What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sword & the Mind: The Classic Japanese Treatise on Swordsmanship and Tactics
It is no accident that the age of the great Japanese swordsmen coincided with that country's transition from a loose group of warrior states to a stable nation. As you will discover in The Sword & the Mind, this pivotal seventeenth-century how-to guide for the swordsman is also a penetrating philosophical and psychological treatise on strategy. Yagyu Munenori's step-by-step instructions for positioning, striking—with one and two swords—and defending oneself against an opponent can be applied with equal success to many types of conflict, from sword fight to political struggle to business competition.
The techniques and disciplines presented in this classic of tactical and strategic wisdom were developed and refined by three of Japan's greatest swordsman: Kamiizumi Hidetsuna (1508-1577), who founded the Shinkage school of swordsmanship; his greatest student Yagyu Muneyoshi (1529-1606), who further perfected many of Hidetsuna's techniques; and Muneyoshi's son, Munenori (1571-1646), who set down this timeless masterpiece to be passed on from teacher to student.
In this exquisite translation, P.E.N. translation award winner Hiroaki Sato brings the legacy of these three superior swordsmen to the modern Western reader. With more than 25 black-and-white illustrations, glossary, chronology, bibliography, and comprehensive annotations The Sword & the Mind illuminates the lives and times of the three masters as well as the cultural and philosophical landscape in which they lived.
The techniques and disciplines presented in this classic of tactical and strategic wisdom were developed and refined by three of Japan's greatest swordsman: Kamiizumi Hidetsuna (1508-1577), who founded the Shinkage school of swordsmanship; his greatest student Yagyu Muneyoshi (1529-1606), who further perfected many of Hidetsuna's techniques; and Muneyoshi's son, Munenori (1571-1646), who set down this timeless masterpiece to be passed on from teacher to student.
In this exquisite translation, P.E.N. translation award winner Hiroaki Sato brings the legacy of these three superior swordsmen to the modern Western reader. With more than 25 black-and-white illustrations, glossary, chronology, bibliography, and comprehensive annotations The Sword & the Mind illuminates the lives and times of the three masters as well as the cultural and philosophical landscape in which they lived.
133 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
17 people are currently reading
778 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 10, 2021
incredibly well-written but in reading it, i found that it's just not a subject i enjoy reading
October 1, 2018
I picked this book up some time ago out of curiosity. It is about techniques and philosophy from the Shinkage school of swordsmanship. This book itself was translated by Hiroaki Sato; the original was
written by Yagyu Munenori in the 17th century.
It has three basic categories:
1. Historical context and introduction written by Hiroaki Sato (along with translation footnotes).
2. A list of techniques with instructions and illustrations created by the historical swordsmen.
3. Philosophy, school principles, mental techniques anecdotes to illustrate a point etc. also created by the historical swordsmen.
It's interesting stuff.
I enjoyed reading the historical context because I like reading about history, and having such context for the latter two categories is indeed helpful for understanding them.
The list of techniques and their illustrations are, obviously, most useful for those who will learn and practice them. Even then, this is not something that can teach swordsmanship on its own. Indeed, Yagyu Munenori frequently mentions how difficult it is just to describe the techniques, and also writes that something will "be transmitted verbally" because a teacher is necessary. Even then, the techniques themselves are only the first stage. Once the student has achieved the proper mindset through training with them, he no longer has any use for them.
The meat of the matter, from my perspective at least, is the third category, the philosophy behind the techniques that was crafted by the men in their historical context.
A summary would be misleading and insufficient but, in a nutshell, it advocates an empty mind. This does not one that is lacking anything but rather one that is not cluttered. A mind that is free to move around and indeed, does move around. This is the Zen influence, which both the author and the translator make note of.
It is frequently stated how important it is that a mind not "tarry" or become fixated on any given thing, including a desire not to be fixated. Interestingly, Yagyu Munenori states that Confucians are stuck at the beginner level because of their fixation on "kei", which Hiroaki Sato translates as "respect" or "reverence".
I enjoyed reading this and I found it useful but it is too far outside my usual grading rubric for a proper grade
Trickster Eric Novels gives " The Sword & the Mind: The Classic Japanese Treatise on Swordsmanship and Tactics" a +
written by Yagyu Munenori in the 17th century.
It has three basic categories:
1. Historical context and introduction written by Hiroaki Sato (along with translation footnotes).
2. A list of techniques with instructions and illustrations created by the historical swordsmen.
3. Philosophy, school principles, mental techniques anecdotes to illustrate a point etc. also created by the historical swordsmen.
It's interesting stuff.
I enjoyed reading the historical context because I like reading about history, and having such context for the latter two categories is indeed helpful for understanding them.
The list of techniques and their illustrations are, obviously, most useful for those who will learn and practice them. Even then, this is not something that can teach swordsmanship on its own. Indeed, Yagyu Munenori frequently mentions how difficult it is just to describe the techniques, and also writes that something will "be transmitted verbally" because a teacher is necessary. Even then, the techniques themselves are only the first stage. Once the student has achieved the proper mindset through training with them, he no longer has any use for them.
The meat of the matter, from my perspective at least, is the third category, the philosophy behind the techniques that was crafted by the men in their historical context.
A summary would be misleading and insufficient but, in a nutshell, it advocates an empty mind. This does not one that is lacking anything but rather one that is not cluttered. A mind that is free to move around and indeed, does move around. This is the Zen influence, which both the author and the translator make note of.
It is frequently stated how important it is that a mind not "tarry" or become fixated on any given thing, including a desire not to be fixated. Interestingly, Yagyu Munenori states that Confucians are stuck at the beginner level because of their fixation on "kei", which Hiroaki Sato translates as "respect" or "reverence".
I enjoyed reading this and I found it useful but it is too far outside my usual grading rubric for a proper grade
Trickster Eric Novels gives " The Sword & the Mind: The Classic Japanese Treatise on Swordsmanship and Tactics" a +
November 21, 2020
When I was midway through I thought three stars, then 4, now almost 5.
For a reader who has a couple of years or more of swordsmanship in which they fence with an opponent, they will start to become aware that fencing is a mind game. It is played as much with oneself (actually more so) as with an opponent. This book addresses the aspects of the mind in swordplay before action, during action, in interaction, and in reaction. The discussion is about what state of mind is needed to be successful in swordsmanship. I think it is a very valuable book for an experienced practitioner of swordsmanship. In addition to swordplay, I think that that many principles in the book can be applied to other combative and non-combative disciplines.
What I wonder is if a reader not versed in swordplay or fighting could understand the sword interactions well enough to interpret what is being described and then apply it to their own activities.
I don't know the answer to this.
The author Yagyu Munenori was a renowned sword master and teacher in Japan during his time. He was also known to be a highly educated, refined and cultivated in Zen practices, particularly as it applied to swordsmanship.
There are several things which I like to see in a translation that I did not see here.
1. I like to see the original text as written in Japanese. (This is probably very hard to read as it is in 17th century Japanese calligraphy, which is not what we read today)
2. I like to see the translator's Japanese translation. The translator is Japanese and definitely did not go directly into English. That means there is a filter between the original text and the choice of words in English. I have never seen a translation that I found absolutely perfect whenever I have taken the time to compare between languages. (Translation is very, very hard to do well)
3. I like an author's commentary (where needed) to better understand context. I think I was okay without this in this case for the most part.
4. I would like to see photographic/ visual examples of the concepts wherever possible.
These components would probably cripple the size of the book, but I like to be able to view the original writing and the translator' modern Japanese version to check it for myself.
Those are my only criticisms.
I am grateful to Mr. Sato for sharing this with us in English.
For a reader who has a couple of years or more of swordsmanship in which they fence with an opponent, they will start to become aware that fencing is a mind game. It is played as much with oneself (actually more so) as with an opponent. This book addresses the aspects of the mind in swordplay before action, during action, in interaction, and in reaction. The discussion is about what state of mind is needed to be successful in swordsmanship. I think it is a very valuable book for an experienced practitioner of swordsmanship. In addition to swordplay, I think that that many principles in the book can be applied to other combative and non-combative disciplines.
What I wonder is if a reader not versed in swordplay or fighting could understand the sword interactions well enough to interpret what is being described and then apply it to their own activities.
I don't know the answer to this.
The author Yagyu Munenori was a renowned sword master and teacher in Japan during his time. He was also known to be a highly educated, refined and cultivated in Zen practices, particularly as it applied to swordsmanship.
There are several things which I like to see in a translation that I did not see here.
1. I like to see the original text as written in Japanese. (This is probably very hard to read as it is in 17th century Japanese calligraphy, which is not what we read today)
2. I like to see the translator's Japanese translation. The translator is Japanese and definitely did not go directly into English. That means there is a filter between the original text and the choice of words in English. I have never seen a translation that I found absolutely perfect whenever I have taken the time to compare between languages. (Translation is very, very hard to do well)
3. I like an author's commentary (where needed) to better understand context. I think I was okay without this in this case for the most part.
4. I would like to see photographic/ visual examples of the concepts wherever possible.
These components would probably cripple the size of the book, but I like to be able to view the original writing and the translator' modern Japanese version to check it for myself.
Those are my only criticisms.
I am grateful to Mr. Sato for sharing this with us in English.
March 22, 2023
A fascinating combination of sword manual and zen Buddhist philosophy tract.
April 14, 2016
I found this book during one of my little trips in a secondhand bookstore. Since I'm exploring a new genre, I picked it, read few pages, and thought this is the kind of book which will make you learn something that you will remember for a long, long time. I'm not well-versed with martial arts but the part here about the mind gave me few days of good munching.
February 18, 2010
Great history section including, lineage and numerous footnotes explaining various terms and references.
February 27, 2013
An interesting book. Lots of good info if you are interested in Japanese tactics and sword fighting. Not a book to be read in a day or two though. Chew it over a bit.
June 8, 2012
great translation of the original texts.
January 3, 2013
Classic
Read
December 30, 2018A must-read for all fans of Japanese Martial Arts and Philosophy.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews