Vagabond

the yagyu sword was one with the heaven and the earth.  Could it be that after this saga musashi sword actually became one with the earth???

Absolutely beautiful.

On the next episode of NATURE SAGA...

what an amazing way to finish this arc. I got chills after finishing it.

Lately I am getting amazed at the work mangakas put into drawing some scenes. The two page scenery of the rice in this chapter for instance. Drawing all those little seeds(?) must be monotonous and wearisome but the end result is breathtaking for me. I found myself surprised when i realized that i'm reading Vagabond not for the cool samurai story but for Inoue Takehiko's genius drawing.

What a beautiful, deep, touching chapter. The author got what is best in japan's philosophy and is giving a true gift to the readers. I hope I can buy all the volumes some day - a true master piece.

Kokura castle ! Mushashi is Coming ! hohoho

So if we look at it historically, the concept of the farming warrior may have been Sinic originally [...]

"Farming Master" I love it!

It seems Musashi will finally set off.

I think it's interesting that Musashi was first famous as a philosopher, then his reputation as a warrior was built up, but I'd venture a guess that this is, at least partly, because of a scholarly desire to fulfill the Warrior Poet role for Musashi as a samurai, rather than him being a completely unique case, as I think you may be partially implying. This is just a guess though, but if I'm remembering my literature/history classes correctly, that wouldn't be entirely uncommon for figures of antiquity. And I suspect your explanation of the rise of the Warrior Poet idea is mostly correct, but rather than the cut-and-dry account of how it happened, I find the built-up mystique around these positions of power more interesting (not that what you wrote isn't, of course) - the literature devoted to the knights, the samurai, the faris, and what have you, the romantic ideals, as separated from reality as they may have been, why do people write about them? - that kind of stuff, which is only a few of the many reasons why I love Vagabond.

 

 

This is definitely an important distinction to make, as in the case of Washinton/Cincinnatus, the return to the farm is seen as the superior choice of the two options, highlighting their great civic virtue, giving up their power for the simple life of tilling the land. However, I'm not sure if I'd entirely buy the idea that the return to the farm here is only about becoming a better warrior. Coming just from the narrative so far, it seems to me to be right now, setting Musashi up for a revelation about the weak leading to becoming a better ruler when he finally takes up his position, protecting the weak and the like. You seem to already know about the guy, so I would think you are right, but I'll just eagerly await the next DECADE (goddamn monthlies, superb quality, but the wait is almost unbearable) to see how the story pans out.

 

As for this idea that the Asian return to the farm is about becoming a better warrior, I want to ask, is it? I just don't have any knowledge about this so if you could point me to other preferably-not-Japanese examples I could read up on, I'd be much obliged. And if you only know of other Japanese examples, I'd ask if this is a Pan-Asian thing, a Sinic thing, or a Japanese thing?

Musashi's being a warrior-poet is not unique at all. That's exactly the point I was making. I was simply saying that warrior-poets are not rare and were in fact a common historical/fictional archetype. What set Musashi apart is the fact that he was a philosopher who was built up into the ideal warrior in the public imagination. You don't see this with, for instance, Socrates, or for that matter even Sun Tzu. There is a unique emphasis put on by the myth-makers on Musashi's combat prowess rather than his philosophical ideals, and this is actually strange because usually the other way around is preferred. Sun Tzu, for instance, is now portrayed as a philosopher seated on a bamboo mat writing his famous book while enjoying idyllic retirement - instead of the utterly ruthless armor-bedecked grand general that he had been in life (assuming he had actually been a real person). I mean, the guy executed women, ordered his soldiers to their deaths during military exercise, invaded a country and wiped out its tens-of-thousands-strong army, yet myth-makers chose to focus on his authoring of the famous military treatise instead of his supposed (again, assuming he existed) military accomplishments. The exact opposite happened to Musashi.

The concept of the farming warrior in myth is now a largely Japanese one, although there are similar Chinese archetypes. It probably originated in China, but in China characters representing this archetype have become rare since the advent of wuxia literature (think kungfu movies) around the 15th century. One of the most well-known and earliest examples of wuxia literature is The Water Margin (also known as All Men are Brothers and The 108 Heroes). In the context of this discussion, it's notable because nobody farms (except victims of general banditry or poor sods forced to pay unfair taxes). Well, technically Wu Yong farmed, but being an educated gentleman he probably paid hired hands to do it.

However, if you look at earlier Chinese heroic literature from the Han-Tang era, many great generals were depicted as returning to their homes to farm (usually after being exiled by the court under false charges) and gain an insight into the nature of life/warfare/earth/heavens/stuff, then being called back into the ranks to lead the army into great victories and either entering the court as a high official, retiring to his comfortable estate in the capital (or thereabouts) or getting beheaded under yet another series of slanderous charges.

So if we look at it historically, the concept of the farming warrior may have been Sinic originally but then abandoned in favor of dedicated warriors who just keep training their primary martial skill endlessly (again, think kungfu movies). In Japan, though, the archetype thrived due to the nature of Samurai culture. The Jet Li movie Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) actually explores the long-ignored-but-not-forgotten archetype of the farming warrior from the Chinese perspective. The movie is a very good outline of how this type of fictionalization goes. Watch it and note the parallels to Vagabond. 

Read Blaster Knuckle! is a wild west version of berserk

I think there is focal divergence here. Warrior poets and philosophers are common to all cultures simply because civil society in the days of constant warfare require all men of wealth and/or property to be willing and able to bear arms to protect their property and the public peace. Since philosophers and poets are invariably members of the cultured (and educated) upper class, it's inevitable that they'd have to be warriors as well, either permanently or part time. Heck, even Socrates fought in a phalanx. However, I was pointing out that in Japan Musashi was famous as philosopher FIRST, warrior second.

I think it's interesting that Musashi was first famous as a philosopher, then his reputation as a warrior was built up, but I'd venture a guess that this is, at least partly, because of a scholarly desire to fulfill the Warrior Poet role for Musashi as a samurai, rather than him being a completely unique case, as I think you may be partially implying. This is just a guess though, but if I'm remembering my literature/history classes correctly, that wouldn't be entirely uncommon for figures of antiquity. And I suspect your explanation of the rise of the Warrior Poet idea is mostly correct, but rather than the cut-and-dry account of how it happened, I find the built-up mystique around these positions of power more interesting (not that what you wrote isn't, of course) - the literature devoted to the knights, the samurai, the faris, and what have you, the romantic ideals, as separated from reality as they may have been, why do people write about them? - that kind of stuff, which is only a few of the many reasons why I love Vagabond.

There is a massive focal divergence on what's important. The Asian version, ironically, assumes that the whole purpose of this great warrior is to BE a warrior, whereas the Western version actually assumes that soldiering is just a part time job.

This is definitely an important distinction to make, as in the case of Washinton/Cincinnatus, the return to the farm is seen as the superior choice of the two options, highlighting their great civic virtue, giving up their power for the simple life of tilling the land. However, I'm not sure if I'd entirely buy the idea that the return to the farm here is only about becoming a better warrior. Coming just from the narrative so far, it seems to me to be right now, setting Musashi up for a revelation about the weak leading to becoming a better ruler when he finally takes up his position, protecting the weak and the like. You seem to already know about the guy, so I would think you are right, but I'll just eagerly await the next DECADE (goddamn monthlies, superb quality, but the wait is almost unbearable) to see how the story pans out.

As for this idea that the Asian return to the farm is about becoming a better warrior, I want to ask, is it? I just don't have any knowledge about this so if you could point me to other preferably-not-Japanese examples I could read up on, I'd be much obliged. And if you only know of other Japanese examples, I'd ask if this is a Pan-Asian thing, a Sinic thing, or a Japanese thing?

I REALLY want the first page without text, it's so cool

I just wanted to add that Warrior Poets and the "return to the farm" are not uniquely East Asian/Japanese ideas - it's pretty universal I'd say. Obviously in East Asia, people like Musashi or, to use a cliched example, Sun Tzu, are philosophical warriors, but Warrior Poets are most definitely a theme in the chivalric notions of medieval Europe, as unlike reality as it may have been, and you only need to look at Ibn Muniqidh to see a literal "Warrior Poet" in the Middle east, being both a faris (a knightly mercenary of sorts) and a poet, publishing not only many books of poetry in his lifetime but contemplations as well.

 

As for the "return to the farm," the most well known example for Americans is probably George Washington, who returned to his farm after leading the Continental Army and after his presidency, who himself did so in emulation of the Ancient Roman statesmen Cincinnatus, who returned to his farm twice after giving up the Roman position of "Dictator" each time.

 

It's fascinating how similar ideas can crop up and spread in regions far removed from one another.

I think there is focal divergence here. Warrior poets and philosophers are common to all cultures simply because civil society in the days of constant warfare require all men of wealth and/or property to be willing and able to bear arms to protect their property and the public peace. Since philosophers and poets are invariably members of the cultured (and educated) upper class, it's inevitable that they'd have to be warriors as well, either permanently or part time. Heck, even Socrates fought in a phalanx. However, I was pointing out that in Japan Musashi was famous as philosopher FIRST, warrior second.

As Junjiro pointed out, the veneration of Musashi as the embodiment of samurai culture is relatively recent. His sword style was not that famous or successful because none of his disciples managed to inherit the full set of skills from him. Probably this was because Musashi was a giant by Japanese standards and developed techniques more suited to his own unusual physique (such as dual wielding swords) and had the physical advantage that allowed him to wield extra-long swords. His disciples didn't share these traits and thus were unable to fully inherit their master's knowledge. Musashi himself was famous as a swordsman both in his lifetime and immediately after, but it was an INDIVIDUAL fame that didn't last; unlike, say, the Yagyuu who founded and preserved a school of swordsmanship acknowledged for its merits rather than the reputation of its founder.

As for the Asian theme of returning to the earth, I think you misunderstand. In both the legend (possibly myth) of Cincinnatus and George Washington, the return to a farming life serves as an end to the journey; the great warhorse put to pasture. In the Asian version, this is merely a means to improve on the warrior's primary skill. Having returned to the earth, he became once more spiritually grounded, and he is able to hone his skills and resolve to heights unachievable by mere mortals. He leaves the farm an even greater and mightier warrior; now invincible and possessed of a clarity he did not have before. He will leave this life not as a mere farmer toiling the land in peace, but as a great hero whose stories would be sung by bards and poets for ages to come. 

In other words, the Cincinnatus story basically goes like this:

Farm -> join army -> become leader -> achieve great deeds -> become hero of the nation -> farm

The Musashi story is basically this:

Kill lots of people -> kill MORE people -> kill unbelievably large number of people -> achieve great and legendary deeds -> defeat unbelievably mighty opponents -> mental block, progress halted -> farm -> achieve clarity -> become greater warrior -> defeat awesome opponents -> gain the people's respect -> fight great awesome unbelievably epic battle -> (optional) go retire and write/tell stories of life lived to the full -> die

There is a massive focal divergence on what's important. The Asian version, ironically, assumes that the whole purpose of this great warrior is to BE a warrior, whereas the Western version actually assumes that soldiering is just a part time job.

Westerners know Musashi as the great samurai, but in Japan he's much more famous as a philosopher. The idea of the great warrior returning to the earth (farming) actually predates Musashi, but it's a common theme in serious Japanese fiction. You might be able to chop up an army by yourself, but ya ain't nobody until ya can grow rice (or in Thorfinn's case, wheat). Thankfully, when Musashi prays for his crops it's not as ridiculous as when Thorfinn and Einar do it.

I just wanted to add that Warrior Poets and the "return to the farm" are not uniquely East Asian/Japanese ideas - it's pretty universal I'd say. Obviously in East Asia, people like Musashi or, to use a cliched example, Sun Tzu, are philosophical warriors, but Warrior Poets are most definitely a theme in the chivalric notions of medieval Europe, as unlike reality as it may have been, and you only need to look at Ibn Muniqidh to see a literal "Warrior Poet" in the Middle east, being both a faris (a knightly mercenary of sorts) and a poet, publishing not only many books of poetry in his lifetime but contemplations as well.

As for the "return to the farm," the most well known example for Americans is probably George Washington, who returned to his farm after leading the Continental Army and after his presidency, who himself did so in emulation of the Ancient Roman statesmen Cincinnatus, who returned to his farm twice after giving up the Roman position of "Dictator" each time.

It's fascinating how similar ideas can crop up and spread in regions far removed from one another.

Whew! that was heavy! A classic case of Japanese indirectness! Reading between the lines is a vital skill.

Westerners know Musashi as the great samurai, but in Japan he's much more famous as a philosopher. The idea of the great warrior returning to the earth (farming) actually predates Musashi, but it's a common theme in serious Japanese fiction. You might be able to chop up an army by yourself, but ya ain't nobody until ya can grow rice (or in Thorfinn's case, wheat). Thankfully, when Musashi prays for his crops it's not as ridiculous as when Thorfinn and Einar do it.

Westerners know Musashi as the great samurai, but in Japan he's much more famous as a philosopher. The idea of the great warrior returning to the earth (farming) actually predates Musashi, but it's a common theme in serious Japanese fiction. You might be able to chop up an army by yourself, but ya ain't nobody until ya can grow rice (or in Thorfinn's case, wheat). Thankfully, when Musashi prays for his crops it's not as ridiculous as when Thorfinn and Einar do it.

Rather, reasearchers said that Musashi was famous as a painter/artist well before Eiji Yoshikawa (author of the novel this manga was based on) came along. Now Musashi's historical and fictional backgrounds merged because of Yoshikawa. Many practitioners of other ryu weren't that much impressed with Musashi however.

Other works by Yoshikawa Eiji:

The Heike Story (The Taira side in the Genpei War)

Taiko (Hideyoshi in the Sengoku Jidai)

Though that demands they are actually able to read books without pictures and excessive bloodshed. You might have asked too much. :-)

Westerners know Musashi as the great samurai, but in Japan he's much more famous as a philosopher. The idea of the great warrior returning to the earth (farming) actually predates Musashi, but it's a common theme in serious Japanese fiction. You might be able to chop up an army by yourself, but ya ain't nobody until ya can grow rice (or in Thorfinn's case, wheat). Thankfully, when Musashi prays for his crops it's not as ridiculous as when Thorfinn and Einar do it.

Read Musashi's book and you will get it.

Though that demands they are actually able to read books without pictures and excessive bloodshed. You might have asked too much. :-)

this chapter got me feelin serene and mentally at peace... damn...

First, Vinland Saga became Farmland Saga, and now Vagabond has become Farmingbond. Have the mangakas been playing too much Harvest Moon or something?

Read Musashi's book and you will get it.

"Swing the sword as if you have no arms"

Now that's some hardcore shit. Only Musashi can do that.

First, Vinland Saga became Farmland Saga, and now Vagabond has become Farmingbond. Have the mangakas been playing too much Harvest Moon or something?

Thanks a lot for the update.