Go Rin no Sho

The Go Rin no Sho, or Book of Five Rings, is one of the most famous volumes on the Martial Arts. It was written in the mid-1600s by a swordsman named Miyamoto Musashi, who devoted his entire life to swordsmanship and the way of combat. It is recorded that Musashi fought over sixty duels which he never lost — though interestingly, there is evidence that Musashi faced a man by the name of Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi, who bested the swordsman with a jo (a four-foot long staff).

Naturally, the Book of Five rings can be found beside other Martial Arts books in the bookstore (which means: tucked away in the Sports section, which I've always considered rather asinine), but I once found a copy that was cataloged under "Business." And if business is war, then why not?

The book is divided into five sections, and each section is named after one of the five elements of Japanese philosophy. In the first section, the Earth Chapter, Musashi outlines his book and compares the martial arts to the arts in general. The second section is the Water Chapter, and therein Mushashi discusses the fundamentals of his style. The third section, the Fire Chapter, is an explanation of strategy in battle and conflict. In the fourth section, the Wind Chapter, Musashi considers the ways and flaws of other martial art styles. The book concludes with the Emptiness Chapter, which is rather esoteric and difficult to describe. Musashi writes, "… in the way of the Martial Arts, there is a natural freedom: you naturally gain an extraordinary strength, you know the rhythm of the moment, you strike naturally and you hit naturally. These are all contained in the way of Emptiness."

The Book of Five Rings is the sort of book you have to read and reread many times to fully appreciate. For the most part, the writing is very abstract, which at first makes it difficult to follow — but it is the abstraction that yields its worth. How else could a martial arts book be so useful in business?

There are a multitude of translations out there, including ones on the internet anyone can download for free, but I recommend the copy translated by William Scott Wilson. Wilson is very resourceful, and often has a great section of footnotes in tandem with his translations that are very enlightening. Follow this link to find Wilson's translation of the Go Rin no Sho on Amazon.com.

Students of the Martial Arts should obtain a copy of the Book Of Five Rings and investigate it thoroughly.