The Japanese Art of War
'Thomas Cleary has an
in-depth understanding of the soul of the Japanese people. A must read."
"The Japanese Art of War
should be required reading for modern-day missionaries of Western business, politics, and
culture."
"Set aside all the
slogans you have learned and all the intellectual views that stick to your flesh,' Cleary
quotes Chinese Zenmaster Yuanwu as saying. That's what this provocative book forces us to
do. It raises the art of under standing of Japan's national and corporate psychology to
new and eminently accessibleheights of clarity. Cleary's is, in fact, the clearest voice
explaining East-West cultural differences that I have encountered in a.long time. An
amazing achievement."
Military rule and the martial
tradition of the samurai have dominated Japanese culture for centuries, virtually to the
present day. According to Thomas Cleary translator of more than twenty-five classics of
Asian philosophy the Japanese people have been so steeped in the way of the warrior that
some of the manners and mentality of this outlook remain embedded in their individual and
collective consciousness. Cleary shows how well-known attributes such as the reserve and
mystery of formal Japanese behavior are deeply rooted in the ancient strategies of the
traditional arts of war. Citing original Japanese sources that are popular among Japanese
readers today, he reveals the hidden forces behind Japanese attitudes and conduct in
political, business, social, and personal life.
Thomas Cleary is a Buddhist
scholar who lived in Japan for six years. He holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and
Civilizations from Harvard University. Among his many translations are The Art of War by
Sun Tzu, Zen Lessons, and Further Teachings of Lao-tzu.
130 pages