Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era

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I don’t now Japanese literature and culture well enough, but I get the impression that, as a consequence, he also created a new genre of Japanese literature. I see all sorts of familiar tropes here, characters and themes I recognize out of Saturday morning karate movies by way of Kurosawa. In some ways, this is the blueprint for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, complete with the hero who follows the way of the sword, his chaste lover, and the old crone who’s sworn vengeance on him. Miyamoto Musashi fue un famoso samurai que lucho en varias guerras del periodo Edo, el Japón feudal. Musashi era mucho más que un guerrero, pues no solo luchaba con destreza e inteligencia si no que destacaba en distintas artes como la literatura, la pintura, la estrategia militar o el diseño de jardines.

The Dandy: Kojirō is always dressed in flashy, elegant clothing that makes him look "like a kabuki player", as Jōtarō puts it. This is in contrast with the scruffy, unkempt Musashi.This is a great concept for a graphic novel that doesn't quite come together in execution for me. Granted, this may be largely because I'm pretty ignorant as to the life and history of Musashi himself, but as someone who loves graphic novels and loves history I thought this attempt to unite the two would be entertaining at worst and illuminating at best. For those who aren't familiar with Edo period Japan and the path of the sword, as well as those who're only familiar with them through anime and manga, it'd be good to understand that, although things weren't as wild and inhumane as in medieval Japan. we're talking about an era and culture where the roles in society were still fixed and hopeless. There were lords, farmers, vendors, and samurai, each having their own advantages and disadvantages. A samurai for example was identified with his honor and he was free to exercise his right to kill whoever insulted him, however light this so-called insult might have been (you could sneeze at the wrong time and lose your head!). Musashi is offered a position as reatiner to the Tokugawa governor, but instead decides to journey across Japan to hone his swordsmanship. To do this Musashi does more than practice drawing and swinging a sword. To achieve this he studies calligraphy, painting, sculprture, agriculture, and music, all in the the pursuit of perfection as a swordsman. I realize the simplicity of the writing might fit the underlying Japanese values but I think it really did not reflect the complexities of the society and the characters it is trying to describe. It seems to me people in traditional Japan would have more on their mind than Miyamoto alone... Defiled Forever: With Akemi, the novel goes to great lengths to show that no, non-virtuous girls (even if they aren't really responsible for their lot in the first place) don't deserve a good life. Also played with with notorious whoremongering Matahachi, who ends up with said defiled Akemi, while Musashi gets virtuous Otsū.

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 two have many adventures, with their paths crossing many times over the coming years. Otsu makes friends wherever she goes and gains a great many admirers, but her heart always belongs to Musashi. Musashi encounters a young man named Jo and takes him in as a student. Jo eventually encounters his own father and the pair return to the way of the samurai. Musashi later takes in another student, this one named Iori. In truth, Iori is Otsu's younger brother though Otsu was abandoned by her parents long before Iori was born. Iori, having learned the identity of his sister, is frustrated with his inability to catch up with her or to return to his teacher, Musashi. It is a fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings and arguably the most renowned Japanese swordsman who ever lived.The themes the book explores focus on tradition, family, revenge and acceptance. All very grand in design but work in context of the story. Characters I hate early on become targets of pity, while characters I love turn into villains. Although I'm glad I read this novel and still think it's worth reading, I feel it would have been better if:

Think of this room as your mother's womb and prepare to be born anew. If you look at it only with your eyes, you will see nothing more than an unlit, closed cell. But look again, more closely. Look with your mind and think. This room can be the wellspring of enlightenment, the same fountain of knowledge found and enriched by sages in the past. It is up to you to decide whether this is to be a chamber of darkness or one of light." (p. 184) This novel tells the story of Japan's most famous samurai, Musashi Miyamoto, his best friend Matahatchi, his love interest Otsu and the many many other characters he encounters as he attempts to master the Way of the Sword.

This premise is what sold me on the book. I wanted a slow-burn Samurai adventure story. And, in a way, I got too much of what I was looking for - as well as some things that I definitely could have done with less of. Overall, I enjoyed this long novel very much. It was very entertaining, easy to read, with plenty of hilarious moments, and a large cast of eccentric and colourful characters from a variety of walks in life. Habibi, foreign artist, English writer, done right. This? Is utter crap. Fine, you don't have to make it fantastical and fanciful but make the factual parts functional and fun!

The Epic: Tells the story of how the legend of Miyamoto Musashi, the greatest swordfighter ever in Japan, was forged.The style reminded me of "Don Quixote" by Cervantes. An epic adventure following the main character as they travel all throughout their native lands. Musashi is full of violence and humor and can often be very deep in terms of life lessons or even Zen ideas. As Musashi learns more about the arts, he learns more about himself. In time he will use this knowledge to develop a two-sword style that was utterly new for the period. It was originally released as a serial in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, between 1935 and 1939. It has been re-released in book format (first fully-compiled publication by Fumiko Yoshikawa in 1971), most of which are collections of several volumes, which compile the many newspaper strips. With an estimated 120 million copies sold, [1] it is one of the best-selling book series in history. Having finished this, it feels like I've been on an epic journey. It was an intimidatingly long book, but after six months or so I'm finally done. Celibate Hero: Musashi, who doesn't enter a relationship (mentioned in the books) until the end, when he finally gives in to dogged nice girl Otsū. That he was a master of the blade there is no doubt, and that he lived a solitary life seems to be the story of the man. Time alone allowed him to think and meditate, to explore within himself the reflection of the outside world so as to better understand it. But things such as where he was born and where he studied both the sword and writing and philosophy, these are all mysteries that it is beyond the ken of this book to illuminate.