The Twelve Rules of the Sword

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.

a very informative book and full of good information

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.

Very disappointed by the overall quality of the picturial content. The coherence of the work seems also a bit awkward to me.

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 I rate books with price in mind as well but the lack of content here is understandable as it is focused on a historical document, so $12 seems okay for what you're getting. It's entertaining if you're curious about historical documents of Japan, but I think most people would be disinterested in the content.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.

It's a nice book but it feels like a copy of a copy of a copy and it's a bit short in information for the price.

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.