Second is the Water book. With water as the basis, the spirit becomes like water. Water adopts the shape of its receptacle, it is sometimes a trickle and sometimes a wild sea. ... If you master the principles of sword-fencing, when you freely beat one man, you beat any man in the world. The spirit of defeating a man is the same for ten million men. ... The principle of strategy is having one thing, to know ten thousand things.

The Way is shown in five books concerning different aspects. These are Ground, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void. The body of the Way of strategy from the viewpoint …

Third is the Fire book. This book is about fighting. The spirit of fire is fierce, whether the fire be small or big; and so it is with battles. The Way of batt…

Fourthly the Wind book. This book is not concerned with my Ichi school but with other schools of strategy. By Wind I mean old traditions, present-day tradition…

I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times.

When it comes to politics, one has to do as one [does] at sea with a sailing ship... reach one's course having regard to prevailing winds.

If you merely read this book you will not reach the Way of strategy. Absorb the things written in this book. Do not just read, memorise or imitate, but so that…