Vagabond is adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi, illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning since 1998 and has won the Kodansha Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival Award in the Manga Division, and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Manga Award. Set from the late Warring States period to the early Edo period, the work follows Shinmen Musashi, a feral youth once regarded as a "demon child," as he endures defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara, becomes a fugitive pursued by his hunters, and walks step by step along the way of the sword until he becomes an unrivaled swordsman. It also depicts his endless questioning of what strength means and what the way of the sword truly is. In this period, Inoue drew with a brush, producing dense, vigorous images; the characters' expressions and the natural scenery are all charged with intense spirituality, making the work one of the representative youth manga that fuse action sequences with Eastern philosophical sensibility. This volume is the 18th volume of the traditional Chinese edition published by Tin Ha Publishing (International) Co., Ltd. and the 18th tankobon in the series; the same volume was published in Japan by Kodansha, and the Chinese edition published by Sharp Point Press in Taiwan is titled Ronin Swordsman. This volume continues the alternating narrative rhythm of Musashi's training and the threads related to Sasaki Kojiro; for specific chapter contents, please refer to the actual book.
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Eiji Yoshikawa (1892–1962) was a native of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and a leading author of Japanese popular literature, hailed as a “national writer.” After leaving school early, he worked as a printer and a shipyard worker, among other jobs, while continuing to educate himself. He entered the literary world in 1914 and later became known for his historical novels. His works are mostly drawn from Japanese and Chinese history, and he excelled at portraying personal growth and the sweep of an era within a framework of historical fact, in a style that is accessible and deeply engaging. His major works include Musashi, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The New Taiko Chronicles, Kuroda Josui, and Minamoto no Yoritomo. This library holds 46 of his works, including several volumes of the Three Kingdoms series and the complete Musashi. His historical novels have long enjoyed a wide readership and have had a significant influence on the development of Japanese popular literature.
