Musashi is the tale of
the eponymous historical figure’s early life, beginning with the
aftermath of the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. This was the tail end
of the Warring States period in Japan, which saw the Ashikaga
shogunate totter and fall beneath the widespread warfare between
daimyo (powerful noblemen). Sekigahara saw the forces of two of
these, the Houses of Tokugawa and Toyotomi, clash. Tokugawa won and
claimed supremacy, although the remnant forces of Toyotomi holed up
at Osaka and dreamt of returning to glory.
In this world, there
were many masterless samurai, called ronin, and Musashi was one of
them. Early on he’s little more than a strong and energetic
fighter, but over the course of the book he dedicates himself to the
Way of the Sword and mastering himself. His wandering takes him from
place to place, and the book’s POV sometimes switches to other
significant characters, such as Matahachi (his comrade-in-arms at
Sekigahara), and Otsu (a childhood friend from the same village).
Various places are visited, including Kyoto, Osaka, and the rapidly
expanding city of Edo. Coupled with smaller villages, this presents
the reader with an interesting cultural backdrop including schools of
swordsmanship, pleasure houses, and temples.
The book is large at
970 pages, but I read it faster than most things because I found the
plot intriguing and the writing style easy to read. It perhaps also
helped that the world of early 17th century Japan was
interesting to read about.
The cast is not as
large as might be expected of such a big book, but the author’s
style of drawing together and then dispersing clusters of characters,
interweaving their own personal stories so that every character has
different relationships with one another was very well done. It led
to natural conflicts, allies of convenience, and explains how
Musashi, despite doing his best to act honourably, managed to accrue
quite a number of enemies over the years.
Other characters are
three-dimensional, not merely reacting to Musashi’s own doings as
background to his tale, but striving to achieve their own goals,
whether that’s revenge or achieving success for oneself.
I tried to think of
downsides, but it wasn’t especially easy. The size may put some
people off. There is occasional sexual content but it’s the haziest
of hazy watercolours you can imagine. Violence is a feature, of
course, but far less frequent or visceral than in, say, Outlaws of
the Marsh.
It’s a very enjoyable
book, in short.
Thaddeus
