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

The translation of Yagyu Munenori's The Life-Giving Sword by William Scott Wilson is an excellent companion text to Musashi's Go Rin No Sho. Like it, this text can - indeed must - be read a number of times, separated by deep reflection, if one is to grasp its deepest essence. Wilson's lengthy and excellent Introduction is a powerful preface to the text's primary writing.Hagakure is another text of this caliber that comes to mind. I happen to believe that the great truths in life were discovered long ago, and simply remain to be rediscovered and allowed to flow into today's contemporary circumstances. The Life-Giving Sword contains immutable truths that can move ones understanding toward the essence of combat/no-combat behavior. I found one passage in particular to be inspiring:"When you have run the length of various practices and none of those practices remain in your mind, that very lack of mind itself is the heart of "all things". When you have exhaustively learned the various practices and techniques and made great efforts in disciplined training, there will be action in your arms, legs, and body, but none in your mind; you will have distanced yourself from training, but will not be in opposition to it, and you will have freedom in whatever techniques you perform. You yourself will be unaware of where your mind is, and neither demons nor heresies will be able to find it. Training is done for the purpose of reaching this state. With successful training, training falls away. This is the secret principle toward which all Ways progressI believe that a reader who has many years of martial arts' study "under his belt" will feel a deep emotional and intellectual kinship with the words written so long ago by Munenori and so ably translated and back grounded by Author Wilson. Truly a teacher for the ages.

I really enjoyed reading this finely written translation of Heihō Kadensho (兵法家伝書). The translation by William Scott Wilson of Yagyu Munenori profound philosophical concepts and their application to Japanese swordsmanship and martial arts in general very interesting and fun to read.

First and foremost this is not a story for entertainment nor is it a manual that will teach you how to use a sword. This is a deeply philosophical investigation into the Zen mind required to master the sword. Experienced practitioners will get the most out of it. Beginners will stumble through it and most of the value will be lost. It requires many reads and deep contemplation together with practice to really come to life.The first 60-pages of the book are very interesting, as Wilson takes us through a brief synopsis of the life and times of Munenori with some descriptions of his character and people he associated with. Munenori was a very colorful character who was a teacher and adviser to shoguns, winning the post against Musashi himself.The Yagyu clan is an old ninja family who live in the mountains outside Nara. Their village is surrounded by rice paddies and is difficult to approach. At one point Musashi traveled there to challenge Munenori (who was conveniently not present) and instead wound up dueling and killing a master of the kusurigama, a sickle with a chain and weight on the end and a common ninja weapon.The actual Life Giving Sword is about 70-pages long and is mostly a philosophical zen treaty with application for any martial art, but geared to the Way of the sword. Also included are 28 prints from the Illustrated Catalog of the Shinkage-ryu, which offers brief descriptions of the techniques and includes the "Tengu Series".This is an essential book for any sword practitioner, or anyone involved in the martial arts. I can't recommend it enough.

For anyone interested in the inner workings of the Japanese swordsmanship.Yagyu Munenori was a very interesting man - wise and skillful. He held a major administrative post by several Shoguns and was an accepted master and a personal fencing master to the Shogun.Even though now we may argue how important Zen Buddhism is to the study of the martial arts and swordsmanship in particular, at the time of writing of the treatise it was without a doubt that a practitioner had to study Zen along with the study of the bujutsu, or the martial art. Not just a resonance of fashion, the Zen philosophy and lifestyle that went along with it held a special place in the hearts of the warrior class. Munenori was not an exeption but perhaps one of its greatest proponents. We must look deep into what this book has to offer, and although some of the technique descriptions are rather cryptic, which makes them kind of useless without an "oral transmission", others are clearly the work of a martial arts' quiet sage, and go far beyond "barbaric" strength. I am confident that this book will take up a special spot on your book shelf.

Anyone who looks to a book to learn how to swing a sword will forever be disappointed. Those of us who have actually taken the time train in the sword know that direct transmition is the only way (yes, the schools still exist -- go find one).What this book presents (along with some very good subtle sword pointers) is the proper mental attitude you must gain in order to progress on the path. Mr. Wilson does a wonderful job translating a difficult text. If you are serious about sword, get this book AND go find a teacher ...

Great translation, easy to follow and a pleasure to read. I was discouraged when I found out "The life giving sword" is another name for "the book of family traditions on the art of war" as I already read that. However, this translation had a lot of new information the other version I read did not have, and I am glad I gave it a chance

This is one of the required texts for anyone practicing martial arts and studying Zen and for those who just want to learn more about themselves. Marked up many pages and go back to them often. Trying to bring the same ideas into my life.

I discovered this book completely by accident. I got Thomas Cleary's translation of the Book of Five Rings and was not aware that Munenori's book was included as an appendix, so afterwards I wondered what this book was. I heard of it before but I ignored it, thinking it was another "dime-a-dozen" martial arts book. Boy, was I wrong.It is a book of code words, Zen overtones, and many nuggets of warrior wisdom. This book is heavy on Zen philosophy, and at first I was quite puzzled because I was never exposed to these ideas before. In spite of this my intuition kept telling me to re-read this book and Takuan Soho's epistles to Munenori as well. Upon further consideration from a practical standpoint, almost everything Munenori says (and Takuan too!) makes perfect sense.There are some remarkable differences between Munenori and Musashi. One of the biggest (I think) is Munenori prefers to allow his opponent to take the initiative, while Musashi insists that taking the initiative is more likely to gain the advantage. Clearly their personalities are different and so is their way of teaching martial arts.There is a feeling of completeness after reading Musashi and Munenori, as if there is nothing more to add, and nothing to take away. Like Yin and Yang they each offer their unique traits. Musashi ends with the Empty Mind, and Munenori ends with the Free Mind -- and these two things are one and the same.

A deeper understanding of the martial arts. Very good.

Dieses Buch richtet sich mit Sicherheit eher an die Schüler des Budo die versuchen die Philosophie und die Geistigehaltung des Übenden und Praktizierenden zu verstehen. Oft ist das für uns Europäer ist eben das oft schwer nach zu vollziehen. Dieses Buch biete einen ersten Schritt. Wobei man nicht erwarten kann die Zusammenhänge zu verstehen und dann fertig zu sein. Das Buch ist ein erster Schritt in ein anderes und bewussteres Üben.

A book as much about Zen as the sword. Deep, but worth the effort to understand whatever your "art". The author was a true swordmaster of samurai Japan - to find the lessons relevant to todays world has a charm that is hard to describe. If you are a martial artist this book will help you expand your learnings into the rest of your life, well it did me anyway! I dont pretend to understand it all, but that just makes the investment worthwhile as i'm sure it will be revisited many times. Reccomended.

Very good! Excelent! PErfect! love it!