God, he's so good. In my list of knights without fear and reproach, which every girl creates by stringing a garland of book and film characters on a virtual thread (even if she has not been a girl for a long time, and the heroes are not quite knights): Ivanhoe. Robin Hood, Alan from "Kidnapped", de Bussy and Athos, Mr. Rochester, Mr. Darcy, Heathcliff, Gatsby - my list of additions. Musashi’s final work before his death, the Dokkodu, provides 21 precepts, rules for life which still apply today. These rules helped Musashi walk his path to glory while retaining his honor as a legend of Japan. 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. Not knowing what to expect, I came away from each sitting contemplating the chapter(s) I had just read, feeling there were lessons to learn. Otsu, a childhood friend of Mushashi (who is then known as Takezo), follows him across the country, trying to find him, win him over and convince him to show her love.

Musashi – Book 1: The Way of the List of main characters in ‘Musashi – Book 1: The Way of the

The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him.” Incidentally, both Yoshikawa and Tolkien are born in 1892. The Hobbit came out in 1937, while Musashi came out in 1935.)) Time Skip: Takezō's transformation into Musashi involves 3 years interned in Himeji Castle learning the classics. It's covered quite briefly. Written for a Japanese audience who would be steeped in the ethos of Musashi. From a European eye there are a lot of strange things going on, but they give fascinating insight into Musashi's culture.

Some of his early conflicts seem contrived, but that’s part of the game. He challenges one dojo because he doubts its method of the sword, and there’s a great showdown where he takes on 15 warriors and inadvertently develops the two-sword technique for which he is best remembered today. This much loved epic, which originally appeared as a series of Japanese newspaper installments in the 1930s, chronicles the rise of one of Japan's greatest samurai and swordsmen, Miyamoto Musashi. Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Musashi was the Trope Codifier in Real Life. He uses them a lot in the novel, too, but not all the time. In the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Sekigahara, two very young samurai friends rise to consciousness and find they are injured but have survived the battle. Shinmen Takezō, in time, will find himself a ronin and a violent one at that. He is finally beaten by a monk named Takuan, tied up for several days, and, finally, spending 3 years in captivity studying and reading. When Takezō emerges, he adopts the name Miyamoto Musashi and undertakes an epic journey to find the Way of the Sword. The book ends with his famous battle against Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryujima.

Books by Miyamoto Musashi (Author of A Book of Five Rings) Books by Miyamoto Musashi (Author of A Book of Five Rings)

Este es sólo el primer volumen de una saga de aventuras que describe las costumbres, creencias y formas de vida de este Japón de guerreros y monjes. 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. 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.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!). To start off with the obvious; 53 hours is too long. I feel as though this story could have been cut down into 20 hours and it would have still had all of it's major beats and all the more exciting and important events still in there. This is a samurai whose full name sounds like Shinman Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara-no-Harunobu, but he is better known to the world by the short Miyamoto Musashi and, despite that. that the person is legendary, quite existed in reality. He lived in the sixteenth century, became famous as an invincible swordsman, on his account a record number of duels won. 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. Miyamoto Musashi, which was one of several names of a very important figure in Japanese history, lived from the end of the sixteenth into the seventeenth century. He was a true renaissance man in that he was an exceptional strategist, swordsman and social philosopher who also painted, sculpted and wrote. I cannot think of a comparable figure from the West with the possible exception of Leonardo Da Vinci. He and Musashi were incredibly accomplished in a variety of areas but their emphases were clearly quite different.

Musashi : An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era - Google Books

The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things.” The novel has been translated into English by Charles S. Terry, with a foreword by Edwin O. Reischauer, published by Kodansha International under ISBN 4-7700-1957-2. 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... It's not just Musashi, either. Matahachi, Osugi, Akemi, and even Kojirō all manage to become somewhat more respectable people by the end of the novel. The lone Samurai is a book about Musashi – as much as history permits us to know. There isn’t enough information to complete a picture of Musashi. Some trivial information exists, like, Musashi having eczema. Because of this The Lone Samurai fills the gaps of Musashi’s life with Japanese history and cross-referenced works of parallel figures.Perhaps along with "Shogun" this is one of the most well-known books steeped in the history and concepts of Japan in the time of the Shoguns. I truly enjoyed all aspects of it- from the story, to the martial arts ideas and even insights into humanity. But it is also a great adventure, a coming of age and, darkly, a tale of humor. As I have already mentioned, the story's unspoken reliance on extraordinary coincidences is probably my biggest problem with Musashi as a whole. With an entire country to explore, the way our protagonist bumps into the same 4 or 5 characters dozens of times throughout the story just led to such a stale overarching sense of progress and development. Yagyu Sekishusai (former Muneyoshi) – aging master of the Yagyu style of swordsmanship, lord of Koyagyu fief As for the setting and the themes, they are definitely the strongest part of the story. Those that are interested in period Japanese culture or want to see the morals and ethics of Sun Tzu's 'The Art Of War' exemplified in a fictional epic - you will certainly find more in this book than I did. But be aware, as stated above, that there is a LOT of fluff and filler surrounding that which you are looking for. All told, then, this is a big, ambitious book that works throughout to entertain. It’s fun, almost relentlessly fun, but it also pushes its underlying faith: in a confusing, Modern world, we have something to learn from the best of the generations before us.