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The Twelve Rules of the Sword by [Ito Ittosai, eric shahan]

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eric shahan

The Twelve Rules of the Sword [Print Replica] Kindle Edition

by Ito Ittosai (Author), eric shahan (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

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A translation of two books on the philosophy of the Itto School of Sword Fighting. 1. The Twelve Rules of the Sword2. The Sword Manual of Kanamaki JizaiThe first is attributed to Ito Ittosai the legendary swordsman of the 16th century. Ittosai travelled the country and fought the head students of 33 schools, winning every time. The second is a 16th century instruction manual attributed to Ittosai's teacher Kanamaki Jizai.

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English
Publication date

January 13, 2019
File size

46280 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07MGFPZNM
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 13, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 46280 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #760,339 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #850 in Martial Arts (Kindle Store)
- #2,322 in Martial Arts (Books)
- #14,345 in Exercise & Fitness (Books)

Customer Reviews:
151 ratings

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eric shahan

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Hi, I've been living, studying and training in Japan for over 15 years. My goal is to share some of the cool, fascinating and mysterious teachings that can be found in Japanese martial arts manuals. For the most part these books have never been translated before. Thanks for your interest!

eric shahan

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1 star		3%

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Edward M. Van Court

Interesting insights into the theory and philosophy of Japanese sword play

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2019

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Don't expect much specifics on technique and you won't be disappointed.
This book is several interpretations of a work from the 19th century, "The 12 Rules of the Sword", along with some spells or meditations, and a work claiming to be a transcription of a 17th century text. Note that all of this postdates Musashi's "Book of Five Rings".
The 12 rules are more memory aids than instruction. They discuss concepts without much detail, but "Horizontal, Vertical, Above, & Below" and "Interval Between You and Your Opponent" do give some practical principles of physical action. "The Color of Things" is about being in the moment. and reminding the student that combat is not the moment for reflection or to seek meaning with a drawn sword in your hand.
Overall, it was interesting, but not one that merits the multiple readings the way the "Book of Five Rings" does.

E.M. Van Court

12 people found this helpful

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Z Man

Sweet

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018

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With all the fake marital arts out there, it is refreshing to have translations by real masters. Don't get me wrong, Musashi is great, but he is not the only sword master that ever lived. There are others... and some of them are quite frankly, better... Ito Ittosai was one of them. If you are a student of Budo... real budo... then this is a must have, because the old masters are where it is at. Yes, they talk about mindset more than physical training... but 99% of real combat is mental. Athletic ability counts for very little in real life. Welcome to the world of real violence. It sucks. And you will probably die. I have almost all of Eric Shahan's translations, and they are worth every penny.

19 people found this helpful

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Alvar

Birthday Gift

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2020

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I bought this for someone else. It's a short read though and I managed to sneak a read for myself before gifting it off. It's a really fascinating book as a historical piece because it shows images of the original documents and discusses the context and translation. I thought it looked like a cool gift idea but I'm also into Japanese martial arts history and so this book really grabbed my attention as I read it. I've never heard of the book before seeing it on Amazon. I rate books with price in mind as well but the lack of content here is understandable as it is focused on a historical document, so $12 seems okay for what you're getting. It's entertaining if you're curious about historical documents of Japan, but I think most people would be disinterested in the content. I'll probably buy a copy for myself later on. The advice given in the book is more technical than philosophical, so it's not like other popular samurai books, but some of the advice can be applied to situational thinking. I really liked the book personally, as I was in Bujinkan at one time and did some kenjutsu. It's a great gift for anyone into Japanese swordsmanship or history.

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Steven mullen

This is high level stuff.

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

Eric shahan is making so much amazing material available to the english speaking world. This book will join my collection of treasures he has produced in recent years. The principles contained in this book are so deep I feel it will take me years to begin to grasp them.

10 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

This Book Is Awesome!

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2020

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I read this book five out of five because I thought it was awesome it has cool sword techniques and Concepts. If you like Samurai stuff and swordsmanship this is a good read

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A must for aficionados of the sword.

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2021

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It took a little work to understand the philosophy expressed, being an occidental sword master in the film industry, but my respect for Japanese swords and the Samurai who believed they were part of their soul, made the exploration very worthwhile.

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Nevose

Damage is just an additional feature that is applied.

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

I'm not sure how you damage a soft cover but obviously it has been done. Spine is moderately damaged and book is expanded from water damage.

One person found this helpful

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URL Cruiser

Concise discussion of the ancient swordsmen technique

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2019

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A fascinating read/peek into the mind of the ancient swordsmen

2 people found this helpful

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Cosmic Hare

nice

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2019

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An interesting book for sure. Some useful tips for modern martial artists too. I owned the hagakure many years ago and I like this one, not as much but is still a good addition. If you like this kind of book, you won't be disappointed. It's short, but the lessons are interesting.

One person found this helpful

Mr. Ian Linton

a good information

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2019

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a very informative book and full of good information

Mikael Bauer

Interesting Edo period source but needs editing + revision

Reviewed in Canada on March 18, 2022

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The original work itself is an interesting example of Edo literature, exhibiting neo-confucian influence and the expected focus of Chinese references. The introduction is fine for the novice reader perhaps, but the text is in need of better annotation and referencing. The translation is not always accurate, with errors throughout. It does capture the general meaning.

Ramon Carbo-Dorca

Un documento histórico

Reviewed in Spain on July 21, 2019

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Debido a su contenido ni debe gustarte ni debe repelerte. Es así como es y nada más. Un documento que muestra una de las tradiciones del Japón, relacionada con el arte del manejo de la espada y su interrelación con el budismo y la espiritualidad oriental.

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Sander Anseeuw

Insights into the minds of master swordsmen

Reviewed in Germany on November 26, 2019

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Interesting thoughts from a time when centimeters and split seconds meant the difference between life and death.
Valuable to practitioners of the way of the sword as wel as everyday life, business,...
For those who also study Japanese language and kanji, it's nice the original texts are included.

One person found this helpful

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