Musashi’s “Book of Five Rings” isn’t about business! Or is it?
As Bob Dylan famously sang, "The times they are a-changing," and some individuals have a knack for recognizing and capitalizing on these shifts sooner than others. So when, following the 1979 publication of Ezra Vogel's influential book, "Japan As Number One: Lessons for America," a visionary individual got a brilliant idea. He took a rather obscure text from an obscure Japanese man called Miyamoto Musashi, translated by an obscure Kendo practitioner (Victor Harris), and turned it into a best seller!
"The Book of Five Rings – The Real Art of Japanese Management by Miyamoto Musashi." Advertised as heralded by TIME Magazine with a memorable tagline: "On Wall Street, when Musashi speaks, people listen!" And the New York Times: “In an era when Japanese expertise is all the rage… Now it’s Musashi with a vengeance.” (I do not know if those quotes were genuine or faked)
The assertion that the "Gorin no Sho" (The Book of Five Rings) is a guide to business and corporate strategy is certainly bold, and many in Japan, particularly within the Kendo community, found the idea outrageous. They emphasized that Musashi's work was fundamentally about the art of Japanese swordsmanship and Kendo, arguing that it was inappropriate for Americans to reinterpret such a significant text for business purposes.
However, the crux of the matter lies in the fact that the "Gorin no Sho" doesn't really pertain to Kendo either. Musashi's treatise dealt with life-or-death combat scenarios devoid of rules, involving duels with heavy lethal weapons across challenging terrains, and strategies for large-scale warfare. In contrast, Kendo is a regulated martial sport practiced on smooth wooden floors with lightweight bamboo swords, where, in normal conditions, the gravest risks involve losing a match or potentially suffering an Achilles tendon injury during the colder months…
The link between Musashi's teachings and Kendo lies in the shared culture, the spirit of hard work and the strategy to confront an opponent… But so was the Japanese corporate world back in 1979!
And so maybe, just maybe, re-reading The Book of Five Rings with the lens of business and management makes sense after all.. The essence lies in drawing inspiration from ancient wisdom to forge innovative ideas, rather than merely studying historical concepts for their own sake.
As a business professional or executive, what sources of inspiration do you draw upon?
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