Required:

• Karate-do Kyohan The Master Text by Gichin Funakoshi
• Karate-do: My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi
• The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate by Gichin Funakoshi
• Introduction to Karate-do by Michael Mantz

Highly recommended:

• The Heart of Karate-Do by Shigeru Egami
• Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi (Bantam Books)
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The Sword of No-Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu by John Stevens
• The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master by Takuan Soho
• The Sword and the Mind by Yagyu Munenori
• Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
• Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors by William Scott Wilson
• The Code of the Samurai by Yuzan Daidoji
• Karate-Do Nyumon: The Master Introductory Text by Gichin Funakoshi
• Karate Jutsu: The Original Teachings of Gichin Funakoshi
• Three Budo Masters by John Stevens
• Forty-Seven Ronin Story by John Allyn
• Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa