One of the best known translators of the wisdom of Asia, Thomas Cleary now adds a new book to his samurai canon with Samurai Wisdom, new translations of five classic works on bushido. His previous works, Code of the Samurai and Soul of the Samurai, focused on the practical aspects and the more spiritual, Zen side of the samurai, respectively. Samurai Wisdom, authored by the scholar Yamaga Soko or his disciples, provides the core ideals and lessons that taught the samurai how to lead a proper life under the martial philosophy of bushido.

Yamaga's writings inspired the transformation of the samurai from a feudal warrior class to a group with great intellectual, political and ethical leadership and influence. The classic works translated in Samurai Wisdom, despite being over 400 years old, are as timeless and applicable today as Sun Tzu's famous work, The Art of War.

Samurai means "he who serves," and these fierce warriors acted in the service of powerful feudal lords known as daimyo. Among the most important daimyo families were members of the Hosokawa clan, whose lineage dates back some six hundred years.

Lords of the Samurai illuminates the private and public lives of the daimyo by focusing on approximately 160 works from the Hosokawa family collection housed in the Eisei-Bunko Museum in Tokyo, the Kumamoto Castle and the Kumamoto Municipal Museum in Kyushu. Objects discussed include suits of armor, armaments (including swords and guns), formal attire, calligraphy, paintings, tea ware, lacquer ware, masks and musical instruments.

Featuring an extended essay by Thomas Cleary, Lords of the Samurai lays bare the principles that governed the spirit of the samurai, enabling it to endure for hundreds of years and continue to resonate today.