is a Japanese epic novel written by Eiji Yoshikawa, about the life and deeds of legendary Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. The book follows Shinmen Takezō starting after the Battle of Sekigahara. It follows his life after the monk Takuan forces him to reinvent himself as Miyamoto Musashi. He wanders around Japan training young pupils, getting involved in feuds with samurai and martial arts schools, and finding his way through his romantic life. It was originally released as a serial in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, between 1935 and 1939. It has been re-released in book format, most of which are collections of several volumes, which compile the many newspaper strips. With an estimated 120 million copies sold, it is one of the best-selling book series in history. Introduction It is a fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings and arguably the most renowned Japanese swordsman who ever lived. The novel has been translated into English by Charles S. Terry, with a foreword by Edwin O. Reischauer, published by Kodansha International under . The long epic (over 900 pages, abridged, in the English version) comprises seven "books" detailing the exploits of Miyamoto Musashi, beginning just after the battle of Sekigahara, following his journeys and the many people who become important in his life, and leading up to his climactic duel with Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryujima (Ganryu or Funa Island). Kojiro's cruelty contrasts with Musashi's reflective and selfless nature. Musashi becomes famous during the course of the novel as he searches for both perfection in swordsmanship and in consciousness. Innovating Japanese swordsmanship, he invents the style of simultaneously wielding both the katana and the wakizashi, something unheard of at that time in Japanese history. Chance, as well as the characters' very different life decisions, give to the book a philosophical dimension that is revealed in its ending. Table of Contents (Abridged Edition) Chapters per book Book 1 — Earth The Little Bell The Comb The Flower Festival The Dowager's Wrath The Art of War The Old Cryptomeria Tree The Rock and the Tree The Birth of Musashi Book 2 — Water The Yoshioka School The Wheel of Fortune Encounter and Retreat The Water Sprite A Spring Breeze The Hōzōin Hannya Plain The Koyagyū Fief The Peony Jōtarō's Revenge The Nightingales Book 3 — Fire Sasaki Kojirō Reunion in Osaka The Handsome Young Man The