Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai Mass Market Author: Yamamoto Tsunetomo | Language: English | ISBN:
0380545691 | Format: EPUB
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai Mass Market Description
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Mass Market Paperback: 180 pages
- Publisher: Avon (June 1981)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0380545691
- ISBN-13: 978-0380545698
- Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
This book features sayings and anecdotes from an aging Samurai who died around 1700.
It is a quick and entertaining read, and offers great perspective both on the individual who wrote it, and on the general theory of being a samurai.
There is an obvious sense of loss in many of the passages which comment on how things in contemporary society (of the 1700s) are so different from years past. This book, intentionally or not, captures the spirit of those older days, and serves both as a manual for younger samurai, and as a historical document for people who are interested in "The Way of the Samurai" today.
In his excellent introduction, the translator makes the very relevant point that this book is not a rigorous philosophical treatise, at least not in the way that Western scholars would define it. Instead, it is a collection of stories and phrases about a certain way of living. It doesn't hold up to scientific cross-examination (the author contradicts himself frequently), but it shouldn't have to. Yamamoto gives the impression that if faced with a philosophical attack on his "way", he would shrug his shoulders and say, "Yes, but that doesn't change a thing." In other words, his examples and aphorisms speak for themselves, and are not meant to either exclude other points of view or force others into conformity. Yamamoto even states that the Way he advocates is specific to his region of Japan -- samurai of neighboring regions are free to develop their own Ways.
The passages in the book usually focus on one of two topics: bravery, or etiquette. Yamamoto offers a lot of advice on charging into battle, seeking revenge, executing others, etc.
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