Vagabond Vol. 39

Vagabond is a seinen manga by Takehiko Inoue, serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning since 1998 and adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. Set between the late Sengoku period and the early Tokugawa era, it follows seventeen-year-old Shinmen Takezo and Hon'iden Matahachi, who flee after defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara. Hunted, imprisoned, and tested by life and death, Takezo is guided by the monk Takuan Soho, takes the name Miyamoto Musashi, and sets out again in pursuit of the pinnacle of swordsmanship. While Musashi challenges one strong opponent after another at the Yoshioka dojo, the Nara Hozoin, and among the Yagyu clan, the manga also devotes extensive separate passages to the growth of Sasaki Kojiro: born deaf and mute, raised by Kanemaki Jisai, bound to the sword from birth, and befriended by the boy Kamekichi through their shared love of the blade. Inoue reimagines Kojiro from the source novel as a figure with a pure sword heart, creating two intertwined life paths that mirror each other. This volume is the Hong Kong Chinese edition of Vagabond Vol. 39, one of the color edition series (41 volumes total) published by Tin Ha Publishing, translated by Zhu Lihong. The story continues Kojiro's thread, covering the passage in which he encounters challengers from the Ittozai school and has his inner fighting spirit—a "fierce tiger"—provoked. The original series has been on long-term hiatus since May 2015, with the Japanese tankobon ending at Volume 37; the Japanese and Chinese color edition volume divisions do not correspond exactly, so please refer to the physical copy for this volume's specific contents.