Musashi

De: Eiji Yoshikawa, Charles S. Terry - translator

Narrado por: Brian Nishii

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 the left nor to the 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 those who follow 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 by whom he has been touched. Inevitably, he has to pit his skill against the naked blade of his greatest rival.

Musashi is a novel in the best tradition of Japanese storytelling. It is a living story, subtle and imaginative, teeming with memorable characters, many of them historical. Interweaving themes of unrequited love, misguided revenge, filial piety, and absolute dedication to the way of the samurai, it depicts vividly a world Westerners know only vaguely. Full of gusto and humor, it has an epic quality and universal appeal.

©1971 Fumiko Yoshikawa (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Good Historical Novel

Musashi is a good historical novel. It recounts in great detail the life of Miyamoto Musashi the famous samurai. The story often feels as if it were cowritten by Charles Dickens and Akira Kurosawa. That’s a good thing. There’s a huge cast of interesting characters that cross paths in surprising was over many years. The path of Musashi from a young, irresponsible hothead into the great swordsman of legend is a wonderful journey to follow.

Yet in my opinion it’s about 10 hours too long. At a certain point it seemed that storylines were being recycled and tedious, irrelevant events were being given too much time. As the story ended villainous characters suddenly had magical, positive changes of heart that seemed to have more to do with a diminishing page count than an actual moral enlightenment. And much of the cast of characters don’t have a satisfying resolution to their arcs. You just don’t really know what happened to them. After fifty some hours of prose I expect to know what their fates are in some way.

I also didn’t go for the preface that pretty much denigrates a better book, Shogun, in an effort to cast this book in a positive light. You shouldn’t knock down a peer to make yourself look better.

This book is good, but it’s got problems. I would actually recommend watching the Samurai Trilogy that stars the great Toshiro Mifune that was adapted from this novel instead of reading or listening to the book as it’s a better constructed piece as a whole.

Amazing book!!!

I was so engaged throughout and the narrator did an incredible job capturing the vibe of each scene. As far as the author, words could not do this book any justice. One of the best books I’ve ever read! I’m a martial artist (*jiu Jitsu) so this book spoke to my soul! Great book!

EXCELLENT! Bravo! Encore!

I was a bit intimidated by the enormity of 53 hours and 24 minutes of read time and never having had a pleasure of encountering another work by the translator, I had my doubts. I have read enough written works translated from one language to another to know that sometimes things get lost in the translation. In any case, it must have been a daunting task for the translator, but lucky for me, he delivered the story in English flawlessly and with fluidly. Eiji Yoshikawa wrote this fantastic and fascinating book and the translator, Charles S. Terry, gave it a life in English.

When the story began, I was immediately transported to my youth watching the movie version of the book. As a child, though I did not speak nor understand Japanese, I absolutely loved the movie. I did learn a bit of Japanese words here and there, but that was many years ago and unfortunately those words remained in the distant memories. The book sprung back to life as soon as I started it, and I was totally devoured by it. This is one of the best books I have purchased.

I gather that the narrator, Brian Nishii must be a master of both English and Japanese. His annunciation of both Japanese and English words seamlessly combined and his vivid rendition of each character brings the book to life. He is a very gifted voice actor indeed. It is simply impressive that he did this fully in control, delivering each word evenly and succinctly from beginning to the end, all 53 plus hours through the book. As if this is not enough, he also chants, albeit for a short time!

This is an excellent example of a book done very well; the author, the translator and the presenter. Thank you!

a journey through Japanese culture and mindset

if you've watched Samurai Shamploo, this book takes the characters on a similar journey around Japan. The narrator always describes some history, surroundings and customs of villages and regions at the time. as for Musashi, this is not an action packaked novel, and that might confuse some. It's more of a self growth journey following the way of the samurai. just like learning stuff from coaching books in a zen-like style with swords beside you. If personal growth and japanese culture is your thing, this book is magic.

My criticism might be around the dialogues. I think the translation from Japanese to English makes it sound weird. I also felt most of the characters had the same personality, all talked in the same manner. Just trying to say the book could have used more character creation.

but a classic hero story that follows all elements perfectly

Excellent story, moral and philosophical concepts!

An excellent perspective of Buddhist moral and philosophical concepts, most of which are relevant today'. I wish I could get my 14 year old to read this.