Through the ages, the samurai have been associated with honor, fearlessness, calm, decisive action, strategic thinking, and martial prowess. Their ethos is known as bushido, the way of the Warrior-Knight.

Here, premier-translator Thomas Cleary presents a rich collection of writings on bushido by warriors, scholars, political advisors, and educatiors from the fifteenth century through the nneteenth century that provide a comprehensive, historically rich view of samurai life and philosophy. Training the Samurai Mind gives an insider's view of the samurai world: the moral and psychological development of the warrior, the ethical standards they were meant to uphold, their training in both marital arts and stategy , and the enormous role that the traditions of Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism had in influencing samurai ideals.

The wirtings deal with a braod range of subjects-from military strategy and political science, to personal discipline and character development. Cleary introduces each piece, putting it into historical context, and presents biographical information about the authors. This is an essential read for anyone interested in military history and samurai history, and for martial artists who want to undrstand strategy.

Thomas Cleary holds a PhD from Harvard University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. He is widely known for his translations of seminal classics in military science and martial arts.

'Always examine yourselves, reconginze where your temperament is unstable and where it isi stable, and what your strengths and weaknesses are; reduce excesses adn foster what is insufficient. In matters of leisure, let others go first; in matters of labor, be first yourself. What warrirohood requires as duty, moreover, is in this one thing above all-in emergencies and combat you should not defer to others. The Way lies in each aspect of your everyday conduct and activity.'-From Training the Samurai Mind

contents

Introduction
One Shiba Yoshimasa (1349-1410)
Two Ichijo Kaneyoshi (1402-1481)
Three Nakae Toju (1608-1648)
Four Suzuki Shosan (1579-1655)
Five Kumazawa Banzan (1619-1691)
Six Yamaga Soko (1622-1685)
Seven Kaibara Ekken (1630-1714)
Eight Naganuma Muneyoshi (1635-1690)
Nine Muro Naokiyo (1658-1734)
Ten Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659-1719)
Eleven Izawa Nagahide (active ca. 1711-1732)
Twelve Yamamoto Ujihide (n.d.)
Thirteen Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769)
Fourteen Hojo Chikuho-shi (17th c.)
Fifteen Takayama Kentai (fl. ca. 1761-1793)
Sixteen Hayashi Shihei (1738-1793)
Seventeen Tomida Dairai (fl. ca. 1800)
Eighteen Adachi Masahiro (fl. ca. 1780-1800)
Nineteen Hoshino Tsunetomi (fl. ca. 1815)
Twenty Hirayama Heigen (1759-1828)
Twenty-one Sato Nobuhiro (1773-1850)
Twenty-two Saito Totsudo (1797-1865)
Glossary
Bibliography