Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan
After Donn Draeger's books, there have been very few publications that I would recommend to the English-speaking martial arts public in terms of authentic martial arts culture, history, and lore, especially concerning classical budo. This new book is a rarity, something that flabbergasted me. It's a winner; it encapsulates and brings into focus all the striving we and others like us have been doing all these years... This is probably the best book on martial arts this year, if not for several years past and hence...   --Wayne Muromoto, Furyu: The Budo Journal of Classical Japanese Martial Arts and Culture, #8 Fall 1997I can summarize my review of this book in two words: BUY IT.  This is the only English language general book on koryu bujutsu that I am aware of that has come out since Donn Draeger's day... If your only exposure to the bujutsu comes from reading Draeger's work, this book provides perspectives that are both similar to and different from his.  --Jay Swan, WWW Martial Arts Resource Page, July 1997Koryu Bujutsu takes readers into the cabalistic world of Japan's classical bugei traditions through eight thought-provoking essays and interviews by authors with more than a century of collective experience in these arts.  Editor Diane Skoss has pulled together the talents of six of the world's most distinguished Western students of the bugei to produce a stimulating and informative volume.  This is a must-read for scholars, students and aficionados of Japanese martial culture!  --Dr. Karl Friday, Dept. of History, University of GeorgiaNinjas are out; aikido is pas; the Gracie brothers are old hat. Some instructors predict that the next big martial arts boom will be the ancient sword arts of the Japanese samurai. Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions Of Japan is the first book to be published on this topic in more than twenty years. Written by the foremost Western practitioner/writers, these eight essays are based on experiences with authentic Japanese traditions and teachers gained during decades spent living, researching, and training in Japan. Compiled and edited by former managing editor of Aikido Journal (who also holds an MLS from Indiana University, as well as a license in Toda-ha Buko-ryu naginatajutsu, an ancient warrior tradition), the book also contains thirty-three photographs, bibliographical references, a Japanese glossary with kanji, and a detailed index.  --Midwest Book ReviewOverall this book is a "must-have" for anyone who is serious about the study of the Japanese Martial Arts, classical or modern, bujutsu or budo.  --Kim Taylor, Journal of Japanese Sword Arts, July 1997