Vagabond Vol. 2

Vagabond is a long-running seinen manga by Takehiko Inoue, adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. Serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning since 1998, it departs substantially from its source, most notably by giving Sasaki Kojirō an independent coming-of-age narrative of his own. The story is set in the age of the sword, from the late Warring States period into the early Edo era, and follows Musashi, a deserter from the Battle of Sekigahara, as he fights his way to renown and is driven toward the long discipline of seeking the Way through the sword. This is the second volume of the series. Picking up where the previous volume left off, Musashi returns to his home village of Miyamoto, where the villagers and the authorities lie in wait for the "demon child"; like a wrathful asura, he cuts a bloody swath through the land he knows. Under the influence of Sōhaku Takuan and his childhood friend Otsū, the violent Musashi is taken alive; strung up in a tree, humiliated, he confronts for the first time the true meaning of life and death. This volume marks the turning point: Musashi's life begins to turn down another path, no longer relying only on killing intent and brute strength but gradually moving toward an understanding of the sword, of himself, and of what it means to live. Inoue's sharp, breathing panel work also begins to shine in this volume.