The Life-Giving Sword: The Secret Teachings From the House of the Shogun

by Yagyu Munenori

This is a translation of an important classic on Zen swordfighting. Yagyu Munenori was so widely renowned that he was appointed official sword instructor to two Tokugawa shoguns. (The position was always coveted by Miyamoto Musashi, but he never succeeded in gaining the post). Yagyu's style is
known as the Shinkage-ryu style, for centuries the official style of the Tokugawa dynasty. His spiritual mentor was Zen priest Takuan. Here, Yagyu's Buddhist spirituality is clearly reflected in his central idea of the "life-giving sword" - the notion of controlling an opponent by the spiritual
readiness to fight, rather than during the fight. His mastery of restraint and diplomacy made him a trusted political and military advisor to the shoguns. This book is a look into a master swordsman's thoughts on nonattachment and even non-violence.

Genres: Philosophy, Martial Arts, Japan, Nonfiction, History, War, Classics

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1632

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glimpse into the mind of a master...better than most 'self-help' books put out today. This book is a meditation on the way of the sword; but it is applicable to any path of self discovery you may take. There is so much out there about the way the Japanese (even to this day) view the cultural connections the sword has had upon their norms/values. This book is 100% authentic - a must read for anyone studying Martial arts.

[Ali Reda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Life-Giving sword, melts Zen teachings with sword fighting. Munenori found the middle ground between technique and spirituality. He had inherited the ideals of no-sword from a long line of ancestor priests and samurai, the sword being a medium for life rather than death. He teaches how to overcome opponents mentally by achieving the state of No-Mind. By freeing your mind from attachments (sickness), your mind can only act without even thinking of this action. This state is called Emptiness, to act without thinking.

The Life-Giving sword

In a chaotic society many people are killed for no reason, the death-dealing sword is using to bring chaos under control. Once this is done the same sword can be a life-giving sword. The Life Giving Sword – one gives life to the opponents sword, leading the opponent to a place where he gives up the sword, hence giving life. An opponent should be subdued without killing him. In some cases, an especially evil swordsman may be killed to save countless others in the future.

Knowledge

In the Great Learning it says to extend your knowledge to all things, to know people of the world to and understand the principles of all existing things. If you do not understand the principles of things then nothing will come of your actions. If you lack knowledge, you harbor doubts and these doubts will never leave your mind. What you don't understand obstructs your mind and everything becomes difficult. When questions are cleared up they become nothing, you will achieve an emptiness and your actions will be in harmony with what you have learned without your being aware of it.

The Continually Moving Mind

It is the very mind itself that leads the mind astray. The mind must be kept free from attachment and fixation, stopping the mind, abiding, meant certain death from the opponent's sword. If your opponent lifts his sword, you mind shifts with the sword, if it moves to the left or right, your mind shifts accordingly. If your mind stops you will be defeated in the martial arts, if it remains in the place where it has shifted, the results will be merciless. The mind that releases the mind is one that is let go and does not stop moving. If you keep a released mind, your movements will always be free.

The continually moving mind is philosophically symbolized by the avatar Fudo Myo-o, the Wisdom King, often depicted holding a sword in one hand for cutting through ignorance, and a rope in the other for tying up passions.

Sickness

When using the sword, if your mind is occupied with thoughts of plying the sword, its tip will not likely be regulated. When practicing calligraphy, if your mind is occupied by thoughts of writing, the brush will be unsettled. When playing the koto, if your mind is filled with thoughts of plucking the strings, the melody will be confused. This is because you do it with a mind occupied with doing something well.

To think only of winning is sickness, to think only of martial arts is sickness, to think of making an attack or waiting for one is sickness, to fixate on eliminating sickness is sickness. What remains stationary in the mind is sickness, as these sicknesses manifest in the mind, you must expel them.

Emptiness

Abbot Lungchi said to some monks: "Do not see the existent pillar as a pillar; do not see the non-existent pillar as a pillar. Expel Existence and Non-Existence altogether, and make what lies behind them your own".

With Emptiness a swordsman is able to see the inside and the outside, the active and the pre-active. To be able to judge an opponent's actions before they are manifested. This is achieved through tremendous meditation. Emptiness allows you to see the mind of your opponent, it has no color, no form, it is a void. The firmly held mind is also empty and cannot be seen, it strikes at the point where the hand has not yet moved. Victory is determined a thousand miles away. Do not lose the ordinary state of mind, if you think “I won't move”, you have already moved. Moving is in itself the principle of not being moved. If a man blinks normally, that is natural, if he stops blinking, his mind has moved.

No-Mind

Training in technique is done to transcend training itself, by taking training to the ultimate the swordsman goes beyond the fetters of technique. Swordsmanship can be executed with interference from the mind. When you have run the length of various practices, those practices will no longer remain in your mind and that lack of mind is at the heart of all things. By then forgetting your training and casting off your mind, you can become more aware of yourself and your environment, you have put aside thoughts of doing things well and have attained the realm of no-thought / no-mind. You will not be self-conscious and your mind will not be occupied with your actions. You will make no mistakes, but if your mind slips, you will miss your aim. If you maintain no-mind you will always hit the mark. You enter through training and arrive at absence. At this point you don't know where your mind is, daemons and heresies will not be able to find it.

The middle ground is the balance between going too fast and too slow, going fast is the result of fright, going slow results from being overwhelmed.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zen and the art of killing people might be a catchy subtitle for this book. Ok, that’s not quite fair since the author does go out of his way to note that the Way of the Sword can be life giving as well as life taking (as per the book's title), but it’s not 100% clear to me after reading the book exactly how that works aside from using the sword to protect others from evil which still involves, you know, killing (or at least attacking and perhaps even dismembering) people on the ‘wrong side’ of morality. “The Death-Dealing Sword is used to bring a chaotic society under control; but once this has been done, cannot that same sword become a Life-Giving Sword?“ Anyway, that aside it is a book that is primarily concerned with propounding a particular ethos for martial arts (and esp. swordplay) that is strongly imbued with Zen philosophy.

I have been fascinated with swords and the idea of swordplay since I was just a lad and while I haven’t read many of them, this interest has led to me to look into a few manuals on swordplay, none of which I fully appreciate (which is understandable given their purpose to supplement the training of a practitioner who is also learning from an actual master in the real world), but which I find enlightening nonetheless. Their role as largely oblique repositories of trade secrets generally cloaked in technical jargon or philosophical-mystical allusions (as here) only adds to my confusion. Still, they are interesting and close reading can reveal at least a little of what I imagine the author was intending to express even if I have no real practical experience that can aid me in my understanding. I feel like they bring me a little bit closer to understanding the realities of swordplay even if I am still largely in the dark.

This manual from the 17th century is a distillation of the teachings and philosophies of Yagyu Munenori as passed down to him by his famous forebears and continued by himself. Those familiar with the manga _Lone Wolf and Cub_ will prick their ears at the name, and yes this is indeed *that* Yagyu clan…or at least it is the real-life version of them that, while it may have had some connection to various ninja clans, had no evil patriarch named Retsudo and acted only as an inspiration for Koike Kazuo’s clan of master assassins. The real Yagyu were, however, famous as master practitioners of the sword and this manual sets out the teachings of the Yagyi Shinkage-Ryu school.

As with most (some? all?) ideologies influenced by Zen, the juxtaposition of opposites is evident throughout: one must be free of thought, yet mind is the prime mover; the inner and outer man must divide themselves between abiding and attack: when the inner man abides the outer must attack and vice versa; martial arts, and the sword, are a means of death contrary to the Will of Heaven, yet they are also necessary and can promote life and peace by destroying evil; knowledge and practice are required to excel in the Way, but the ultimate state is ‘No Mind’ where all conscious thought falls away. “Use thought to arrive at No-Thought; use attachment to be nonattached.” These sorts of ideas and sayings are common throughout the book and do not, for me at least, always aid in a clear understanding of what exactly is being expressed. A few tidbits that I gleaned from my reading:

- You must try to read your opponent and anticipate his moves while obfuscating your own plans through calm and deception.
- Force him to act/attack while you abide.
- Keep him off balance by having no rhythm and/or going counter to his rhythm.
- Muscle memory is the key: practice until your body knows the moves instinctually. Thought is the enemy of action or success; your body must act without thinking.
- Tied to this your mind must never ‘rest’, but always be in fluid motion, judging circumstances and allowing your body to continually act or react without halting at an assumed end point.
- The rules of the Way you study should not restrict you, but condition you to be able to react in any situation.
- Constant motion of thought and body to be ready to respond to any new conditions.


I would summarize much of what is in here with the general maxim: Learning the ways of your discipline through practice and study are required of the learner, but letting go of these (or perhaps more correctly, making these part of your automatic reactions) so that you can move beyond conscious thought to the level of instinct and response to the specific circumstances of the fight based on perception is the way of the master.

An interesting read, if a somewhat difficult one.

[Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

May be this book is for the hard-core martial artists only. I would not recommend it for the faint-hearted. Well, may be for someone who is very interested in Zen and Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation, this will also be a great, eye-opening book. And may be some history buff. To be read together with The Unfettered Mind and other books by Musashi because they are all contemporaries and you'll get a better picture that way. One other great point about this book is it provides you with Kanji characters of Japanese terms. I personally learned a lot from this book (and did use it in my sword fighting bouts).

[Ivy Reisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little strange at points (the hidden is manifest and the manifest is hidden; existance is non-existance and non-existance is existance) but it's very good.

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini dikatakan sebagai salah satu dari tiga catatan singkat tentang ilmu pedang di awal zaman Edo yang pengaruhnya begitu besar karena sudah mencapai tataran jalan hidup, tak sebatas ilmu bela diri belaka. Dua lainnya adalah The Unfettered Mind karya Takuan Soho, seorang pendeta Zen, dan The Book of Five Rings, karya Miyamoto Musashi. Ketiga buku ini sudah diterjemahkan dan diterbitkan oleh GPU dan menariknya, karena hanya Miyamoto Musashi yang dikenal di Indonesia, baik buku Yagyu Munenori maupun Takuan Soho pun diberi embel-embel "Musashi" pada judul versi terjemahannya. Hahaha. Nice marketing effort.

Namun, meskipun pada judul buku ini Yagyu dilabeli sebagai pesaing utama Musashi, kedua tokoh ini tidak pernah bertemu sama sekali selama mereka hidup. Reputasi mereka memang sama-sama besar di era yang sama. Musashi dalam buku ini disebut sebagai salah satu penyebab murid-murid Yagyu Munenori lari dari perguruan pedangnya. Dan Musashi sendiri dikatakan sangat menginginkan posisi seperti yang dimiliki Yagyu Munenori: pelatih pedang keshogunan, tapi tak pernah mendapatkan kesempatan itu.

Sedangkan Munenori dan Takuan Soho digambarkan pernah bertemu dan menjalani hubungan pertemanan. Pada beberapa kesempatan, Takuan Soho sempat mengkritik beberapa kelemahan Munenori, seperti ketika Munenori dianggap memamerkan pengetahuannya tentang Noh. Munenori mendengarkan serta memperhatikan kritikan itu.

***

Mungkin rasa penasaranku waktu notice buku ini di deretan buku rak perpus kota nyaris kaya rasa penasaran Ieyasu Tokugawa terhadap teknik Tanpa Pedang atau Shinkage Ryu yang dimiliki Yagyu Sekishusai. Haha. Jadi meski topik ini sangat asing buatku, buku ini langsung kusambar dari rak dan kubaca saat itu juga sampai habis di Perpustakaan Kota Malang.

Ieyasu diceritakan mengundang Sekishusai ke vilanya di Takagamine. Pada masa itu, Yagyu Sekishusai Muneyoshi dipandang sebagai salah seorang ahli pedang terbaik di Jepang dan konon memiliki teknik paling sempurna: mengalahkan orang bersenjata tanpa menggunakan senjata apa pun. Ieyasu bertanya soal prinsip Shinkage Ryu secara mendetail. Sekishusai dan anaknya, Munenori, mendemonstrasikan teknik yang dimaksud secara singkat. Ieyasu sendiri terkesan dengan penjelasan Yagyu, tapi masih belum merasa yakin dengan peragaan yang diperlihatkan.

Ia lalu mengambil pedang kayu dan meminta bertanding dengan Sekishusai. Sekishusai merebut gagang pedang Ieyasu, lalu mengalahkan Ieyasu dengan hantaman tinjunya. Mereka bertanding dua kali dan Ieyasu kalah di semua pertandingan. Akhirnya Ieyasu mengakui kekalahannya dan membuat perjanjian guru/murid dengan Sekishusai. Salah satu isi perjanjiannya adalah dia takkan mengabaikan hubungannya dengan Sekishusai. Saat Ieyasu meminta Sekishusai untuk menjadi guru pedang pribadinya, Sekishusai enggan karena merasa sudah tua, dan malah mengajukan anak lelaki bungsunya, Yagyu Munenori.

***

Yang kutangkap, aliran ilmu pedang ini memiliki filosofi bahwa kemenangan tak berarti harus membunuh musuh atau mengalahkan musuh dalam pertarungan. Tidak diserang lawan meskipun diri sendiri tidak mempunyai pedang itu juga berarti kemenangan. Bisa menghindari pertarungan dan pertumpahan darah itu juga kemenangan. Dikatakan bahwa jika musuh tak ingin pedangnya diambil maka ya jangan berusaha keras untuk mengambilnya. Kalau lawan fokus pada keinginan agar pedangnya tidak diambil, dia akan lupa fokus tujuannya untuk menyerang lawan. Akhirnya saat bertarung, ia akan berusaha melindungi pedangnya dan mungkin tidak akan menebas kita.

Namun, inti dari seni Tanpa Pedang bukan mengambil pedang lawan, tapi mampu menggunakan peralatan secara bebas. Saat tak punya pedang dan ingin memiliki pedang lawan agar bisa menggunakannya, benda apa pun yang bisa dipegang tangan harus bisa digunakan. Bahkan jika yang ada di tangan cuma kipas pun, dengan itu kita harus bisa menaklukkan pedang lawan.

Lalu aliran ini menekankan bahwa bela diri bukanlah untuk mengalahkan musuh apalagi membunuh musuh. Bela diri fungsi aslinya adalah membunuh kejahatan pada diri musuh. Dan musuh itu sendiri baru boleh dibunuh jika kejahatannya sudah sangat tinggi sampai membahayakan begitu banyak orang lain. Jika membunuh satu orang berarti menyelamatkan puluhan ribu orang, maka hal itu tak apa dilakukan. Jadi jangan bertarung apalagi sampai membunuh kalau nggak perlu. Filosofi inilah yang kemudian menarik hati anak Ieyasu, Hidetada. Padahal, disebutkan bahwa Hidetada itu anak yang pemalas. Ia juga belajar seni berpedang dari guru lain, akan tetapi gurunya itu memiliki gaya bertarung yang kejam dan dia sendiri membanggakan dirinya sebagai orang kejam. Namun, karena kedalaman filosofi aliran pedang ini, juga kelihaian Yagyu Munenori dalam menyikapi muridnya inilah, akhirnya Hidetada jadi menunjukkan antusiasme yang lebih untuk belajar ilmu pedang.

Karier Yagyu Munenori terus meningkat, sampai akhirnya tanah leluhurnya yang tadinya dirampas oleh klan Toyotomi (Keshogunan sebelum Tokugawa) pada zaman ayahnya karena tuduhan menyembunyikan tanah demi menghindari pajak, dikembalikan lagi kepada keluarganya. Bahkan luas tanahnya pun ditambahi.

***

Yagyu Munenori menjadi guru bagi anak Hidetada, Iemitsu. Hubungan antara Iemitsu dan Yagyu ini menurutku menarik sekali. Iemitsu adalah orang yang sangat antusias dalam belajar. Sayangnya, dia begitu disibukkan dengan urusan politik dan kenegaraan sehingga waktu belajar pedangnya lebih kurang dari yang ia inginkan. Iemitsu sendiri oleh penerjemah digambarkan sebagai orang yang susah didekati, kepribadiannya rumit. Jadi bisa dibayangkan betapa kuat Yagyu Munenori bisa mendampingi orang ini sebagai penasihat dan guru dalam waktu yang sangat lama. Iemitsu ini bisa dibilang sangat tergantung pada sang guru.

Agak lucu dan nyebelin sebenarnya, dalam buku ini digambarkan Iemitsu semacam nggak bisa melepaskan Yagyu dan terus mendesak kalau-kalau sang guru masih menyimpan ilmu rahasia yang tidak diwariskan padanya. Bahkan setelah akhirnya ia diresmikan oleh Munenori sebagai pewaris resmi ilmu Shinkage Ryu, diberi sertifikat dan diberi pedang yang ditempa oleh pembuat pedang legendaris, Masamune, sebelum akhirnya Yagyu mengundurkan diri dan menyepi karena usia tua, Iemitsu tetap membuat ulah. Ia malah mengirimkan surat bernada ancaman pada sang guru. Penyebabnya sama, dia curiga kalau Yagyu Munenori masih menyembunyikan ilmunya. Ya Allah! Bahasa Jawanya, "ndlodhok!". Bagian ini beneran bikin aku mbatin, "Ojo sampe aku jadi jenis murid kayak si Iemitsu!" Hahaha!

Namun, setelah cerita mereka dijabarkan lebih panjang, aku malah jadi agak terenyuh dengan hubungan keduanya. Memang Iemitsu digambarkan seolah tidak membiarkan Yagyu bisa menikmati masa pensiunnya dengan benar-benar tenang. Sewaktu-waktu dia bisa saja muncul di tempat sang guru menyepi. Atau memerintahkan bawahannya untuk menjemput Yagyu Munenori kembali ke istana. Saat sang guru sakit Iemitsu digambarkan sangat khawatir sehingga langsung datang ke tempat peristirahatan sang guru dan mendatangkan dokter ternama. Munenori seumur hidupnya dikisahkan tidak pernah sakit lebih dari tiga hari. Jadi ketika akhirnya dia mengalami sakit berkepanjangan, dia sadar bahwa waktunya di dunia ini sudah hampir selesai. Pada saat itu pun Iemitsu tetap saja berusaha mengorek apakah sang guru masih memiliki ilmu pedang yang belum diajarkan kepadanya. Astaga!

Setelah yakin bahwa gurunya tak punya ilmu rahasia apa pun lagi, barulah ia menanyakan apa yang keinginan terakhir dari sang guru. Yagyu Munenori meminta agar Iemitsu mendirikan monumen penghormatan bagi ayahnya, Sekishusai, dan minta agar kedua anaknya dilindungi oleh keshogunan Tokugawa. Iemitsu langsung mengabulkan permintaan itu. Dan diceritakan bertahun-tahun kemudian setelah sang guru wafat, jika menghadapi permasalahan yang rumit, Iemitsu terus saja berkata, "Seandainya Yagyu Munenori masih ada, aku pasti bisa mendiskusikan hal ini padanya."

Hiks. Kepingin nangis pas baca bagian ini.

***

Buku yang sangat menarik. Jujur saja pengetahuanku soal sejarah Jepang masih sangat minim. Jadi kebanyakan informasi di dalam buku ini benar-benar info yang sangat baru buatku. Ini jenis buku yang buatku secara pribadi tampaknya harus dibaca berulang kali agar lebih paham dengan esensinya. Namun, bertambahnya pengetahuan meski sedikit pun perlu disyukuri, kan. Jadi review ini kubuat untuk mencatat apa saja yang kuingat dan buatku menarik dari buku ini, untuk saat ini. Biar nggak lupa gitu. Karena aku terkesan sekali waktu baca buku ini. Sayang kalau info yang membuatku terkesan itu nantinya kulupakan begitu saja. Di lain waktu kalau aku sudah membacanya ulang dan memperbarui atau mengoreksi pemahamanku soal buku ini, reviewnya bisa saja kuralat lagi.

BERSAMBUNG

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I read this right after reading Zen at War. Because of this, Yagyu's book had no romance for me, and seemed like what it is: a kenjutsu manual hidden inside an amateur's esoteric zen treatise. If you want to learn zen, there are better zen treatises (e.g. ones written by actual zen clergy and scholars), and if you want to learn how to sword-fight from a book (which is not a good idea anyway), a manual that isn't couched in seventeenth century mystical religious terms might be easier to fathom.

I much prefer Musashi as he wrote in a more practical vein. Yagyu just sort of put me off, and I kept thinking about how zen should have nothing to do with killing people, and the fact that the sword and zen are married in Japanese history is something to be ashamed of not celebrated.

Nice illustrations though, and is definitely of historical interest.

[Rahmat Romadon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey I found this book is very useful for additional training. It's like cuts people in two pieces!!! I really love this book its explains more than just slice enemies but also teach us that sword is not only tools that we can depend on againts enemies. You can use another for it.

[Arthur Rosenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miyamoto Musashi regarded Yagyu as the finest swordsman in Japan for a reason. Another of Wilson's wonderful translations.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

While martial arts trains the body, philosophy trains the mind. That is the underlying idea of The Life-Giving Sword written by Yagyu Munenori. Munenori’s idea was to combine the two concepts and attempt to make a sword fighting style that went beyond just slashing people and killing them. Apparently, he did a really good job at it, since the style is still being learned and followed today in Japan.

Munenori wanted to combine Zen Buddhism with his sword style. Along with all of the particulars of the style, the translator, William Scott Wilson, discusses the history of Japan during the time Yagyu Munenori was alive. I had heard of Munenori through some other books, but most notably through Vagabond, the manga series about the life of Miyamoto Musashi. This book brought about a number of interesting parts of Munenori’s life and the people that he interacted with. It talks about how Munenori was a man of culture and learning. He like Noh Dances and Chinese poetry and other stuff like that. Eventually, he became trusted by the Shogun to such a degree that he was able to police the other daimyo and had a great deal of land.

Although Yagyu Munenori intended this book to be kept private and secret among his family he failed miserably at this since 15 years after he wrote it Musashi talked about it in his own Book of Five Rings.

This book is pretty good. It includes a bibliography and a series of notes on the work. While some parts of the notes display the words in the original Japanese, it doesn’t really matter to me since I can’t read Japanese. The book has images that demonstrate stances but doesn’t really go too far beyond that.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for all serious martial artists, regardless of your chosen discipline. I found myself paraphrasing it at a black belt grading not too long ago. A young shodan candidate was temporarily stuck in her mind, with her emotions beginning to take control. A simple trigger of one of Munenori’s strategies for ‘freeing the mind’ empowered the young woman to forge ahead.

Aside from being infinitely applicable to martial arts, this book is simply fun. There are wonderful catchphrases that aptly describe all aspects of martial strategy, and yet do so with such flair. Concepts such as “snatching opportunity out of an instant”, “hear the wind, listen to the water”, “control distance like the moon touching the water.”


Munenori was one of the greatest swordsmen of Japan, but what sets him apart is that he was also one of the great Zen masters of the time. This book explains many Zen principles that are the foundation of all budo, including Karate-do. These concepts extend far beyond fighting concepts and powerful life strategies.

This book has immediately added itself to my annual re-read list. I’ve been reflecting on several sections for days. My detailed notes on this book are long, but here are three of my favourite concepts.
It is your mind that confounds your mind
Mind, do not yield to the mind

A mirror is free to reflect everything, because it is committed to nothing.

The moon dances on ten thousand waves all at once, yet does not move.
The same is true of the free mind of the master.

www.WhiteHeronMartialArts.com/post/th...

[Гери · Rating 5 out of 5]

Писана по същото време когато и "Ръкопис на петте стъпала", но много по-малко известна при нас и все пак вече достъпна с превод от старояпонски.
Чрез много джен будизъм(и там където чан се среща с дао) и прочит на Изкуството на войната, това кратко томче ни дава дългата история на победата с хладно оръжие.
Никога не съм тренирала кендо, но тренирам в оръжия и със сигурна че повечето похвати за безсмъртни са казани по един или дртуг начин във всяка школа по света. а когато правя комбинация ако мисля, умът ми наистина"заболява", освободя ли го, вече не я бъркам, може би достигам "естествен ум".

[Blindzider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both enlightening and frustrating. A book that really tries to explain its teachings and methodologies.

Disappointed that most of the physical stuff in the first part of the book "The Shoe-Presenting Bridge" is not shown. It's explicitly stated these are too difficult to put into words and are presented to the student orally. Perhaps these can be found elsewhere.

Much of the rest of the book has to do with getting the mind in the right place. Like a few other books I've read that contain early/ancient teachings, unfortunately there's quite a bit of repetition, or at least it felt like it. I did like the idea and presentation of relating sword techniques and sword fighting with Zen Buddhism. Munenori makes an effort to illustrate in layman's terms what some of the sayings/stories/readings mean and how it relates to martial arts. That being said, it still isn't clear cut and you won't necessarily walk away grasping and understanding everything the first time. It's a book you read, then pick up some time later to read again and see if you have a new perspective on the understanding of it.

[James Tyrrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the title tells you secret teachings it is being absolutely accurate in its description. There is a great deal to be learned here for the martial artist and especially those involved in swordplay. Zen and mindfulness, along with the mental nature of the sword wielder are all covered in detail. Different methods of drawing in an enemy to strike are reminiscent of highly localized form of Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

As such there are explicit moments where methods are discussed that the non martial artist can take note of and learn from. All in all it will be a far better read for my martial artist friends than me, but it did give an interesting insight into the mental strategies of a skilled martial artist.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed as an amateur philosopher and student of Japanese history, not as a practitioner of kendo, this was not my favorite text but was pretty good. It's quite thick to get through at times, especially when the meat of Munenori's philosophy is seamlessly blended with the chewy gristle of swordplay technique that makes a non-practitioners' eyes glaze over. However, I could not think of a better guide to the text than William Scott Wilson, whose extensive introduction, footnotes, and afterward explain thoroughly the author's history, and the role the text played in the history of Japan, the history of the Japanese warrior, and the development of the way of the sword. Actually I found Wilson's contributions much more valuable and illuminating than the text itself.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant instruction manual by one of the most legendary warriors in Japanese history, 'Life Giving Sword' will speak to any Martial Artist, Soldier, Warrior, Freedom Fighter, Peacemaker, or Monk. Speaking not of death and chaos, but of the Zen of being able to give life with ones sword, to preserve with ones sword is a central message in this work.

Far from utilitarian or defeatist in its philosophy, 'Life Giving Sword' is a beneficial read for any follower of the Way.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The past dying out like the wake of a boat, not lingering at all... the turning point is truly recondite.'

'Learning is the gate not the house. When you see the gate, do not mistake it for the house.'

'The mind is like raw silk; dye it red it becomes red, dye it violet and it becomes violet.'

[Jamison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great after first reading the "The Art of War" to get an deeper understanding.

[Man Solo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saved my ass......

[Gary Mendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent

[Hilda Ellis-Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite dense in parts, and not recommended as a introductory text or for beginners.

[Peter Carrier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for philosophers martial or esoteric

"By the false, the truth is obtained."

The statement is true in a number of arenas: boardrooms, battlefields, court rooms, dojos, lecture halls and literature, just to name a few. In this regard, "The Life-Giving Sword" is as accurate and relevant today as "The Book of Five Rings", "The Art of War" and "The Unfettered Mind." This last book, though not a treatise of the combat arts, was a compelling read in it's own right. Not only does "The Unfettered Mind" offer it's own brand of profound insight, but it makes a wonderful companion to "The Life-Giving Sword" by underscoring or providing additional explanation, detail or context to many of the notions mentioned therein.

Part of what made "The Unfettered Mind" so revelatory was in how succinctly Takuan Soho relates Zen principles to the life or death realities of combat. "The Life-Giving Sword" brings that relationship to the next logical level by demonstrating how the direct application of those same Zen principles can not only enhance a swordsman's understanding of his own art, but how said principles embody the philosophy of several techniques each student seeks to master.

William Scott Wilson's translation is smooth and easy to read. This must have required incredible effort on his part, given how seamlessly he works around the many sections of the work that require annotation. His forward is both interesting and illuminating, preparing the reader for what lay ahead with due context and a proper whetting of the appetite.

Recommended for: martial arts enthusiasts; students of life; those seeking the Way

[Kepo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contemporaneo di Miyamoto Musashi e amico di Takuan Soho, Yagyu Munenori scrive e sviluppa questo testo nei primi trent'anni dell'epoca Tokugawa (1603-1869), un periodo di pace che porterà il Giappone a 250 anni di isolamento che terminerà nella Restaurazione Meiji del 1869.

Yagyu Munenori, maestro di spada dei primi Shogun Tokugawa, propone un'opera più nobile del Gorin no sho di Musashi Miyamoto che raggruppa la sua esperienza di guerriero in 5 libri sulla tecnica di spada per sovrastare l'avversario.

Allo stesso tempo è uno scritto molto più pragmatico del Fudochishinmyoroku del monaco Takuan Soho, un trattato filosofico e spirituale che contiene anche una lettera destinata proprio a Yagyu Munenori ("Scritti di un maestro zen a un maestro di spada").

Heiho Kadensho di Yagyu Munenori è un testo efficiente e rispettoso di ciò che in quel tempo era, ed è stato, la base dell'avanzamento: "Il libro della nostra tradizione sull'arte della guerra".
Un testo aperto, segnato da un primo spiraglio di pace, un testo che prova a vedere la spada non solo come oggetto di morte e sopravvivenza ma anche come dono di vita per le nuove generazioni

[yhara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Setelah membaca The Life-Giving Sword, saya merasa bahwa buku ini tidak hanya mengajarkan tentang bagaimana menggunakan pedang, tetapi juga bagaimana prinsipnya yang dapat diaplikasikan ke dalam kehidupan sehari-hari melalui pemikiran Buddha Zen. Pedang di sini bukan sekadar senjata, melainkan simbol cara kita menghadapi masalah, konflik, dan diri kita sendiri.

Buku ini menekankan pentingnya ketenangan pikiran, kesadaran penuh, dan kemampuan untuk bertindak tanpa dikuasai oleh emosi. Konsep "tanpa pedang" membuat saya menyadari bahwa tidak semua masalah harus diselesaikan dengan konfrontasi. Terkadang, kejernihan batin dan pengendalian diri justru menjadi kekuatan terbesar.

Ajaran-ajaran Zen yang disampaikan terasa sederhana, namun dalam dan relevan dengan kehidupan modern. Saya merasa banyak nilai yang bisa diterapkan, seperti bagaimana bersikap tegas tanpa kekerasan, mengambil keputusan dengan tenang, dan memahami bahwa tindakan kita selalu membawa konsekuensi.

Secara keseluruhan, buku ini memberi saya perspektif baru tentang kehidupan, bahwa kemenangan sejati bukan tentang mengalahkan orang lain, tetapi tentang menaklukkan diri sendiri dan menjaga keseimbangan batin.

[Yun Rou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Wilson's translations of Japanese/Chinese classics for Tuttle/Kodansha have, over the years, proven to be elegant and satisfying works. Bill has a scholar's mind and a restrained and elegant hand in translation. He also has a great passion for Japan and all things Japanese, travels there often, and has made that country the focus of his life the way I have done with China. I recommend all the books in this series. This one taps into the wisdom of a sword master more highly regarded in many circles than Miyamoto Musashi.

[Jake Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very insightful for those with the mind and heart of a warrior. Or those that want to become one. Alot of things really resonated with me and were ideas I had learned or come to know on my own in life. That being said, i think some of the translations could use some work. At times it sounded more like a riddle than a lesson to be learned. But that may just be a failing on my part. I will have to keep searching myself for answers. And this book was a very helpful step to that path.

[Alec M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dense read, consistent with its near contemporary the Book of Five Rings, but offers an alternative and equally insightful view inside the mind of one of its nation's most skilled swordsmen. The translator has done an excellent job of providing context to the author and the art, and the text itself provides a unique view on not only the art practiced, but the psychology that practice depended on to succeed.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book about samurai techniques and teachings. Munenori was known to be a master. It's actually shorter than I thought. The beginning is a long chapter from the editor about munenori's life. It's interesting but feels like I missed some of it. Some of the zen teachings are pretty easy to follow but some of the sword teachings might need a little more time to picture and understand.

[Jordan Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introduction and backstory cooler than the book itself--who wouldn't want to learn the secrets of the swordmaster who taught shoguns?

The book has some interesting zen tidbits and reflections on flow-state, but otherwise a bit of a 'you had to be there' vibe as someone who isn't deeply steeped in samurai swordsmanship

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this copy of Yagyu a number of times and each time I learn a little more. The footnotes are very important, but may slow down an initial reading too much.

Unfettered Mind is the unofficial companion book to this and should be considered mandatory reading along with Ba and Bashou for anyone wanting to read English sources an Yagyu Shinkage Ryu.