The Book of Five Rings: A Graphic Novel

by Miyamoto Musashi, William Scott Wilson (Translator), Chie Kutsuwada (Illustrator), Sean Michael Wilson

Overview

A graphic novel retelling of the classic martial arts manifesto on swordsmanship, strategy, and winning—by the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi
 
This graphic novel version of The Book of Five Rings, the iconic book of confrontation and victory by the famed seventeenth-century duelist and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi, illuminates this brilliant manifesto, which has long inspired martial artists and anyone interested in cultivating a strategic mind.
 
With evocative drawings and a distilled but faithful text adapted by acclaimed manga writer Sean Michael Wilson, The Book of Five Rings comes alive both as a guide to swordsmanship and strategy, and as a view into Musashi’s world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611800128
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	11/13/2012
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	448,748
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

SEAN MICHAEL WILSON is a comic book writer from Scotland, living in Japan. He has had many books published with a variety of US, UK, and Japanese publishers, such as The Book of Five Rings, and edited the critically acclaimed AX: alternative manga (Publishers Weekly’s “Best Books of 2010” in comics). In 2016, his book Lafcadio Hearn’s “The Faceless Ghost” and Other Macabre Tales from Japan was nominated for the prestigious Eisner Award. And in 2017, his book Secrets of the Ninja won an International Manga Award from the Japanese Government.

Editorial Reviews

This graphic adaptation of Musashi’s 17th-centurytreatise on the martial arts makes careful, effective use of imagery to emphasize both the narrative and instructional aspects of the original text. Musashi’s work is divided into five books, which address each aspect of battle: “Earth,” “Fire,” “Water,” “Wind,” and “Emptiness.” That structure is retained here, with scripter Wilson and artist Kutsuwada finding terrific visual and dramatic hooks as background for Musashi’s alternately anecdotal and didactic text. Musashi takes a rational, pragmatic approach to his subject. In discussing his two-sword fighting style, he advocates practice, not mere reading. As a practical guide, the book has limited usefulness today, but Musashi’s lessons, in their focus on preparation and mindfulness, can easily be applied to most areas of life. The final chapter, “Emptiness,” is particularly intriguing, with its Zen-like call for awareness of what we do not know as a way to avoid detrimental confusion. Kutsuwada’s art is delicate and clean, balancing the physiological dynamics of swordplay with a clear-eyed appreciation of Musashi’s natural environment. An engaging, thoughtful update of what could be esoteric. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Truly a tribute to the original [classic]. There is a tremendous amount of depth and insight into this work, an exploration of the five elements of life (the ‘five rings’ of the title) that represent the cosmic Buddha. Readers get complex but eminently readable explorations of each ring and are led to see them all together as an overriding philosophy that enriches and broadens the life of any reader.”
—Jason Sacks, Comics Bulletin
 
“This graphic adaptation of Musashi’s seventeenth-century treatise on the martial arts makes careful, effective use of imagery to emphasize both the narrative and instructional aspects of the original text. . . . Musashi’s lessons, in their focus on preparation and mindfulness, can easily be applied to most areas of life. Kutsuwada’s art is delicate and clean, balancing the physiological dynamics of swordplay with a clear-eyed appreciation of Musashi’s natural environment. An engaging, thoughtful update of what could be esoteric.”
—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher