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The Ronin Scrolls · Four Volumes

The samurai did not read about discipline. They trained it.

Four illustrated volumes that turn the lives, the laws and the last written rules of the samurai into seven-day drills for a modern man's work, money, family and mind.

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4Volumes
936Pages
42Chapters & lives
The four volumes of The Ronin Scrolls
Why most self-improvement fails

You already know what to do.

You have read the books. You have saved the quotes. You know you should get up earlier, keep your temper, stop replaying the argument, spend less, say the hard thing to the man who needs to hear it.

And for two or three days after each new book, you do. Then the week happens, and the ideas go back on the shelf with the others.

Men collect ideas.
The samurai collected pressure.

A swordsman did not become calm under a blade by reading about calm. He repeated one small thing, the same way, until his body did it without asking him. Then he added the next thing.

That is how these four scrolls are built. Every chapter ends the same way: seven days of practice, one small action a day, and six questions to answer in writing now and again in thirty days. You do not finish a chapter by reading it. You finish it by doing it.

What makes the scrolls different

Real history. Real practice. Real problems.

史

Drawn from the record

Every chapter turns on a real moment from old Japan, told in the present tense with the outcome still unknown. A short note before each scene tells you plainly what is recorded fact, what is legend, and what has been dramatized. No invented samurai. No fake quotes.

練

Built to be practiced

Each chapter ends with a seven-day Drill and a written Ledger. Each scroll comes with its own multi-week program, so you always know what to do next and the teaching moves from the page into your week.

道

Made for a modern life

Scroll IV covers forty-two situations that come to almost every man: passed over at work, a fight that keeps repeating, debt, sons who will not speak, the phone in your hand at midnight. Each one gives you the first move to make this week.

The four volumes

Four scrolls. One path.

The first scroll shows you the men. The second gives you their code. The third gives you one master's final rules. The fourth puts all of it to work on Monday morning.

Scroll I: The Lives of the Blade
SCROLL I

The Lives of the Blade

Seven samurai lives, from the age of war to the long peace
229 pages7 lives · 28 scenes7-week programIllustrated

Seven real men who lived in Japan between 1521 and 1747. A warlord, the rival remembered for honoring him, a sword teacher to the shogun, a Zen monk who told the powerful the truth, the greatest duelist of his age, a retainer whose words became the Hagakure, and the forty-seven men who kept a promise that cost them everything.

You stand beside each one at four turning points, before he knows how it will end. Then you see what his choice teaches, and where you will meet the same choice in your own life.

  • How to govern people well, and how to hold power without losing your principles
  • What to do with a duty you never wanted, and how to stay free when others control your circumstances
  • How to keep learning after you have proved yourself, and what it costs to keep your word
The seven lives
  1. Takeda Shingen
  2. Uesugi Kenshin
  3. Yagyū Munenori
  4. Takuan Sōhō
  5. Miyamoto Musashi
  6. Yamamoto Tsunetomo
  7. The Forty-Seven Ronin
$39.95Buy Scroll I aloneor get it in the bundle
Scroll II: The Seven Laws of Bushido
SCROLL II

The Seven Laws of Bushido

Seven virtues of the samurai, seven moments that tested them
117 pages7 laws7-week programIllustrated

Rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor and loyalty. Each law gets its own chapter: what the samurai meant by it, the moment a real man was tested on it, and what it asks of you today.

We also tell you something most books on bushido leave out: that this list of seven was gathered by Nitobe Inazō in 1900. Knowing where the code came from makes it more useful, not less.

  • How to stay fair when you have something to gain
  • How to say the frightening thing, and how to use power over people who depend on you
  • Whose judgment of you really counts, and what you owe the people who stood beside you
The seven laws
  1. Rectitude
  2. Courage
  3. Benevolence
  4. Respect
  5. Honesty
  6. Honor
  7. Loyalty
$39.95Buy Scroll II aloneor get it in the bundle
Scroll III: The Twenty-One Precepts
SCROLL III

The Twenty-One Precepts

Miyamoto Musashi's Way of Walking Alone, one line at a time
359 pages21 chapters21-day programIllustrated

In 1645, Miyamoto Musashi, who by his own account fought more than sixty duels and never lost, wrote twenty-one short lines and handed them to a student. A week later he was dead. He called the sheet Dokkōdō, the Way of Walking Alone.

This scroll gives every line its own full chapter, with a fresh English rendering made from the Japanese. It is the deepest of the four, and the one most men keep closest.

  • Each precept in Japanese, in plain English, and what it does not mean
  • A scene from Musashi's life, what the other great teachers said, and three ordinary men living the line today
  • A seven-day Drill and a written Ledger for every one of the 21 precepts
All 21 precepts
  1. Accept everything just the way it is
  2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake
  3. Do not depend on a partial feeling
  4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world
  5. Be detached from desire your whole life long
  6. Do not regret what you have done
  7. Never be jealous
  8. Never be saddened by a separation
  9. Resentment and complaint fit neither you nor others
  10. Do not be guided by lust or love
  11. In all things, have no preferences
  12. Be indifferent to where you live
  13. Do not pursue the taste of good food
  14. Do not keep old things as treasures
  15. Do not act on customary beliefs
  16. Weapons apart, take no fancy to tools
  17. Do not fear death
  18. Do not hoard for your old age
  19. Respect the gods, but do not count on them
  20. You may give up your body, but keep your honor
  21. Never stray from the Way
$39.95Buy Scroll III aloneor get it in the bundle
Scroll IV: The Way in Modern Life
SCROLL IV

The Way in Modern Life

A field manual for the seven battles every man fights
231 pages7 battles · 42 situations70 rules7-week program

The first three scrolls are about character. This one is about decisions. It is built to be opened on a bad Tuesday, at the kitchen table, with the letter from the bank or the text from your son lying beside it.

Find your situation in the Index of Situations, written in the plain words a man would use about his own life. Turn to it. Do the first move it gives you this week, before you read anything else.

  • Six real-life situations per battle, each with the usual mistake, the Way, and the first move
  • The Seventy Rules: ten short rules per battle, written to be said to yourself in the moment you need them
  • A seven-day Drill and a written Ledger for every chapter
The seven battles
  1. Work
  2. Money
  3. Conflict
  4. Family
  5. Temptation
  6. Discipline
  7. Death in Mind
$39.95Buy Scroll IV aloneor get it in the bundle
Inside every chapter of Scroll III

Eight parts. The last two do the work.

Every chapter follows the same shape, so you always know where you are and what comes next.

I

The Precept

The line in Japanese, a plain English rendering, and a note on the words that carry it.

II

The Scene

A moment from a real life, told in the present tense, with the outcome not yet known.

III

The Meaning

What the line says, what it does not say, and how it is commonly misread.

IV

The Teachers

What Musashi, Takuan, the Hagakure, Sun Tzu and Confucius said about the same thing.

V

The Field

Three ordinary men in ordinary trouble, with the precept at work in their lives.

VI

The Confrontation

A slow passage in the second person that asks you to decide one thing about your own life.

VII

The Drill

Seven days of practice, one small action each day, in order.

VIII

The Ledger

Six questions to answer in writing now, and again in thirty days.

Look inside

Real pages from the scrolls.

These are actual pages, exactly as you will receive them. Tap any page to enlarge it.

Ink-wash chapter illustration of Musashi writing
An ink-wash illustration opens every chapter
Chapter Six opening page with the precept in Japanese
Scroll III, Chapter Six: the precept
The Scene, told in present tense
The Scene: Kumamoto, 1645
The seven-day Drill
The Drill: seven days, one action each day
Scroll IV Field Manual page
Scroll IV: "You were passed over"
Scroll III title page
Scroll III title page
Read a full chapter free
From the pages

Plain words. Hard edges.

“It does not say I have no regrets. It says do not.”SCROLL III · CHAPTER SIX
“Say this, quietly: I keep the lesson. I leave the weight.”SCROLL III · CHAPTER SIX
“The company decides your position, and you decide your worth.”SCROLL IV · THE SEVENTY RULES
“Musashi walked alone. He never asked you to suffer alone.”SCROLL III · CHAPTER SIX
A taste of the Seventy Rules

Rules for the hour you need them.

From Scroll IV, the chapter on Work. Ten rules close every battle, written short enough to remember under pressure.

  1. Do the work well even when nobody is watching and nobody will thank you, because the habits you build are yours and they leave with you.
  2. When you are passed over, ask why, write down the answer, and decide what to do after you have slept on it.
  3. Tell your boss the truth once, in private, with facts. Then carry out his decision as if it were your own, unless it asks you to lie.
  4. Never sign or quit anything in the first week of a shock. Fear makes expensive decisions, and it rarely has to make them as fast as it thinks it does.
Is this for you?

Written for men who are done collecting ideas.

The scrolls are for you if

  • You want discipline you can practice, not just admire
  • You are carrying something at work, at home or in your own head
  • You like real history, told straight
  • You are willing to do one small thing a day for seven days
  • You want something to keep and reread for years

They are not for you if

  • You want sword technique or martial arts instruction
  • You want a quick motivational read for the weekend
  • You want academic history with footnotes on every line
  • You are looking for therapy. For serious trouble, the scrolls tell you plainly to bring in help
From readers

What readers say.

The complete set

All four scrolls. Half the price.

Bought one at a time, the four scrolls cost $159.80. Together they are $79.95, less than $20 a volume.

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The Ronin Scrolls on tablet and phone
Scroll I · The Lives of the Blade (229 pp)$39.95
Scroll II · The Seven Laws of Bushido (117 pp)$39.95
Scroll III · The Twenty-One Precepts (359 pp)$39.95
Scroll IV · The Way in Modern Life (231 pp)$39.95
Three 7-week programs, the 21-day program, the Seventy Rules and the Index of SituationsIncluded
Ink-wash illustrations throughout · Read on any device · Yours to keepIncluded
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Read it. Try a Drill. Then decide.

Open any chapter and start its seven-day Drill. If the scrolls are not worth what you paid, email us within 14 days of purchase and we will refund you in full.

How the scrolls are written

No fake quotes. No invented samurai.

The internet is full of “ancient samurai wisdom” that no samurai ever said. The Ronin Scrolls are built the other way around.

  • The English renderings of Musashi's 21 precepts are made fresh from the Japanese, with notes where the usual versions soften them
  • Quotations come from the real sources: The Book of Five Rings, the Hagakure, Takuan's letters, Nitobe's Bushido, Sun Tzu and Confucius
  • Every scene says up front what is record, what is legend, and what has been dramatized
  • Every scroll ends with a list of its sources
Precept page with Japanese text and translation notes
Scroll III cover
Free chapter

Read “Do Not Regret What You Have Done” free.

The complete Chapter Six of Scroll III: the precept, the scene in Kumamoto in the last week of Musashi's life, the meaning, the teachers, the field, the confrontation, the seven-day Drill and the Ledger. Nineteen pages, exactly as they appear in the book.

One email with the chapter, then occasional letters from the Ronin Scrolls. Unsubscribe any time.
Questions

Before you decide.

What exactly do I get?

Four PDF books, 936 pages in all, with ink-wash illustrations throughout. Each scroll is a separate file, so you can open the one you need. They are yours to keep, with no subscription and no account to log into.

How do I receive the scrolls?

Right after checkout, you get an email with your download links. Most people are reading within two minutes. If the email does not arrive, check your spam folder or write to us and we will send it again.

Can I read them on my phone or tablet?

Yes. The PDFs open on any phone, tablet or computer, and in free apps like Apple Books and Adobe Acrobat. The pages are laid out like a printed book, so a tablet or a large phone is the most comfortable way to read.

Is there a printed version?

Not yet. The scrolls are digital only for now. You are welcome to print them for your own use.

Where should I start?

Most men start with Scroll III, the twenty-one precepts, and do one chapter a week. If something specific is wrong right now, open Scroll IV, find your situation in the Index of Situations, and do the first move it gives you this week. Scroll I and Scroll II give you the men and the code behind everything else.

Do I need to know anything about Japanese history or martial arts?

No. Every name, place and term is explained as it comes up, and Scroll I includes a timeline. This is not a martial arts manual. It is about how a man lives.

Is the history accurate?

The events are drawn from the historical record, and each scene opens with a short note saying what is recorded, what is legend, and what has been dramatized. The weather, the rooms, the thoughts and most of the dialogue are imagined. The decisions and what came of them are not.

Is this only for men?

The scrolls are written to a male reader, because that is who most of the old teachings were written for. Plenty of women read Musashi and the Hagakure, and the drills work the same for anyone who does them.

Is this religious?

No. The scrolls quote Zen monks, Confucius and Shinto practice as part of the history, but they ask you to believe nothing. One of Musashi's own precepts is “Respect the gods, but do not count on them.”

What if it is not for me?

Email us within 14 days of purchase and we will refund you in full. You can also read a complete chapter free before you buy, so you know exactly what you are getting.

常に兵法の道をはなれず

“At all times, do not part from the Way of strategy.” — the last line Musashi wrote

Stop reading about it. Start training it.

Four scrolls, 936 pages, one chapter at a time. Begin tonight.

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