Tears for the Samurai

Zenko N. Okimura, Shihan demonstrates Aikido ki (energy) extension thus destabilizing an attacker (Buchanan Sensei).

(Courtesy of Aikido of Minnesota)

Catherine Stenzel Sensei and Friend

Katana Draw

Selected Works

Narrative Nonfiction

Tears for the Samurai

With the clarity and power of a long-sword strike, the life, and teachings of Zenko N. Okimura burst onto the pages of Tears for the Samurai with breath-taking adventures, Samurai secrets, and mist-shrouded monasteries. To know Okimura is to be inspired. He shatters the stereotypes of priests, samurai, and shares the secrets of how to live an honorable life.

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Tears

for the

Samurai

武士

Drawing the Sword of Centuries

Rev.Zenko N.Okimura Shihan

Catherine Stenzel Sensei

Ten years in the making, Tears for the Samurai cannot be contained in any category. From the first chapter onward, readers are amazed and ask, "What will he say next? He has more teachings and stories than this book can hold!" His triple-path credentials abide in this one man who is a martial arts master, who grew up in a family of Buddhist priests, and who follows his clan's samurai code of honor.

At first, readers may ask how all this pertains to them. Okimura would answer, "These are stories and teachings about transformation. Seeing through a new lens. Light your hair on fire so you can see the way before you! You may not be a samurai descendent or a priest, but you can live your life according to the code of honor and the practices of the samurai and the sacred path of spiritual growth.

Through immersing in and learning from Tears for the Samurai many have discovered their own code of honor with deliberately chosen virtues. Tears for the Samurai assists the reader in walking a path leading gradually or suddenly to embodied transformation.

You are invited to open the book anywhere. It has no borders, and the chapters need not be read sequentially. Inspiring experiences and teachings await on every page. And if you are puzzled by any of this, Okimura says, "Enjoy the confusion!"

Catherine Stenzel lives in a log cabin in Beltrami Island Forest in far Northern Minnesota. She has published several books with John Wiley & Sons. Her academic credentials include MST, MBA, and CPA from the University of Wisconsin and the University of San Diego. She is a practicing Buddhist in the Theravada tradition. Stenzel Sensei's martial arts experience includes a third degree black belt in Aikido; she is ranked in Iaido, a Japanese long-sword art. She has been an Aikido chief instructor for fifteen years. Her teacher is Rev. Zenko N. Okimura Shihan with whom she has studied and practiced for over twenty years. He is a seventh-degree black belt in Aikido, a Shingon Buddhist priest, and a samurai descendant.