Take a photo of a barcode or cover
112 reviews for:
Art Of The Samurai: Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Barry D. Steben
3.64 AVERAGE
112 reviews for:
Art Of The Samurai: Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Barry D. Steben
3.64 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Really makes you appreciate western values. Also does a good job of destroying any romantic notion of what a samurai was. You get to read how they really behaved, what they really believed in their own words, what they celebrated and held as virtuous. This way of life is frankly repugnant on many levels, just as the knights of old Europe were not all that romantic fiction makes them out to be, this is a book from a grim and grisly time by a class of people who eat slept and breathed death, and doled it out for the slightest insult or infraction, and who had no respect for human life, their own or other peoples.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book is not really meant to be consumed in a single sitting and taken in as small morsels. Its recorded in the manner of a teacher relaying anecdotes. I do not agree with many of Tsunetomo's assessments, such as to retaliate first without consideration of thought or consequence or burning books. Some of his observations as familiar in any era, "This generation is soft compared to the previous one!" while others are unique to the samurai class. These are not the samurai of the Sengoku period, these are the philosophers and educated men reflecting on the meaning of being a warrior that hasn't seen war. There are some that like to compare Hagakure to The Book of the Five Rings, while both were written by samurai they tackle different subjects. The Five Rings is much more about combat and some of those tactics could be applied towards business or anything else. Hagakure is more about a philosophy and way of living. From a historical perspective I find Hagakure to be interesting but the Five Rings feels much more useful in practice.
Violent, unstructured, offensive, meditative, unyielding, and thought-provoking. Half of the book is about seppuku and/or duels but in a warrior’s guide, it feels spiritual.
Hagakure is best read with an open but discerning mind. While I can’t condone everything written, that you can derive a significant amount of useful wisdom from an approximately 300 year old text speaks volumes to its worth.
I have no doubt I’ll be reading this many times throughout my life, and even applying certain ideas to my daily life.
“The gods and Buddhas, too, first started with a vow.”
Hagakure is best read with an open but discerning mind. While I can’t condone everything written, that you can derive a significant amount of useful wisdom from an approximately 300 year old text speaks volumes to its worth.
I have no doubt I’ll be reading this many times throughout my life, and even applying certain ideas to my daily life.
“The gods and Buddhas, too, first started with a vow.”
Although some stories are somewhat detached from the modern world, most of them are as useful and current as they were in that time.
It was some interesting info about how he thought being a samurai entailed.
I got bored of reading the same thing over and over “you are already dead” “here’s how to make an envelope the right way” “secret love is the best” etc etc.
I finished book 1 & 2, I just dropped the 3rd book.
I got bored of reading the same thing over and over “you are already dead” “here’s how to make an envelope the right way” “secret love is the best” etc etc.
I finished book 1 & 2, I just dropped the 3rd book.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I do think that to understand this book you should have some prerequisite knowledge of how Buddhism fits in with Japanese religion and culture and what Zen Buddhism as a concept is. Even with background knowledge, some of the passages still made no sense.
That aside, the book was good. It was interesting and the translation was very good. It red easily and the words flowed well together.
Hagakure was about the insights into the mind of a faithful retainer and Samurai, the way he believed that a Samurai should conduct himself and why. It was informative and interesting. While some passages could be thrown out the window, there were multiple that could apply directly to any modern person and they would be better off for it.
That aside, the book was good. It was interesting and the translation was very good. It red easily and the words flowed well together.
Hagakure was about the insights into the mind of a faithful retainer and Samurai, the way he believed that a Samurai should conduct himself and why. It was informative and interesting. While some passages could be thrown out the window, there were multiple that could apply directly to any modern person and they would be better off for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence
Minor: Gore
informative
medium-paced