What are you reading the week of April 20, 2014?

[pscot]

10. Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa

Musashi is an iconic figure in Japan, sort of like Robin Hood, except ruthless, bloodthirsty and on the side of the Shogun. By his own count he was the victor in some 60 sword duels, mostly to the death. In his famous war against the Yoshioka dojo he killed off the entire Yoshioka male line and many of their adherents. He was 23 at the time. Nevertheless, his quest is essentially spiritual, as he seeks perfection by way of the sword. He's also famous as a poet, an artist and a calligrapher. Such drawings of his as survive today are highly prized. There's a love interest, of a uniquely Japanese sort, and an old woman who hounds him from one end of the country to the other seeking revenge for imagined injuries. For those who think they might find a thousand pages of this stuff a bit daunting, there is a graphic version of the story in 35 thick volumes, which I found incomprehensible.