According to legend, there used to be a young samurai who traveled through the Japanese mountains, where one day he got lost. As he wandered, he met an old man who invited him to his house. The young man boasted of his excellent fighting skills, to which the older man responded with a laugh. This angered the young samurai and attacked his host. However, the old man reacted very quickly to the attack and showed his perfect skill. He is said to have fought only with the lid of the pot.

This is just one of many stories that revolve around the name Tsukhara Bokuden, perhaps one of the most important Japanese samurai. He is known to have fought over hundreds of battles and reportedly did not lose a single one.

Bokuden

The figure of the 16th century, during the bellicose phase of life gained a reputation as invincible and able to overcome even the best of all Japanese martial arts. In the second part of his life, however, Bokuden began to promote a different philosophy that preached that samurai try to avoid fighting and killing their opponents at all costs. He believed that violence was not the best solution, and although such an attitude is widely accepted in martial arts philosophy today, it certainly was not in Bokuden's time.

It turned out that Bokuden probably created a book that was passed down to only one person in each generation for many years. The book not only gave younger samurai advice on how to prepare for their first battle, but also covered details of what they should eat before the battle and how much alcohol to drink. The book goes beyond the rules of combat and attempts to answer questions about the lifestyle of a Japanese warrior in general: what skills are required of samurai other than combat? It even contains suggestions for naming a child: What is the best name for a child - a samurai?

This work, entitled One Hundred Rules of War, has been waiting to be translated into English for about 450 years. Most of the written material consists of songs that young samurai can sing to memorize the rules set by the old master. Bokuden allegedly completed the work in 1571, just before his death. He was born in 1489 and spent most of his life on the warring island of the Far East.

According to a report in Live Science was the recent translation of the book made possible thanks to the efforts of Eric Shahana, a professional who is dedicated to working with the texts of Japanese martial arts.

One hundred rules of war

One hundred rules of war undoubtedly have an interesting past in their native country of Japan. The first printed copy was published in 1840 and since then the book has been republished several times. Although several texts state that the content was created by Bokuden, it should be noted that the writings have been rewritten several times during their long history. Therefore, we cannot be XNUMX% sure that everything is really as Bokuden wrote.

The rules in the texts give us a complete overview of how a samurai should behave and what is expected of him. The skills that a samurai needs to master are not only archery or fencing, but also horseback riding, says the book, for example. The rules are often accompanied by ardent commentary, such as "Those who do not spend their time studying equestrianism are cowards."

In addition to the straightforward comments that are likely to play on feelings of shame and guilt, there is something that is very well known in traditional Japanese culture. The texts shed light on perhaps the most important perspective of being a samurai.

A samurai studies a lot of things; in any case, its main focus is one - death.

In this context, some of the final rules say that it does not matter what equipment or weapon the samurai enters into battle with, as long as he can free himself from any thought of life or death. "A samurai should never care if he lives or dies." it says here.

In less "serious" piece of content, the reader can learn what was one of the preferred names for a child born into the samurai class. In one case, the author praises the name "Yuki," which means "to bow down." Examining how a samurai should eat before a battle, one rule says that "It is wise to avoid consuming anything other than rice drenched in hot water." Young samurai were also advised to drink alcohol regularly during the days of battle, while another comment states that those who do not drink any alcohol are again "cowards."

More food advice encourages samurai to take, for example, prunes or roasted beans into battle. At first it might seem difficult to understand the benefits of plums or beans, but some interpret them as prunes to help a warrior calm his parched throat before a fight.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Zen priest Takuan Soho compiled a preface for this textbook. An introduction was added later. A copy of the book in English was not published until the summer of 2017 and it also includes all the original Japanese text. The wording of the book confirms that for several generations, the One Hundred Rules of War were always passed on to only one person.

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