A Graphic Approach to Musashi and Demons: Shambhala’s “The Book of Five Rings” and “The Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts”

While manga treatments of famous works of Japanese literature are common in Japan, they’re virtually unknown in the West. Part of this is due to the long-standing prejudice in Western societies that ‘comics’ are nothing more than entertainment for children. Over the past 25 years or so, the graphic novel has changed that way of thinking. While they often provide the adventures of our favorite super-heroes, they’ve also provided a venue for talented writers and artists to craft serious stories aimed squarely at adults. As the square bound graphic novel has become accepted reading matter for adults, works that one would never have imagined appearing in comics form have appeared-among those two recent black-and-white releases from Shambhala Publications. Today we’ll be examining how the ‘graphic approach’ has worked out for Musashi Miyamoto’s “The Book of Five Rings” and Chozanshi Issai’s “The Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts”.

Most readers will already be familiar with swordsman Musashi Miyamoto and his famed Edo period sword treatise “The Book of Five Rings” (“Go Rin No Sho”). Using the format of the traditional five Japanese elements of earth, wind, water, fire, and emptiness (often expressed as the void or the sky), Musashi presents the thoughts behind his style of martial arts and also how they can be applied in life to virtually any situation. The ‘Earth’ chapter gives an overview of the martial arts and weaponry in general. Musashi explains the techniques and philosophy of his style, ‘Niten Ichi-ryu’ (‘two heavens as one’, the famous two swords style), in ‘Water’. Warfare (as opposed to dueling) is the subject of ‘Fire’. The shortcomings of other sword styles as Musashi sees them are presented in ‘Wind’. The proper frame of mind for learning comprises the final chapter, ‘Emptiness’. We’ll give some thoughts on Musashi’s work itself before we look at how it is affected by being put into comics form.

While Musashi claims that he “…neither borrowed the ancient words of Buddhism or Confucianism”, he did indeed borrow heavily from their concepts-Buddhism in particular, using the idea of ‘attachment’ as its core. Over and over he stresses that one should strive to make their mind free of attachments-in effect, to be able to adapt quickly and easily to any situation. Whether it’s your opponent, his weapon, his style, the environment, one should never dwell on one aspect but rather open your mind and take everything in. The esoteric Buddhist ideal of ‘enlightenment’ coming from one’s own efforts (rather than being contingent on a holy being) is reflected by Musashi’s exhortations to “See everything for yourself” and “you should investigate this thoroughly”. 

The text also tells us much about the realities and practical nature of the samurai. Musashi doesn’t fill his work with glowing words about honor and bushido-it stresses that the entire point of combat is not to fight honorably but to win, using whatever means possible. Far from considering guns a ‘coward’s weapon’, Musashi proclaims them the ultimate weapon for a castle defense and on an open battlefield before closing with the enemy. He stresses that every weapon has its benefits and drawbacks and one should learn to master them all. The role of the sword in peacetime Edo is stressed when Musashi proclaims “it is by virtue of the sword that both society and oneself are put in order”. As warfare and its weapons disappeared from the life of the samurai, they increasingly began to infuse their sword training with concepts borrowed from Buddhism and Confucianism to enrich their spiritual life and change their focus to civilian administration (the idea of turning away from the ‘death-giving sword’ to the ‘life-giving sword’, the subject of an upcoming review we’ll be doing). This spiritual aspect was a very real part of Edo period sword training as explained by historian Karl Friday in an interview he did with the SA. Surprisingly, Musashi has contempt for most formal martial arts, denigrating them as promoting ‘style over substance’, being overly concerned with making themselves saleable and raking in money, and limiting their students to a single technique (sounds a lot like he was speaking of many modern martial arts schools, doesn’t it?). 

“The Book of Five Rings” is far from the only sword treatise penned by an itinerant swordsman during the Edo period, but it’s certainly the most famous, aided immensely by Musashi becoming famous through his exposure in Yoshikawa’s Eiji’s 1930’s novel ’Musashi’. One often hears of it being used by Japanese sararimen to find success in business as well as life. Is there any justification for this? Insofar as Musashi points out that the concepts behind his philosophy can be applied to any job or career, sure. Hard work, constant practice, a hands on style, an aggressive (but not careless) attitude, and above all, adaptability to changing circumstances will help to make one successful in virtually any endeavor. These values are certainly not limited to the martial arts, nor are the Buddhist and Confucian concepts behind them. However, we suppose it’s as good a place to learn them as any-and as shown here, you can even use the sword techniques to impress the chicks! 

Sean Michael Wilson is the writer responsible for adapting Musashi’s work into graphic novel form (based on William Scott Wilson’s translation). Displaying a great deal of respect for and knowledge of the original work, he has managed to boil it down to its essentials. Some concepts just don’t lend themselves to visual form, but here the text is greatly enriched by the illustrations. It would be interesting to find out how closely Wilson worked with the artist and how much of the symbolism and visualizations came from him. We’re guessing it was the majority. The finished work is multilayered and will yield greater insights with each reading. In fact, it DEMANDS to be reread. Make no mistake, this is no simple comic that can easily be blown through in a few minutes and then forgotten. 

The only complaint from a historical standpoint one might have is that Musashi is usually rendered as a clean, well groomed samurai, not the filthy, unkempt ‘vagabond’ he was for most of his years. However, as he is shown during his time as a vassal of the Hosokawa, one would imagine that he would have been far better tricked out than he was in his years on the road. Otherwise, illustrator Kutsuwada Chie’s artwork is a perfect example of the style being well suited for the work. Her stark, high contrast visuals veer towards the angular and are filled with strong vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines. This lends itself well to conveying Musashi’s highly aggressive and direct approach to life and the philosophy behind it. It also matches the simple, Spartan lifestyle he enjoyed. The synergy between adapter Wilson and the artist is also in evidence as well. One of our favorite sections is in the ‘Emptiness’ chapter. While Musashi carves an unseen image, he summarizes his approach to the martial arts (and by extension, life) and the true meaning of the ‘heart of emptiness’. Panels of emptiness begin to pop into his explanations, increasing in frequency along with the reader’s understanding. Finally, there is nothing left but ‘emptiness’ after Musashi exhorts his reader to “make emptiness the way and see the way as emptiness”. 

We now move on from the practical world of Musashi to a whimsical world of demons and talking animals in “The Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts” (“Tengu Geijutson”). The author of this Edo period work was  (the pen name of Niwa Tadaaki), a samurai from Sekiyado han in Shimosa province. Chozanshi, while interested in swordsmanship, was primarily known as a bunjin (what we’d call a ‘man of letters’ in the West). “Demon’s Sermon” is actually somewhat of a compilation of two of his efforts-the title work along with a selection of short stories from his “Inaka Soshi” (The Hayseed Taoist). These stories, despite the book’s title, are far more concerned with Buddhist and Confucian concepts than the techniques and execution of swordsmanship (most of the martial arts discussion takes place between the tengu). 

The story revolves around a young would-be swordsman who ventures into the deep woods to seek the instruction of the tengu, the mythical bird-men of Japan who were said to have instructed the legendary hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune in the ways of warfare. Coming across a group of them holding a discussion in a tree, he settles in to eavesdrop and benefit from their wisdom. The title is somewhat of a misnomer-tengu aren’t demons in the Western sense of the word (that being malevolent beings or spirits from Hell) but more like ‘forest spirits’. Wilson here chooses to break “The Demon’s Sermon” into several parts and use it as a framework to structure the shorter stories. This allows the short stories to reinforce and expand upon the concepts brought up by the tengu, as well as letting the tengu introduce the concepts to be spotlighted in the short stories. An interesting choice by Wilson, it helps to tie the work together as a unified whole rather than a series of stories. Many of the ideas are the same as those looked at by Musashi in “Five Rings”, again showing how Buddhist and Confucian ideals found their way into sword training. The tengu discuss the concept of no-mind or emptiness, using your chi (the energy that flows through everything) correctly, the importance of practice and discipline, and how adaptability and lack of attachment are vital. Humorously, the tengu also find most martial arts schools to be lacking in their instruction with too great an emphasis on rigid technique. 

The short stories are primarily Buddhist parables told through the eyes of a variety of talking animals. Using animals to illustrate life lessons is a well-known aspect of Western storytelling, and it was the same in Japan. Yose (storytelling) theater was quite popular in the Edo period and many of its stories were exactly like the selections included in “Demon’s Sermon”. Included are Transformation of the Sparrow and the Butterfly, Meeting the Gods of Poverty in a Dream, The Greatest Joys of the Cicada and Its Cast-Off Shell, The Owl’s Understanding, The Centipede Questions the Snake, The Toad’s Way of the Gods, and The Mysterious Technique of the Cat. The animals (for the most part not goofy looking anamorphic creatures but what they look like in nature) delve into matters such as being content with one’s station in life, the impermanent nature of all things, the shortcomings of learned technique, and again, the importance of being able to adapt to changing circumstances. The most well-known story of the bunch is The Mysterious Technique of the Cat. When an exceptionally gifted rat invades the ramshackle home of a ronin, the rodent proves itself to be a superior foe, evading all attempts to capture or kill it. When even the most talented mousers in the area fall to the rat’s vicious attacks, it falls to an enfeebled older cat to confront the rat. It defeats it effortlessly to the amazement of all, leading to pleas from the other cats for an explanation of his amazing technique. And as will be of no surprise to readers of the other stories, he accomplished it by using ‘no technique’. Parables such as this were intended to make somewhat complex Buddhist concepts relatable and understandable to commoners and were a large part of the repertoire of traveling monks and priests. From a sociological standpoint they also were a way for the monks and samurai to make the peasants happy with their social status and not try to better their positions by rebelling against those above them. 

Wilson’s presentation of the stories (again, based on a translation by William Scott Wilson) is excellent. As previously mentioned, the narrative flows smoothly from one tale to the next, and the center point of each is brought out in a subtle and effective manner. There’s a fine line between simplifying things to the point of making them kid’s stories and making them so complex as to defy comprehension, and Wilson navigates it well. The book is warmer, charming, and more endearing than “Five Rings”. How could it not be with all those talking animals? Wilson allows their personalities and foibles to shine through rather than just make them into another ‘Musashi’. As with “Five Rings”, readers will be rewarded with greater insight on each reading. 

“Demon’s Sermon” employs a different illustrator than “Five Rings”, but one that is every bit as suited to the subject matter. Morikawa Michiru’s artwork is softer, more detailed, and employs more elaborate shading. It’s perfect for the Buddhist and Confucian concepts being expounded. It also helps to make the talking animals, insects, and demons in the story to be as natural and acceptable to the reader as the humans. Morikawa excels at infusing her work with subtle symbolism, as when a battle between a rat and a cat forms a classic Taoist taijitu (the ‘yin-yang’ symbol). We also enjoyed how Morikawa gave each of the tengu a distinctly different look, reflecting how the concepts and depictions of tengu in Japanese art varied throughout the centuries. 

Both graphic novels also contain afterwords by William Scott Wilson (the well-known scholar and writer who did the translations of the original Japanese language texts). His comments give well thought-out examinations of the characters of original authors Musashi and Chozanshi, as well as helping clarify and structure some of the points brought out in the texts. While afterwords in books often have little of substance to add, readers should definitely take the time to peruse these. 

Shambhala Publications is to be complimented for their support of this non-traditional format for very traditional and serious texts. There are more graphic novels in the works, and one in particular has caught our interest-a treatment of the 47 Ronin, due out in November. Again featuring Sean Wilson at the helm, it features artwork by Shimojima Akiko and states without reservation that it will be “a historically factual portrait”, “accurate and …compelling”, and featuring characters that are “nuanced and relatable”. This would be a welcome development, particularly in the wake of Dark Horse’s recent botched attempt at presenting the story in comics form. We have to admit to being skeptical that the end result will indeed stick to the historical facts and not mirror the fictional Chushingura version of the Ako ronin. However, based on the excellent job Wilson has done to date, if anyone can pull it off, he can. 

While both books are condensed versions of the originals, the artwork in effect makes them an expanded version, helping to underscore the original text and also to bring out new facets of these classic works. They’ll be of interest to many fields in pre-modern Japanese studies-religious studies, martial arts, philosophy, and culture. Serious and well thought out adaptations, they illustrate how the right creators paired with timeless source material can utilize the comics/manga format to enhance an existing work (rather than simply dumb it down for the purposes of creating disposable entertainment). This ‘graphic approach’ to Musashi and demons will hopefully introduce these classic works to a new audience as well as breathe life into them for the old one. After reading these two works we’ll co-opt one of Musashi’s sentiments and say “You should investigate (these) thoroughly”. 

You can pick “Five Rings” and “Demon’s Sermon” directly from Shambhala or from Amazon via the SA Store. 

All artwork courtesy and copyright 2012/2103 Shambhala Publications. It may not be reproduced, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Schooling the Yagyu: Takuan Soho’s “The Unfettered Mind”

Yagyu Munenori was the founder of the Edo branch of the famous Yagyu Shinkage-ryu School of swordsmanship. Munenori was well regarded, being the sword instructor to the Tokugawa and the author of the Heiho Kadensho (a work on swordsmanship and how some of its aspects could be applied to politics and life). However, it appears someone wasn’t impressed. In a letter to Munenori, a Buddhist monk chastised him for taking bribes from provincial lords, for attacking his child’s shortcomings when his own behavior is incorrect, and even for showing off his ability in Noh Theater to his contemporaries. Munenori’s penchant for ranbu dance is described as “a sickness”. The letter concludes with a poem exhorting Munenori to “…not be mindless”. One would never imagine that this monk and Munenori were the best of friends! As shown in Shambhala Publications new book “The Unfettered Mind”, this cheeky monk, Takuan Soho, helped greatly with infusing early Edo period swordsmanship with its distinct spiritual facets.

Takuan Soho (1573-1645) was a Zen Buddhist monk of the Rinzai School. He’s perhaps best known to many Westerners as the cranky cleric appearing in Yoshikawa Eiji’s novel “Musashi”. If you’ve read the book or watched films such as Inagakai Hiroshi’s “Samurai Trilogy” or Toei’s excellent series of Musashi films, he’s the monk who captured a young, headstrong Musashi, hung him from a tree for days to think about the direction his life should take, and then imprisoned him on the top floor of a castle for several years to study, read, and reflect. Maybe you’ve seen Takuan expounding on Japanese culture in the sidebars of Pat Galloway’s ‘Warring Clans, Flashing Blades’. While the incidents with Musashi were fictitious, the historical Takuan was indeed a well-known advisor to many famous figures of the era-as well as a talented calligrapher, painter, poet, and tea master. Counted among his pupils were such notable figures as retired Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Shogun Tokuagwa Iemitsu, Ishida Mitsunari, Kuroda Nagamasa, and the swordsmen Yagyu Munenori, Itto Ittosai, and yes, Musashi. Takuan was not one to be intimidated by high status, as demonstrated when he was exiled by Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada after accusing him of interfering in Buddhist matters. Takuan was active in both the Sengoku and Edo periods and moved freely among all classes, be they nobility, clerics, peasants, or samurai. His writings display an ability to reach every stratum of society effectively. “The Unfettered Mind” concentrates on Takuan’s interaction with the samurai class and applying Zen Buddhism to swordsmanship. Unlike many modern books that use revisionist history in order to play up the role of a specific school of martial arts (or use outright fabrications), Takuan's work is a genuine contemporary piece that provides valuable insights on the development of spiritual training in Japanese swordsmanship.

As historian/martial artist Professor Karl Friday indicated in an interview with the SA, Edo period sword training had little to do with practical battlefield training and military science (as evidenced by the poor performance some famous swordsmen might display on a battlefield-such as Miyamoto Musashi being put out of action by a peasant with a rock during the Shimabara Rebellion). Rather, it was as much about personal and spiritual development as it was honing one’s sword skills. In Friday’s words, “In the traditional Japanese context, distinguishing between physical and spiritual factors in training is roughly equivalent to making distinctions between internal factors (muscle control, focus, concentration, strength, timing, etc.) and external ones (gravity, wind, etc.) in, say, learning to shoot an arrow. You can separate them for analytical purposes, but they’re really all part of the same big package”. The three documents included in “The Unfettered Mind” (“The Mysterious Record of Immovable Wisdom”, “The Clear Sound of Jewels”, and “Annals of the Sword Taia”) all touch on this spiritual aspect and how it can be applied not only to swordsmanship and day-to-day life. As Professor Friday also pointed out, many of the concepts in spiritual training were couched in the language of the day-often taking on the language of Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, and Shinto. Interestingly enough, Takuan’s thoughts bear more than a passing resemblance to modern non-religious ideas such as physical memory. While the language used might appear to be outdated to many, the ideas in his writings remain relevant.

The first section of the book is the letter written by Takuan to Yagyu Munenori that we spoke of in the opening paragraph. Called the “Fudohishinmyoroku” (referring to Fudo Myoo, the Japanese deity that manifests the nature of all living beings) or “The Mysterious Record of Immovable Wisdom”, it centers on the concept of the “No-Mind”-the mind that is always moving and never stops or becomes bogged down in a particular location. Takuan explains how the concept of the “No-Mind”/”Right Mind” applies to reaching perfection as a swordsman-how can one operate effectively if your mind is fixated on one particular aspect of a battle? If your mind becomes ‘stuck’ in the sword of your opponent, your own sword, your footwork, the enemy’s stance, or perhaps even in the intention to avoid being struck, it will be taken by that single aspect. When it becomes taken, every other aspect will be ignored. As Takuan puts it, “Considering that the Thousand-Armed Kannon has one thousand arms on its body, if the mind stops at the one holding the bow, the other nine hundred and ninety-nine will be useless. It is because the mind is not detained at one place that all the arms are useful”. In another spot, he describes the Right Mind as being like water, capable of going everywhere, and the Confused Mind as being like ice-stuck in one spot and unable to be used freely. But how to achieve the state of “No-Mind”? Takuan stresses that discipline and meditation is vital for beginners to force their mind to flow freely and not reside in any one spot, but that in the end, this too restricts the mind. At the highest level, the initiate will return to the beginning-not having to actively impose discipline on their thoughts. Proper technique and practice is stressed as well, as both technique and principal are required to master both one’s self and the sword. This may seem a bit hard to understand at first, but Takuan’s explanations give plenty of real life examples-as well on drawing on lessons from the Chinese classics and poetry. Perhaps giving modern readers this example might help explain the concept-for those of you that drive to work every day, what were you thinking of on your way to work? Odds are it wasn’t about the actual mechanics of driving a car-but yet, if the need arose, your body and mind would be capable of making a quick decision to avert an accident. This is the state of No-Mind-not dwelling on something, but letting your mind go freely to wherever it is needed. To Takuan, the man who has mastered this would be perfectly capable of taking on ten enemies at once, letting his mind flow from one to the other as needed. Perhaps things can best be summed up by the poem Takuan ends the letter with:

“It is the very mind itself

That leads the mind astray.

Of the mind,

Do not be mindless.”

“Reiroshu” (“The Clear Sound of Jewels”) comprises the second part of the book. This treatise occupies itself with how to determine what is right and what is mere selfishness-and more importantly for the samurai class, how to know when and where to die. The arching concept here is of right-mindedness (the Japanese concept of ‘gi’)…unimpeachable integrity, virtue, and judgment, not operating out of self-interest or desire. Takuan stresses the need for the samurai class to take the “Way of the Lord” and the “Way of the Retainer” to heart. He stresses the importance of the concept but interestingly states that one should not be fixated on the individual, but rather just the idea. “A retainer should not say he serves Lord Matsui Dewa but simply ‘The Lord’. In this, even if the retainer serves clan after clan, the clan may change, but his mind will not-he was always see his current Lord as the “one and only from beginning to end”. And for the Lord, he should never make distinctions between his retainers-“…all men should be treated with love and sympathy, and each man should be thought of as My retainer’’. When determining what is right, these ways are the determining factor-if either the Lord or Retainer is ‘repaying a favor with a favor’, that is right-mindedness. If they operate out of desire or selfishness, it is not. Takuan also explores the ten essential qualities and how each flows one to the other in a never ending circle, also equating the qualities to the Ten Worlds of Buddhist thought. He stresses that because of this unending cycle, every being has the Buddha-nature in them from birth. The role of ‘amusements’ is explored, and Takuan is realistic enough to realize that even priests need them (one of these being taking 14 or 15 year old youths beneath the blossoms and sharing some cups of sake, a rather common diversion for Buddhist clergy at that time). He stresses that all amusements should have standards and fixed limits so as not to fall into evil-obviously, we saw a case in our opening paragraph where he felt Yagyu Munenori was negligent. Takuan even explains how ghosts come to be and why they can be seen in our world. “Reiroshu” is the centerpiece of the book and an excellent examination of how Buddhism works in the real world.

Finally, “Taiaki” (“Annals of the Sword Taia”) is a short letter that was written to one of the Shogun’s sword instructors (it was unclear whether this was the Yagyu or Itto Schools). It contains Takuan’s detailed breakdown and interpretation of a Chinese story that uses the sword Taia-a sword that can cut through anything-as its central allegory. This letter brings the Zen nature of Takuan’s Buddhism to the fore as it stresses that true wisdom will be learned without a teacher-that in fact it cannot be imparted by a teacher since it resides in everyone’s ‘original face’. The Buddha-nature, or “Sword Taia”, is equipped by everyone and is perfectly entire. All the answers a being needs are found within the self, requiring only introspection and an open mind to unlock. The language is couched in the terms of swordsmanship, in the process implying that Takuan saw mastery of the sword-and one’s self-as not necessarily being centered around death, but rather giving a master swordsman the option to use it ‘to give life’ as well-by dealing with every situation with clear vision and not always responding with violence.

Interestingly, one can find much among Takuan’s writings that point out that many ideas associated with Bushido seem to have been rarely practiced in the real world of the samurai. At one point he bemoans “Is there one person in a thousand who would die like this?...In truth, one hundred right-minded men would be hard to find”. Loyalty (or as Takuan phrases in Neo-Confucian terms, “the Way of the Lord” and “the Way of the Retainer”) is described as something extremely rare, as selfishness and desire tend to guide the actions of both lord and vassal. Takuan describes vendetta killings as “…forgetting oneself in the anger of the moment. It is not right-mindedness in the least. Its proper name is anger and nothing else”. In Takuan’s eyes, virtually no samurai are right-minded-“This is not for the sake of one’s name. Nor for gaining fame, a stipend, and a fief.” As we have discussed many times on the SA, the ideals of Bushido were just that-ideals that were so highly valued because they were so rarely displayed in reality. 

Takuan’s writings have been translated by William Scott Wilson, an award-winning translator who specializes in Edo period warrior literature. Wilson brings home Takuan’s sometimes difficult concepts and the allusions of Buddhism and 17^th century Japan to an English-speaking readership. He does so without losing the subtleties and poetic symmetry of the text, providing a translation that preserves the many layers of the original while remaining accessible to a novice.

“The Unfettered Mind” is valuable not only as a historical piece examining how sword training blended the physical and spiritual, but also as a guide to understanding the basic ideas of Buddhist thought (with an emphasis on the self-discipline of Zen) and applying them to everyday life-whether it’s the 17^th or 21^st century. Takuan explains each abstract concept clearly and in detail, not only giving the symbolism behind each but showing how they operate and are reflected in the real world. On top of that, it’s not every day you read a letter that schooled a master swordsman like Yagyu Munenori! Lucky for Takuan that Munenori was familiar with the “life-giving sword”… 

“The Unfettered Mind” from Shambhala Publications can be found on Amazon through the SA Store.