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Musashi | 
 enlarge | Author: Eiji Yoshikawa
Creators: Edwin O. Reischauer, Charles S. Terry
Publisher: Kodansha International
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy Used: $17.50
You Save: $17.50 (50%)
New (32) Used (25) Collectible (3) from $17.50
Rating:  122 reviews
Sales Rank: 45742
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 970
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 6.2 x 1.9
ISBN: 4770019572
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.634
EAN: 9784770019578
ASIN: 4770019572
Publication Date: July 14, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The classic samurai novel about the real exploits of the most famous swordsman.
Miyamoto Musashi was the child of an era when Japan was emerging from decades of civil strife. Lured to the great Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 by the hope of becoming a samurai-without really knowing what it meant-he regains consciousness after the battle to find himself lying defeated, dazed and wounded among thousands of the dead and dying. On his way home, he commits a rash act, becomes a fugitive and brings life in his own village to a standstill-until he is captured by a weaponless Zen monk.
The lovely Otsu, seeing in Musashi her ideal of manliness, frees him from his tortuous punishment, but he is recaptured and imprisoned. During three years of solitary confinement, he delves into the classics of Japan and China. When he is set free again, he rejects the position of samurai and for the next several years pursues his goal relentlessly, looking neither to left nor to right.
Ever so slowly it dawns on him that following the Way of the Sword is not simply a matter of finding a target for his brute strength. Continually striving to perfect his technique, which leads him to a unique style of fighting with two swords simultaneously, he travels far and wide, challenging fighters of many disciplines, taking nature to be his ultimate and severest teacher and undergoing the rigorous training of those who follow the Way. He is supremely successful in his encounters, but in the Art of War he perceives the way of peaceful and prosperous governance and disciplines himself to be a real human being.
He becomes a reluctant hero to a host of people whose lives he has touched and been touched by. And, inevitably, he has to pit his skill against the naked blade of his greatest rival.
Musashi is a novel in the best tradition of Japanese story telling. It is a living story, subtle and imaginative, teeming with memorable characters, many of them historical. Interweaving themes of unrequited love, misguided revenge, filial piety and absolute dedication to the Way of the Samurai, it depicts vividly a world Westerners know only vaguely. Full of gusto and humor, it has an epic quality and universal appeal.
The novel was made into a three-part movie by Director Hiroshi Inagai. For more information, visit the Shopping area.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 117 more reviews...
The Tale of Old Japan's Most Famous Swordsman May 14, 2000
Stuart W. Mirsky (New York, USA)
103 out of 110 found this review helpful
Written in the early twentieth century, this indigenous Japanese novel recounts the life and times of old Japan's greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi -- a man who began life as an over-eager and rather brutish young lout but who, through the discipline of Japan's "way of the sword," turned himself into a master of his chosen weapon. But this tale is not only about a life spent in training to perfect the art of killing with a sharpened piece of steel. In the venerable Japanese tradition, it is also about a man's search to conquer himself, to become a better person. The Buddhist view cultivated by the Japanese warrior class allowed for a spiritual dimension to their very bloody enterprise of warfare and killing. And it is this aspect of his training that consumes Musashi, to the detriment of the people he encounters and who seek to attach themselves to him. Unable to settle down in the ordinary way, or to simply join a particular clan as a retainer to some noble lord, Musashi embarks on the life of a ronin (masterless samurai) as he wends his way through the feudal world of medieval Japan in his seemingly endless search for perfection. In the process he finds a young woman who loves him and many enemies who seek his destruction, at least in part in repayment for the damage he does them while on his quest. He also crosses swords with many other experts in Japan's martial arts, but it is his early encounter with a Buddhist priest that puts him on the path which will forever after guide his life. Musashi ultimately finds his grail in a duel to the death with a man called Kojiro, who will become his greatest opponent, a sword master famous for his "swallow cut" -- a stroke so fast and deadly that it can slice a swooping, looping bird out of the air in mid-flight. This alone is a challenge worthy of the master which Musashi has become -- and a match which even he may not be up to, for this opponent is surely the finest technician in his art in all Japan. But there is more to swordsmanship than technical skill, as Musashi has learned, and there is more to living one's life than merely preserving it. Musashi attains a sort of peace in preparation for his climactic bout, for he is willing to risk all and even die in order to win against the master of the swallow cut, while applying all the strategy he has learned throughout his tumultuous career to unsettle the man who will oppose him. In the end Musashi became a legend to his countrymen, composing the famous Book of Five Rings -- his contribution to the art of strategy. But what he and Kojiro must do when they finally face each other is a tale in itself -- and a denoument towards which everything else in this book ultimately leads.
By the way, there are a whole slew of good books out there for those into good historical fiction, including a brand new one by Jeff Janoda called SAGA: A NOVEL OF MEDIEVAL ICELAND which details the events surrounding an intriguing episode in Eyrbyggja Saga (one of the most renowned of the original Norse sagas). It tells the tale of a great feud between two chieftains over a little piece of forested land in a place and time in which wood had become nearly as precious as gold. There are some remarkable resonances between the old samurai culture of medieval Japan and that of the medieval Icelanders, and it's worth exploring them through Janoda's new book.
SWMThe King of Vinland's Saga
Better in Retrospect than I Had Thought! December 10, 1999
79 out of 86 found this review helpful
Written in the early twentieth century, this indigenous Japanese novel recounts the life & times of old Japan's greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi -- a man who began life as an over-eager and rather brutish young lout but who, through the discipline of Japan's "way of the sword," turned himself into a master of his chosen weapon. But this tale is not only one of a life spent in training to perfect the art of killing with a sharpened piece of steel. In the venerable Japanese tradition, it is also about a man's search to conquer himself, to become a better man. The Buddhist view cultivated by the Japanese warrior class allowed for a spiritual dimension to their very bloody enterprise of warfare and killing. And it is this aspect of his training that consumes Musashi, to the detriment of the people he encounters and who seek to attach themselves to him. Unable to settle down in the ordinary way, or to simply join a particular clan as a retainer to some noble lord, Musashi embarks on the life of a ronin (masterless samurai) as he wends his way through the feudal world of medieval Japan in his seemingly endless search for perfection. In the process he finds a young woman who loves him and many enemies who seek his destruction, at least in part in repayment for the damage he does them while on his quest. He also crosses swords with many other experts in Japan's martial arts, but it is his encounter with a Buddhist priest, early on,that ultimately puts him on the right path. In the end Musashi finds his grail in a duel to the death with his greatest opponent, the sword master, Kojiro, famous for his "swallow cut" -- a stroke so fast and deadly that it can slice a swooping, looping bird out of the air in mid-flight. This alone is a challenge worthy of the master which Musashi has become -- and a match which even he may not be up to, for this opponent is surely the finest technician in his art in all Japan. But there is more to swordsmanship than technical skill, as Musashi has learned, and more to living one's life than merely following rules. Musashi attains a sort of peace in preparation for his climactic bout, for he is willing to risk all and even die in order to win against the master of the swallow cut, while applying all the strategy he has learned throughout his tumultuous career to unsettle the man who will oppose him. In the end Musashi lived to a fairly ripe old age and, unlike many of his contemporaries, died in his bed after composing the famous Book of Five Rings -- his own contribution to the art of strategy. I had originally rated this book at four stars only but on re-thinking it I find it continues to live vividly in my mind so that, alone, suggests it had a more powerful resonance than I originally gave it credit for. Certainly there are many levels in any continuum of ranking and many ways of placing anything ranked on that continuum. But in one very serious way, this book deserves a five star ranking, not a four so I am correcting for this now.
 An excellent adventure tale re: Japan's most famous swordsman June 13, 1997
60 out of 62 found this review helpful
Written in the early twentieth century, this indigenous Japanese novel recounts the life & times of old Japan's greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi -- a man who began life as an over-eager and rather brutish young lout but who, through the discipline of Japan's "way of the sword," turned himself into a master of his chosen weapon. But this tale is not only one of a life spent in training to perfect the art of killing with a sharpened piece of steel. In the venerable Japanese tradition, it is also about a man's search to conquer himself, to become a better man. The Buddhist view cultivated by the Japanese warrior class allowed for a spiritual dimension to their very bloody (in western eyes) enterprise of warfare and killing. And it is this aspect of his training that consumes Musashi, to the detriment of the people he encounters and who seek to attach themselves to him. Unable to settle down in the ordinary way, or to simply join a particular clan as a retainer to some noble lord, Musashi embarks on the life of a ronin (masterless samurai) as he wends his way through the feudal world of medieval Japan in his seemingly endless search for perfection. In the process he finds a young woman who loves him and many enemies who seek his destruction, at least in part in repayment for the damage he does them while on his quest. He also crosses swords with many other experts in Japan's martial arts, but it is his encounter with a Buddhist priest that ultimately puts him on the right path. In the end Musashi finds his grail in a duel to the death with his greatest opponent, the sword master famous for his "swallow cut" -- a stroke so fast and deadly that it can slice a swooping, looping bird out of the air in mid-flight. This alone is a challenge worthy of the master which Musashi has become -- and a match which even he may not be up to, for this opponent is surely the finest technician in his art in all Japan. But there is more to swordsmanship than technical skill, as Musashi has learned, and there is more to living one's life than mere technical proficiency. Musashi attains a sort of peace in preparation for his climactic bout, for he is willing to risk all and even die in order to win against the master of the swallow cut, while applying all the strategy he has learned throughout his tumultuous career to unsettle the man who will oppose him. In the end Musashi lived to a fairly ripe old age and, unlike many of his contemporaries, died in his bed after composing the famous Book of Five Rings -- his own contribution to the art of strategy. (And, by the way, The Art of War, another famous book of military strategy was written by the Chinese general Sun T'zu -- not "Lao T'zu.") -- Stuart W. Mirsky (mirsky@ix.netcom.com
A timeless classic February 18, 2000
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I first read this book back in 1982 while a student attending the American School in Japan in Tokyo. The thousand or so pages of text did seem daunting at first but I could not put the book down ater the first few pages. Not only did it provide me with a greater understanding of my own Japanese heritage (I am half Japanese) but it did offer a greater and fundamental insight into what all of us are searching for -- the understanding of the self, way to approach things seen and unseen around us and a calm awareness of life. I have worked and lived throughout the world (Latin America, West/East Europe, and Russia in addition to the US)since my first reading and find that I am able to identify with the local cultures and find that many of the "lessons" garnered from this epic are also interwoven into the ideals of each of culture. It is also interesting to note that "the way" is now commonly referenced in leading business publications and books (read some of the great recent stuff from Tom Peters and you will see what I mean). The search for such understanding goes back to the Iliad but it is possible to trace the development, maturation and blossom of one single person (in this case Musashi) and experience the continous challenges he must face in order to defeat his demons. The combat scene at the Spreading Pine rivals any such related written description of someone working in a difficult situation but under total self control. Whenever I find myself in a difficult situation, I take time and re-read that chapter. Read the "Book of Five Rings" from the pen of Musahi himself next. At the very least, anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding into Japanese culture should read this book.
Utterly moving January 31, 2000
Wilmer E. German (Yokohama, Japan)
14 out of 17 found this review helpful
It is nearly impossible for me to give an even remotely unbiased review of Yoshikawa Eiji's "Musashi" as it simply the greatest saga I've ever read. Set in Feudal Japan, beginning just before the battle of Sekigahara, you follow a naive and undisciplined young man with dreams of becoming a great samurai off to war. He is immediately hit with the reality that being a samurai is not as easy as enlisting for war. His world is thrown into further turmoil when his side loses the "Great Battle" of Sekigahara, leaving him and his best friend, stranded and alone in enemy territory . . . This is just the beginning of the story of Musashi and the quest that eventually transforms him into the great samurai that created the style of fighting with two swords. I so much loved this book that on two occasions, I have found myself vehemently arguing with Japanese acquaintances in Musashi's defense (as a handful historians have disputed Yoshikawa's depiction of Musashi's final duel). Musashi . . . my hero.
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