About the book
Set in a Japan emerging from decades of civil strife, Eiji Yoshikawa's epic novel opens with Shinmen Takezo lying wounded among the dead after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, where he had hoped to become a samurai. A rash act on the road home turns him into a fugitive until Takuan, a Zen monk carrying no weapon, captures him. Three years of confinement spent reading the classics of China and Japan follow, and he emerges as Miyamoto Musashi, set on mastering the Way of the Sword. The story first ran as a serial in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, and Charles S. Terry translated it into English.
Tim Ferriss put it on his list of top fiction for non-fiction addicts, recalling that he bought the onion-skin volume in Tokyo, never expected to finish it, and got through it in under two weeks. Cliff Hartono, CEO of Jasri Partners, said it was probably his favourite non-business book.
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This book has 2 recommendations
Tim Ferriss (Author & Entrepreneur)
I bought this book at Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It is as thick as a Harry Potter book, probably thicker, but the pages are as thin as onion skin. It’s a serious tome. I never expected to finish it, and I tore through it in less than two weeks.
If you’re like me and enjoy a good Samurai story – the wandering ronin, epic battle scenes with lots of penetrating (wisdom), then you’ll love Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi. It’s sold more than 100 million copies in Japanese. Musashi’s transformation from talented yet conflicted young warrior to one of the greatest (perhaps the greatest) swordsman of all time teaches you about critical thinking, strategizing, and ultimately, that there is more to life than merely surviving. Musashi re-created himself from nothing and rose from destitution to legend.
Cliff Hartono (CEO/Jasri Partners)
My favourite non-business book is probably Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. It is a fictionalized history of Musashi Miyamoto, who is known in Japan as its greatest swordsman and warrior. He is probably one of the most underappreciated people in history – after being undefeated in countless duels, he became an accomplished architect, painter, sculptor, writer and philosopher. A captivating book about an endlessly fascinating person.
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