The Five Rings: Miyamoto Musashi's Art of Strategy

This weeks book was suggested to me by a friend on Instagram…several times actually before I got the hint that he maybe thought I should read, The Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi.

Miyamoto Musashi is well known as the greatest swordsman Japan ever produced. A quick biography of him was included in this translation, and Miyamoto was born in 1584 and died in 1645. I don’t want to go into too much more because the little bit of biography that was included made me want to read a dedicated biography, which was promptly added to my Amazon Wishlist for next year.

Now, however well-known Miyamoto may have been as a swordsman in his day, his book of Five Rings has been passed down over the last 350 years as a book of philosophy. Which I get. Large chunks of it reminded me of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. Some of it reminded me of Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life, which is admittedly psychology and not philosophy, but honestly, warfare is as much psychology as philosophy.

The Five Rings translation I read included The Five Rings, which is Ground, Water, Fire, Wind, and Emptiness. Then it also includes Miyamoto’s other works, which are “Thirty-Five Articles on Strategy” and what is most likely poetry in Japanese but is more general life guidance when translated into English and is titled “The Path Walked Alone.”

So, what are The Five Rings? Let’s start with Ground. Ground starts almost autobiographical. “Starting in my youth long ago, I set my heart on following the path of warfare.” Ground is strategy, and the importance of strategy in warfare and fighting in general. Strategy is the practice of the warrior class. At least according to Miyamoto. But not really.

I mean, look at the word “strategy” from the 21st century. “A plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.”

So, using that definition, ALL things in life require strategy. Whether it’s going about your day, building a table, or planning out your reading list for the year, having a strategy in place will ensure success in the endeavor. However, given that The Five Rings was written with a more martial bent, take strategy as a means of learning how to navigate battle, both single combat and battlefield strategy.

But moreover, as Miyamoto clarifies, few care to follow the path of the warrior, for at least two reasons.

First, warriors must follow two paths: The path of Scholarship and the Path of Warfare. You might see this in modern American military, where officers are required to have a university degree. And Miyamoto continuously repeats the need for the study of strategy. Ground is almost entirely dedicated to strategy.

And I think for Miyamoto, strategy was more important to anything. “To train so that it will be useful at any time, and to teach so that it will be useful in all things—this is the true Way of Strategy.”

And then Miyamoto points out that strategy is, in fact, useful in many trades, from farming, to sake brewing, to carpentry, to the warrior class, strategy is key.

Having opened with those comparisons, Miyamoto spells them out in his own words. Ground is to present the Way of Strategy. Water explains how water takes on the shape of whatever container if fills, and so water explains Miyamoto’s style of swordsmanship—which is to say, no particular style, instead taking on the lessons of and style of everyone he ran across and could absorb. Being a sponge in learning opens your mind to a myriad of lessons, and ways of thinking—and strategy.

Fire is specifically about combat. Some of this is widely acknowledged battle advice, like keep the high ground, keep the sun at your back, control the battlefield, details can determine the victor. People often talk about missing the big picture due to focusing on the minute details…. not seeing the forest for seeing the individual trees. However, Miyamoto points out that sometimes, you should absolutely focus on the trees…but also see the forest as a whole. Strategy in warfare is seeing all sides of everything.

Wind is the fourth ring, and Miyamoto spends this scroll discussing why other schools of training and strategy get it wrong. But he does so without actually naming any of these other schools, which is smart. In 21st century parlance, it’s focusing on his own branding as correct, without giving any free advertising to the competition by specifically naming THEIR brands.

Emptiness is his fifth scroll, in which Miyamoto discusses that once you have mastered the above four principles, you let them go. You become naturally free and gain understanding of the appropriate rhythm for any moment, strike at the right moment, and hit your mark. Every time.

Now reading through this, the one scroll I found least useful was Water. This is the scroll that was almost entirely dedicated to the use of swords. Now, there are definitely people in the 21st century who use swords. But it’s generally a hobby, not actual warfare. While guns were known quantities in the 17th century when Miyamoto was the finest warrior in Japan, they were not the prevalent mode of warfare, and required several minutes to reload. And in Japan, while they had archers, swords were still preferred and more common on the battlefield. At least, this is my understanding based on this book. I could be wrong; I am NOT versed in 17th century Japanese Warfare. But I think I’m more or less right on that. I’ll learn more next year.

But the rest of the Five Rings or scrolls held solid philosophical thought behind them. So much so, that I will be recategorizing this from my Japanese history to my philosophy section in my library.

Now, the last two sections, the thirty-five articles on strategy, and the path walked alone.

The Thirty-Five Articles of Strategy are almost a Cliff’s Notes version of The Five Rings. It’s a short retelling of the scrolls just read sort of a synopsis.

The Path Walked Alone could be words of wisdom pinned on your refrigerator and expounded on by philosophers AND psychologists.

Do not ignore the many ways in the world. There is more than one way to skin the proverbial horse. Some other part of the world might know a better way. Don’t sink into hubris assuming you know everything.

Think little about yourself; think deeply about the world. True words of wisdom for this completely self-centered world.

Hold no regrets about your personal affairs. Stand behind your decisions. You cannot change the past. All you can do is learn from it.

Those are just a few words of wisdom from The Path Walked Alone. Do not be jealous, do not complain about or blame yourself or others, do not hold onto old equipment in order to pass it down to posterity, do not seek to be rich in your old age.

It’s wisdom for a happy life and a life well lived. For Miyamoto, a life well lived included lots of swordplay. This is probably not The Way for EVERYONE. But the philosophy is good. I feel like this is the sort of book where the wisdom would be better absorbed as a daily reading, not something read over one week. Even the book of water. While I don’t engage in sword fighting myself, I feel like if I wasn’t rushing through the reading in a week, if I took the time to read each stanza as a lesson in its own and meditated on the lesson, more could be learned from this. And I see where this might be read and studied alongside Buddhist texts, the i-ching, and Meditations. There’s some deep insight in this book, that merits further study.

This book was originally reviewed on YouTube on April 16, 2023, but is now available on Rumble and PodBean.