Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa - Review

Musashi
by Eiji Yoshikawa
Publisher: Kodansha International
Publication Date: July 1995
ISBN: 9784770019578
970 Pages
Historical Fiction


Publisher's Description:

The classic samurai novel about the real exploits of the most famous swordsman.

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 lovely Otsu, seeing in Musashi her ideal of manliness, frees him from his tortuous punishment, but he is recaptured and imprisoned. During three years of solitary confinement, he delves into the classics of Japan and China. When he is set free again, he rejects the position of samurai and for the next several years pursues his goal relentlessly, looking neither to left nor to right.

Ever so slowly it dawns on him that following the Way of the Sword is not simply a matter of finding a target for his brute strength. Continually striving to perfect his technique, which leads him to a unique style of fighting with two swords simultaneously, he travels far and wide, challenging fighters of many disciplines, taking nature to be his ultimate and severest teacher and undergoing the rigorous training of tho! se who f ollow the Way. He is supremely successful in his encounters, but in the Art of War he perceives the way of peaceful and prosperous governance and disciplines himself to be a real human being.

He becomes a reluctant hero to a host of people whose lives he has touched and been touched by. And, inevitably, he has to pit his skill against the naked blade of his greatest rival.


My Opinion:

I read Musashi as part of a readalong with Jenners at Life...With Books. I previously posted about my reading experiences of Book 1, Book 2, and Books 3 & 4. Since I didn't continue to post about the later books in this epic story I wanted to put together a wrap-up review to reflect on my opinion of the book as a whole.

What I liked:

• Learning about Musashi's life.
• Seeing the progression of his skills, philosophy, and personal maturity over the course of the book.
• The story was well written.
• The main characters were well-developed and interesting.
• The story included wit and humor.
• Learning about what life was like for the Japanese people in Musashi's time.
• Entertaining battle scenes.

What I didn't like:

• The length - While the epic length of the story gives a feel for the breadth and depth of Musashi's personal growth and training, it was very long, and there were sections in the middle that I had to work to push through.
• The repetitive plot elements - For the most part the plot elements were interesting and fun to read, but there were certain aspects that were repetitive, such as: Musashi training up a young boy who wanders off and crosses paths with Otsu (who is searching for Musa! shi), an d in general how everyone is always searching for each other with narrow misses - meeting friends of those they are looking for without knowing who they are.
• The abrupt ending. You know who wins the battle, but you don't get to find out what happens to Musashi in his personal life.
• The many supporting character names that were hard to remember/distinguish.

Overall Musashi was a good historical fiction read, but it took some dedication on my part to make it through. Although it was a real page turner in the beginning (for about the first 200 pages), the pace did slow in the middle of the book.

Musashi's life and the culture that he lived in were fascinating, however, I rarely felt like I was sucked into the story on a deeper level (that experience you get when you are reading and the real world slips away while the story comes to life). I think that part of the reason this was difficult for me was because there were so many unfamiliar character names to remember, and I would get jolted out of the story by my inability to remember who a certain character was.

I did feel like I learned a lot about what the life of a samurai was like in Musashi's time, and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the samurai and the samurai lifestyle.

Rating: 4/5















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