Miyamoto Musashi on Mastery
Texto
Legend of the Five Rings owes a great deal to the real world historical writings of Miyamoto Musashi, a famous Japanese sword master. The Book of Five Rings (c. 1645) is his martial and philosophical manual, and offers insights on fighting and how these apply to life more generally.
Interestingly, Musashi did not write his account until decades after his legendary career as a duelist. Further, reflecting on his success in youth, he describes how he did not reach the underlying truth of martial arts until late in his life, decades after his last known duel. Despite achieving the height of his demonstrated fighting ability early in his career, he felt that his understanding of martial arts—and, by extension, all other arts he learned—was incomplete until he had spent another twenty years studying and reflecting.
In this game, reaching Rank 5 in a skill is akin to Musashi reaching his peak as a practicing duelist in his youth. It is an incredible achievement, but does not yet reflect full understanding of the art or the wider implications of the idea of mastery itself. To achieve their greatest potential, a character must not only advance their skills and rings, but also come to understand themself and their place in the world.
Texto do livro
Core Rulebook · Chapter 1: Playing the Game › The Character › Skill Ranks · p. 32 p. 35
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Legend of the Five Rings owes a great deal to the real world historical writings of Miyamoto Musashi, a famous Japanese sword master. The Book of Five Rings (c. 1645) is his martial and philosophical manual, and offers insights on fighting and how these apply to life more generally.
Interestingly, Musashi did not write his account until decades after his legendary career as a duelist. Further, reflecting on his success in youth, he describes how he did not reach the underlying truth of martial arts until late in his life, decades after his last known duel. Despite achieving the height of his demonstrated fighting ability early in his career, he felt that his understanding of martial arts—and, by extension, all other arts he learned—was incomplete until he had spent another twenty years studying and reflecting.
In this game, reaching Rank 5 in a skill is akin to Musashi reaching his peak as a practicing duelist in his youth. It is an incredible achievement, but does not yet reflect full understanding of the art or the wider implications of the idea of mastery itself. To achieve their greatest potential, a character must not only advance their skills and rings, but also come to understand themself and their place in the world.