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A review by thurminator
The Art of the Samurai: Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
4.0
What an interesting look into the Samurai and Feudal Period of Japan. This reads as a collection of proverbs, myths, historical accounts, and descriptions of events that end in seppuku (when you stab yourself in the gut to release your spirit, then have someone cut off your head before you start complaining about it).
Seriously. The punishment for every crime, and just the end result of what must have been half of the stories here, is seppuku. Your master dies of old age? The rest of the house is going to commit seppuku. Lose at Go and beat up your opponent in a fit of rage? Commit seppuku. Get mugged by some peasants, then get chastised by your wife for not killing them all on the spot, but then actually kill them when they show up again at your house later? Get sentenced to seppuku. Run into a burning house to collect the Lord of the domain's genealogical scrolls, but get halfway burnt to death in the process? Commit seppuku before you're fully burnt to death. Get caught in adultery? Commit seppuku, but in the process write a note to your uncle who called you a coward one time and tell him he's a piece of garbage.
There were some interesting stories and good advice here, and ultimately I found the book entertaining in a variety of ways.
Christmas Eve Gift from Bailey 2021
Seriously. The punishment for every crime, and just the end result of what must have been half of the stories here, is seppuku. Your master dies of old age? The rest of the house is going to commit seppuku. Lose at Go and beat up your opponent in a fit of rage? Commit seppuku. Get mugged by some peasants, then get chastised by your wife for not killing them all on the spot, but then actually kill them when they show up again at your house later? Get sentenced to seppuku. Run into a burning house to collect the Lord of the domain's genealogical scrolls, but get halfway burnt to death in the process? Commit seppuku before you're fully burnt to death. Get caught in adultery? Commit seppuku, but in the process write a note to your uncle who called you a coward one time and tell him he's a piece of garbage.
There were some interesting stories and good advice here, and ultimately I found the book entertaining in a variety of ways.
Christmas Eve Gift from Bailey 2021