The Book of Five Rings

Miyamoto Musashi

May 2019 · Golden Acorn Media · Narrated by Kevin Theis

About this audiobook

The Book of Five Rings is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts in general, written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi around 1645. There have been various translations made over the years, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than only that of martial artists and people across East Asia: for instance, some foreign business leaders find its discussion of conflict and taking the advantage to be relevant to their work in a business context. The modern-day Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū employs it as a manual of technique and philosophy. Musashi establishes a "no-nonsense" theme throughout the text. For instance, he repeatedly remarks that technical flourishes are excessive, and contrasts worrying about such things with the principle that all technique is simply a method of cutting down one's opponent. He also continually makes the point that the understandings expressed in the book are important for combat on any scale, whether a one-on-one duel or a massive battle. Descriptions of principles are often followed by admonitions to "investigate this thoroughly" through practice rather than trying to learn them by merely reading.

Ratings and reviews

I'd look past some of the broken Japanese (which is understandable), but the narration feels like a recap of a cartoon show but lasting 2 hours long. A nitpick, but I feel like the translation read here misuse the world strategy too much. I could be wrong but sometimes its used when more fitting terms would be more appropriate. Its just a bit annoying. Its not the worst...But personally I would buy a pricier or different narration of this book.

Interesting book. The content is good, but the reader sounds so aggressive/rushed for no good reason. Makes it hard to focus tbh.

It was easy to listen to did not hear any grammar errors... Glad I purchased it will probably listen to it a few more times to fully grasp the concepts.