While the premise of this work revolves around the code of the ancient Samurai warrior, there are lessons in politics, morals and personal interactions and communication. I recommend this book not only for those who understand the code and culture of martial arts.

Cannot see any great spiritualism here.
Altogether a very disappointing experience.
A Karate Sensei has far more to offer.

Take a peek into Japanese culture, and be amazed how this ancient text still applies to life today. You'll also learn a great deal about medieval Japan.

Code of the Samurai is a nice peek into Japanese culture, in under a hundred pages. It's amazing to see how such an ancient book can still be of use today, and how some things we consider 'common courtesy' have fundamental roots, and an actual reason.

The author does a good job translating the text into modern day principles. Definitely a good read for those interested in Bushido and it's ideas.

The author does a good job translating the text into modern day principles. Definitely a good read for those interested in Bushido and it's ideas.

I found this book educational, comical, and well worth reading. In less than a hundred pages it taught me a lot about medieval Japan. What I enjoyed more is the way its original author's voice comes shining through in the text. His condescension, his bluntness, his matter-of-fact all make for a hilarious introduction to the mind of the samurai. Some of the statements that come out of Shigesuke's mouth are a world apart from what we hear in textbooks today. He has no problem telling the student that he is a "lazy" "moron" "coward" unless he is exactly what a warrior should be. But beneath all this there is wisdom here. A very interesting book.

I found this book educational, comical, and well worth reading. In less than a hundred pages it taught me a lot about medieval Japan. What I enjoyed more is the way its original author's voice comes shining through in the text. His condescension, his bluntness, his matter-of-fact all make for a hilarious introduction to the mind of the samurai. Some of the statements that come out of Shigesuke's mouth are a world apart from what we hear in textbooks today. He has no problem telling the student that he is a "lazy" "moron" "coward" unless he is exactly what a warrior should be. But beneath all this there is wisdom here. A very interesting book.

Wonderful read, and unlike such weightier classics as THE ART OF WAR or THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, this one is readily accessible to the western mind.

After reading it twice, I came to think that everything after the first chapter -- nay, after the first two paragraphs -- was mere repetition. This is because all the behaviors and philosophies the author recommends would be the natural consequence if one truly were to "keep death in mind at every possible moment."

The book is a series of short chapters like "Loyalty," "Finances," "Personal Appearance;" each describing the ideal behavior of an ideal samurai with respect to each.

I can't comment on the organization or skill of Cleary's translation, though, since I know of no other version of this book. However I am inclined to think it is adept, since the nature of the work suggests the original Japanese would be extremely stiff. This is not the case with the English.

Gripes:

1. Note that this is a thin book; you can read it in about an hour. I was expecting something much thicker, at least the size of THE UNFETTERED MIND, say.

2. Oscar Ratti's illustrations will be disappointing to those familiar with his work in SECRETS OF THE SAMURAI and AIKIDO: THE DYNAMIC SPHERE. There are only a handful of them, and that handful isn't very interesting.

3. The binding of this book came apart rather quickly, after just the first read. Perhaps just my copy, though.

4. Sadly, the introduction by Cleary is completely forgettable.

I was so upset after I finished reading this book. I wish it wasn't updated and they just kept it in its original version. If you are looking for a historical information of how the samurai lived and their values, this is the wrong book. Read Bushido: The Soul of Japan. The Code of The Samurai really felt like The Code of the Japanese Business Man.

I was so upset after I finished reading this book. I wish it wasn't updated and they just kept it in its original version. If you are looking for a historical information of how the samurai lived and their values, this is the wrong book. Read Bushido: The Soul of Japan. The Code of The Samurai really felt like The Code of the Japanese Business Man.

I teach martial arts. My eight year old son, who also happens to be one of my students, talked me into buying this book for him on his birthday. Since it wasn't a graphic novel and I wanted to encourage his reading I went ahead and picked up a copy for him even though I didn't think he was really ready for it. He not only read the whole thing, but he really seemed to understand the text as well. I was frankly amazed. Soooo, on an eight-year old's recommendation I picked up the book and began to read it myself. A couple hours later I found I couldn't put it down.

This is a compelling, well written translation. It is fascinating and, for the most part, still relevant to modern life. Many of us who pursue the martial path do so in part to build good character, enhance mental discipline, develop physical conditioning, and of course, learn skills for self-defense. Yet the package is not complete in my opinion without a solid understanding of Japanese culture and history. After all, it played a huge role in forming what we do. This book is a great place to start learning that aspect of the martial arts.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

I teach martial arts. My eight year old son, who also happens to be one of my students, talked me into buying this book for him on his birthday. Since it wasn't a graphic novel and I wanted to encourage his reading I went ahead and picked up a copy for him even though I didn't think he was really ready for it. He not only read the whole thing, but he really seemed to understand the text as well. I was frankly amazed. Soooo, on an eight-year old's recommendation I picked up the book and began to read it myself. A couple hours later I found I couldn't put it down.

This is a compelling, well written translation. It is fascinating and, for the most part, still relevant to modern life. Many of us who pursue the martial path do so in part to build good character, enhance mental discipline, develop physical conditioning, and of course, learn skills for self-defense. Yet the package is not complete in my opinion without a solid understanding of Japanese culture and history. After all, it played a huge role in forming what we do. This book is a great place to start learning that aspect of the martial arts.

Lawrence Kane
Author of 'The Way of Kata' and 'Martial Arts Instruction'

I teach martial arts. My eight year old son, who also happens to be one of my students, talked me into buying this book for him on his birthday. Since it wasn't a graphic novel and I wanted to encourage his reading I went ahead and picked up a copy for him even though I didn't think he was really ready for it. He not only read the whole thing, but he really seemed to understand the text as well. I was frankly amazed. Soooo, on an eight-year old's recommendation I picked up the book and began to read it myself. A couple hours later I found I couldn't put it down.

This is a compelling, well written translation. It is fascinating and, for the most part, still relevant to modern life. Many of us who pursue the martial path do so in part to build good character, enhance mental discipline, develop physical conditioning, and of course, learn skills for self-defense. Yet the package is not complete in my opinion without a solid understanding of Japanese culture and history. After all, it played a huge role in forming what we do. This book is a great place to start learning that aspect of the martial arts.

Lawrence Kane
(...)

I teach martial arts. My eight year old son, who also happens to be one of my students, talked me into buying this book for him on his birthday. Since it wasn't a graphic novel and I wanted to encourage his reading I went ahead and picked up a copy for him even though I didn't think he was really ready for it. He not only read the whole thing, but he really seemed to understand the text as well. I was frankly amazed. Soooo, on an eight-year old's recommendation I picked up the book and began to read it myself. A couple hours later I found I couldn't put it down.

This is a compelling, well written translation. It is fascinating and, for the most part, still relevant to modern life. Many of us who pursue the martial path do so in part to build good character, enhance mental discipline, develop physical conditioning, and of course, learn skills for self-defense. Yet the package is not complete in my opinion without a solid understanding of Japanese culture and history. After all, it played a huge role in forming what we do. This book is a great place to start learning that aspect of the martial arts.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Martial Arts Instruction: Applying Educational Theory and Communication Techniques in the Dojo

Seems well translated, but I only say this based upon how clearly it read. I was looking for a broken English sort of style and it was instead very easy to read. Amazing what the Samurai understood. Recommended reading for anyone interested in Asian history or even to see what someone wrote without an American upbringing. Can you imagine someone understanding these nuances of behavior without growing up in a "civilized" country?

An amazing ride for anyone's conscience.

At first glance, this is just a wonderful historical relic. It's stiff and formal, as you might expect of a guide to proper behavior. It was meant to guide young men of the warrior class in an era when war was a fading memory. Even in its day, somewhere around 1700AD, during the Tokugawa era, it was probably a bit old-fashioned.

For all that, Shigesuke's advice is remarkably applicable to modern society. Things like loyalty to an employer have almost gone out of style. Today's employers are different, but some employees need the reminder that a paycheck imposes obligations on the receiver. The advice about treating one's wife with courtesy is painfully up to date, as counter-examples in every day's news will show. The idea of maintaining professional skills, even when not immediately needed, is still quite current. So are the needs for basic skills in social setting and for basic education.

I am not a student of martial arts. I am a participant in today's business world. This slim volume still has something to say to me, in this different place and century.

In a time of peace, at the end of the Tokugawa regime, (1603-1867), the Samurai extended their duties into the administrative class, developing from mere 'attendants' to philosophers, scholars, physicians, and teachers, creating concise systems of mental and moral training. This class influenced the country's culture in profound ways, which continues to be felt and seen in modern day Japan. Fearing that the Samurai would lose their basic purpose and essential character, author Taira Shigesuke, (1639-1730) a Confucian scholar, wrote this handbook for the novice knight. For the beginning knight, this book would have been indispensable, in terms of conducting oneself in the true spirit of the Samurai.

The book is structured in three parts, including subjects ranging from education, familial duty, frugality, courtesy and respect, laziness, discretion to military service, vassalage and loyalty to dealing with one's superiors. What is so valuable about this book for the modern western reader is that it provides age-old ethical guidelines that are exceedingly practical and relevant to the present day.

Central to the Samurai philosophy is the notion of concerning oneself daily with death. Shigesuke emphasises from the outset, that, "As long as you keep death in mind at all times, you will also fulfil the ways of loyalty and familial duty." In other words, everything else follows from this basic attitude - a long life, and a character that will improve and virtue that will grow. This makes sense, of course, because as the author points out, when you think your time here will last, you're inclined to take it for granted, thereby saying things you shouldn't say and letting important matters slide because "...it can always be done tomorrow."

This powerful little book is as compelling and relevant as it was over 400 hundred years ago. It will not take more than an hour to read, but its contents hold treasures that should be referred back to in order to remind one that life is short and should never be taken for granted. This book is also recommended to students of Asian studies as it provides a fundamental understanding of Japanese culture.

This book provides a good introduction to the concepts of Bushido, namely Loyalty, Duty and Courage. On the surface, the book goes to excrutiating detail on how to show these traits. This is useful, but not profound. When you apply the duties of a knight to his overlord in the context of modern business, it helps explain the salaryman phenomenon in Japan Inc. This is the true value of the book.

This book is about individual performance, though and not strategy. As such, the lessons are more along the lines of "The Book of 5 rings" than "The Art of War". I found the overall lessons less profound than those classics, but that is not the responsibility of the translator.

Cleary is an expert at translating Eastern thoughts for Western readers. My one complaint on the translation is the use of metaphors such as, "at the end of one's rope". It leaves the reader questioning the translation - was he trying to tranlate another metaphor, or is he turning a concrete concept into a cliche?

As a fan of Thomas Cleary and a student of both the martial arts and eastern philosophy, I read this little book with great interest. But, as with many ancient texts including the Bible, it is written to men by men and has some sexist passages which I find offensive.

Having said that, I understand that as a female reader I only have to overlook these passages and apply the entire text to myself as if I were a man. But in the 21st century when our young women are fighting and dying on the battlefield along side our young men, I find this a repulsive necessity.

Most of what the book admonishes the warrior to do is basic common sense and some of it is, in my opinion, not especially good advice at that.

But for its historical value I think the book is a good read. And for students of military history or Japanese culture or the martial arts, this is a useful book and has some interesting passages.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Owner/Executive Copy Director
Powerwriting.com LLC

Anyone who is interested in the Bushido or any martial arts should read this book! Once again, Thomas Cleary does an excellent job of translating the essence of one of the classics of Feudal Japan.

One word of advice I would give to readers is to read this book slowly. The depth of the book's passages far outweigh their length. I've found it best to read a passage and reflect on it in my everyday life before continuing to the next passage.

Overall, this is a tremendous book that continues to have a great impact on how I go about my martial arts training, and my daily activities. After all, the martial way isn't just for the training hall and the dojo.

This book is a fantastic book that still has real life applicability, over 400 years after it was written. Thomas Cleary once again does an excellent job of conveying the essence of the original Japanese text. While this book is a short one, I would recommend that the reader not read this book all at once, but rather savor the passages in small bites. The depth of the passages far exceed their length, and it's all too easy to miss some of the impact. In the course of my martial arts studies, I found it best to read a small passage and then digest it as I go about my daily activities, applying the Bushido principles in my everyday life. After all, Bushido is a way of life, it's not just for the dojo. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Bushido or martial arts.

I myself may be the last true samurai left on the planet and this book's message may have been what inspired me on my path of training. This is not just a book. The messages inside will change your life if you intend to be a samurai retainer (like myself), samurai warrior or a master/overlord (good luck!). This book may be the reason that I will not die as the last Samurai.

This is a great book whether you want to live like the Samurai did or your interested in a history lesson. I have been in martial arts for 14 years and i found several aspects of this book that will enhance my training, and just the general way I live my life. This is a must buy for anyone who is even mildly interested in the Samurai.

I bought this book out of interest in samurai philosophy and culture that originates in my study of jujutsu. Part of my own personal development that coincides with my physical training is that I read everything I can on the lives, deeds, and philosophy of the samurai. This is where the art I've chosen to study originates, and I want to try my best to understand those original intentions for the physical skills I'm learning.

This book does an admirable job of detailing the warrior's life and the expectations that are upon him. However, since I am not educated in the Japanese language, I can only read it in this English translation. I think the original intent is still there, but a lot of the translation sounds as if it was written with businessmen in mind, much like many translations of Musashi that are also translated with that audience in mind.

Since I would not buy a book after reading something like this in a review, let me say this: The translation, I feel, could be more true to the setting in which the book was written, but the lessons put forth are the same ones that the samurai were to learn and follow. That is the intent of the book, and that is what a close reading will reveal.

The book is explained in simple terms and gives the general concept of the samurai code; it is a very easy and quick read. It is not the best book on the subject, yet will serve as a primer on the subject. Good for begining martial art students to read.

A must-have. I have always been fascinated by japanese culture and history, especially feudal Japan. This book is a master-piece and it gives a perspective of life that we westerners are losing each day. Qualities like honor, respect and kindness in the midst of adversity are being replaced by sheer materialism, greed and wasted lives. The importance of this book is immense when we think about the post-modern world - without any kind of good standard of living. I really can't say anything about the translation but the reading is fluid and agreable. A tiny book of great wisdom.

A very good translation of the Bushido Shoshinsu.

Much of what is writen in the book is compatible with todays lifestyle. As an apprentice in the martial arts, I can only say that this book gives some good ideas about the way of the warrior, bushido.

this book is an excellent picture of tokugawa-era japanese life. i highly recommend to anybody. not a difficult read at all, it outlines and details every aspect of the life of a samurai warrior back in the day. outstanding.

The first time I read a book about samurai philosophy and customs, it was the Hagakure. After reading it, I felt sick and even embarassed that I was so heavily into martial arts having origins in such a death-focussed, suicidal, slavish mentality. After reading it, I lost most of my interest in the origins of the Japanese martial arts, and Japanese culture. How mistaken I was... Two years ago, I bought the "Code of the Samurai", and my interest immediately returned. This book was written one hundred years earlier than the Hagakure and thus it was written closer to the time when the Samurai were in fact warriors and not so only in theory (as they were at the time of the publication of the Hagakure). Both books have in intention the reformation of the Samurai class to what the authors consider to be proper moral standards. But after reading both, it seems evident that the Hagakure is a forlorn attempt to recreate some kind of "glorious" suicidal mindset that never existed much in reality. The "Code of the Samurai" gives suggestions for every facet of behaviour... Everything about this book is remarkably humane, and very well thought out. It promotes responisibility to all one's aquaintances, colleagues, and leaders. This book could be retitled as "How to be a Responsible Citizen". It is about how to live well, not about how to die. For those martial artists who are interested in learning about the cultural roots of their Japanese "ways" (DO), and about how they can model their lives in part on the lives of the samurai, or for those whose interest is simply in Japanese culture, this book is critical reading, even more so because it will take away the inhuman face given the Japanese by English translations of books like the Hagakure, and not confront the reader with the kind of bewliderment faced when reading the combination of practical and mystical found in the "Book of Five Rings". Do not be put off buying this book because of its "mere" ninety-eight pages. Every page is packed with fascinating ethical and corporate lessons. One can get more out of this book than tomes hundreds of pages long written by modern Westerners who have never lived in 17th Century Japan. The ideals held within the covers of this book are those that have been striven after in the Japanese martial arts right up to the present day, and, for those interested in the lives of the Samurai, this covers every significant factor.

A simple Handbook for the "warriors, correcting wayward tendencies, and outlining the personal, social, and professional standards of conduct .... the Japanese chivalric tradition", yet what it has to offer can be much valued even for everyday life! It should be incorporated into every child's mind--and there we would find in 20 years a TRUE change in our society.

The book was very interesting. It tells how the samurai warrior had to live his life in order to be noble and respectable. I found that the advice it has to offer is very helpful even today. It is very short and easy to read.

I am somewhat at a loss as to why this book, Code of the Samurai, fascinates me. I liked it enough that I bought a copy for my husband and would consider giving it as a gift to several friends who have interests in "courtly behavior," "chivalry," and "medieval" Japanese history in general (all are members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, like I am).

I have never made it through an entire reading of The Art of War and quite frankly The Book of Five Rings was no better as a shortened form thereof. Code of the Samurai is really neither of these books and shares little more than a common Asian ancestry. Instead, it reads rather like one of the pre-1600s Western culture books of proper behavior (for members of recreation organizations, think books like The Babees Book and the Book of Courtesey). Instead of Western Europe, however, this one is set in Tokugawa-era Japan (if I am remembering my history correctly).

The book very clearly addresses the actual life of a samurai. Thankfully, the book does not heavily focus on the martial aspects of the samurai's life (though these are touched upon) nor the esoteric, philosophical ideals that might be expected of a book on "Bushido." Instead, the examples of this book simply show you the proper and improper behavior of samurai in a variety of situations as they were viewed in classical Japan.

Unfortunately, I cannot speak for the accuracy of the translation because this book includes only the modern English (and I don't read classical or modern Japanese). The text as a whole, despite the lack of original manuscript versions, is rendered in an easy-to-follow style that you can read straight through or only a chapter at a time, at your leisure.

The book gives a great perspective as to how the samurai operated and were trained to think about subjects from chivalry to war. It makes a great companion title for the movie Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.