{"product_id":"hagakure-the-book-of-the-samurai-9781590309858","title":"Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai","description":"\u003cb\u003eA foremost scholar of samurai texts approaches this martial arts classic as a meditation on the Zen concept of \"death of the ego\"--offering a fresh translation unlike any other.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDiscover what it takes to be a samurai with the 18th-century martial arts treatise that delves into minds of legendary Japanese warriors.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Living and dying with bravery and honor is at the heart of \u003ci\u003eHagakure\u003c\/i\u003e, a series of texts written by an eighteenth-century samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo. It is a window into the samurai mind, illuminating the concept of \u003ci\u003ebushido\u003c\/i\u003e--the Way of the Warrior--which dictated how samurai were expected to behave, conduct themselves, live, and die. While \u003ci\u003eHagakure\u003c\/i\u003e was for many years a secret text known only to the warrior vassals of the Nabeshima clan to which the author belonged, it later came to be recognized as a classic exposition of samurai thought. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The original \u003ci\u003eHagakure\u003c\/i\u003e consists of over 1,300 short texts that Tsunetomo dictated to a younger samurai over a seven-year period. William Scott Wilson has selected and translated here three hundred of the most representative of those texts to create an accessible distillation of this guide for samurai. No other translator has so thoroughly and eruditely rendered this text into English. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For this edition, Wilson has added a new introduction that casts \u003ci\u003eHagakure\u003c\/i\u003e in a different light than ever before. Tsunetomo refers to bushido as \"the Way of death,\" a description that has held a morbid fascination for readers over the years. But in Tsunetomo's time, \u003ci\u003ebushido\u003c\/i\u003e was a nuanced concept that related heavily to the Zen concept of \u003ci\u003emuga\u003c\/i\u003e, the \"death\" of the ego. Wilson's revised introduction gives the historical and philosophical background for that more metaphorical reading of \u003ci\u003eHagakure\u003c\/i\u003e, and through this lens, the classic takes on a fresh and nuanced appeal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam Scott Wilson\u003c\/b\u003e is the foremost translator into English of traditional Japanese texts on samurai culture. He received BA degrees from Dartmouth College and the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, and an MA in Japanese literary studies from the University of Washington. His best-selling books include \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Five Rings\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Unfettered Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Lone Samurai\u003c\/i\u003e, a biography of Miyamoto Musashi.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Shambhala","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50421011448082,"sku":"9781590309858","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_35a6f14f-5a90-49c5-8809-a407aa13d1fd.jpg?v=1729500142","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/hagakure-the-book-of-the-samurai-9781590309858","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}