Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai

This book is amazing. It's intellectual, inspiring, and thought contemplative. Highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks a purpose in life. Just like the book of 5 rings by Miyamoto Musashi, or that of Bushido the soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe the path of the Samurai or as a Ronin is a life worthy of your attention. Honor will come.

I preordered the book as soon as I become aware of it. I have read & studied other texts produced by Dr. Bennett and they have always been easy to read and understand. I also subscribed to Kendo World even though I do no practice Kendo because the articles provide insight to life in general. Look forward to reading his latest endeavor. Yay, the book arrived. And it is not only a wonderful translation for all budoka as noted by all the other reviews, but the Hakagure in Context provides a very rich background for the book. The translations of the writings of Yamamoto Tsunetomo within provide insight of the samurai and Japanese culture. I believe this is a tremendous read for martial artists and non-martial artists interested in the culture of Japan.

Reading this made me change my way of thinking, in a good way, highly recommended for those interested in philosophical reading

It is a very interesting book with lots of references of the japanese culture and how samurai behave, I found it hard to follow without having a clear storyline.

This book’s insights are engaging immediately upon reading. The author’s translations and depth of historical context helps to put reader in the period it was written. The core values of Hagakure are mentioned early and frequently to remind the reader of the duty-bound retainers of the era. Samurai lovers, MUST BUY.

I bought this for someone else but I read it before when I was in high school. If you're into Japanese martial arts and history, this is one of the fundamental must-read books, like it's a big name book for that and probably in the top ten list for such topics. The book quality is good and I liked this version. I no longer have the book on me to write an extensive review but I would probably buy this again for myself later on. The price is great too for what you get.

I enjoyed this book. At times the book was a little dense thanks to the word choice used, but not terrible. I really enjoyed the physical shape, size, and layout of this book. It's very easy to pick up and read a few passages when you feel like it. I'm always fascinated by the history of Japan and the Samurai, and this book added some context to these topics. It was amazing to read just how fragile life was; people could be killed or choose to die over some of the strangest things! That was my biggest take away message from this book. If you like reading about the Samurai I think you'll enjoy this book. I did.

Dr. Bennett brings to this work a unique set of qualifications. There are quite a few translations by people who are fluent in Japanese but not so aware of kendo and the history of Japanese martial arts. There are also quite a few translations by people who are highly knowledgeable of kendo and the history of Japanese martial arts. Dr. Bennett, is not only a scholar of the history of Japanese martial arts but comes with a very deep knowledge of the Japanese language based on long years of living in Japan. I'm glad to be one of the first people to own this book and, after my first run through I'm looking forward to a deeper reading of the book.

Si trovano in giro un'infinità di traduzioni dell'Hagakure, alcune grossolanamente incomplete o reinterpretate. non dico che questa sia la migliore perché a questo punto è difficile capire quale corrisponda di più all'originale. Ciò detto, il testo appare molto completo e vicino allo stile dell'opera originale di cui non conosco che alcuni brani (rivisti) in lingua giapponese moderna. Utilissime le note e sobria l'interpretazione, come si addice agli argomenti trattati.

This is a philosophical set of meditations similar to Marcus Aurelius and the Stoics. Amongst many small chapters there are many that are related to archaic Japanese society. These haven't aged well. The core however is as brilliant as ever and helps you get through life.

Gutes buch

This translation needs no recommendation to the readers interested in martial arts, medieval history or Japanese literature. Security professionals, Fortune 500 executives and those already having it on their must-read list need no recommendation either.Instead, I would like to recommend this book to the reader who might never consider reading it, or worse, who would put it aside after seeing flashy cover and skimming through the Introduction.There is a strong reason for that.To any Westerner unfamiliar with it, Bushido could be best described by using Michel Foucault's terms 'technology of the self' and 'caring for oneself'(epimeleia heautou). It is true art (techne) that provides necessary preparation skills (paraskeue), influenced by the time and field-tested Neo-Confucianism, Zen and Buddhism. However, Bushido resonates familiar to anyone who read Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius. Therefore, in an indirect way, Bushido reminds us Westerners of our own Classical roots, mostly lost and forgotten in the West.That is why Hagakure is timeless, and not limited to martial arts only, if read in a wider context. Jim Jarmusch used Hagakure as a loose framework for 'Ghost Dog', set in a fictional 1990s slum. Kenneth Branagh might use it as well to create another present-day drama, like he did with Hamlet, because, like Yamamoto''s time, ours is also the time of turmoil, when the old ways are becoming obsolete, or so it seems, if attention is not paid to what is 'hidden in the leaves'(i.e. hidden in plain sight). Here is a suggestion to non-martial artist, one of the ways how to approach Hagakure. First reading provides historical context and information to better understand Japanese society,Yukio Mishima''s writing, Japanese movies or even some better Hollywood attempts (47 Ronin). Subsequent readings should be an idea, one vignette or one chapter at the time, perhaps kept on a phone, read and reflected as an allegorical training manual. 'The Lord' (daimyo) should be understood as the best possible version of the Reader's self, while the 'Retainer' (Samurai) is the Reader''s will to achieve this. Like samurai, the Reader has to struggle with the notion that we do not control things around us, but we do control our actions and reactions, the same way long jumper does not control the wind speed, only his actions, to make the longest possible jump.Like Samurai writing the scroll, the Reader has to keep in mind that hastily written e-mail could end up on the Facebook wall. Like Samurai, the Reader has to be able to make the right decision within the span of seven breaths. That is how this book comes into perspective of non-martial artist and how to be in the right frame of mind to accept what this gem of a book offers. I guess everyone will benefit differently. A friend of mine gave me Hagakure almost thirty years ago and told me to read it often. Perhaps it was one of the best advice I ever got.

I can think of perhaps no one better qualified than Alex Bennett to do a new translation of Hagakure into English; Professor Bennett is probably the foremost authority on Budō and bushidō writing in English (and probably any other language) today. His extensive experience as both a practitioner and researcher of the Japanese martial traditions renders him especially suited to the task, and Bennett's translation does not disappoint: thoroughly researched from a historical perspective, yet with a keen eye toward what lessons the text may hold for readers of today, both practitioners of the martial arts and non-practitioners alike. It is eminently readable, devoid of the stuffy archaicisms often resorted to by translators of such texts in order to give them an exotic flavor; this translation favors substance over surface. My only quibble with the text has nothing to do with the translation, but with the publisher Tuttle's decision to go with a somewhat substandard quality of paper used for the first imprint of the book itself. I understand that the publishing industry is facing difficulties with the production of physical books in the face of digital publishing's continuing rise, but cutting costs by producing cheaper printings seems like a step in exactly the wrong direction. This is not a throwaway beach novel or once-through self-help toss-off, but a classic, one to which readers will want to refer again and again, and which deserves a physical presentation worthy of its quality. I can only hope that future editions are of higher physical quality, perhaps also with a hardcover available. In this day and age, if one is going to buy an actual book, it seems like it should be one worth keeping. In the meantime, I'm afraid I would suggest the Kindle edition.