Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai
About this book
The Hagakure is one of the most influential of all Japanese texts — written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo nearly 300 years ago to summarize the essence of the Japanese samurai spirit. Its influence has been felt throughout the world and yet its existence is scarcely known to most Westerners. This is the first translation to include the complete first two books of the Hagakure and the most reliable and authentic passages of the third book. All other English translations are extremely fragmentary and incomplete.Alex Bennett’s new and extremely readable translation of this essential work includes extensive footnotes that serve to fill in many cultural and historical gaps in the previous translations. This unique combination of readability and scholarship gives Bennett’s translation a distinct advantage over all previous English editions.
