[MRM]

I don't think there many Japanese war proverbs have made it to the West. You might be thinking of Chinese war proverbs. Sun Tzu's The Art of War has been widely read in the West for hundreds of years. It is written as a book of proverbs, so it makes for fun quoting. It is one of the two most influential books on war in history. On Strategy is the other. I can paraphrase some proverbs from The Art of War that you might recognize. Sun Tzu saidthat the ultimate victory is to subdue your oponent without fighting. Another one is to never engage your enemy until you have situated your resources so that the outcome of the fight is determined before the fight begins - and never engage in a fight unless you know victory is assured.

The only quote I know by heart is: "The ultimate in the disposition of one's troops is to be without asertainable shape or plan. for then the wisest minds cannot lay plans against you and the deepest spy cannot penetrate." Kind of cool ide but not a real catchy slogan.