Five elements (Japanese philosophy)
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Japan's concepts of the five elements are heavily influenced by Buddhism. The Chinese five elements are called gogyō (五行), and the Japanese five elements are called godai (五大). The following article explains the latter.
The godai, lit. "five great", of Japanese tradition is perhaps best known in the West for their use in Miyamoto Musashi's famous text Gorin-no-sho (The Book of Five Rings), in which he explains different aspects of swordsmanship by assigning each aspect to an element.
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