Musashi: Book One - Earth, Water & Fire - The Novel: New Unabridged Translation

A new and unabridged 3-book translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling novel about Miyamoto Musashi—the most famous swordfighter in Japanese history!

This is the first book of Musashi: The Novel, a sweeping three-book unabridged translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling masterpiece—Japan's most beloved historical novel. Masterfully translated for the first time in its entirety by Alexander Bennett, this vivid and fast-paced story reveals the exploits and inner life of a man who finds not only his true purpose but also his humanity.

Book One opens in the year 1600 at the Battle of Sekigahara, a scene of unimaginable carnage where Musashi lies wounded on the battlefield. After being imprisoned for three years, he wanders the countryside aimlessly as a vagabond, desperate to make a name for himself. He becomes a dueling Ronin—a swordfighter without a master. And while his destiny seems clear, to achieve it he must leave his old life Behind.

Eiji Yoshikawa's *Miyamoto Musashi*, English Translation, Volume 1

The first volume of this trilogy opens with the brutal Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Amidst the unimaginable slaughter, Miyamoto Musashi is wounded on the losing side. After three years in prison, he wanders the countryside as a vagrant. Driven by a yearning to make a name for himself as a warrior, he becomes a ronin, an unaffiliated swordsman. Together with his lifelong lover, Otsu, Musashi faces many trials, from a spear-wielding monk at Hozoin Temple to students at the Yoshioka dojo. Musashi easily achieves victory, but his greatest trial is yet to come.