Hagakure The Book of the Samauri

by Yamamoto, Tsunetomo; Wilson, William Scott

• ISBN13: 9784770011060
• ISBN10: 4770011067
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-03-15
• Publisher: Kodansha USA

Summary

This book describes the short, succinct passages found in 'Hagakure', composed in the spirit of the way of thinking they reflect and outline the qualities that make a samurai: readiness to die, whatever one's cause; uncompromising loyalty; singlemindedness, preparedness, artlessness, celerity, decorum and compassion. It transcends time, space and the encumbrances of societal living by penetrating to the core of existence with the clarity and vividness of its insights.

Author Biography

YAMAMOTO TSUNETOMO [1659-1719] was a samurai retainer of the Nabeshima Clan, Lords of Hizen province, who became a Buddhist monk in 1700 after the Shogunate government prohibited the practice of tsuifuku: suicide of a retainer on the death of his lord. The book was dictated to a younger samurai during the author's seclusion over a seven year period.
WILLIAM SCOTT WILSON, the translator, took his B.A. at Dartmouth College, graduated as a Japanese specialist from the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, and received his M.A. in Japanese literature from the University of Washington. He became acquainted with Japan at first-hand in 1966 on a coastal expedition-by kayak-from the western Japanese port of Sasebo to Tokyo. He later lived in the potter's village of Bizen, studied as a special student at Aichi Prefectural University, and was a counselor at the Japanese Consulate-General in Seattle. He now lives in his native Florida.
Among his highly regarded translations of original works of literature are The Unfettered Mind, The Roots of Wisdom: Saikontan, and Taiko.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 7
Introduction	p. 9
From the 1st Chapter	p. 17
From the 2nd Chapter	p. 65
From the 3rd Chapter	p. 89
From the 4th Chapter	p. 91
From the 6th Chapter	p. 93
From the 7th Chapter	p. 99
From the 8th Chapter	p. 111
From the 9th Chapter	p. 128
From the 10th Chapter	p. 137
From the 11th Chapter	p. 153
Late Night Idle Talk	p. 167
Notes	p. 170
Names, Places and Words	p. 174
Bibliography	p. 179
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