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Musashi (Unabridged) #1
Musashi: Book One - Earth, Water & Fire
A new and unabridged 3-book translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling novel about Miyamoto Musashi—the most famous swordfighter in Japanese history!
This is the first book of Musashi: The Novel, a sweeping three-book unabridged translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling masterpiece—Japan's most beloved historical novel. Masterfully translated for the first time in its entirety by Alexander Bennett, this vivid and fast-paced story reveals the exploits and inner life of a man who finds not only his true purpose but also his humanity.
Book One opens in the year 1600 at the Battle of Sekigahara, a scene of unimaginable carnage where Musashi lies wounded on the battlefield. After being imprisoned for three years, he wanders the countryside aimlessly as a vagabond, desperate to make a name for himself. He becomes a dueling Ronin—a swordfighter without a master. And while his destiny seems clear, to achieve it he must leave his old life behind.
This is the first book of Musashi: The Novel, a sweeping three-book unabridged translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling masterpiece—Japan's most beloved historical novel. Masterfully translated for the first time in its entirety by Alexander Bennett, this vivid and fast-paced story reveals the exploits and inner life of a man who finds not only his true purpose but also his humanity.
Book One opens in the year 1600 at the Battle of Sekigahara, a scene of unimaginable carnage where Musashi lies wounded on the battlefield. After being imprisoned for three years, he wanders the countryside aimlessly as a vagabond, desperate to make a name for himself. He becomes a dueling Ronin—a swordfighter without a master. And while his destiny seems clear, to achieve it he must leave his old life behind.
576 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2026
About the author
Eiji Yoshikawa
564 books801 followersPen-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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 14, 2026
A masterpiece of philosophy and tranquility
June 6, 2026
Wow this took me a long time to get through. I was so happy to finally get an unabridged translation of this story. But woof, does this translation have some issues. Thankfully they weren't dealbreakers.
The biggest thing is the translator's constant use of British colloquialisms. I understand the translator is British, but when the story takes place in 17th century Japan, it feels weird and unnatural for people to say any of the following (real examples I noted throughout the book): blighter, blimey, plonker, lass/laddy, cuppa, damn and blast, bugger, bloke, numpties, or bloody hell. I also enjoyed when one character dropped the French phrase chef-d’oeuvre. You know, the common phrase peasants in feudal Japan used. In general, peasants in this book talked like Victorian London street urchins, and it kinda took me out of things. I kept imagining character's talking with Audrey Hepburn's horrible accent in My Fair Lady. Which, once again, is weird for people in 17th century Japan.
Tangentially related, I was also completely blindsided to read the sentence "That naughty little monkey... You should jolly well spank it... Yeah, spank that monkey..." in reference to a literal monkey. Followed shortly by the sentence "Once I get myself a woman, I'll probably forget all about spanking that monkey." So clearly, the double entendre was intentional. Was still like "Wait, what?" when reading it.
Overall, I'll take what I can get to have an unabridged translation of this story. A bit of a monkey's paw, because it still felt like a slog at times. Great story, and I love Eiji Yoshikawa's sidebar Japanese history/culture lessons. Will continue the trilogy... eventually.
The biggest thing is the translator's constant use of British colloquialisms. I understand the translator is British, but when the story takes place in 17th century Japan, it feels weird and unnatural for people to say any of the following (real examples I noted throughout the book): blighter, blimey, plonker, lass/laddy, cuppa, damn and blast, bugger, bloke, numpties, or bloody hell. I also enjoyed when one character dropped the French phrase chef-d’oeuvre. You know, the common phrase peasants in feudal Japan used. In general, peasants in this book talked like Victorian London street urchins, and it kinda took me out of things. I kept imagining character's talking with Audrey Hepburn's horrible accent in My Fair Lady. Which, once again, is weird for people in 17th century Japan.
Tangentially related, I was also completely blindsided to read the sentence "That naughty little monkey... You should jolly well spank it... Yeah, spank that monkey..." in reference to a literal monkey. Followed shortly by the sentence "Once I get myself a woman, I'll probably forget all about spanking that monkey." So clearly, the double entendre was intentional. Was still like "Wait, what?" when reading it.
Overall, I'll take what I can get to have an unabridged translation of this story. A bit of a monkey's paw, because it still felt like a slog at times. Great story, and I love Eiji Yoshikawa's sidebar Japanese history/culture lessons. Will continue the trilogy... eventually.
June 26, 2026
I enjoyed the story line, and whilst i appreciate that it has been translated, i found the choice of English words and slang a bit all over the place and didn't really give me a feeling of Japanese mannerisms or culture. If you can get past that as a distraction, then you will enjoy the story.
I'm on book 2 now.
I'm on book 2 now.
Review of advance copy
What a great dive into Japanese literature, excited to continue with the rest of the series
April 6, 2026
Ebbs and flows through being fun to read and kinda boring with 90000 million characters too many that you have to keep track of. Not a big deal to me because I am a big Russian literature guy, but I wasn't aware this is what it would be like and it takes some getting used to at first. I liked the small poetic moments that happen, but they do seem to be sandwiched by a lot of stuff you have to wade through first. It's really cool when the text seems to slow down a bit and the characters seem to be more contemplative, I loved this aspect of it. Anyway, I am excited to start the journey, and looking forward to Book 2.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Read my full review here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DoG...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews