Top 5 Quotes & Sayings by Yagyu Munenori

Explore popular quotes and sayings by Yagyu Munenori.

Last updated on December 19, 2024.

Yagyū Munenori was a Japanese daimyo, swordsman, and martial arts writer, founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishūsai" Muneyoshi. This was one of two official sword styles patronized by the Tokugawa shogunate. Munenori began his career in the Tokugawa administration as a hatamoto, a direct retainer of the Tokugawa house, and later had his income raised to 10,000 koku, making him a minor fudai daimyō, with landholdings around his ancestral village of Yagyū-zato. He also received the title of Tajima no Kami (但馬守).

1571 - May 11, 1646

Source: Wikipedia

Conquering evil, not the opponent, is the essence of swordsmanship.

Yagyu Munenori

It is bias to think that the art of war is just for killing people. It is not to kill people, it is to kill evil. It is a strategem to give life to many people by killing the evil of one person.

Yagyu Munenori

When you strike a blow, do not let your mind dally on it, not concerning yourself with whether or not it is a telling blow; you should strike again and again, over and over, even four or five times. The thing is not to let your opponent even raise his head.

Yagyu Munenori

Once a fight has started, if you get involved in thinking about what to do, you will be cut down by your opponent with the very next blow.

Yagyu Munenori

See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body.

Yagyu Munenori