by Takehiko Inoue, based on the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, 212 pages It's the eve of Musashi's duel with Denshichirô. While Matahachi gets beaten up (again) and Denshichirô sits down to eat with his wife and daughter, Musashi contemplates his childhood awareness of self and of the world around him and wonders where and when he lost it. When he comes across a vaguely familiar young man playing at slicing his snowman in two with a twig (and not doing too shabbily, either), Musashi realizes what he's forgotten and joins the twig-wielder in a game of reconnection and discovery.
Whenever these two share the same space, the energy just flies off the page. Musashi and Kojirô watch and evaluate one another, crossing twigs, dancing in the snow, smiling like mischievous little boys. It's joyful and funny, yet their observing host (and the reader) can't help but think of their twigs as real swords, imagining the dire wounds inflicted, the blood spilled. But we understand them both well enough now to know they're thinking the same thing--and that it wouldn't diminish their excitement one bit. In fact, the only thing that keeps them from trading sticks for steel... is the prospect of dinner. :)
Kojirô's unfettered, instinctive awareness is the ideal for which Musashi strives. As physical and mental preparation for his fight with proud Denshichirô, Musashi couldn't have asked for a better sparring partner.
No comments:
Post a Comment