It tells the story of Miyamoto Musashi, arguably the greatest warrior Japan has ever seen. Musashi was born in the late sixteenth century, and devoted the best part of his life to the art of sword fighting, engaging in duels and defeating all-comers throughout much of central and western Japan. He is perhaps the archetypal example of a ronin, a breed of wandering, masterless samurai, and the inspiration for the title of this blog. There was much more to Musashi than just his peerless fighting skills, however. In the last few years of his life, he laid down his sword, retreating to live as a virtual hermit in a cave outside Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu. Here, he wrote down his philosophy on sword fighting and military strategy in a text called Go Rin No Sho ("The Book of Five Rings"). In the centuries since, this passionate and powerful work lost little of its influence, even becoming a kind of de facto handbook for Japanese business leaders in Japan's post-war period of rapid economic growth.
As is usually the case with heroic figures, Miyamoto Musashi's life has been celebrated numerous times on the page and the big screen, with the historical facts increasingly taking a back seat to romanticised fictional accounts. There have been dozens of films made about him in Japan, perhaps the most famous of which, "Samurai I," starring the legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, picked up an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film back in 1955. In print, the biggest account of his life, quite literally, is the epic novel "Musashi," by Eiji Yoshikawa, which was first published in the 1930s and eventually translated into English in the 1980s. The novel follows Musashi from his time as a wild and undisciplined young man named Takezo, who is outcast by his village, and details his subsequent growth into the unmatched warrior of legend, climaxing with a dramatic duel against another great swordsman of the day, Sasaki Kojiro. This is the work that Inoue chose to follow when he undertook his equally epic manga serialization, "Vagabond."
Starting in 1998, "Vagabond" was serialized in the "Weekly Morning" manga magazine, with the chapters being collected and published separately in book form at the rate of around four volumes a year. While there are currently 33 volumes in the series, this has unfortunately been the case for over a year now, as fans of "Vagabond" have been suffering an increasingly frustrating wait for the next volume to be released. It seems that Inoue has been suffering himself, from ill health, on top of a serious case of writer's block. Considering that the main source for his story already exists in the form of Yoshikawa's novel, it's hard to see how Inoue could be experiencing such difficulties in continuing "Vagabond." However, things are not quite so simple, as although "Vagabond" follows the basic story arc of "Musashi," it is far from a direct interpretation. For example, while Musashi's rival Sasaki Kojiro is a cunning, arrogant and outspoken character in the novel, Inoue chose to portray him as a deaf-mute in his manga version. Changes such as this would certainly present a challenge to the author, which is presumably why Inoue chose to make them. I just hope he's not regretting the adventurous path he's taken too much, and that he finds some way to continue the story of "Vagabond" soon, as it would be a criminal shame for such a great series to be left unfinished.
In my opinion, "Vagabond" is much more than just an exciting, action-packed adventure story. Like Musashi's own "Book of Five Rings" it also focuses on the moral issues involved in living life as a warrior, and shows how killing in battle can cause a man to feel as if he is losing his own humanity. Perhaps the most appealing part of "Vagabond" for me however, is the exceptional quality of Inoue's art. "Art" is really the only way to describe such detailed and lovingly realized images. As if to emphasize the artistic nature of this work, a few years ago Inoue took a selection of his best original illustrations and paintings from "Vagabond" on a nationwide tour around various art galleries in Japan. These are also collected in a gorgeous artbook entitled "Water."
Although there is a significant lack of recent news regarding the continuation of "Vagabond," I remain quietly confident that Inoue will get his act together sooner rather than later. Once he does, I'm sure it will be worth the wait!
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