“A Book of Five Rings” is a Japanese text written in 1645 by a master samurai named Shinmen Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi is a legend in Japanese folklore and his book has been compared as with the “Tao Te Ching” and Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”. Musashi himself explains that this is not a book of strategy, but rather a “guide to the formulation of your own personal strategy and truths”. It is an attitude about life itself, and not restricted to warfare or swordsmanship. In fact, many Japanese business schools still use this text as an indispensable reference for their students, believing “business is war”. His writings exist today in three published forms: the original Japanese text, and two separate english translations. This book has had a profound influence on me over the years so I decided to offer yet another “translation”- that of one to the language of music. Musashi himself states that language and words fail to convey that which he tries to impart in his writings, therefore I find the use of a language without words appealing. It is not my intention to emulate Japanese musical theory or style, but rather to offer a third translation of the original text into the universal language of music. While this piece occasionally utilises Japanese scale structures I preferred to rely upon the musical language which I have developed over the years. I feel this is appropriate as anyone pursuing study of Musashi’s “Book of Five Rings” will undoubtedly develop their own, personal truths in regards to his writings. In the end I feel this is elemental in Musashi’s intentions. While I do have family members that are Japanese (namely my children) and have been widely exposed to Asian culture I am not, in the end, Japanese. I do not desire or intend to provide any sort of fake or counterfeit cultural experience. Rather, I intend to provide a reflection of the truths I have discovered as a result of the study of this literature, in a non-partisan, non-political manner. Furthermore, my decision to use western contemporary instruments and notation was also a conscious one. This is to ease the facilitation of sharing the music, which I feel would be easier using instruments more widely found in contemporary culture. Traditional Japanese music purists may lament that I haven’t used period instruments or style, and find the use of some of my orchestration questionable. I believe, however, that the use of contemporary instrumentation (such as the modern drum kit) brings Musashi’s original message closer to modernity, and is truer to the nature of his writings which are transcendent of time, politics, race and period. Most of these movements revisit their opening thematic material as they near their closing, symbolising the circular nature of the “ring”. Like the Musashi’s original “Book of Emptiness” (and perhaps florid counterpoint), part 5 combines the elements of the previous four movements into an amalgamation of the whole symbolising form through formlessness, flexibility and adaptation. Again like the original text, it is the shortest of all the chapters. David Jaedyn Conley Melbourne Australia, 2003