Musashi: Amazon.ca: Eiji Yoskikawa: Books

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Review

"... has sold over 120 million copies in Japan, and one can see why." -- Publishers Weekly

"..a stirring saga ..one that will prove popular not only for readers interested in Japan but also for those who simply want a rousing read." -- Washington Post Book World

"A captivating work." -- Atlanta Journal/Constitution

"A captivating work." -- Atlanta Journal / Constitution

"A stirring saga." -- Washington Post Book World

"Dramatic and exciting." -- Philadelphia Bulletin

"Dramatic and exciting." -- Philadelphia Bulletin

"In all ways everything you might expect of a Japanese epic." -- Jan Morris

"The Gone with the Wind of Japan." -- Edwin 0. Reischauer --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Book Description

When a Zen priest saves Musashi after the Battle of Sekigahara and confines him in solitude to train and discipline his mind and spirit, Musashi attempts to become the greatest samurai in Japan.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
Takezo lay among the corpses. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

93 Reviews

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.9 out of 5 stars (93 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Entertaining Tale, May 19 2004

By

D.Ma (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Musashi (Hardcover)

Eiji Yoshikawa did a marvelous job combining the figures from that era in Japan's history into an exciting and thought provoking book. I first read this when I was in elementary school and I must say it has partly influenced me from that point forward. It made me think about my work ethics in school and appreciate the benefits of hard work and staying focused. Now I'm a few years out of University and I still think back to the lessons I learnt from this book.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Push life to an extreme, Jun 11 2004

By

Tianzhi Yang "bystander" (NY,NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Musashi (Hardcover)

The philosophy of life for a real swordsman is to view the world as an obstacle that must be cut through in order to reach the destiny.

It's not hatred, in fact he respects his enemies and in some sense loves them. And he cut through his enemies in such respect.

However my opinion is that after cut through all the obstacles this attitude becomes his final shackle that he can't throw away.

He had mad a painting of a bird standing on the top of leafless tree. I guess this mirrors his own life,too.

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5.0 out of 5 stars a moving epic, samurai, Zen and how to be a legend, Feb 27 2004

By

S. HONG "bookmant" (mars red sector) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Musashi (Hardcover)

this is a great book over 900 pages in the hardback edition but about a third into the epic i looked at the "remainder" and thought it could be a lot longer!

the story begins at "ground zero" as it were for best friends takezo - later to be musashi - and matahachi, both young men out to prove themselves and earn their place in the world, dreaming of becoming "rich and famous" quickly by joining the army to fight a big battle at Segikihara. they lost.

from the same starting point the two lives diverged significantly. takezo, a brash if not violent youth, was to realise that might is not right and there are things larger than himself with "help" from takuan soho, a monk, who seemed to be walking about the country trying to save people from themselves.

the transformation into musashi began in theory as it were - having being "imprisoned" in a room of a castle. cut off from the "real" world takezo read and study texts such as art of war for three years. when he emerged he is given the name musashi miyamoto and began his journey of way of the sword.

sword fights and duels are quite graphic but no buckets of blood. the death of a 13year old challenger may shock but not if understood from musashi's point of view.

woven closely is the love story between musashi and otsu, the once-betrothed of matahachi. there is also the hate-story of osugi, the mother of matahachi, and musashi. single-minded and always praying for justice, osugi chased musashi all over seeking revenge on him and otsu. but, true to japanese storytelling, there are not clear cut good or evil characters.

matahachi's misadventures of lazy drunkeness drifts from dreams of glory, masquarading as a well-known samurai, and a would-be assassin. a downward spiral. although musashi's elevated path led him to notoriety and "self-improvement", he too realised that he is also "too" human with his own failings.

in the end each went through a "hell" of their own making to perhaps find redemption.

definitely worth a second or third reading...now if only i read japanese

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of insights
This is a great book not just because of the action, characters, samurai spirit, etc., but also it gives the reader a lot of insights to the human nature and how to live a life... Read more

Published on Sep 1 2003 by pokian