Shibumi
Shibumi is a novel by Trevanian.
From the back cover: Nicholai Hel
Born in the ravages of World War I China to an aristocratic Russian mother and a mysterious German father, raised in the spiritual gardens of a Japanese Go master, he survives the destruction of Hiroshima to emerge as the world's most artful lover and its most accomplished - and highly paid - assassin. Genius, mystic, master of language and culture, Hel's secret is his determination to attain a rare kind of personal excellence, a state of effortless perfection... shibumi.
The parts are titled as follows: Fuseki, Sabaki, Seki, Uttegae, Shicho, and Tsuru no Sugomori.
The concept of Shibumi is said to be "great refinement underlying commonplace appearances; authority without domination".
Trevanian spent some time as a boy in Japan in the 1940's.
tartuffe This book is worth a read, especially for Go players. Certainly an understanding of Go and Asian (especially Japanese) culture allows a deeper exploration of the book. In addition to the previously mentioned chapter titles, concepts such as aji keshi, ko, furikawari, hane, kaketsugi, nozuki?, yosu-miru, kikashi are adopted to other endevours.