is a Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 novel written by Eiji Yoshikawa

Eiji Yoshikawa

was a Japanese historical novelist, probably one of the best and most famous authors in the genre. Among his most well-known novels, most are revisions of past works. 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...

 and serialized in 1935 in Asahi Shimbun

Asahi Shimbun

The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...

.

Introduction

It is a fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi

, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...

, author of The Book of Five Rings

The Book of Five Rings

is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts in general, written by the samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi circa 1645. There have been various translations made over the years, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than only that of martial artists: for instance, some business leaders find its...

and arguably the most renowned Japanese swordsman who ever lived.

The novel has been translated into English by Charles S. Terry

Charles S. Terry

Charles S. Terry was an American translator and academic in the fields of Japanese history, art, and literature.Born in Laurel, Mississippi in 1926, Terry would go on to graduate from Duke University. He first began to study Japanese while serving in the United States Navy during World War II...

, with a foreword by Edwin O. Reischauer

Edwin O. Reischauer

Edwin Oldfather Reischauer was the leading U.S. educator and noted scholar of the history and culture of Japan, and of East Asia. From 1961–1966, he was the U.S. ambassador to Japan.-Education and academic life:...

. Published by Kodansha International ISBN 4-7700-1957-2.

The long epic (over 900 pages, abridged, in the English version) comprises seven "books" detailing the exploits of Miyamoto Musashi, beginning just after the battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

, following his journeys and the many people who become important in his life, and leading up to his climactic duel with Sasaki Kojiro

Sasaki Kojiro

was a prominent Japanese swordsman widely considered as a Kensei, born in Fukui Prefecture. He lived during the Sengoku and early Edo periods and is most remembered for his death while battling Miyamoto Musashi in 1612.-History:...

 on Ganryujima (Ganryu or Funa Island). Musashi becomes famous during the course of the novel as he searches for both perfection in swordsmanship and in consciousness. Innovating Japanese swordsmanship, he invents the style of simultaneously wielding both the katana

Katana

A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...

 and the wakizashi

Wakizashi

The is one of the traditional Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan.-Description:...

, something unheard of at that time in Japanese history.

Book 1 - Earth

• The Little Bell
• The Comb
• The Flower Festival
• The Dowager's Wrath
• The Art of War
• The Old Cryptomeria Tree
• The Rock and the Tree
• The Birth of Musashi

Book 2 - Water

• The Yoshioka School
• The Wheel of Fortune
• Encounter and Retreat
• The Water Sprite
• A Spring Breeze
• The Hōzōin
• Hannya Plain
• The Koyagyū Fief
• The Peony
• Jōtarō's Revenge
• The Nightingales

Book 3 - Fire

• Sasaki Kojirō
• Reunion in Osaka
• The Handsome Young Man
• The Seashell of Forgetfulness
• A Hero's Passing
• The Drying Pole
• Eagle Mountain
• The Mayfly in Winter
• The Pinwheel
• The Flying Horse
• The Butterfly in Winter
• The Announcement
• The Great Bridge at Gojō Avenue

Book 4 - Wind

• The Withered Field
• A Man of Parts
• Too Many Kojirōs
• The Younger Brother
• A Mother's Love
• The Urbane Craftsman
• Reverberations in the Snow
• The Elegant People
• The Broken Lute
• A Sickness of the Heart
• The Scent of Aloeswood
• The Gate
• A Toast to the Morrow
• The Death Trap
• A Meeting in the Moonlight
• Stray Geese
• The Spreading Pine
• An Offering for the Dead
• A Drink of Milk
• Entwining Branches
• The Male and Female Waterfalls

Book 5 - Sky

• The Abduction
• The Warrior of Kiso
• Poisonous Fangs
• A Maternal Warning
• A One-Night Love Affair
• A Gift of Money
• A Cleansing Fire
• Playing with Fire
• A Cricket in the Grass
• The Pioneers
• Slaughter by the Riverside
• Shavings
• The Owl
• A Plate of Loaches
• Like Teacher, Like Pupil
• Mountain Devils
• First Planting
• The Flies
• The Soul Polisher
• The Fox
• An Urgent Letter
• Filial Piety
• Spring Shower in Red
• A Block of Wood
• The Deserted Prophet
• The Talk of the Town

Book 6 - Sun And Moon

• A Chat with the Men
• Buzzing Insects
• The Eagle
• Green Persimmons
• Eyes
• Four Sages with a Single Light
• The Locust Tree
• Tadaaki's Madness
• The Poignancy of Things
• Two Drumsticks
• The Demon's Attendant
• Brother Disciples
• The Pomegranate
• Land of Dreams
• The Challenge
• The Gateway to Glory
• The Sound of Heaven

Book 7 - The Perfect Light

• The Runaway Ox
• Hemp Seed
• Sweepers and Salesmen
• A Pear Blossom
• The Port
• The Writing Teacher
• The Circle
• Shikama Blue
• The Mercy of Kannon
• The Tides of Life
• The Evening Boat
• A Falcon and a Woman
• Before the Thirteenth Day
• At Daybreak
• The Marriage
• The Soul of the Deep

Release details

• Yoshikawa, Eiji. Musashi. Trans. Charles S. Terry. Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1981 (First edition) & 1993 (First paperback edition).
• 1935, Japan, Asahi Shimbun (ISBN NA), Pub date ? ? 1935, Newspaper serial
• 1981, USA, HarperCollins (ISBN 0-06-859851-3), Pub date ? July 1981, Hardcover
• 1995, Japan, Kodansha International (ISBN 4-7700-1957-2), Pub date ? May 1995, Hardcover

See also

• Samurai Trilogy
  Samurai Trilogy
  The Samurai Trilogy is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshirō Mifune as Musashi Miyamoto and Koji Tsuruta as Kojirō Sasaki...
  
   - video adaptation of the novel
• Vagabond
  Vagabond (manga)
  is an ongoing manga by Takehiko Inoue, portraying a fictionalized account of Miyamoto Musashi's life, on a loose adaptation of Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi....
  
  - manga adaptation of the novel