The Remarkable History of the Yagyu Clan

By: William De Lange

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

This is the true story of the eventful history of the famous Yagyū clan—a story that began during the early heady days of the Genkō Rebellion (1331–33), when emperor Go-Daigo sought to restore power to the throne with the support of the Yagyū and other loyal clans. It follows their campaigns on behalf of Go-Daigo's southern court during the Northern and Southern Courts period (1334–1392), and their long and hard struggle to retain their independence when the country rapidly descended into anarchy in the wake of the Ōnin Rebellion (1467–77). This first full Yagyū history in the English language recounts how, through a succession of misfortunes beyond their control, the Yagyū clan first lost its independence, then its castle and domains, until finally its members were thrown upon the mercy of a local temple. Yet it was in the very depth of those bleak and desperate years, that its leader, Yagyū Muneyoshi, discovered his true strength and began his clan's remarkable recovery—a recovery crowned with the ascendancy of his son, Munenori, to the exalted rank of Daimyō. It is perhaps no coincidence that the two Chinese characters that make up the name of Yagyū stand for the willow tree and life, or the giving of birth, for both seem to sum up perfectly the particular characteristics that helped propel this ancient clan to such exalted heights. Like the pliable willow tree, it was their resilience in the face of irresistible forces that enabled the Yagyū to outweather the raging storms of fortune and remain standing, alive and well, their spirit intact. In doing so, the Yagyū gave birth to an art of fencing that has survived for more than five centuries. Among the countless schools of swordsmanship brought forth by Japan's feudal era the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū still stands out for its sheer continuity.

The Author Would be Appalled

While this book begins a century earlier, the narrative generally takes place during the Sengoku Period - and this is great Sengoku history. Anyone familiar with the story or life of Miyamoto Musashi will be acquainted with this clan. The author is an eminent scholar and dives deep.

But the author would surely be appalled at the narration. I've listened to decent Virtual Voice treatments before, but this is not one of them. Almost all Japanese words and names are mispronounced to a certain degree here, but some of them egregiously and distractingly so.

The martial arts school famously developed and promoted by the Yagyu Clan is pronounced throughout as 'shin cage REEoo' - a cartoonish rendering of what should be 'shin kah geh ryu'. But at least we know what phrase is meant here; this is not always the case. For example, who is 'Masidge'? After stopping the book to do a bit of research, this is none other than Kusunogi Masahige ('Ma sa hee geh'). This kind of digging should not be necessary, and I'm sure I missed important details because of it.

There are many such examples, but I will mention just one other. There is a very pivotal outsider who enters the story of the Yagyu Clan, the famous swordsman Kamiizumi Nobutsuna ('No bu tsu na'). I was very much looking forward to his entrance upon the scene. At some point I realized he had already been introduced, but I did not know it because Virtual Voice renders his name as Nobu CENA (like John Cena).

Hopefully this book gets an updated Virtual Voice treatment. Until then, I simply cannot recommend this audiobook.

Excellent story

The mis-pronunciation of Japanese names and references is so distracting it destroys what would otherwise be a wonderful listen. Audible please have this redone with a narrator that understands Jspanese. Someone like Brian Nishii who is brilliant!!