Customer Reviews
Best Version on this Subject - By: Terry Tozer, 08 Feb 2007 
I can't better the other review below except to say that this translation of the Bushido is far easier to read, understand, digest & put into daily practice than the hoards of other versions of "Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Tsunetomo Yamamoto" which this book is based upon.
Despite a totally different translation, nothing is lost when you put the two books side by side & compare them to each other.
An earlier, & I think more reliable, version of the Bushi-do was written by Daidôji Yûzan called the "Bushido Shoshinshu: The Warrior's Primer". A translation of which can be seen by either William Scott Wilson or Thomas Cleary.
By the way, the title "Bushi-do" does not mean "Hidden behind the Leaves", that is the translation of the "Hagakure". You will easily recognise the two parts of the word: Bushi (Warrior) & do (the way) - The Way of the Warrior (or Samurai).
A great philosophical book - By: , 19 Oct 2003 
The title means "hidden leaves" & is great for people who are trying to learn Japanese culture. The book is great at expressing the arts of the Samuraiin times of peace. It was written during the Edo period of Japan which was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate. The idea of the book is not exactly rare, as there are many books written on the Bushido, the way of the Samurai. But it is still a great book, as most other bushido books are written during times of war. This makes Hagakure more useful than most other Bushido books, because people are more likely to relate to this book with their struggles, as it is often used metaphorically by shrewd businessmen & and even military figuresin Japan to this day.