Gorin no Sho

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Miyamoto Musashi with two swords.

The Book of the Five Rings ( Japanese 五 輪 書 Gorin no Sho ) is a Japanese work on martial arts strategy, written by Rōnin Miyamoto Musashi from around 1643 to 1645. In the book, the author describes in five chapters the beings and ways of thinking that a samurai should have. Today the book is popular again in Japan alongside the Hagakure by Tsunetomo Yamamoto and the Heiho Kaden Sho ( The Way of the Samurai ) by Yagyū Munenori and a standard work on strategic “warfare” in the free market economy for managers.

Several modern interpretations and works based on the book of the five rings discuss how the application of the ways of thinking and attitudes that Miyamoto describes in his work can bring success in business or in project management.

Miyamoto describes the basis of sword fighting in five parts (five "rings"):

  • The book of the earth - basics of the warrior way such as look, physical posture, mental attitude
  • The book of water - basic requirements
  • The Book of Fire - The Battle
  • The book of the wind - quirks of other schools
  • The Book of Void - Intuition is as important as intellectual learning of the rules.

literature

  • Miyamoto Musashi: The book of the five rings: With a biography , RaBaKa-Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-3940185020
  • Miyamoto Musashi: The Book of the Five Rings. Classic strategies from ancient Japan , translated by Taro Yamada, bound. Piper, 2006, ISBN 978-3-492-04962-7 .
  • Miyamoto Musashi: The Book of the Five Rings. The classic guide for strategic action. Ullstein-Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-548-36750-7 .
  • Eiji Yoshikawa: Musashi Miyamoto. (filmed seven times)