Book by Wilson W. Scott: The Lonely Samurai

Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi was a legend of his time. His favored weapon was a wooden sword, and he rarely fought with a real one. He defeated his opponents through cunning, or by turning their own strength against them. Having reached the height of his power, he began to evolve artistically and spiritually, becoming one of the most skilled painters and calligraphers in the country while intensifying his practice of Zen. He was able to channel his martial skills into a search for something deeper. Musashi always remained a solitary traveler, shunning the power, wealth, and comfort that would come from a steady employment in the service of a feudal lord, preferring instead a constant and tireless pursuit of truth, perfection, and the true Way. He eventually came to understand that perfection in an art, whether of peace or war, allowed one to attain deeper spiritual understanding. His philosophy, along with his martial strategies, is concentrated in his celebrated work, The Book of Five Rings, written towards the end of his life. Drawing on original Japanese material and sources, William Scott Wilson has created an unforgettable portrait of Musashi, who remains a fascinating figure both for the Japanese and for those in the West who have embraced the ideals of the samurai and Zen Buddhism. The Lonely Samurai is a richly informative biography of this wandering 17th-century swordsman, whose legacy is even stronger than time and geography.

William Scott Wilson

Born in 1944, Wilson grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After graduating with degrees in Political Science and Japanese Language and Literature, he began a series of in-depth studies on the philosophy of the Edo period (1603–1868) at Aichi Prefectural University in Nagoya, Japan. He has translated from Japanese into English the Hagakure, The Book of Five Rings, The Sword of Life, The Immutable Mind, Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Taiko, and Ideals of the Samurai, used as a college textbook in Japanese history and culture courses. Wilson, who travels to Japan frequently for pleasure and work, currently lives in Miami, Florida.