Introduction
The Samurai are one of the most legendary warrior classes throughout history, among iconic warrior classes like the Spartans or the Vikings.
Samurai legend shows an honorable warrior class that followed the code of the Bushido, or “The Way”, which has different meanings and interpretations.
Miyamoto Musashi is one of the most legendary samurai, born in 1584 and passing away in 1645 at the age of 61. He fought in numerous wars, later becoming a Rōnin, going undefeated in over 60 duels.
Musashi wrote The Book of Five Rings roughly a year before his death. The Book of Five Rings contains martial arts strategy and philosophy about life, aimed primarily towards younger samurai, but his wisdom is just as valuable today if not more.
A few days before his death, Musashi wrote The Dokkado, or The Way of Walking Alone, which contains 21 precepts. You can read it below.
Musashi believed in the concept of The Way–the path to mastery–which is the same in all things. And, according to Musashi, once you know the way broadly, you will see it in all things.
Many historical books have been written by samurai, as well as about them.
Below are some of the best fiction books about Samurai. Most of these are historical fiction, and a few are outside of that genre.
Musashi – Eiji Yoshikawa
‘Musashi’ is one of the most renowned pieces of historical fiction in Japan, written by Eiji Yoshikawa and published in 1939, the same year World War 2 broke out. Yoshikawa was a prolific author, who survived the Great Kanto Earthquake.
The book follows Miyamoto Musashi as he travels through Japan as a rōnin with his young companion, Jōtarō. After losing a crucial battle, the lone samurai changes his name to Musashi and devotes himself to the way of the sword and The Path of mastery.
This book inspired the legendary manga about Musashi & company, Vagabond.
Taiko – by Eiji Yoshikawa
Taiko was a serial publication from 1943-1945, throughout the WW2 years, and published as a book once the war ended, written by Eiji Yoshikawa, who also published Musashi. Both of the books are somewhat controversial given they were written by Japan during a period of war between Japan and America in World War 2.
The book has over 938 pages covering one of the great unifiers of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Samurai, and daimyō. He is known as the second great unifier of Japan, who loved from 1537 – 1598, dying at the age of 61.
This book, like Musashi, blends historical detail with fiction. Both are fascinating and compelling reads.
The New Chushingura: The Forty-Seven rōnin
The 47 rōnin is a retelling of a historical incident called “The Ako Incident”, where 47 rōnin who were formerly Samurai under their Daimyō Asano Naganori, set out on a journey to avenge their master who committed seppuku due to the political conspiring of a court official.
The name “Chushingura” comes from an early retelling of the incident via puppets. This is a real, historical event, and the book weaves history and fiction, like both of Eiji Yoshikawa’s books published above.
The Forty-Seven rōnin was originally serialized in a magazine between 1935 and 1937, between both world wars.
The Tale of the Heike
The Tale of the Heike is an important cultural document for japan, which cannot be attributed to a single author, as the tale was passed down verbally in numerous mediums, like through song. The most widely read version comes from a blind monk named Kakuichi, who compiled his version late in the 14th century.
The Tale of the Heikie is about the rise and fall of the Heike clan during the Genpei war against the Minamoto clan between 1180 – 1185.
Shōgun by James Clavell
James Clavell was a Commonwealth writer born in 1921, who passed away in 1994 at the age of 72. He was a World War 2 veteran, as well as a POW. He was obsessed with Asian culture, writing 6 novels as part of his Asian Saga series between 1962 and 1993, one year before his death. His novel, Escape, was published in 1995 post-humorously.
His 1975 book, Shōgun, is his most known.
Shōgun is historical fiction, loosely based on the life of the first Englishman to step foot in Japan, William Adams, but through the character John Blackthorne, an English sailor stranded in Japan during the Tokugawa period around the 1600s.
The Samurai by Shūsaku Endō
Shūsaku Endō is a Japanese Catholic, who wrote ‘ The Samurai’ in 1980, that was translated into English two years later. He was born in 1923 and passed away in 1996 at the age of 73. Most of his writings explore faith and honor from an interesting mix of Bushido and Catholic doctrine.
‘The Samurai’ is inspired by historical events and follows Hasekura Rokuemon, a low-ranking Samurai sent to Europe, in particular Spain and the Vatican, for a diplomatic mission. The contrast between Samurai and Christianity is explored deeply.
The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
‘The Samurai’s Garden’ is not a traditional book about Samurai compared to the mainly historical fiction listed above this entry. Written in 1994 by Gail Tsukiyama, ‘The Samurai’s Garden’ centers on a Chinese man recovering from Tuberculosis in a Japanese village. He learns about health, beauty, and life from a man with a Bushido spirit named Matsu.
Cloud of Sparrows: A Novel by Takashi Matsuoka
This is the first fiction book published in the 21st century on this list, released in 2002 by Takashi Matsuoka. The book follows a young daimyo who is navigating a Japan that has opened its doors to outsiders, with the arrival of American missionaries who are believed to be prophetic.
Cloud of Sparrows is book 1 in a two-part series:
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