the Samurai, having translated Samurai works such as "Hagakure," "The Life-Giving Sword" as well as Musashi's own "The Book of Five Rings," presents us with a "Real Live Human Being." He has sifted through the various conflicting history books and biased clan records, investigated the several "confirmed" birth places and graves of Musashi, and logically assembled an accurate history of the man, his philosophy and his biography. From his first lethal match at 13, to the famous duel at Ganryu Island that was to secure Musashi's place in history, followed by his later years refining his technique and maturing into the warrior-poet who would write "The Book of Five Rings," secluded in an isolated cave on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, Musashi's complete life is detailed.
More than Musashi the warrior, it is clearly the seemingly contradictory image of Musashi the philosopher and artists that interests Wilson the most. Of Musashi's 60 duels, only the most important are given any coverage, but several of his paintings and works of art are analyzed in-depth, discussing both the skill Musashi had with an ink brush as well as the Zen Buddhist philosophies backing each piece. Backgrounds are given on the various art styles, including an analysis of the kanji (Chinese characters) that make up each art form. Perhaps he felt that Musashi the warrior had received enough attention from other sources, but the artists needed a bit more spotlighting. It does make one wish for a Musashi art book, detailing his works.
Wilson does assume some familiarity regarding Japanese history and Musashi's life on the part of the reader. Such things as the Waring States period, familiar to anyone who knows Japanese history, are not explained but are put forward as common knowledge. There is some interesting analysis of the kanji for the various names of the warriors, and Wilson shows how, in spite of the books title, Musashi was not an actual Samurai at all, as he never served a lord. Musashi was a bushi, a warrior.
In addition to the main text, Wilson includes some fascinating appendixes, juxtaposing the legend of Musashi as told in Kabuki plays, movies and Yoshikawa Eiji's famous book with the accurate history. Also of interest is a comparison of the philosophies of "The Book of Five Rings" with similar tomes such as Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."
All of this is packed into a fairly slim and highly readable book. A definite must have for anyone interested in Japan's greatest legend, Miyamoto Musashi.
Wilson, who has an impressive resume when dealing with Musashi and the Samurai, having translated Samurai works such as "Hagakure," "The Life-Giving Sword" as well as Musashi's own "The Book of Five Rings," presents us with a "Real Live Human Being." He has sifted through the various conflicting history books and biased clan records, investigated the several "confirmed" birth places and graves of Musashi, and logically assembled an accurate history of the man, his philosophy and his biography. From his first lethal match at 13, to the famous duel at Ganryu Island that was to secure Musashi's place in history, followed by his later years refining his technique and maturing into the warrior-poet who would write "The Book of Five Rings," secluded in an isolated cave on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, Musashi's complete life is detailed.
More than Musashi the warrior, it is clearly the seemingly contradictory image of Musashi the philosopher and artists that interests Wilson the most. Of Musashi's 60 duels, only the most important are given any coverage, but several of his paintings and works of art are analyzed in-depth, discussing both the skill Musashi had with an ink brush as well as the Zen Buddhist philosophies backing each piece. Backgrounds are given on the various art styles, including an analysis of the kanji (Chinese characters) that make up each art form. Perhaps he felt that Musashi the warrior had received enough attention from other sources, but the artists needed a bit more spotlighting. It does make one wish for a Musashi art book, detailing his works.
Wilson does assume some familiarity regarding Japanese history and Musashi's life on the part of the reader. Such things as the Waring States period, familiar to anyone who knows Japanese history, are not explained but are put forward as common knowledge. There is some interesting analysis of the kanji for the various names of the warriors, and Wilson shows how, in spite of the books title, Musashi was not an actual Samurai at all, as he never served a lord. Musashi was a bushi, a warrior.
In addition to the main text, Wilson includes some fascinating appendixes, juxtaposing the legend of Musashi as told in Kabuki plays, movies and Yoshikawa Eiji's famous book with the accurate history. Also of interest is a comparison of the philosophies of "The Book of Five Rings" with similar tomes such as Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."
All of this is packed into a fairly slim and highly readable book. A definite must have for anyone interested in Japan's greatest legend, Miyamoto Musashi.
19 人中、19人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
Great For Starters
2005/12/30
形式:ハードカバー
Miyamoto Musashi is something of a folk hero in Japan, and like many others, there has been a lot of legend attached to his name. In Japan, volumes have been written about him, and there is often some debate about him, as well. All in all, Musashi makes an interesting character to learn about.
Miyamoto is perhaps most famous for his style of swordsmanship, mostly for using two swords simultaneously. He is also famous for his pyschological tactics, his use of a wooden sword and also his fights where killing his opponent did not happen. Musashi was also an accomplished painter, gardener, and poet. For this, and much more, he is worthy of some serious study.
"The Lone Samurai" is one of the few books, (relatively speaking to the reams and reams written in Japanese), available to English speaking readers. It is not a detailed book, but it provides you with a good overview of the man and his life. In addition to a very well written text, the book provides some pictures of Musashi's work in paintings and so on. For such a short book, "The Lone Samurai" introduces the reader well to many aspects of this complex and deep individual.
I honestly came away from this book with a feeling of intimidation mixed with inspiration. Musashi was man who had achieved a large amount of success in many fields, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to what he was doing. In that sense, my own lack of devotion to living life was highlighted. Musashi is a guy who may leave you with some moments of self-reflection.
"The Lone Samurai" is not going to give you all the detail, but it will serve as a great launching point for further reading into Musashi's life and philosophy. It is a great book about one of the central figures in the history of Japanese martial arts. I highly recommend it to martial artists and non-martial artists alike: a great read!
Miyamoto is perhaps most famous for his style of swordsmanship, mostly for using two swords simultaneously. He is also famous for his pyschological tactics, his use of a wooden sword and also his fights where killing his opponent did not happen. Musashi was also an accomplished painter, gardener, and poet. For this, and much more, he is worthy of some serious study.
"The Lone Samurai" is one of the few books, (relatively speaking to the reams and reams written in Japanese), available to English speaking readers. It is not a detailed book, but it provides you with a good overview of the man and his life. In addition to a very well written text, the book provides some pictures of Musashi's work in paintings and so on. For such a short book, "The Lone Samurai" introduces the reader well to many aspects of this complex and deep individual.
I honestly came away from this book with a feeling of intimidation mixed with inspiration. Musashi was man who had achieved a large amount of success in many fields, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to what he was doing. In that sense, my own lack of devotion to living life was highlighted. Musashi is a guy who may leave you with some moments of self-reflection.
"The Lone Samurai" is not going to give you all the detail, but it will serve as a great launching point for further reading into Musashi's life and philosophy. It is a great book about one of the central figures in the history of Japanese martial arts. I highly recommend it to martial artists and non-martial artists alike: a great read!
23 人中、21人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
End of the myth
2005/1/20
形式:ハードカバー
For most Americans, Eiji Yoshikawa's fictional novel, Musashi continued to be the most vivid view of this legendary samurai warrior, Miyamoto Musashi. Yoshikawa's image of Musashi proves to be hard to shake. To reinforced that image, the three "Samurai Trilogy" movies starring Toshiro Mifune which was based on Yoshikawa's book, totally popularized Yoshikawa's Musashi. This is mostly due to the fact that Yoshikawa's book is probably the only book in the English language that dealt with Musashi's life in detail and even came out in popular paperback series in the 1990s. However, thanks to Wilson's new book, that is no longer the case.
The Lone Samurai is the first English language biography on Miyamoto Musashi ever published. The book is highly readable, informative and considering the limited primary sources, pretty well researched. I seem to get the feeling that the author was trying to do his best to debunked the popular Yoshikawa's Musashi to the real man and his life. Musashi as a real man, still remains somewhat of a mystery to most historians. The book really isn't that thick and its pretty reflective on the lack of information on the subject. However, the author was pretty successful in presenting the facts in the simplist and most effective way possible for American readers for whom Japanese history, zen and culture may be bit confusing. I also enjoyed the maps presented in the book, one which traces Musashi's journey through life which I thought to be well designed.
One of the few weaknesses I thought the book could used was that it could have probably used some diagrams illustrating Musashi's style and what make it stand out so much. If anyone out there have seen that movie "Kill Bill Vol. 1", Lucy Liu's character start her fight against Uma Thurman in a classical Musashi style.
I should also point out that there isn't that much background information on Musashi's time period in this book so it would help if the reader have little background on the late Sengoku Period of Japan and the Tokugawa take over.
Overall, a well written and highly informative book on the life and time of Miyamoto Musashi, one of Japan's premier experts on swordmanship and concepts that goes behind it.
The Lone Samurai is the first English language biography on Miyamoto Musashi ever published. The book is highly readable, informative and considering the limited primary sources, pretty well researched. I seem to get the feeling that the author was trying to do his best to debunked the popular Yoshikawa's Musashi to the real man and his life. Musashi as a real man, still remains somewhat of a mystery to most historians. The book really isn't that thick and its pretty reflective on the lack of information on the subject. However, the author was pretty successful in presenting the facts in the simplist and most effective way possible for American readers for whom Japanese history, zen and culture may be bit confusing. I also enjoyed the maps presented in the book, one which traces Musashi's journey through life which I thought to be well designed.
One of the few weaknesses I thought the book could used was that it could have probably used some diagrams illustrating Musashi's style and what make it stand out so much. If anyone out there have seen that movie "Kill Bill Vol. 1", Lucy Liu's character start her fight against Uma Thurman in a classical Musashi style.
I should also point out that there isn't that much background information on Musashi's time period in this book so it would help if the reader have little background on the late Sengoku Period of Japan and the Tokugawa take over.
Overall, a well written and highly informative book on the life and time of Miyamoto Musashi, one of Japan's premier experts on swordmanship and concepts that goes behind it.
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