Books about Bushido from Amazon.com

Setting down his thoughts on swordplay, on winning, and on spirituality, legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi intended this modest work as a guide for his immediate disciples and future generations of samurai. He had little idea he was penning a masterpiece that would be eagerly devoured by people in all walks of life centuries after his death.

Along with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Book of Five Rings has long been regarded as an invaluable treatise on the strategy of winning. Musashi's timeless advice on defeating an adversary, throwing an opponent off-guard, creating confusion, and other techniques for overpowering an assailant was addressed to the readers of earlier times on the battlefield, and now serves the modern reader in the battle of life.

In this new rendering by the translator of Hagakure and The Unfettered Mind, William Scott Wilson adheres rigorously to the seventeenth-century Japanese text and clarifies points of ambiguity in earlier translations. In addition, he offers an extensive introduction and a translation of Musashi's rarely published The Way of Walking Alone. This gift-book edition also features original art by Musashi himself as well as new calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura..
Price: $10.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In eighteenth-century Japan, Tsunetomo Yamamoto created the Hagakure, a document that served as the basis for samurai warrior behavior Its guiding principles greatly influenced the Japanese ruling class and shaped the underlying character of the Japanese psyche, from businessmen to soldiers.

Bushido is the first English translation of the Hagakure. This work provides a powerful message aimed at the mind and spirit of the samurai warrior. It offers beliefs that are difficult for the Western mind to embrace, yet fascinating in their pursuit of absolute service. With Bushido, one can better put into perspective Japan’s historical path and gain greater insight into the Japan of today..
Price: $5.18 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Code of the Samurai is a four-hundred-year-old explication of the rules and expectations embodied in Bushido, the Japanese way of the warrior Bushido has played a major role in shaping the behavior of modern Japanese government, corporations, society, and individuals, as well as in shaping the modern martial arts within Japan and internationally. The Japanese original of this book has been one of the primary sources on the tenets of Bushido, a way of thought that remains fascinating to modern world, East and West.
Price: $4.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Through the ages, the samurai have been associated with honor, fearlessness, calm, decisive action, strategic thinking, and martial prowess. Their ethos is known as bushido, the Way of the Warrior-Knight.

Here, premier translator Thomas Cleary presents a rich collection of writings on bushido by warriors, scholars, political advisors, and educators from the fifteenth century through the nineteenth century that provide a comprehensive, historically rich view of samurai life and philosophy. Training the Samurai Mind gives an insider's view of the samurai world: the moral and psychological development of the warrior, the ethical standards they were meant to uphold, their training in both martial arts and strategy, and the enormous role that the traditions of Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism had in influencing samurai ideals.

The writings deal with a broad range of subjects—from military strategy and political science, to personal discipline and character development. Cleary introduces each piece, putting it into historical context, and presents biographical information about the authors. This is an essential read for anyone interested in military history and samurai history, and for martial artists who want to understand strategy.  .
Price: $15.07 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Aikido students and enthusiasts the world over will be delighted with this English translation of Gozo Shioda's "hidden principles," finally made available by the Yoshinkan school of aikido. An outstanding student of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba, Shioda, who taught thousands of people in his lifetime, left a profound legacy, successfully teaching the spiritual and practical applications of a martial art that could all too easily become mired in one or the other.

In this sequel to DYNAMIC AIKIDO, the preeminent master continues his explanation of the essential principles but in finer detail. Comprehensive and fully illustrated, TOTAL AIKIDO covers the basic postures and movements with special emphasis on certain key points for perfecting one's technique to achieve maximum effect with the minimum of effort. Demonstrations are provided in a dōjō setting, with helpful pointers for avoiding common mistakes. To enable students to develop greater strength and control, they are shown how to increase their speed, shift their center of gravity, and synchronize movements with those of their opponents.

This is an essential work for students of all levels, a treasury of expert information..
Price: $17.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Step-by-step instructions and over 300 photographs allow the trainee to follow and learn the techniques with ease.

The ideal weapon for self-defense is a stick. To find a comprehensive system of techniques using the stick, we must turn to the East, for systems known to the West have fallen into disuse. In this book, the techniques of Kukishin Ryū — an ancient Japanese method — have been updated and adapted for use today. A thorough grounding in the fundamentals dealt with here will enable you to disarm and control any assailant..
Price: $9.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Fighting arts are as old as man himself and as varied as his languages In Asia they developed to a degree of effectiveness probably unsurpassed elsewhere in the world. This book explains the relationships between fighting arts, assesses their strengths and weaknesses, and presents new material about hitherto unknown fighting methods. Written by two of the best-known and most widely published authorities in the field, it covers fighting methods and techniques found in eleven Asian countries-fighting techniques that range from the artful Chinese tai-chi and Burmese bando to Japanese jujutsu and the lethal pentjak-silat of Indonesia.
Documentation of these has been supplemented with a wealth of fascinating anecdotes. The reader learns of the daring exploits of the Japanese ninja, of Gama, perhaps the greatest of the great Indian wrestlers, of the Indonesian "trance" fighters-and hundreds of other tales that serve to illustrate some of the most deadly fighting systems that the world has known.
The volume is illustrated with over two hundred photographs and drawings, many of them depicting combat styles and techniques that have never been seen in the West..
Price: $12.20 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Moving Toward Stillness is a collection based upon Dave Lowry's magazine articles from the past decade, mostly from his highly regarded column in Black Belt magazine Written from an almost Japanese perspective, it offers an entertaining and informative view of the Martial Artsl arts. Topics explored include entering the Martial Artsl way, making the pursuit of traditional Asian Martial Artsl arts a part of modern Western life, the paradoxes and conflicts such a path inevitably generates, how to adapt to the mindset necessary for true mastery of a foreign art, and much more..
Price: $6.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]