Vagabond Vol. 6

Vagabond is a long-running seinen manga by Takehiko Inoue following Slam Dunk, adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. It has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning since 1998. Set in Japan from the late Warring States period to the early Edo period, it tells how Shinmen Takezo (later Miyamoto Musashi), who escaped the battlefield of Sekigahara, gradually takes up the path of swordsmanship: at first he wants only to survive by force and prove himself through killing, and only after the monk Takuan opens his eyes does he face the darkness in his own heart for the first time and come to understand that being unmatched under heaven is not merely about defeating opponents. The work simmers Musashi's growth, his study of swordsmanship and his questioning of the meaning of existence in the same pot, while a separate thread follows the young swordsman Sasaki Kojiro, who cannot speak or hear, so that the two life paths converge on the famous duel at Ganryu Island. Inoue uses exquisitely detailed facial expressions, large-scale compositions and later brush-and-ink strokes to create a visual temperament in which the characters' inner worlds run parallel to heaven and earth; this volume is the sixth of the Hong Kong edition of Vagabond, collecting installments twenty-one through twenty-four. After Musashi leaves Takuan's protection, he begins to come into contact with the Yoshioka dojo line; Yoshioka Seijuro, Yoshioka Denshichiro, Ueda Ryohei and others appear one after another, setting the stage for the coming showdown in Kyoto.