Musashi: The Way of Life and Death

by Eiji Yoshikawa

They were the two most feared swordsmen of their age: Miyamoto Musashi, mysterious and introspective, and Sasaki Kojiro, a man of arrogance and ambitious. In a nation divided between East and West, each warrior is thrust forward as a hero of bitterly opposing sides. But for Musashi another battle is already raging. While he struggles to understand the Way of Truth, a beautiful woman risks her life to be reunited with him, and his oldest friend is drawn into a horrifying plot to murder the Shogun himself... By the sea, the crowds are gathered, and Kojiro is waiting. Now Musashi must reach a new and breathtaking level of swordsmanship - to win the supreme victory and show his nation the way into a golden age!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Japan, Japanese Literature, Historical

325 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Pen-name of Yoshikawa Hidetsugu. Yoshikawa is well-known for his work as a Japanese historical fiction novelist, and a number of re-makes have been spawned off his work.

In 1960, he received the Order of Cultural Merit.
Eiji Yoshikawa (吉川 英治, August 11, 1892 – September 7, 1962) was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels, most are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Genji, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, many of which he retold in his own style. As an example, the original manuscript of Taiko is 15 volumes; Yoshikawa took up to retell it in a more accessible tone, and reduced it to only two volumes. His other books also serve similar purposes and, although most of his novels are not original works, he created a huge amount of work and a renewed interest in the past. He was awarded the Cultural Order of Merit in 1960 (the highest award for a man of letters in Japan), the Order of the Sacred Treasure and the Mainichi Art Award just before his death from cancer in 1962. He is cited as one of the best historical novelists in Japan.

Reviews

[Ben Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so it is that I've reached the conclusion of Eiji Yoshikawa's "Musashi," a journey that I'm glad to have taken throughout the year.

I have to wonder what my experience would have been had I read the entire work as one long book, rather than dividing it among five mass market paperbacks from the 1980s and spreading out reading it over several months. And yet, sometimes it's difficult to process what it was like to have read this when it was first published in the 1930s over a period of two years. In fact, many of these massive classics were published in serialized editions, and so the authors were financially rewarded with their length.

And I have to admit, I was exhausted by the enormous cast of characters. I had to laugh because many of them return near the end of this particular novel, and many of them remind Musashi (and us, the readers) of who they are. "You may not remember me, but many years ago..." and so it goes. It's as show Eiji Yoshikawa was humble enough to acknowledge the tome he had wrought over a period of two years.

And it's a bit of that meandering and of losing track how much time passes (and in these five divided volumes, I don't feel like any attempt was made to have them read distinctly by themselves except for MAYBE the first one) that prevents me from absolutely falling in love with Musashi as a piece of literature. I don't mind epics, I don't mind "side quests," but I do feel like things got off track on more than a few occasions in a way where I couldn't quite comprehend the purpose.

And yet, for that minor gripe, there are sequences, passages, analogies and themes that are among the best things I've ever read. I have to acknowledge that I'm reading an English translation, but I do feel like the intent of the writer has been preserved, and in isolation, Musashi deserves every accolade imaginable. I would be disappointed if someone who didn't think they would enjoy this piece of literature and wrote it off because it's a samurai book skipped it and missed out on a great work of world literature.

Beyond serving as a great piece of literature, I think it's also important to contextualize a work like this. And I'll be honest, it's kind of crazy to me that Musashi was published during Japan's rise of imperialism and completed while World War II was about to begin, only a couple of years before Pearl Harbor. The message of honor was twisted and perverted beyond recognition, pushing the citizens of Japan, especially those conscripted into military service, to their physical and emotional limits, and needlessly so. Musashi is such a great hero because of his reluctance, his patience, his love for literature and culture and nature and not just fighting. Then again, there are many works of literature where some of the biggest fans can either miss the point entirely or wildly misinterpret things. And while this book may have inspired a sense of Japanese nationalism, embracing its rich culture and history, there are themes of loss and imperfection and introspection that clearly were not on the minds of the generals who sent soldiers to their deaths in the name of their country.

So yeah, it's somehow not perfect, and yet so much more than just a piece of great literature. If I was teaching a world literature course, I realize that the compulsion to recommend the works of Joyce or Dostoyevsky or Marquez might be the first instinct, but I think raising awareness of "Musashi" would go a long way into helping budding readers embrace what fiction can be and how it can endure, and I also think there's plenty of room to offer constructive criticism to separate it from how we feel today. We're allowed to take the best parts of something like "Musashi" and carry it with us.

[Абрахам Хосебр · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Мусаші. Книга п'ята. Небо"
Ейджі Йошікава

В попередньому томі Такедзо спустошує школу Йошіоки, в цьому - Коджіро розправляється зі школою Обати Каґенорі:

" - Слухайте мене, бовдури! Я, Сасакі Коджіро, перейняв стиль фехтування великого Тоди Сейґена після його смерті. Я знаю секрети оголення меча, відкриті Катаямою Хісаясу, я створив власний стиль Ґанрю. Я не з тих, хто копається в трактатах, читає книги чи слухає лекції про китайських полководців чи про «Шість секретів». Душа та воля мої не мають нічого спільного з вами.
Не знаю, що вам втовкмачують у школі, але я дав вам наочний урок військового мистецтва. Я не хвалюся. Подумайте, як вчинив би звичайний чоловік, на якого напали вночі, але він відбився від бандитів? Він поспішив би в безпечне місце, радіючи тому, що вцілів. І ви б тріумфували в затишному куточку.
А як поводився я? Зарубав половину з ваших людей, пішов за тими, хто відступив, і опинився тут - у вас під носом. Чув, як ви обговорювали плани, виснажуючи ваші жалюгідні мізки. Я застиг вас зненацька. Я міг би за бажання прикінчити всіх вас. Таку людину я називаю військовою, а її поведінку — військовою наукою.
Один із вас сказав, що Сасакі Коджіро — простий мечник, що не його розуму справа міркувати про військову школу. Скільки вам доводити, що ви помиляєтесь? Можливо, сьогодні я покажу, що я не лише великий фехтувальник, а й неперевершений знавець тактики."

Цікавий епізодичний персонаж - "полірувальник душ" Коске:

"Будь-хто на місці Мусаші давно пішов би, але господар зацікавив його. У дивному майстрі було щось привабливе — не воля, не розум, а первозданна доброта, яку ви відчуваєте, дивлячись на старовинну кераміку — глечик для саке роботи Карацу чи чайну чашку Нонко. У Коске на скроні була пляма, подібна до щербинок на керамічних речах, які підкреслюють їхнє земне походження.
Мусаші з зростаючим інтересом придивлявся до майстра."

В Міямото з'являється новий учень - сирота Йорі з яким він на два роки стає землеробом і обробляє город, в той час як Оцу знаходиться в полоні Матахачі, а Джотаро стає названим сином торговця. Отака вона логічно-нелогічна японська література...
Аж в цьому розділі з'являється племінник великого Яґю, котрий, вірогідно разом з Коджіро тепер стане головним суперником Мусаші.
Ця частина досить медитативна, тут багато пейзажів, статики і це цікавий контраст.

[Charly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have wanted to read this since the 90s when I was introduced to samurai movies and the folk-hero of Musashi Miyamoto. This story is billed as "the 'Gone with the Wind' of Japan," and marketed as a competitor of 'Shogun.' I haven't read 'Gone with the Wind' (yet), but this fictionalized account of the life of Musashi is several magnitudes better than 'Shogun.' However, given how terrible 'Shogun' is, that bar is very low.

I found this story simple and engaging, but the multitude of characters and extraordinary frequency of chance and fortuitous meetings detracted from the intended epic scope of the novel. Further, the dozens (hundreds?) of pages spent on tangential characters spoiled the flow of the journey to the ultimate showdown between swordsmen.

Not bad, overall, but still a disappointment. 3.5 stars

[M●13RA · Rating 5 out of 5]

8.8/10

[S. Kallahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2021 but forgot to post.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost as amazing as the other 4 books in the series. Considering it's the final book in the series, it's understandable that the author needs to wrap up all of the side character's stories. The book uses most of it's time on the other characters in the series, which leaves less about Musashi than I would have wanted.

I can also see if some readers might think that the ending might be a bit abrupt. I, however, found the ending to be satisfying enough, although, I admit I am curious what his life would consist of after the climax of the whole series.

Make sure to get the Charles S. Terry translation of the series; I have not encountered a more talented translator when it comes to Japanese Fiction.

[Angel Wright-Sackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't find this book in up in "Upstate New York". His books are powerfully written and historically accurate, written in a time that led to great such as Akira Kurosawa. Wonderful. Just wish I could get my hands on this one!!!!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic ending to a most epic samurai saga, and 110% satisfied with how things wrapped up. Officially obsessed.