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Type of bind: Perfect Paperback
EAN num: 9780977955121
ISBN number: 0977955125
Label: Hanshi Warrior Press
Manufacturer: Hanshi Warrior Press
Page Count: 110
Printing Date: August 30, 2006
Publishing house: Hanshi Warrior Press
Sale Popularity Level: 2831289
Studio: Hanshi Warrior Press
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
'Power comes to a man in various ways. Undoubtedly it is granted to a man by his own personal choice. It is based on his desire to rule or to be ruled. The extent to which that desire is expressed will be manifest in his life. It does not matter if it is the desire to control an entire country or a desire to control a small faction with a private interest. It depends on a man's thoughts and the manner in which he accepts the truth of his own greatness.' The Shogun Scrolls were written in the late twelfth century by Hidetomo Nakadai, a scholar and regent in the court of Minamoto Yoritomo, the very first shogun of Japan and one of the world's most ruthless generals. Recently victorious over rival clans, the shogun required Nakadai to provide detailed advice on governing all aspects of the realm. The resulting treatise can yesterday be used as a guide for personal development and motivation.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
There are many clues in Kaufman's introduction that support Hardman's contention that this work is fiction (see previous review of this book). Perhaps "forgery" is the word Hardman has in mind, though he is too polite to use it. First, although the volume is presented as if it were a translation, Kaufman never actually claims that this is so, referring to the content in language that is vague if not evasive, e.g., "The ancient text from which this book is drawn..." Indeed, the words "translate" or "translation" do not appear anywhere. Second, Kaufman claims to present the work "to the world for the very first time in nearly 800 years," implying that it has never been published in Japanese. Such a translation, direct from an ancient manuscript, would represent a major scholarly accomplishment because the calligraphy of these early manuscripts is unintelligible even to contemporary Japanese readers. Few Americans could even approach such a task and any who did would find the temptation to discuss the process at length to be be irresistible. Kaufman says nothing. Furthermore, any scholar offering a seminal translation, as this pretends to be, tells the reader about the source manuscript(s). Kaufman informs us that only four copies survive, but he does not tell us where they reside, which one(s) he used, or how he found them Nor does Kaufman discuss his resolution of the myriad problems presented by early Japanese grammar and vocabulary. Third, Kaufman asserts that "I have endeavored to structure my life based on the majority of the principles presented in the Shogun Scrolls." Yet he only learned that the Scrolls existed through conducting research into his other books. How, then, could he have followed the principles for his whole life? All of these indications of deception can be discerned from the introduction and cover. Don't bother with the text unless you think Kaufman's personal philosophy will enrich your life. He deserves some credit, though, for imitating the style and tone of some modern renderings of the classic texts he has studied.
Hardman's assessment appears to be on target.
Rated by buyers -
Although this 102 page volume purports to be a translation of a 12th century manuscript written by a man called Hidetomo Nakadai for Japan's very first Shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo (who in fact DID exist), it is in fact a fictional work penned by Stephen Kaufman. A man who admittedly does not speak or read Japanese and has no academic background to speak of, Kaufman would certainly be an unlikely candidate to "discover" a Japanese manuscript which has been "lost" for 800 years--and somehow present it to us in English.
The fact is that no such person as Hidetomo Nakadai existed. There is no historical work called "Shogun no Rin" ("Shogun Scrolls"). Author Stephen Kaufman is also known through his previous two books as someone who does not mind altering ACTUAL historical documents in an effort to get them to conform to his desired meaning (he has done this with Musashi's "Book of Five Rings" as well as Sun Tsu's "Art of War"--and badly). Kaufman also tends towards ignorance, referring to both Minamoto and Hidetake by their very first names, a blooper nobody who'd taken a year of Japanese history or language would commit.
As there are a number of factual century-old documents which offer advice on Japanese custom and bushido to warriors and leaders and have been translated into English and are also much more thorough in scope and clearer in context ("Heiho-Okugisho", "Hagukure" and "Budoshoshinshu" come to mind), I fail to see why Kaufman crafted this spurious work in the very first place! In his introduction, he mentions Machiavelli's "The Prince", (page viii) which suggests that this book of his may have been inspired by that work (I am inclined to believe this is his creative interpretation of that book). Kaufman also admits that "As a working philosopher and motivation lecturer, I am not interested in actual historical events..." (page viii). Nonetheless, Stephen Kaufman is NOT clear about the veracity of this book, never once warning the reader that this is not a work of fact, but an imaginative fictitious hodgepodge concocted by his active imagination and incomplete knowledge of Japanese history and culture.
Generally, there is a belief common among martial artists (and others) that people should conduct themselves honorably. This includes being truthful and honest--NOT being misleading. There are undoubtedly a number of well-meaning people who in seeking an education in Budo, have stumbled upon Kaufman's book "The Shogun Scrolls" and trusting the author's words, taken them as historical fact. Whatever Kaufman's motivation in doing this, I cannot believe his intentions were good. What a pity that Kaufman couldn't present his own honest philosophical views, in a straightforward manner and in his own words, perhaps using actual historical events as his base. If only Kaufman could banish his ego to impart wisdom to his readers rather than leaving them ignorant, misguided, confused and annoyed.
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