The Complete Musashi: The Book of Five Rings and Other Works: The Definitive Translations of the Complete Writings of Miyamoto Musashi - Japan's Greatest Samurai

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

Everyone should read this no matter what their beliefs may be, if they be people of value this book is of great value. Some men are of such character that they stir the admiration of all they reach. Musashi is unquestionably in that group of people.

The translation of the Gorin No Sho is, by itself, one of the best I have read, and together with it come also the translation of the others Musashi's texts, some of which were previously unreleased in english. The very good introduction completes the picture of a book that I highly recommend!

This is a awesome view into the facts and fiction of Musashi. I love learning about the actual person who existed, as mysterious as it is and appreciate all the hard work that went into this book.

There are a lot of open ended comments, followed by the suggestion to think about it, but there was not much there to think about.

deep

Very interesting read. From what I understand sun zhu copied parts for his book

What a good read. Enjoyed every chapter.

Fantastic item. One of the better compilations and translations available.

Great info, fun reading.

Must read! Best translation ever. Thank you for your dedication to translate!

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

Awesome history

Nicely written,.

Very well written.

None

Im not good at reviews, but the book was well worth the read.

Interesting

Tremendously Outstanding!!!

Fast service, great book.

Great Book

The Complete Musashi: The Book of Five Rings and Other Works I stumbled upon this translation when I was looking up the author Alex Bennett after reading an article he wrote about Bokuden. Having an interest in Musashi and having read several translations of Go-Rin-No-Sho I was excited to see another translation was coming out. Translating is often more interpreting than literally translating word for word, especially with an ambiguous language like Japanese. The interpretation is often influenced by the translators own background and experiences. That’s one of the reasons I like to read several translations by different authors for books like this. This translation is done by someone who is fluent in Japanese as well as having a background in swordsmanship. Also this is a translation of the original manuscript rather than one of the copies so this is saying what Musashi intended to. The book starts with a short biography of Musashi, separating fact from myth. This was quite interesting to read having read the novel by Eji Yoshikawa and the graphic novel series Vagabond as well having watched the movies with Mifune and the later TV series. The next part is the book of five rings. The saying goes that you never step into the same water twice. The book of five rings is a classic that gives new insights every time you read it. As this translation is from the original and some parts are slightly different compared to other translations it gave me some new insights. The book of five rings is followed by a couple of other works by Musashi. This allows us to see how Musashi’s ideas ripened over the years. What I liked is how Alex Bennett numbered every article within the different works which made it was easy to cross-reference and compare a certain article from a certain work/scroll with a similar article from an earlier or later work. This again allows for a better understanding of what Musashi meant. Reading the book I felt tempted to look at the notes at the bottom of the page which distracted me at times but it’s far better than having to go to the back to look up notes as they were very relevant explaining the choice of translation for certain characters. The book certainly does its title: ‘The complete Musashi’ justice. I recommend it to everyone interested in Musashi, Japanese strategy and Japanese martial arts. Whether you are new to Musashi’s Go-Rin-No-Sho or have read the many other translations and the interpretations for several fields, you should have this book on your shelf.

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

This is a perfect example of the right person working on the right material. Spectacular read and fantastic compilation. Alex B really knows his subject material and continues to put forth amazing work. Strongly recommend for all lovers of Budo, business, and life.

Good

There is no question this translation is effectively perfect. The translator is one of the leading authorities on feudal Japan and Japanese martial arts and the samurai. His introduction and notes are expertly researched and written, importantly cutting away the myth from the real person who was Musashi. I super appreciate this effort and skill on the part of the translator and commentator. I always wanted to know who the real Musashi was and I honestly find this book to give me a very good idea of him! Absolutely wonderful! Now, I have a suggestion for a second edition. It was evident to me way back when I was a teen and read a translation of the Five Rings that this is in fact a fencing manual. Back then without the internet it was impossible to actually watch modern exponents of Musashi's school performing the movements. I tried very hard to make sense of the 5 movements described in the kata, which is the absolute essence of his method of fencing, but to little avail as there is not enough description of them to allow you to recreate them. Luckily for us his school has survived over the years and it is possible to learn his kata from today's practitioners. What I suggest therefore is a detailed and illustrated explanation of how to do the kata insterted into the book. If the translator has his doubts about the exact transmission of the kata (not saying he necessarily does of course) it would still be worth including what the modern Two Heavens (Swords) as One school teaches. There is already a page showing the author holding the two swords in the five guard postures, so why not continue on and show him and a partner demonstrating the kata together with notes to explain how to do it correctly. Of course nothing replaces real face to face instruction, but given the remarkable help the "Looking at a Far Mountain" kendo kata book has done for my study of the Kendo No Kata, I am sure even just for the sake of informing the reader it would be worthy to include a similar step by step teaching of Musashi's kata in this edition of the Five Rings. Other than this, the rest of the book contains excellent and comprehensible advice on how to fence well, most of which will make little to no sense to anyone who is not already an accomplished fencer... which is again why I'd like to see the kata explained properly so at least I'd have something to start with. Now, as to why non-fencers would read this book... I don't quite get it! Some passages can relate to things other than fencing, but not too many of them. By the way, I don't see why this book would be limited to modern exponents of Japanese style fencing. The lessons make sense with some measure of interpretation for any kind of fencing. Still... his whole method is predicated on mastery of his five kata movements, so please teach these in the book! In any case, just like the works of historical Western fencers like Swetnam and Silver, this book needs to be treated as a fencing manual and requires illustrations and lessons to explain the moves.

I'm still about halfway through this book and haven't read any of the previous interpretations but from what I've already read, I can say that the author has done a great job articulating the intricacies of Musashi's writings into a document that is quite easy to understand. The contents of the book is indeed the masterpiece that everyone praises it for, and is worth the read for anyone seeking to fulfill their ultimate purpose regardless of whether he/she is a swordsman or not. The book itself is of excellent quality with a nice hardcover and pleasing parchment pages. I'm very happy with my purchase.

translation is Good. He adds alot of backstory on Musashi before getting into the five rings portion, which is great. I would give five stars however the cover of the book had a ripe. now, its not the true cover its the paper cover on the hardcover that is riped. To me I don't care for its look. I care about the read and the read is good. You should buy this ancient classic.(: Rugby.2004

This book came in perfect condition. It features everything regarding Musashi and I love the in-depth explanations as well. 10/10 would recommend.

Muito bom. Vários textos, ótima biografia. Um trabalho competente que esclarece um pouco a vida de Musashi, excelente para interessados no budo.

great product!

The definitive Musashi

This another great book on Eastern martial philosophy.

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.

Good condition, took a little while but worth it

translated and anoted by a great martial artist.

I purchased Bennett's translation a few days ago and was quite enjoying it...until last night. You see, it was last night that I asked my Japanese girlfriend - an intellectual powerhouse, a hardcore Musashi fan, and perfectly fluent in both Japanese and English - to pull out her copy of the original text of "The Book of Five Rings". And it was last night that we began comparing Bennett's translation - phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence - to that original text. You can guess where this is going. Long story short is that an hour of close comparison left my girlfriend unimpressed and even a bit upset. Her main objections? The first was that Bennett had, at almost every opportunity, radically fancied up Musashi's prose, using oddly complex wording and phrasing to express what Musashi had written in stark, simple, direct language. This was something of an unforgivable sin for two reasons. The first was that the gratuitous "fancification" clouded over some of Musashi's most important concepts. It amounted to needless literary *noise* slathered over a text which is all *signal*. As a result, an English speaker wouldn't even catch some of the important points expressed in the original: they're buried under unnecessary, often awkwardly constructed, verbiage. The second reason was that one of the most important themes of "The Book of Five Rings" is *total simplicity*. Musashi's prose style itself exemplifies this worldview, and helps convey it. In other words, Musashi's spartan prose style is, itself, *part* of the message. But an English speaker would never get a sense of that from this translation. We also discovered some inexplicable additions to, and omissions from, the text. These were fairly minor, but I still found that irritating. We decided to examine other translations. I ended up reading aloud samples from six or seven other translations as my girlfriend read along in the original. In her judgment, the David K. Groff and William Scott Wilson translations overall did a better job of conveying the message, spirit, and tone/style of the original than Bennett's. (And of these two, all things considered, I have to declare Groff's the winner). David K. Groff's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785834001/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); William Scott Wilson's is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309847/ref=rdr_ext_tmb); If anyone is interested, when I get a chance I'll go over some of the passages again with my girlfriend and post some specific examples to support what I reported above about Bennett's translation. I hope this review helped someone. Good luck!

Anyone seriously studying Japanese Swordsmanship should purchase THIS version of Go-Rin-No-Sho. Bennett sensei immediately dispels many of the myths of Miyamoto Musashi propagated through Pop-culture, and the Yoshikawa Eiji novel. This is a fact based historical account of his life and teachings as a martial artist and is the best translation of "The Book of Five Rings," it clearly explains in full historical context, every obscure reference and history behind the book. Furthermore this is the most accurate translation I have read to date, even going so far to explain the different readings of each word, and what Musashi was implying with each statement. Furthermore, this book not only included Go-Rin-No-Sho, but also Musashi's other lesser known works. Heiodokyo, Heiho Kakitsuke, Heiho Sanjugo-Kajo, Goho no Tachi no Michi, Dokkodo, Kokura-hibun. Bennett sensei himself is a master swordsman who not only is a 7dan in kendo, but also the international Naginata-do representative, and co-founder of Kendo-World. Furthermore he holds 2 PHD's and teaches the History of Budo at Kansai University. His credentials in the Japanese swordsmanship community are amazing. This unique perspective clarifies many of the esoteric aspects that most other translations of these works are missing.

As a kendo practitioner I've score translations of the go Rin no sho for clues that can improve my own concept of swordsmanship. Alex Bennett's new translation is the best by far. This is the case for several reasons: * It is the first translation based on a reconstruction of the original text (the original was destroyed and all we have are copies with their attendant scribal errors) * It is the first translation undertaken by someone not only fluent in Japanese but in swordsmanship. As such it captures elements that are hard to understand in other translations by people deficient in one of these areas * The translations are clear and approachable * The book contains several previously untranslated works by Musashi from earlier in his life allowing the reader to see how Musashi's own ideas on swordsmanship and combat strategy evolved throughout his life.

By far the best book on the subject of Musashi's five rings and his other texts. Reading it, I felt like a kid in a candy-store and had that feeling that I didn't want the book to end. It is incredibly well researched material, and very well written, and it really stands out as the only option among the many that are out there. Unfortunately the cover looks too much like it's a manga-book, when this book actually deserves something far classier, as I expect it will be overlooked on bookshelves and in advertisement by some potential buyers. But that is the only criticism I can offer on it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed !

This book is much more profound than you think. Musashi mainly talks about swordsmanship, but everything there is highly generalizable to other craftsmanships and sports. For more info about the book, read a more thorough review on this post: http://fanaro.com.br/musashi-craftsmanship-critical-moment/ The translation and editing is great, from a very experienced translator and Kendo practitioner.

The book arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I found the account of Musashi's life fascinating. It provided details that I hadn't encountered in other accounts that I've read.

This is a great translation of the Book of Five Rings. I love the introduction and found it very fascinating. The translation was easy to read and had an air about it that felt more precise to Japanese sword budo than any other translation I have and have read. I highly recommend it over the well known other translations.

Thorough translation that manages to maintain a literary flow and is of interest to both the serious martial arts student as well as the general public.

I am a 40+ year martial arts practitioner, with master instructor rank, as well as a 20+ year management consultant and a Zen priest. The Book of Five Rings is well known, so I needn't praise Musashi (any more than has already been done), but the translation is excellent, with useful endnotes, and the volume also contains additional texts by Musashi that are only recently available in English. A must for serious practitioners of martial arts or of life-mastery practices.

An excellent version of Miyamoto Mushashi's writings, artfully resurrected by cross checking several sources. The text in includes the Five Rings and several other works by the renowned Japanese swordsman. His philosophies are equally applicable to today in facing a world of great uncertainty and abrasion.