The Complete Book of Five Rings

By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi. These include "The Mirror of the Way of Strategy", which Musashi wrote when he was in his 20s; "Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy", and "Forty-two Instructions on Strategy", which were precursors to The Book of Five Rings; and "The Way to Be Followed Alone", which Musashi wrote just days before his death.

Heard together, these five texts give listeners an unusually detailed, nuanced view of Musashi's ideas on swordsmanship, strategy, and self-cultivation. Tokitsu puts all these writings into historical and philosophical context and makes them accessible and relevant to today's listeners and martial arts students. Tokitsu understands Musashi's writings - and Musashi as a martial artist - unusually well and is able to provide a rare insight into the man and his historical contribution.

©2000 Kenji Tokitsu, English Translation 2004, 2010 by Shambhala Publications, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

You must study this book, well!

If you could sum up The Complete Book of Five Rings in three words, what would they be?
Tremendous.

Would you listen to The Complete Book of Five Rings again? Why?
Yes, you must listen, well.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The structure of the 5 elements; Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Heaven; and how they correlate to master any craft.

What could the authors have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Not a thing.

What about Brian Nishii's performance did you like?
Perfect. Just perfect.

Any additional comments?
Serious work must have been done, to create such a solid storyline.

it's a classic

this is an old school style book. clean and to the point. similar to the art of war.

INTERESTING

I listened to the book “Musashi” some time ago (see my review), so when I saw this book I thought it would be interesting to listen to this book by him and I have no regrets. Whether or not you practice martial arts, there are some life lessons in here. The book is narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Brian Nishii, thank you, JK

About time I got to this

There's not much to say on the actual text itself, I considered this required reading for my swordsmanship journey. Miyamoto is straightforward, which I like, not a lot of details though.

What I do have to say is that I particularly liked this editor's preface notes and many of the things he said regarding the reading/understanding/interpretation of historical sources and the context they need to be kept in, and how these shouldn't be lauded as the end all be all to understanding the practice of swordfighting (or ancient weapons in general). He continued bringing up the idea of keeping these sources in a sort of reality check, that they are all that survived, written for certain audiences (of which we are not members of and no one alive today is) and that the more important element than 'reading the books' is actually doing some training! It was refreshing to find this considering how modern HEMA unfortunately in some circles has become elitist and snobbish.

Essential for any aspiring swordsman

If you’re looking to become a master swordsman, than this book is for you. It goes into great detail about his style and tactics in the way of the sword and can get pretty dry at times. There are insights into who Musashi was as a man but they are few and far between. If you are training to become a fencer or other swordsman, than this is a must-read. For everyone else on the other hand, they will find some enjoyment in this book, just don’t be surprised if you find yourself waiting for it to be over rather than actually listening to it.