Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings
I initially read this in 2004, prior to going to Japan. And again I read it just before leaving Japan. I was impressed in 2004 but after living in Japan for a few years and with a little Kendo under my belt, the text made a great deal more sense to me. This book is about personal improvement and being the best you can be.
In the late 80s and early 90s, The Book of Five Rings was popular reading for Western businessmen trying to understand and decode the then intimidating Japanese Business Machine.
I like to think of Musashi as the Japanese version of the European Renaissance Man: he wrote important culturally defining things, he was very good painter, and he was arguably the world's greatest swordsman...without a doubt he is one of the most infamous.
Posted by paul at September 6, 2007 08:37 PM