Musashi Read-a-long: Part 2- Water

Musashi- An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era
by Eiji Yoshikawa

In Book 2: Water, our hero, after his life changing experience during his three years of imprisonment, has set out to improve his skills as a swordman and, of course, it will not be without conflicts. If you wander into these various schools and challenge them, often ending up killing some of their best and brightest, you may make some enemies and this is the situation Musashi finds himself in.

As an aside, the lack of any sort of concern about the many very bloody, violent killings in this chapter is interesting. I think I have mentioned before that many in Japan, to this day, see this book, these stories, as some sort of common national story, as speaking to their identity as a people. So I really wonder how they see the very casual attitude toward deadly violence that is certain an integral part of this section.

But on a lighter note, I am happy to say that this chapter saw the reappearance of several of my favorite characters, including Otsu, still nursing her unrequited love for Musashi. Or is it really unrequited? Perhaps not... There is also a brief reappearance of his friend Matahachi, he who ran off with the older woman in book 1, and Matahachi's mother, who blames Musashi for her son's disappearance. The introduction of a new source of some humor, the boy Jotaro, who has become Musashi's student and sort of son figure, was good, but best of all is the return, at the very end of this second book, of my favorite monk,Takuan.

I must be honest and say that I did not like section as much as I liked the first, mostly for a reason that I feared when I started the book. There are a LOT of new characters and I must admit I had a bit of a problem keeping them all straight. I finally decided that it might not be necessary to keep them all straight but rather just go with the flow so long as I get the overall story and just focus on the central reoccurring characters....pretty much all of the ones I mention in the last paragraph. I think a lot of these others will end up dead, with their heads smashed or stabbed through with a sword, so not to worry about remembering them all.

And once again, I loved how this section ended, with the wise young monk Takuan warning Otsu where the pursuit of her love for Musashi may lead her. I must find out how this turns out, so I soldier on to the next ...Book 3...Fire!

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Musashi Readalong...Part I...at last!

Musashi- An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era
by Eiji Yoshikawa
translated by Charles S. Terry
ISBN 978-0068598510, 970 pages

You know, in really life I am never late.
In BlogLand, such is not the case.
As a participant in the Musashi Readalong, hosted by the always amusing Jenners at Life...With Books, my first post should have been up on  October 2. The problem was, I did not start reading the book until last night.
Did I also mention that I am a World Class Procrastinator?

So last night, I lifted the Big Hulking Book, rested it on a pillow to bear some of the weight, and before you know it, I was lost in the world of the 17th century Japan and the exciting life of our hero Musashi. Why was I waiting?
I will not recap the plot again. If you have not yet, run right over to Jenners' post and give it a read. She does a great job of summing up the plot of Book 1-Earth.

Ok..maybe a brief rehash.

In the course of about 100 pages, 100 page turning pages, we meet our hero as he awakens, wounded, left for dead on a battle field littered with bodies. He and his friend are saved by a woman and her daughter who make their living stealing from the dead, the same friend who then abandons him to run off with the two women. He tries to return home, is set upon by the villagers (seems be was not that popular a fellow before he left and less so now), sought after by 200 soldiers in the hills where he hides, only to be captured by a Buddhist monk. And what a wonderful character that monk is...perhaps my favorite so far and I do hope that is not the last we see of him. Once again our hero escapes, with the help of his friend's, he of the battlefield, fiance, only to be captured once again by that pesky young monk and imprisoned for three years...which evolves into the positive turning point in his life. He emerges into the light of the sun with a new name and a new purpose...and ends part one abandoning that young woman who has literally waited by the bridge where they pledge to meet for three years.Wow...

I will admit that this book scared me a bit. It is big...and it is about 17th century Japan, the world of the samurai, not my usual read. It is filled with Japanese names and Japanese places, neither of which I am good at remembering...and it is big. But trust me, that is not an issue open you start reading. There are not that many characters presented at a time and each is so well drawn, so distinct, that it is easy to keep them straight. As to the length of the book, it is also not an issue. The entire Epic is divided into 7 Books and in turn each Book is divided into fairly short chapters, each perfect for a quick read. Which is only fitting because when the author wrote this book in the 1930's it was originally published in serial form.

The character of Miyamoto Musashi is a real historical figure, as, I understand, are many of the other characters and incidents in the book. Which makes it all the most interesting...and I am all for getting one's history through fiction whenever possible.

My take so far...an exciting page-turning story, totally readable and very well written, with great characters and the noble feeling that you are actually gaining some historical knowledge! I can't wait for the next part...and hopefully will read it and get my post up on time.

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