Samurai Wisdom Stories: Tales from the Golden Age of Bushido

by Pascal Fauliot

A collection of samurai stories, drawn from traditional sources, of battles, strategy, conflict, and intrigue- -featuring some of the greatest warriors and military leaders of the samurai era.

Martial artist and samurai scholar Pascal Fauliot has collected and retold twenty-eight wisdom tales of the samurai era. The tales are set in the golden age of bushido and represent the pinnacle of traditional Japanese culture in which aristocratic tastes, feudal virtues, and martial skills come together with the implacable insights of Zen.

Some of the stories- -like "The Samurai and the Zen Cat"- -are iconic; others are obscure. They feature notable figures from samurai history and legend: miltary leaders and strategists such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu; sword masters; ronin; the warrior monk Benkei, and the ninja-samurai Kakei Juzo, among many others.

These samurai stories are pithy and engaging, and include tales of battle, strategy, loyalty conflicts, court intrigues, breakthroughs in a warrior's development, and vengeance achieved or foregone. Each tale reveals a gesture or an outcome that represents greater insight or higher virtue.

Genres: History, Philosophy, Japan, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Martial Arts

160 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2017

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me peek into this book. Publishing date is set on 4th April 2017 and I suggest you to mark this one.
The book is a collection of short stories about samurai tales. They offer wisdom, reflection, playful pranks, descriptions of hard times. The book is beautifully written, capturing well the essence of Japanese culture, language wise and behavior. The author has provided the reader with an abundance of Japanese words and it was a shame (maybe due to the format or my own inadvertence) I had an e-book to read not a printed one because they had included a nice list of explanations and definitions of the Japanese words used in the book which I discovered once I had completed the book. Otherwise, it would have been a joy (with a printed copy) to skip between the text and the definitions list for better comprehension. Although, I did not feel lost nor confused.
Hence, I would highly recommend this book because it is compelling, educative, traditional and relatively easy to read (which does not make this into a simple book at all!). I consider my knowledge of and interest to Japanese culture and literature well below average and I enjoyed the tales.
But! a suggestion: if you can, get yourself a printed copy, I believe you will appreciate it more.

[AltLovesBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If you look at one leaf
You only see that.
If you don't look at any of them
the whole tree appears."

An interesting collection of short stories related to samurai and Bushido that I've had on my to-read list the longest (so far). Some were fun and funny, others were serious, but all of them had some sort of hidden meaning or lesson to learn. I think my favorite of the collection was 'Hideyoshi's Eighth Thought', if only because I could sympathize with the official who kept getting new orders from his lord just as he was about to act on them. Sometimes management do be like that.

[Haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

“ if you look at one leaf, you only see that if you don’t look at any of them, the whole tree appears”.

Solid compilation of short samurai wisdom stories… Read some of these as nighttime stories to my little one, and they resonate.

[Horea · Rating 3 out of 5]

We must take care of others and not be concerned with our own welfare. Doing away with our egoistic desires, courageously facing all adversity, and keeping a pure heart - that is bushido.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been 5 stars if not for the unnecessary and super cringe Orientalism Jacques Normand-quotes.
He might have been a fine martial artist, but certainly not a writer. He comes off as an amazingly pretentious narcissist, who apparently has understood zen only in word. His verbose and self-indulgent quotes makes me want to throw up, then beat him in a straight duel.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads. Every story was interesting and fun.

[Edward Correa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente colección de historias que dejan una moraleja sin pecar de moralistas. Narrativamente muy gráfico. Los cuentos con cortos pero aún así: recomendado de leer con tiempo y calma.

[Ste Fy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tricksy :))

[Rai Keyri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different samurai stories but mostly famous samurai during the Sengoku period up to Tokugawa era.

[Nikko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories, moving, inspiring, funny, and fun.

Note, I am affiliated with Shambhala Publications but this an objective and heartfelt review.

[Kyle Dinges · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. The book contains 28 short stories and anecdotes on the value of patience, wisdom, charity, being humble, and other virtues commonly associated with the Samurai. The stories are well written and easy to relate to for a modern audience. The author has a clear passion for the stories that are re-told and for the art of Bushido. I'd recommend this for anyone who's a fan of Samurai and Japanese culture. The book is a quick read and is easy to read in small chunks if you don't have the time to commit to a longer sitting.